Movies Everyone Loves... But I Hate

Greetings dear readers. For today's post I want to revisit the movies. I write a lot about books, which I adore doing, but I want to make a balance regarding the topics. Therefore, today we're going on with this train. 

As you can see from the title, today's post will bring some tea, and I know many of you love the tea. Don't try to deny it, I know you do, and I am more than happy to serve that tea. 

Today I will be discussing several movies that lots of people seem to love. Some of them have become part of pop culture, and have a cult following. But for some reasons you'll read later on, I can't seem to like them no matter how hard I try. A quick disclaimer though: I do not mean to offend you or anything with this post. If by any chance you see a movie you like or love in this list, don't take it personal. After all, it's just a matter of taste. 

Without further due, let's SERVE THE TEA.

#1 The "Fantastic Beasts" Franchise 

Just... no. 

Words cannot describe how much I loathe "Fantastic Beasts". Even though I am not the biggest Harry Potter fan (if you've read my previous posts you'll know), I can appreciate Harry Potter for what it is. We can't deny the Potter magic is unlike anything else, and has a beautiful charm to it. "Fantastic Beasts" has no charm though. Instead of expanding the magical world of Potter, I just feel they ruined it. They betrayed many rules of magic previously created by Rowling herself. The characters have little to no depth and they contradict their own characterization on multiple instances. Several plot lines basically come out of nowhere, and let's not talk about how McGonagall was shown teaching at Hogwarts when the character hadn't even been born around that time. These movies are a disaster for me and I won't be watching any future installment. 

#2 "Sixteen Candles"

In case you didn't know: 
RAPE IS NOT A JOKE! 

I used to watch this movie a lot when I was kid. But when I grew up I realized there are many things that are messed up about this movie. From being racist towards Asians, to multiple rape "jokes", this movie is a mess; I don't care if it's a cult classic, it's still a mess. There is a female character, underage I must say, that is the principal victim of the disgusting rape "jokes". For instance, there's a moment when two of the male leads contemplate the possibility of raping her while she is drunk. WHAT THE HELL! I don't care that the movie was made in the 80's, rape is never funny and should never be joked about. And last, the Asian character in this movie is portrayed with many stereotypes, being shown as dumb and as a sort of "project" for the white people he lives with. 

#3 "Alice in Wonderland"- the live action version

This was even worse than "The Lion King" live remake. 

Tim Burton has made many beautiful movies, but this isn't one of them. I like the Wonderland story, from the original books to the Disney animated version. But this Tim Burton take on Alice is a big no for me. For starters, this movie is what many people call "CGI porn". Everything is done with a green screen, there are almost no real scenarios, and even most of the human characters are altered by CGI. I appreciate a lot the types of movies that actually make an effort on building and creating things that look real. "Alice in Wonderland" relies only on crappy CGI effects; they look awful. Furthermore, the characters were not the best. From the Red Queen's head being made ridiculously huge and the Hatter behaving like a creepy idiot, they all left a bad taste in my mouth- except for the Cheshire Cat and the White Queen, I liked those two.

#4 The "Chronicles of Narnia" Franchise 

James McAvoy was the only thing I enjoyed watching here. 

I won't go too deep into this one because I have written several things about Narnia in the past; if you're interested in what I had to say about it, go back to some of my previous posts. To make it simple and short: the only thing I liked about these movies was the soundtrack. That's it. Yes, the effects were good and the action sequences were decent. But knowing the story as I do, and knowing what the characters represent, I just can't get behind these movies. 

#5 "Maleficent"

I wanted EVIL.

Before you come at me with pitchforks and torches, read first. I have nothing against this movie; I believe Angelina Jolie's performance is beautiful and brilliant, Aurora was given more agency and a voice of her own (which was much needed), and the struggle between the fae and humans was done excellently in my opinion. My problem comes with the title character herself, and not because of Angelina Jolie. When I see the "Sleeping Beauty" animated version, Maleficent is presented as being the Mistress of all Evil, someone so rotten on the inside that she cursed a newborn to die out of spite- that's another level of wickedness. Therefore, I was expecting to see this evil monster take the big screen by storm. Instead, I was given an anti-hero with a sob story. Yes, I can understand her trauma and where her darkness was coming from. But I wanted to see an actual villain, not a misunderstood anti-hero. I've had enough of those stories. And don't even get me started on that sequel.

#6 "365 Days"

WHY IS THIS OKAY?????

This shouldn't come as a surprise. A lot of people have said how problematic this movie is, but then there are lots of other people who worship the story. I have nothing against the actors in the movie, but the story is so messed up. How come people are justifying and defending a story where a criminal kidnaps a woman? Since when is that romantic? I don't care two cents how handsome the actor might be, kidnapping is not romantic. He even sexually assaulted her, but there are still people who justifies this kind of behavior. It worries me how our society is normalizing abusive relationships that should never exist in the first place. And honey, if you're actually fantasizing about being kidnapped, stop doing it; most kidnapping victims suffer inhuman things, and you don't want that happening to you. 

#7 "The Kissing Booth" 

And I thought "Twilight" had the most toxic teenage boyfriends.
I was wrong. 

Yet again, another movie portraying a toxic and even violent relationship. What disturbs me the most about this movie is how many teenagers glorify its main relationship. Sweetie, if no one has ever told you then let me be the first to so: violence comes in many ways in a relationship, it isn't limited to physical assault. When someone controls you, makes a scene out of jealousy and treats you like garbage, that is violence too. The male lead was manipulating that girl, and controlling every aspect of her life. Honey, if that isn't a major red flag, then I don't know what it is. 

#8 "Finding Dory"

Find yourself and mind your own damn business. 
Bye. 

My problem with this movie is simple: it was unnecessary. I believe the story ended up pretty well in the first installment, so I don't really see the point of this sequel. It added nothing interesting for me, and it used the same formula as its predecessor: the obnoxious fish gets lost, and some others try to find it going through many obstacles to do so. For me it was as if I was watching the same movie twice. Just like "The Little Mermaid 2", this movie should not have been created. 

#9 "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle"

The cringe with this movie is real. 

Good lord... why? The first "Jumanji" was perfect. It had the correct amount of magic, drama, mystery, comedy and adventure. It was a perfect formula, plus having late Robin Williams as the main character was a great delight. It was a beautiful movie, period. But then the sequel came out... and I hated every second of it. I do get the point of turning the board game into a video game, that's not my issue. I didn't mind all the characters being sucked into this world either. But what ruined this movie for me was the tasteless humor. I hate it so much when movies use this type of over-the-top humor; they make me feel stupid. The Jumanji world according to Alan (Robin Williams) in the first movie was a scary and highly dangerous place; in the sequel, it's just another place to have an adventure with The Rock. The drama and mysteriousness that surrounds the first movie is completely gone. There were many crappy and uncomfortable jokes, and the plot was not the best. I honestly fell asleep during my first watch, and I had to see it again. 

#10 The "Step Up" Franchise 

These movies are for me the equivalent to "Fast and Furious": 
lots of show, no real plot. 

Man, where do I begin? First, the plot in these films I feel is recycled, and it's not the best. The characters are mostly teenagers full of angst and rebelliousness (they don't even look like teenagers), the adults are incompetent, and the whole franchise is ruled by one specific attitude I personally loathe: "I am better than you and everyone here, and I'm gonna prove it now." Then they proceed to make an over-sexualized dance routine where they "prove" they are "the best". Yeah... I'm not a fan of this attitude at all. It comes off as petty, self-entitled, arrogant, and out of place. 

Alright, so that would be all for today! I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post and I'll see you next week. If you liked it, leave a comment here or in my Instagram page @emabooks_stuff 

P.S I'm considering writing twice a week. Let me know if you'd like that!