I don’t like films with “agendas” -even if it’s in support of a viewpoint I might otherwise agree with. At least not an agenda that must be conformed to in order to appreciate the tale at hand. If I want to be preached at I’ll go to church. I don’t think any “art” (and by that I do include “entertainment”) should have any leaning bias.

Viewers should be free to form their own conclusions and opinions -not have it forced upon them.

Pleasantville is an example off the top of my head.
It’s black & white and slowly goes into colour as characters develop less “50s strict” lifestyles and learn to live in increasingly more liberal ways.

I believe the ideology of that movie has been remade a few times. ‘Chocolat’ is the same story from what I recall, this time using chocolate instead of colour. There have been others before and since -on both sides of the left/right wing agenda

Michael Moore films are basically a list of things Michael Moore believes are right (or ‘right on’) and anyone who disagrees with any part of the list is wronger than Wrongy Wrong McWrong… and here’s a stoopid 5 minute clip that shows people with that viewpoint making a mess while trying to eat chicken. *CLEARLY* they’re wrong!

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Ratatouille and everything by Brad I-can-do-no-wrong Bird is nothing short of a rant (yes I see the irony, but I’m not making a movie here).

Ratatouille: “If you say anything bad about this movie you are an idiot. Nyeh nyeh nyeh nyeh!”

The Iron Giant: NRA-funded? “It’s right to carry guns as long as we’re nice.”

The Incredibles: “You want originality?? …What are you a communist!?” (to be honest I’d have to watch it again to go over what I hated about it, but I’m not going to, so there!)

I was debating with myself as to whether I’d go see Inglorious Basterds (sic), because I think Quentin Tarantino can be a great director, but has been given a rope longer than he needed to hang himself with. And he has.

Kill Bill 1 was a bit of a director’s mess -everything stylewise overbaked. But Kill Bill 2 was one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen -everybody just yabbered on and on and on and on. And on. And on. And on.

And on. But it didn’t matter who said what because they all spoke only Tarantino. And nobody speaks like that, or actually hails it as anything worthwhile, except QT. I gave Death Proof a miss and I’m glad I did.

IB looks like it could be good, but apart from the above ‘problem’ I also don’t like the whole “gonna get us some Nazi scalps” philosophy. I think US cinema on the whole needs to grow up a little. I say that as an avid US movie fan. My whole movie viewing life has been dominated by US films even if I do also watch movies from other places.

But why can’t people actually go to PRISON in US movies? Ever!?
Don’t they believe in the justice system in that country? Why does there HAVE to be the whole personal retribution and revenge climax to every single movie that has a character who does something bad?

Even when this is not the case, the movie is hailed as great BECAUSE of this simple dose of reality. …You mean the baddies went to JAIL!? Gee wiz that’s amazing! (I could mention the name of the 2008/2009 movie I’m thinking of there, but that would spoil it a little bit for some people)

Another movie with an agenda of a different kind is Million Dollar Baby. Two-dimensional stereotypes dance around the canvas until the agenda plants the knockout blow. Baloney.

(I do love a lot of Clint Eastwood movies by the way. I’m not making a personal attack here.)

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Dexter is not a movie (yet), but it’s a pretty successful TV series. I refuse to watch it because of its philosophy: “It’s OK to kill -and to serially kill- and to do it in grotesque ways, if you only kill baddies.”

I did see one episode and I admit it was well written -and it doesn’t actually “state” that Dexter is a good guy, but yet one needs to actually empathise somewhat with the character and to care what happens to him and to feel like certain other characters SHOULD die in order to make it possible to watch. I have absolutely ZERO wish to empathise with a serial killer -or even to share a moment or a thought with them and I find it disgusting that so many people don’t see it that way.
For that reason I won’t watch Dexter.

Of course an argument could be made along the same lines concerning The Sopranos, but that would not hold up -The Sopranos might involve killers and psychos, but it was never about their murders nor did it seek to justify their murders or lifestyles.

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I believe “art” should present a story or a seed of a thought and allow the audience/ viewer/ listener to form their own views around it rather than have the whole thing prepackaged in a way that requires no thought afterwards. What’s to think about? The good guys won. The baddies lost. End of.

I could give more examples – hell most mainstream english-language movies are in this boat I would say (to some extent) but that doesn’t excuse them in my book.

I think I’ve said enough. Please don’t take it personally if I’ve ripped on a favourite of yours. I’ve just sought to explain what I dislike in movies and why. I’m open to hearing other opinions and reasons to like this type of movie too, if you have any. ?