Films you couldn't bear to finish watching

Everyone probably has a movie that they just couldnt stomach watching to completion. Whether it was too scary, too stupid, too intense or just too damn lousy. What film have you just had to turn off and leave unfinished?

Mine? Tonight I watched "Million Dollar Baby" for the first time. I know its a few years old, but I just never got around to seeing it and, as I have a lot of respect for Clint Eastwood and his latest films, I rented it tonight. Well, without giving any spoilers, when the "tragedy" hit, I watched about another 15 minutes and then had to turn it off. What started off a a nice little sports film suddenly turned into a horror story from the pages of the Daily News. Bleech. Just too much of a downer to make me want to finish watching it. It made "Brian's Song" feel like "The Sound of Music" in comparison. Hospitals in general depress me and I just couldn't go on watching this one.

 

Manipulative and pandering, that one.

 

Crash

Didn't care about the characters or the story. Stayed at least 1/3 of the way into it and walked out.

 

Actually I liked Million Dollar Baby a lot - great performances IMO.

But with Transcendence, I couldn't make it halfway - really, really stupid.
Also Prometheus, for the same reason.

 

12 YEARS A SLAVE. Too many scenes of dull pretentious staring into nothing by Chiwetel Ejiofor and a story filled with one cliche after another. Get me outta here!

 

Noah
The Ghastly Ones
Soldier Blue
The Hotel New Hampshire
Moulin Rouge
Dogville

 

Which one, the David Cronenberg or Paul Haggis version? Both have their share of enemies.

 

Human Centipede

 

The English Patient (before Elaine Benez) and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

 

I must hate myself. I nearly always hold out until the bitter end.

The only movie I recall walking out on was The Slugger's Wife, and that was because I was with my grandmother who thought it was far too smutty.

I remember now!

Lake of Fire.

I saw this during a hot summer in a highly conservative city, and after about thirty minutes, a creepy guy entered the theater with a trench coat. He kept his hand inside the coat and simply stood at the back of the theater. After he stood there about ten minutes, the guy worried me, and I decided to leave.

I guess he didn't shoot up the place, or else I would have seen that on the news, but the man gave me an evil vibe.

So, nothing to do with the movie, then, aside from the subject matter perhaps making me a bit more cautious than I need have been...

If the aforementioned Crash wasn't up for so many Oscars, I might have abandoned it, especially after the kid/gun scene (vague enough not to spoil). I was watching it on video the day of the ceremony, and it was the only one I needed to see to have caught all the nominees in the major categories.

Shalom, y'all!

L. Bangs

 

The Romeo & Juliet with DiCaprio
Moulin Rouge
The Big Chill
Inland Empire (I may have made it through this one, but can't totally remember)

Afternoon Delight (I did finish this one, but the ending was so bad that I wish I hadn't)

 

Paul Haggis.

Another vote for Dogvlle, plus Moulin Rouge and Napoleon Dynamite (all on DVD)

 

When Ewan Macgregor started singing "The Sound of Music" I was ready to put on my coat and hit the exit, but I stuck around and was ultimately glad I did. Not a fantastic movie, but an entertaining enough piece of excessiveness.

I've never actually walked out of a movie, but a couple of other ones where I almost walked but stuck around to see how bad they could get were Highway of Heartache and Four Rooms. The latter was a particular letdown given the talent involved,but I guess they were all on autopilot or drugs or something.

 

I think the only film I ever walked out on in the theater was Wildcats with Goldie Hawn when I was in high school. But that was because my date wanted to go make out, so...

I have since turned off many movies that I was watching at home, too many to count really. I find that I have far less patience when watching at home seeing as how I didn't just plunk down $25 for my wife and I to watch something there...

 

Freaks
Twister
Napoleon Dynamite
Godzilla...w/M. Broderick

 

Avatar: Juvenile, pretentious, overrated crap.
Black Swan: What the hell was that?
A Serbian Film: For obvious reasons.

 

The only two movies I can remember not finishing are Do The Right Thing, and Summer of Sam. Was just completely bored by both.

 

Slumdog Millionaire

 

I can't watch "Black Hawk Down".

 

For some inexplicable reason Spike Lee has beautiful, natural endings in his films and decides to plow on for another half hour or so past that point.

 

A recent one for me was "Before Midnight" with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The non-stop dialogue and ultra-irritating characters meant I couldn't watch for more than 15 minutes.

 

Too many to list and most titles I can't remember. I do remember saying to myself 'Glad I didn't pay to see that movie' many, many times.

 

"Moonrise Kingdom" was the most recent one for me.

 

I may have forgotten a few, but these are films I paid to see at the theater and walked out on:

Hardly Working
Jaws 3-D
Ernest Goes To Camp
Mr. Saturday Night
Primary Colors
Traffic
Rocky and Bullwinkle

 

Alphaville.
I know, it's supposed to be a classic and revered by many a film maker, artist and aficionado, but I just can't tolerate that guy's voice.

If ever there was a case for dubbing a classic avant garde French film, this would be it.