Overrated

Samir Mehta | September 30, 2015
[hidden by request]

Steve West | September 30, 2015
Gone With the Wind is number one on my list also.
In no particular order (except for GWTW):
1. GWTW
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey
3. The Shawshank Redemption
4. Wall-E

Scott Hardie | October 3, 2015
The Godfather: Part II. Its origin story doesn't tell us much that we don't already know, and the characters haven't really changed by the end, lacking an arc of transformation. It's well done, but that's not enough.

The Evil Dead. Sorry, Erik and other fans. It's a total failure at horror and at filmmaking in general that the series tried to course-correct later by pretending that it was always intended to be a comedy. Yeah, right.

American History X. I don't know if this qualifies as a classic (it's 32nd on the IMDb Top 250), but I find its most "appealing" parts to be morally problematic, and the ending undermines everything that the movie was supposedly trying to say.

I can't technically count Lawrence of Arabia because I didn't think it was a bad movie, just too difficult to sit through. I tried in high school and again in my early twenties, and couldn't even make it to the halfway point. I should try again now that I have hopefully matured.

I have never actually seen Gone with the Wind. Obviously I should, but the fact that it tops both of your lists makes me be in even less of a hurry, if that's possible.

Watching 2001: A Space Odyssey the first time was like eating a cold steak, but it grew on me with subsequent viewings. It has plenty of intellectual appeal, but you can also appreciate it simply for the photography. I have a fond memory of visiting Steve Dunn for the weekend and staying up late talking about Funeratic and lots of other topics while he played that movie and Koyaanisqatsi on the TV just to give us something to watch.

If we're putting semi-recent Pixar movies on this list of classics, I nominate Toy Story 3. It's fine, just not as Best Picture-worthy as its fervent admirers claim.

Samir Mehta | October 3, 2015
[hidden by request]

Steve West | October 3, 2015
Again, I agree with Samir. The Godfather: Part II is an awesome movie to me. I loved the parallel of the origins of the Family and the present day machinations. I hated to see the decline of Tom Hagen but was intrigued throughout.

Scott Hardie | October 4, 2015
I'll have to watch it again; it's been years. I'm well aware that I'm in a tiny minority here, as that movie is #3 on the IMDb Top 250 and has been for many years now. Then again, The Shawshank Redemption is #1 and I don't see anybody quibbling with it being on Steve's list. :-)

I was let down by The Usual Suspects when I finally saw it maybe 5-7 years after release. It's possible that my chance to appreciate it with an open mind may have been ruined by fanboys who quoted it too often and worshipped it alongside Boondock Saints and Reservoir Dogs. I don't find the story compelling, the twist amazing, or the acting remarkable, as most people do. I love Kevin Spacey, and this movie made his career, but he's given so many better performances elsewhere. The masculine attempts at swaggering and looking cool just don't do it for me.