People Are Sharing The Oscar-Winning Films That Don't Deserve Their Academy Awards, And I Have A Feeling Some Of Y'all Are About To Get Riled Up
A while back, we rounded up movies people couldn't finish, and it turns out a LOT of people had some strong feelings on some pretty famous and award-winning films! Here are 35 Oscar-winning films people couldn't even sit through.
1.The Shawshank Redemption
"It is unnecessarily long. ... and you can figure out what’s going to happen in the first five minutes. I had to pee so bad and I kept waiting for the big exciting thing to happen, and when it was over I was like, 'I almost got a kidney infection for THIS?!?'”
2.Gone With The Wind
"I first saw it when I was very young and remembered the dresses were beautiful, but when you watch it as an adult you realize it's [a] Civil War movie about the poor, poor Southern white people. Not only does it have a revisionist 'slavery wasn't THAT bad' vibe, it's *nostalgic* about slavery and the Antebellum period of history. And let's not forget that Hattie McDaniel, who won an Oscar for her role (the first-ever Black winner of an Oscar), was not allowed to attend the movie's premiere and had to sit at a segregated table at the Academy Awards. It was a BIG movie, but that doesn't make it a GOOD movie. And this isn't just new 'woke' criticism. It was considered problematic in the 1930s when it came out."
3.Avatar
"I don't remember the name but I walked out of the movie with the blue aliens. It was just so stupid and boring, plus I saw it in 3D and that was giving me a headache. It looked cool aesthetically, but I couldn't get into the story."
"Hands down...Avatar. Worst effing movie of all time. The hype is ridiculous. OK, it has 'cool' CGI for the time but the story was stupid. Don't get me started on the piss poor acting and overzealous bad guys. Ugh. I can't hear the title of this movie without groaning."
4.The Lion King
"I remember as a kid after it came out, all my friends were saying how much they cried (I was probably 7 or 8) so I went home, watched it, and literally forced myself to cry. I really never got the hype about this movie."
5.Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood
"Just so boring! The only good scene is when Leonardo DiCaprio's character has the meltdown in his trailer."
"Awful. After an hour and 30 minutes, my brain was screaming, 'WHERE'S THE PLOT????'”
—Rachel Bennett Henry, Facebook
"Let’s be honest; Once upon a Time... In Hollywood was lame and it should have been 60 minutes shorter."
—Alvaro Rivas, Facebook
6.The Graduate
"The majority of that movie is Dustin Hoffman staring into space. I think the actual plot of that movie takes about 30 minutes, lol."
—Shannon Killian, Facebook
7.The Departed
"The Departed. Sorry, I don't get it. The ending made it all feel completely pointless. ... I think I just found it really frustrating, all that cat and mouse for it to end that way."
—Sophie Langer, Facebook
8.Forrest Gump
"I’m 29 and it was only a few weeks ago I watched it in full. I had seen bits and pieces before. I didn’t really like it; it was definitely too long, and I just couldn’t buy into the part where he keeps running and running. It wasn't a terrible movie but definitely overrated."
"Landmark technical achievements, great soundtrack, but a whole heap of ableist, sexist, Boomer navel-gazing about their generational specialness without any hint of irony. I hate the Magical Disability Trope so very, very much, and the amount of judgement the movie hurls on to Jenny, a survivor of incest and child abuse, gets sickening."
—Jennifer Joy Johnson, Facebook
9.Apocalypse Now
"Apocalypse Now is the movie that everyone seems to like and I just don't. I just don't get it."
"[I] had to watch it while studying English Lit, and while I can understand why it is considered a good story, it just doesn't really do anything for me. I can appreciate the more 'technical' aspects of it, but it doesn't change the fact that it bores me to death."
10.Dead Poets Society
"Everyone raves about that movie and how it was so sad and sweet. I was just SO bored the entire time, which was disappointing for me cause I’m a huge Robin Williams fan. I really wanted to like it, but I hated every minute of it. Total snooze fest."
11.Thelma and Louise
"I was very disappointed with Thelma and Louise. The editing is bad, the dialogue's boring, [and] the characters [are] inconsistent. I thought I was seeing a masterpiece of cinema. The absolute worst part is when the cop finally yells, 'Haven't those two women suffered enough already?' Ridiculous beyond measure and embarrassing."
—Martina Magni, Facebook
12.Inception
"Inception really is a stupid person’s idea of what an intelligent film is. It’s not very deep; it’s just not any good."
"People always think you 'don't get Inception, so that's why you don't like it.' NO. I get it. And it was dumb as hell; predictable and boring. Plus the infiltrating people's dreams trope has been done before."
13.Moulin Rouge!
"Seemingly everybody in the English-speaking world liked Moulin Rouge!, but I couldn't get through more than about twenty minutes. It was loud, garish, and just generally annoying."
—Michael Airton, Facebook
14.Lost in Translation
"There's only one that enrages me far too easily: Lost in Translation (2003), aka Sofia Coppola's insufferable, racist, and xenophobic piece of shit. I can't even discuss this film with anyone without losing my cool, so for mine and the others' sake, I ignore it altogether. I'm not bothered when the others love this film. Only as long as they don't try to insult me with their attempt to change my mind, because that's seriously the surest and fastest way to piss me off."
15.The Matrix
"I've had people tell me for years how much I would LOVE it. I've tried to watch it about five or six times and I usually fall asleep. I just can't get into it."
—Meggan Amber, Facebook
16.Training Day
"It was supremely awful. I love Denzel, but cannot possibly see how *this* is the movie that won him an Oscar. I have never finished it and I don't care."
"Why Denzel was awarded the Oscar for Training Day is beyond me; what an awful movie!"
17.La La Land
"I fell asleep partway through La La Land. Granted, I watched it on a long-haul flight, but it was just so bland, I couldn't keep my eyes open."
"It’s the same boring, tired plot about struggling artists in LA. We’ve all seen it a thousand times before; every struggling artist thinks their life would make a great movie. Also, who the fuck wants to sing about how great LA is when they’re stuck in LA traffic?"
18.Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
"I fell asleep in the middle of the first Lord of the Rings movie and didn't bother with the rest."
"My brother loves them and I have tried to watch them because of him. I usually love fantasy/sci-fi but I couldn’t even make it through the first one. I found it so boring."
19.Titanic
"I watched it once with my sister, who cried like a baby. ... I just sat there bored for two — yes, two — VHS tapes because that's how long ago I was forced to watch that awful mess of a movie. ... I've never tried to watch it again since. I even just lie to people and tell them I've never seen it to avoid the backlash, lol."
"I get a lot of flack for it, but I personally cannot stand Titanic. How is it okay to tell an entirely fictional story romanticizing the death of over 1,500 real people?"
20.The Shape of Water
"Sat through The Shape of Water on an airplane and it made the journey feel hours longer — total waste of time and attention. No idea how it got an Oscar!!"
"Weirdest movie I have ever seen, and it was cheesy too. I was over it when she pantomimed how the sea creature got an erection. I did watch the whole thing though, only because I was hoping at some point it would prove worthy of its awards. It did not. And that ending was basically a bad copy of Splash."
21.Moonlight
"Moonlight was like this for me, which was such a disappointment because everyone raved about it and it won the Oscar, so I was super excited to watch it. I normally like artsy movies like that, but this one was sooo dull. The only good part was Mahershala, but he was only in like 10 minutes of the whole movie! It was such a snooze, and I really struggled to finish it."
22.Jaws
"I find Jaws to be boring as HELL. What's so scary about one shark? It's an animal, if anything those people should've respected it and GTFO of its natural habitat. The characters are bland, it's not scary, and I just guess I see the appeal but I DON'T GET IT."
23.No Country for Old Men
"So boring and the ending is so hyped for its profundity, but I thought it was mundane. Javier Bardem’s gas station speech was delivered well, but the scene itself seemed gratuitous and unnecessary. Its only function was to give Bardem a good go at an Oscar."
"The whole movie had this mood of suffocating meaninglessness and stagnation (which I know was on purpose) that made it all very blah to watch. The themes and deeper meaning and commentary on the world were all very strong, but the story wasn't. I think what it boils down to is No Country for Old Men is a great piece of art, but not a good movie."
24.The Social Network
"Worst critically acclaimed movie in my opinion: The Social Network. Sure, the acting was well done, but it was so boring and every single person was unlikable."
25.2001: A Space Odyssey
"It was so boring! That super-dramatic music that is instantly recognizable literally played in the background of a spaceship drifting aimlessly across the screen for like 15 minutes! I'm a big sci-fi fan and I like D movies, but that was just a giant waste of time."
"It takes a full 25 minutes before the first sentence is even uttered! It is so incredibly boring. There are parts that are very visually impressive, but that's the only thing I remember liking — it is so dull and slooooooow."
—Sara Nielsen, Facebook
26.Dunkirk
"My ex-fiancé dragged me to Dunkirk. Tried to stay awake for him, because I knew he enjoyed war movies. I fell asleep 30 minutes in, and he had to shake me awake when it was over. Worst movie of my life, but one of the best naps of my life."
"I thought Dunkirk was going to be so good and the trailer sold it, but I hated it. It was super boring and there were weird transitions in time that made it hard to keep up with where we were in the plot."
27.Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
"I’m fully aware that I’m offending pretty much everyone in the world, but what can you do? I technically watched it once. I vaguely remember Obi-Wan finding Luke and them saving Leia and the whole thing. After that, I fell asleep and slept through the rest of the movie. So I tried to watch it again, at an earlier hour, so that I definitely wouldn’t fall asleep. I couldn’t sit through it. I really enjoyed the rest of the Star Wars movies, but for some reason, A New Hope is just unwatchable for me."
28.Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
"Birdman with Micheal Keaton is sooo boring. [I] kept thinking it was ending, but no. [I] almost walked out. I don't understand how it won awards."
"I feel like it was probably an actor’s movie, made by actors for actors. So, like, if you’re an actor and are in that world, you probably like it, but it’s not really for the rest of us, lol."
29.The Constant Gardener
"The Constant Gardener was awful. I tried to power through it but left the theater about 20 minutes before the end because it was so boring."
"Same. I’m a huge Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes fan, and even I can’t get through that movie."
30.Blade Runner 2049
"I walked out of the cinema after 30 minutes because I just couldn't take it. Nothing was happening, and even the amazing visuals couldn't save this movie."
31.Pulp Fiction
"Pulp Fiction is so overrated. Quentin Tarantino and Harvey Weinstein are trash people. Gratuitous violence is a cop-out. The dialogue in Quentin Tarantino movies, to me, makes it seem like he is trying too hard to be perceived smart."
"I had to watch it for a film class and was actually interested in seeing it despite hating Reservoir Dogs, but an hour in I realized how much I hated it. Boring as hell and...not a single character is likable or even interesting enough to justify all the bullshit in the plot."
32.Bombshell
"I thought it would be the true story of the scandal, and then realized Margot Robbie and Kate McKinnon's characters were completely fictional and made up. Why did they feel the need to insert a workplace sexual relationship that never existed into a film about sexual harassment? Why claim a liberal lesbian worked at Fox News? It just felt crow-barred in and nonsensical; [I] had to walk away."
33.Call Me By Your Name
"I couldn’t finish Call Me By Your Name. It made me feel physically ill, honestly ... that age gap disgusted me. The script was great, [the] acting and setting were fantastic, but it was gross."
34.Breakfast at Tiffany’s
"Hands down, one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. The plot made no sense and there were so many plot holes. The whole movie was a mess. I don’t understand why it got so much hype as a must-see classic. It was terrible."
"The racism in that movie is PROFOUND. The caricature of the Asian man (who was played by a white man) was horrific. Watching it was a very uncomfortable experience, to say the least."
35.And finally, Gravity
"I dislike a lot of Sandra Bullock's films, but this one takes the cake. it's not even a movie. It's like one scene. And sooooooo far off from reality it's not even close to plausible."
"[I] watched it in cinema with my mom and just waited for something to actually happen. Characters had no depth, I had zero emotional investment in them and the plot can be summed up in like a sentence, which usually means you should write a book for toddler, not a supposedly dark movie for adults. My mom kept insisting that it had such pretty images in it of space. My response? If you focused so much at the aesthetics, plot must've really sucked, and I find it works as a rule of thumb."
—איילת שבי, Facebook
Alright, now time for the opposite — what film 100% should've won an Oscar, but didn't? Let us know in the comments!
Submissions have been edited for length/clarity.
