SURVEY SAYS – What’s Your Best and Worst Flick Pick?

February 4, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – This week we got to see lists that purport to showcase the best (the Oscars) and the worst (the Razzies) in cinema.

This week I asked readers which they had seen more of – and asked what they thought of the expanded list of “Best Picture” candidates. 

Best, Pictured

First, I asked readers to list which of the films nominated for Oscar’s Best Picture award they had seen, and the top pick was “Up”, cited by more than half (51.%) of this week’s respondents.  Based on reader responses, it seemed to stand out in two ways; first, it was suitable for kids (at least in terms of ratings – but was it just me, or were there a lot of fairly depressing angles for a cartoon) – and, as a number of readers with kids mentioned, that’s the only kind of movie they can get out to.  Secondly, it has already been released on DVD, so even those who have trouble making it out to a show have had a chance to see it (as one reader explained, “single mom – no time for going to the movies – if it’s not rentable – I haven’t seen it!”  Another reader noted, “Unless it’s a treat for our children, we normally wait until the video comes out. With $10 tickets and as much again in snacks it’s much more affordable to watch the video again and again in the comfort of our own home.”).

Second-most cited (and, based on the comments, most popular) was “The Blind Side,” cited by 37.8%, followed by “Avatar” (31.1%), and the HR-themed (or were you just going to see George Clooney) “Up in the Air,” noted by 29.4%.

The rest of the list looked like this:

20.2% – Inglourious Basterds

15.1% – District 9

10.1% – The Hurt Locker

3.4% – Precious

3.4% – A Serious Man

2.5% – An Education

I also asked readers to weigh in on THEIR choice for Best Picture, whether it was on the “Best Picture” list or not.  That said, the clear winner among readers was “Avatar”, though “The Blind Side” was close behind, and “The Hurt Locker” stood out as well.

As for movies that stood out, but were NOT on the Oscars list, most cited were Star Trek”, “Julie & Julia”, “It’s Complicated” and “New Moon.”  Among the movies that stood out in a bad way – “District 9” drew a surprising (to me, anyway) number of negative responses.

“Razz” Buries?

On the Razzie front, the most seen was “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”, cited by a full 56.3% of this week’s respondents.  Just over a quarter (27.2%) had seen the Sandra Bullock-as-stalker flick “All About Steve”, while 22.9% had checked out “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.”  Rounding out the top, er bottom 5 were “Land of the Lost” (20.8%) and “Old Dogs” (12.5%).

I also asked readers if they had seen any movie that was worse than those put forward by the Razzies – and there were a few:

THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS

District 9 is the worst movie ever!  I cannot believe that anyone even remotely thought it deserved to be nominated for any award, let alone Best Picture

That left wing propaganda flick Avatar.

Fortunately, no.

Avatar

No Country for Old Men

Haven't seen any yet, but I have two DVDs at home (All about Steve and Transformers) just waiting to be seen.   I love Sandra Bullock.

Not only have I not seen these, I haven't even HEARD of them! I'm stubbornly out of touch with pop culture and proud of it.

Saw none, plan to see none.

Paranormal Activity

Nope.

I liked Old Dogs - should I be admitting that in public?

Daybreakers

District 9

Haven't seen any bad movies this year

Twilight-New Moon

Inglorious Basterds

No - I'm very picky about the movies I see!  I'm appalled by some of the crap out there!

Blind Side

Up

Was Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs nominated? I saw that!

Echelon Conspiracy - saw it last night. Had a rating of B- on redbox. HA! How I have no idea. It sucked something HORRIFIC!!!

District 9!

Gamer was really bad!!!

Couples Retreat

Nothing could be worse than Transformers.  Well maybe Old Dogs but I knew better than to see it.

Though it's several years old, Donnie Darko has topped this list for me ever since I saw it!  I just don't see how it could get any worse!?

District 9 - by far the oddest & dumbest movie

More of “Less”?

And then, of course, having worked out way through both the best – and worst – that the movies had to offer – but realizing that what’s “best” and what’s “worst” is often a matter of personal taste, I asked readers which category they had seen more in.

A plurality (38.8%) had seen more Oscar nominees than Razzies, though nearly as many – 34.9% - said they had seen none of the Oscars OR Razzies.  The rest were pretty spread out; 7.9% having seen the same number in each category, 6.6% had seen more Oscars, but only because there were twice as many in that category, roughly 6% had seen WAY more Oscar nominees, but nearly 5% said they had seen more Razzies (just 1.3% said they had seen LOTS more Razzies, however).

There were a lot of fun verbatim comments this week – and I’ve presented some of them on the pages that follow.  I found the comments about Transformers to be kind of fun (several seemed stunned that it was on the Razzie list, but just as many said that, while they had technically started watching the movie, they hadn’t been able to finish it (at least not awake).  Ditto “Avatar”, which though it drew some very favorable comments about its effects, drew its fair share of criticism about its plot (or lack thereof). 

Among my favorites:

Out of all the movies listed I've seen a grand total of one.  Good grief!  I need to get a life.

Since I haven't seen any movie except the Princess & the Frog... I have no comment!

I only saw Land of the Lost while stuck on a transatlantic flight.  For some cosmic reason, every Will Farrell movie is played on every transatlantic flight I have been on, and I have seen way too many of them.   His movies should take the Lifetime Achievement Razzie.....

How about "The Hangover"?  Sorry - is this a question better asked the day after the Super Bowl?

I feel so old...I can't seem to sit all the way through a movie without falling asleep.  Thank goodness for DVRs!

I cannot believe that I did not see one movie last year!?  How did that happen?!  UGH too much work...

I almost went to see the Blind Side.  I've got to get out more.

But this week’s Editor’s Choice goes to the reader who said:  “America: Keep going to movies; my daughter works for Dreamworks Animation.”

Thanks to everyone who participated in our survey!

Not a good year for movies for me.  Most didn't interest us at all.

What's a 'movie'?

Rarely go to the movies anymore...cost vs. quality, difference in what I think entertainment is, different moral beliefs from Hollywood, etc. etc.  Fortunately, I still have TCM and DVDs where I can see real motion picture entertainment and real actors and directors who used human emotion and relationships and didn't rely primarily on special effects and shock value to draw an audience.

I don't get out to the movies very often so I only saw 1 on either list.  At least it was on the Oscar list.  I tend to see more kids movies than anything else.

Saw none of these, plan to see none.

Sorry, I only watched 3 movies all last year.  Haven't seen any of them as yet; but, as soon as they're DVD'd, I'll rent 'em on Netflix . . .

I can't comment since I didn't see any of the choices.

I certainly would not pick Inglourious Basterds.  I shudder to think that there will be people who actually think that Hitler and his henchmen died in a movie theater.  I can understand taking some liberties with historical fact but this movie went way over the line.

I enjoyed It's Complicated more than anything this year, but it was not nominated.  My second choice is Inglourious Basterds.

I haven't seen any of them. I guess I'm much more about inclined toward fun movies than Oscar winners.

I haven't seen as many movies as I'd like in a while, but I loved Sherlock.

I haven't seen enough movies to even make a pick.

I'm embarrassed to say I haven't seen any of the movies but I actually read the book that Precious was based on, pre kids of course.

The only in-theater movie I have seen in the last 12 months was Star Trek and I enjoyed it.

Have not seen any of the Best pictures and other and Inglorious Bastards, not sure I want to.  I did enjoy Transformers and GI Joe.  I thought both were good clean fun.

This year, I am surprised that I have actually seen more Oscar Nominees and am actually considering watching the awards.   Usually I am way ahead on the Razzie List.  Perhaps the academy has finally realized that the public does not want to watch a show that gives out awards for movies that the vast majority has not seen.

We gave up TV in our household last year and wow, what a difference. We have no clue what's playing at the movies anymore. It's all garbage anyway. Hollywood lost my business years ago.

Unless its a treat for our children, we normally wait until the video comes out.  With $10 tickets and as much again in snacks its much more affordable to watch the video again and again in the comfort of our own home.

In a comment to the Razzie's question, I actually didn't watch the whole Transformers.  We turned it off about 30 minutes in and returned it to the video store unwatched.

Haven't seen too many movies this year as our budget has been impacted like everyone else's, so haven't spent any money on anything that I didn't expect to be good...

Not being an avid movie goer/watcher and with three children, the only movies I see are kids movies. That's the only reason I've seen any movies on either list. I haven't seen enough movies in the past year to even give a suggestion on the best/worst.

Only because Avatar is on the list!  I'm not sure why it's on the list, phenomenal special effects and I really enjoyed the movie, but come on... simplistic plot... are we voting for best picture based on special effects now??

I go to the movies as often as the Bears play in the Super Bowl.

I thought GI Joe and Transformers were fun and entertaining why would they be put on Razzie List - I think Up in the Air should be top of razzie list - all in the eye of beholder???

Hey!  I liked Transformers!!!

I only saw Land of the Lost while stuck on a transatlantic flight.  For some cosmic reason, every Will Farrell movie is played on every transatlantic flight I have been on, and I have seen way too many of them.   His movies should take the Lifetime Achievement Razzie.....

I can't believe I've seen neither the Tarantino or the Coen Brother's opi

I don't really care which movie wins.  I can wait until they arrive at the Redbox when I can watch them for a buck

Who has time for movies?

I feel so old...I can't seem to sit all the way through a movie without falling asleep.  Thank goodness for DVRs!

Before kids, my friends and I would do a marathon Oscar weekend and we would go see all the best picture nominees. Now, I'm lucky to catch something OnDemand or on Netflix.  Otherwise, if it's not rated G, it's not on my radar screen.

WHAT?!! WHAT???!!!!!! Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a RAZZIE!!!?????? Oh 'h-e-double hockey sticks' no!!!!! That should be up in the BEST list!!!!!

I cannot believe that I did not see one movie last year!?  How did that happen?!  UGH too much work...

I almost went to see the Blind Side.  I've got to get out more.

DON'T DO MOVIES

I've only seen District 9, which I hated.

The only reason I've seen more Oscar nominees is because one of them is a movie I can take my children to.  It's been too long since I've gone to a "grown up" movie!

I read reviews so usually manage to avoid the razzie type movies.

I checked that I've seen Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as the only movie I've seen in the Razzie nominee bonus survey.  Does it count if I fell asleep about 10 minutes in??

Only saw It's Complicated and that was mildly entertaining.  It sort of made me think twice about going to see another film anytime soon.

Only seen one movie mentioned, so not really a big difference.

How about "The Hangover"?  Sorry - is this a question better asked the day after the Super Bowl?

It's interesting to me that over the past few years, the films nominated for Best Picture seem to be primarily indy films, messge movies, and other non-mainstream flicks that most people in my circle of people I thought were intelligent like me just don't go to see.  Maybe the Academy in its infinite wisdom is simply smarter than all of us.  Or maybe we're just getting dumber as we get older.  Or maybe we simply have far too much stress during the day to see anything heavier than "It's Complicated" in our freetime!

I typically find that most Oscar nominated movies end up as the most boring or uninteresting movies. I am usually not interested in watching the movie either at the theatre or on DVD.  Sometimes I think that these type of movies only are talked about because of the nomination and not the content. Movies that I often enjoy tend to be void of nominations.  Is it me or those who nominate?

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