James Berardinelli's 5 Most Overrated Films of the Year
http://www.reelviews.net/reelthoughts/reelthought_1514729800
Once more unto the breach, dear friends...one last time looking back through the haze of the fast-departing year. One final list before turning my attention to the bleak tundra of January and February's films.share
Everyone has their own idea of what constitutes "overrated." For me, it's a film that, regardless of whether I liked it or not, has been over-praised in the general conversation, often by my fellow critics. This year, I decided to pick through the debris of the releases and select the five titles I felt were lauded far beyond what they deserved. As with any list, this is highly subjective. You may agree or disagree. You may think I'm out to lunch on all five choices. You may believe my #1 film of the year, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri belongs on an "overrated" list. The intent of a list like this (any list, really) isn't to provide a definitive roster of titles but to provoke rumination and discussion. Rather than discussing the merits of the films on this list, I'll provide a short explanation of why I think they're overrated. Some of the reasons may irk those with a PC-oriented mindset. I don't have sacred cows, except maybe Luke Skywalker. These are alphabetical, not ranked numerically.
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Phantom Thread: (Rating: Three out of four stars.) It stars Daniel Day-Lewis (in his last performance) and was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Those qualifications alone seems to have been enough to give some critics orgasms. Yes, those two are good and, once the movie gets going, it's creepily effective, but it takes forever to get to that point. Calling this a "masterpiece" is hyperbole. There was a time when (in the minds of some) Woody Allen could do no wrong and every film he made was hailed as the work of a genius. How many of those assessments have held up over the years? I'm not saying Anderson is Allen but, c'mon, this doesn't hold a candle to his best work and, while Day-Lewis gives an honorable performance on his way out the Hollywood door, he too has done better.