Overrated? I'll take Monster's Ball and raise you Titanic

Yesterday, I watched a film I haven’t seen in years; Monster’s Ball. I first watched it when I was eleven and I’ve come to realise that I really didn’t get it. The story is much more complex than it was in my head and generally much better than I remembered. The performances are great, Halle Berry really deserved her Oscar. It also serves as a tribute to Health Ledger, someone we lost way too soon. After being told, I knew that it was him in Monster’s Ball but had not recollection of him. Like most of the actors, he too was amazing. For some reason I remembered Billy Bob-Thornton’s character to more sinister than he actually was. All in all, it’s a very good film. Naturally, not everyone agrees.

The people at Premier decided one day to put out their list of the 20 most overrated films of all time. On this are some films that are far from overrated. To overrate something is to value it too highly and for many of the films on the list this is not the case. The reasons given for why Monsters Ball is overrated were:

Everyone loves seeing pretty people in desperate situations, but this
southern drama is so tragic, it's absurd. Pity Leticia Musgrove: First her
husband is executed. Then her son, who in addition to being saddled with being chubby, gets killed in a hit-and-run accident. Fortunately, Musgrove finds refuge in the arms of Hank, whose father is an alcoholic racist and whose son commits suicide.Enough! Maybe with a more plausible leading lady (say, Angela Bassett), this sobfest would have gained some credibility. But a few sweat stains and exposed breasts weren't enough to transform Halle Berry into an actress worthy of an Oscar.

So tragic, it’s absurd? More unbelievable things have happened in film. The tragedy depicted on screen is perfectly plausible and it is ab aspect of the story that partially explains why Hank and Leticia are drawn to each other (ever heard the term united by tragedy?). As I mentioned before, Halle Berry’s performance was Oscar worthy. The statement has the concept of why someone wins an Oscar the wrong way around. The Oscar is not given based on the actor/actress being Oscar worthy, it is based on whether the performance they gave (regardless of any previous performances) was so spectacular that that is could be classed as the best performance in that category of that year. Berry showed charter progression and real emotion. That, Premier, is why she won and deserved to win best actress. People are very quick to say that the sex scene is the biggest or most important part of the film. What I can say is at least it was relevant to the storyline unlike many scenes out there is movie-land. The scene shows transition; it marks a new chapter in the lives of the main protagonist and stylistically, it is impressive. They also need to remember that it Berry, not the film that many comment on, their reasoning reflects this.

Another film featured in the list was Clerks and here’s why:

Kevin Smith's Clerks is a little funny and a lot boring, just like Dante Hicks, the convenience store cashier it follows for one long, pointless day. This trifle's lame acting and anemic plot were celebrated for their street cred because the slackers among us could relate and the critics all wanted to seem cool. So, sure, a cornchip shark in a salsa sea is funny when you're drunk. But a movie shouldn't require beer goggles. And moving the camera occasionally orhiring unknown actors who can actually act doesn't cost any extra, even if you've only got $27 grand.

Clerks is not just known because slackers can relate to it. It is a film that most of the population can relate to. It relates to having to grown up, having to change for the better and the choice of whether to do what you want of what it technically best for you. Overrated, I think not, most of the world has not even heard of Clerks for them to hold it in high regard. The dialogue is funny and original, many need to remember that originality is becoming a rare commodity.

Forrest Gump? I kind of see where you’re coming from but I still disagree. Their reasoning:

Being There, done that—only not quite as well. Gump makes a big, sloppy show of adoring its puerile hero to the degree of adopting his idiotic notion that whatever life gives you—be it the growth of your Apple stock or the death of a spouse from AIDS—is like a chocolate bonbon. The film is just a short-bus joke wrapped in cloying nostalgia and faux empathy. Robin Wright Penn's Jenny is redeemed by marrying the pure Forrest, but the junkie whore still must die, a plot contrivance that reveals the film's misguided moralism.

Forrest Gump is a film that takes the audience through many of the biggest moments on history. The phrase “Life is like a box of chocolates” does not mean that everything is life is good and sweet, regardless of how dreadful it is. It simply means that life is a bit of a wild card, the event cannot be predicted. Jenny death, is relevant as a marker in history. It reflects the ongoing problem of diseases such as AIDs in the world. People are dying and for Jenny not die would be to condescend the audience. What I do think is that Forrest Gump is overrated to an extent (that’s not say that I don’t own it). I believe that Forrest Gump was given a huge amount of recognition at the time (I say at the time because Forrest Gump is not often listed as on of critics’ top films nowadays), it won a large amount of Oscars, some of which, it believe should have went to other films.

I’ve written more than I expected and I’m a bit too tired to write about more.

Premier's 20 Most Overrated Movies of All Time