Easterhay said:
I actually think the latter instalments of Harry Potter are the very films you wouldn't show to kids, to be honest. My two have yet to see the final one, for example.
Depending on the age. I mean, when we say "kids" it's a big difference between 7 and 12. I might think twice before showing the final three films to a seven year old (although I probably would anyway...when I was 7 I watched Terminator and Robocop and Aliens, and they all scared me to death and I loved them for that, so I'm of the mentality that it's okay to be scared of movies).
I've heard a lot of people found the end of ROTK moving (that line "You bow to no-one" gets a lot of plaudits), I just remember feeling "When is this going to end?". A whole cinema laughing at one line in ROTS, though? Well, that's a new one on me, I must say. Maybe the acoustics made it sound like it was more people than it truly was. I saw the movie twice at the cinema and not a titter did I hear at that scene. Just goes to show you, eh?
I agree about ROTK. I love that film, and I remember being really annoyed by the 5 endings. I still think the ending with Sam is a mistake. But nonetheless, it was a very moving cinematic experience for the majority of the audience. And with ROTS: Yeah, people laughed at "younglings", even when it was a very serious scene involving murdered children, and they laughed at the romantic dialogue too.
I wouldn't attach too much importance to the Oscars, you know, zombie. A lot of that voting is purely political. I'm not saying LOTR didn't deserve its awards - it probably did - but I think to ignore the technical achievements of the SW prequels was petty and undeserved. These are the same people who showered Titanic with awards, remember.
Sure, who cares about technicalities. The prequels got technical awards. But when you get awards for stuff like acting and directing--you may not agree with it completely, because everyone has an opinion. But I think there is some sense of consensus that you've made a decent film if that happens. No one is giving Spice World a best picture Oscar. And no one is giving Return of the King a Worst Picture Razzie. But the fact that ROTK got a best picture nod and ROTS a worst picture nod--that indicates the general reputation a film has. And when it's that extreme--the best and the worst--it tends to count a lot. People aren't idiots. If everyone is saying a film is great, it's probably worth watching at least (some exceptions given, but that's besides the point), and if people say a film is awful it probably is not all that amazing. So these are useful indicators and why I bring them up. Obviously there is no accounting for taste, but I think it's kind of cheap to say "I'M NOT CRAZY, THE REST OF YOU ARE CRAZY!". I think Temple of Doom and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull are the best Indy films, but I do recognize that everyone else thinks they are the worst, and not without good reason.