Unpopular opinions go here

[Cadence]

One top critic agregated on RT disliked Strangelove...
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Strangelove Drops Controversial Bomb

Feb. 20, 1964

By Philip K. Scheuer

This will be a minority report -- critically speaking, at any rate. Before I was served up “Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb,” a publicist at Columbia, which is distributing the picture, assured me it would be my “cup of tea.” After suffering through two screenings of “Dr. Strangelove,” I would sooner drink hemlock.... To me, “Dr. Strangelove” is an evil thing about an evil thing; you will have to make up your own mind about it.

 

[Bedrockgames]

Having said that, I 100% agree with finding the critic you vibe with and following them. I noticed decades ago that Peter Travers (formerly of Rolling Stone) and I normally agree about 90% of the time. Even today, I check to see what he's said about a movie if I'm on the fence about seeing something.

One thing I learned about music critics: Robert Christgau's opinions invariably infuriate me

 

[overgeeked]

No. I have a English lit degree

Funny. Me, too.

and have read a lot of old books,

Me, too.

and Frankenstein is one of the worst.

Respectfully, that's a personal opinion hiding behind an appeal to authority. And suggestive that you need to read a lot more books. Frankenstein is an absolute classic for a reason.

 

[Micah Sweet]

But that would also be misleading because the name tells you where they are getting the idea from. And if they are calling it by that name, they probably want you to have the source material in mind when you watch it

I suspect that in many cases, what they actually want is for you to spend money on it, and connecting your story to a known popular one helps with that, never-ending how estranged from the source material.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Humor ages strangely. Personally I still find Doctor Strange Love very funny. And I still find Young Frankenstein very funny as well (which I just saw again recently for Halloween). But watching them both as I age, I can also see how the pacing of the humor, the jokes, etc are not going to land with everyone (especially younger audiences----not suggesting you are younger as I don't know your age).

Also humor is communal. I watched Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein with my wife the other day. I remember seeing it when I was younger but don't recall finding it especially funny. However something about seeing my wife's reaction to it (she thought it was hysterical) caused me to appreciate the humor and start laughing).

Comedy is also ... well, there's different types of comedy.

Dr. Strangelove is both a satire and a very dark comedy, so while there are some "LOL" moments, it's not "funny" in the sense that Airplane or Anchorman are funny.

Or take The Lobster. That's a great movie, and a comedy ... but it's not a "joke" kind of funny, instead generating comedy (or, perhaps, "comedy") from the dark tropes and absurdism.

 

[Micah Sweet]

No. I have a English lit degree and have read a lot of old books, and Frankenstein is one of the worst. Also, it is a Romantic novel, not a Victorian one. Queen Victoria won't be born EDIT: crowned for 20 years.

...ok. does correcting me make your claim less subjective?

 

[Micah Sweet]

The most important thing a role-playing game can be is fun.

True, but few things in this universe are more subjective than "fun".

 

[Micah Sweet]

I think people want Frankenstein, the novel, to be a lot better than it is.

They should be spending that time reading Dracula, which is probably better than any of the works derived from it. (And there have been a lot of them.)

Never been a fan of the "series of letters" format personally. It felt very obtrusive to me in Stoker.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

With all due respect, you may know them, but you can't get into their mind any more than I can. My impression of critics is very different here.

I actually know and talk to them about your jobs. You imagine what they're doing. And you feel this is equivalent?

I could imagine you're an anthropomorphic kangaroo typing at a keyboard. That wouldn't make my opinion comparable to someone who actually knows you.

 

[Emberashh]

Humor ages strangely. Personally I still find Doctor Strange Love very funny. And I still find Young Frankenstein very funny as well (which I just saw again recently for Halloween). But watching them both as I age, I can also see how the pacing of the humor, the jokes, etc are not going to land with everyone (especially younger audiences----not suggesting you are younger as I don't know your age).

Also humor is communal. I watched Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein with my wife the other day. I remember seeing it when I was younger but don't recall finding it especially funny. However something about seeing my wife's reaction to it (she thought it was hysterical) caused me to appreciate the humor and start laughing).

Whats peculiar is that I find a lot of old comedies funny. Arguably most of them. I enjoy the Three Stooges just as much as Abbott and Costello, and even the Marx brothers.

And while I won't claim to be well watched as far as old comedies go, I haven't really found one I don't click with other than Dr. Strangelove.

Dr. Strangelove is both a satire and a very dark comedy, so while there are some "LOL" moments, it's not "funny" in the sense that Airplane or Anchorman are funny.

I don't think its the dark nature of it. Actually I think if anything it isn't really all that dark at all.

Id have to try and watch it again to give a more indepth critique of it. Especially now I could probably better voice my issues with it than I could the last few times I gave it a go.