Unpopular Opinions Thread

[utee94]

I like his supplemental works and his letters, which delve into the history of Middle Earth.  It's crazy how much effort he put into world-building over the years.  He never stopped, in fact.  He kept developing Middle Earth well after the publication of his LOTR novels.  His creation myth and history of the First and Second Ages would make fantastic books (or films) if someone could do it right. 

This is what Amazon is trying to do with Rings of Power.  But unfortunately they don't have IP rights to EVERYthing, just SOME things, so they are diverging from the canon.  It has a lot of nerds angry.  But not this nerd, I'm cool with what they're doing.  Not every part of that series is a winner but there are some really good nuggets in there.

[MikeDeTiger]

I despise that show.  If that makes me an angry nerd, I'm cool with that.  

[utee94]

I despise that show.  If that makes me an angry nerd, I'm cool with that. 

If you dislike it because it's "not canon" then yes you're an angry nerd.

If you dislike it for other reasons, then perhaps you are not.



Anyway, with respect to LOTR, Star Wars, and every other fandom out there-- Dear Lord please save us from angry nerds who believe they have ownership of the material and insist that canon be followed at all costs. 

[MikeDeTiger]

I dislike it for multiple other reasons, but I'm also against unnecessarily changing canon.  Some things inevitably have to be changed when adapting from books to film.  Even Peter Jackson's movie trilogy did that, and I love those movies, despite their differences with the books.  But you should do what you can to be true to the source material. 

[utee94]

I dislike it for multiple other reasons, but I'm also against unnecessarily changing canon.  Some things inevitably have to be changed when adapting from books to film.  Even Peter Jackson's movie trilogy did that, and I love those movies, despite their differences with the books.  But you should do what you can to be true to the source material. 

Yeah, the Tolkien family's uneven sale/distribution of IP rights, has made it such that no one studio owns all of the IP.  So there's no way it's going to reflect exactly what's in the various appendices, letters, and the Silmarillion.  

And of course then there's the fact that Tolkien contradicted his own histories from one source to another, so even if you had access to ALL of the writings, there are multiple versions of some elements of the story.

Overall it's supposed to be entertainment, and I'm entertained.  It's cool if you're not. 

[MikeDeTiger]

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!!??

[SFBadger96]

Here's another one that may cause a stir. I love the Godfather. Great, all-timer movie. I think the Godfather II is mediocre. Well filmed/directed/acted/etc.? Yes. Good movie? Nope.

[utee94]

Wow, that's definitely an unpopular opinion.  I know that many folks consider the second to be as good as or better than the first.

My unpopular opinion-- I don't like either one of them.  I hate mob movies in general.  I just sit there wanting them all to get killed and/or thrown in prison.  Scum of the earth.

[847badgerfan]

Love them both. Part III? F no.

[SFBadger96]

Wow, that's definitely an unpopular opinion.  I know that many folks consider the second to be as good as or better than the first.

My unpopular opinion-- I don't like either one of them.  I hate mob movies in general.  I just sit there wanting them all to get killed and/or thrown in prison.  Scum of the earth.

Yup--Godfather II is allegedly the best one. III is a throw-away for all of the Godfather fans.
Not me: it's only the first one that I will spend my time on.

Your perspective is the same as SFIrish's (more generally than just mob movies): no interest in following the lives and times of jerks and ne'er-do-wells.

[utee94]

I never saw III because by then I'd realized how much I hated mob movies and just stopped watching them.

But to Godfather die-hards, yeah it seems they all hated #3.  They consider it a part of the grouping in the same way I consider the Mustang II a part of the Mustang family-- that is to say, not at all.

[MikeDeTiger]

Unpopular opinion:  Godfather III isn't really that bad....in a vacuum.

When lumped in with the first two it can't help but disappoint fans because tonally it's just so different.  The first two movies do a thing, and then the third comes along and doesn't even seem like it's trying to do that thing, let alone succeed. 

But on its own merits, divorced from comparison to the other two, it was okay. 

[847badgerfan]

This chick combined with her creepy relationship with her cousin made that movie for shit.



Pacino was fine. 

Not casting (lowballing) Bobby Duvall was a huge mistake.

[MrNubbz]

 Dear Lord please save us from angry nerds who believe they have ownership of the material and insist that canon be followed at all costs.

Well,then turn the damn cannons around and let them have it - problem solved.