Movies/Television that you liked when they were new, but you haven't rewatched since because they could be bad. List them here.

"I remember liking that thing when it came out. No I haven't watched it again..."

Of course you liked it. You couldn't stop quoting it after you saw it, but there were new things to watch. New things. Better things. More quotable things. The cast of the earlier thing did other things - some good, some garbage. Maybe a lot of garbage. You've been busy watching other things since then, and someday you'll get around to rewatching that first thing but you haven't. Because maybe decades later that thing really is garbage and you can't accept how you manage to delude yourself for so long.

Kicking this off...

Zero Effect

Northern Exposure

Twin Peaks ("Damn fine <x>" was a meme at a place where I worked at the time)

Regarding Henry

I also thought Grand Canyon was a DEEP AND MEANINGFUL movie when I was 13 or 14 but even thinking about specific parts of it now, it was a bit rub

Zero Effect definitely holds up. I rewatch it every once in a while partially because I'm consistently unsure whether it's as good as I remember. And it is.

The Mary Whitehouse Experience

There are probably bits that mostly hold up, like History Today, but most of it's snarky student humour and I'm pretty sure there are quite a few o_O bits that 25 years later look terribly dated. See also Lee & Herring's Fist of Fun - they had a whole "ha ha this show's shit really" vibe that likely undermines the whole thing now. Saying you're shit only goes so far in diverting attention away from the fact that actually you are a bit shit.
See also The Goodies, a show that I loved as a young kid, although I know for certain that there are plenty of o________O bits in it. Such as Tim Brooke-Taylor in blackface in one episode.

I enjoyed The Rock when I saw it during its theatrical run, but the stench of Michael Bay has me afraid to ever revisit it.

Did this with Danger Mouse. Shouldn't have.

Night Court

Eurotrash

liked (the movie) fearless a lot when it came out; 20 years later it was a letdown. good gorecki tho

Did this with Danger Mouse. Shouldn't have.

Ⓓⓡ. (Johnny Fever) wrote this at 2015-10-25 01:32:41.000

Yeah, someone recommended this as enjoyable children's fare on the Netflix thread. I test screened it on myself before sharing it with the kiddos and rapidly abandoned ship.

I enjoyed The Rock when I saw it during its theatrical run, but the stench of Michael Bay has me afraid to ever revisit it.

^^^

The Banana Splits

hate to say it, but daria

Been afraid to rewatch Daria for precisely this reason. Loved it lots during the day - am afraid the last season may be clumsier than I remember it being.

Yes,the banana splits.

I got the double dvd box, Amber and Alice (and I) lasted two episodes.

They are soo samey, and the acting in Danger Island is embarrassing.

I think you have to see each one a week apart to even begin to bear it.

Also, no "Uh oh, Jungle" for some reason.

The goodies had some "oo-er" moments, but it mostly holds up ok.

hate to say it, but daria

― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Thursday, October 29, 2015 12:12 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Been afraid to rewatch Daria for precisely this reason. Loved it lots during the day - am afraid the last season may be clumsier than I remember it being.

― Elvis Telecom, Sunday, November 1, 2015 4:40 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I recently rewatched Daria. While it's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, I was definitely let down and wish i would have let it live on in my memories.

Eurotrash

― "Tell them I'm in a meeting purlease" (snoball), Wednesday, October 28, 2015 6:46 PM (7 months ago)

The new show that was just on Channel 4 was bad. It was like the 90s hadn't ended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D4UShuRUaw

Wild Things

Wild Things is still a fun trashy romp IMO

I really enjoyed the new Eurotrash in a I've drunk two beers and half s bottle of red wine, lets shamelessly wallow on nostalgia kind of way.

Haven't rewatched in the last ten years, but Wild Things definitely knows what it is and gets the tone right. Not just the best McNaughton/Murray collab, probably the best McNaughton film overall

Jamie & The Magic Torch - probably isn't as good as I remember now that I'm no longer a four year old on sugar and tartrazine.

The Hair Bear Bunch

Six Feet Under

Basically every single thing I enjoyed between the ages of 14 and 20

I saw an article the other day about how Donnie Darko is getting a new UK theatrical release and realised that I haven't seen it since 2002 when I was 16. can anyone who has seen it more recently confirm whether it is good (like I thought it was when I was 16) or bad (like I suspect it actually is)?

Rewatched it a few week ago. It's both! But still ultimately really good and worthwhile imo. Probably avoid the director's cut.

I also thought Grand Canyon was a DEEP AND MEANINGFUL movie when I was 13 or 14 but even thinking about specific parts of it now, it was a bit rub

tried to stream this recently and hoo boy

also strongly recommend not re-watching The Burbs

The Kenny Everett show/video casette. Lord that was worse than I ever recall as a kid.

Donnie Darko directors cut was so bad that I never took the regular cut DVD out of shrinkwrap

(bought the DVD before the directors cut came out in cinema)

Haven't rewatched the Mary Whitehouse Experience, have reread bits of the 'encyclopedia' that they published (and I loved) - it's not good. But to be honest I and the world have moved on and that is good.

Someone tell me The Day Today is still good*? I can reciprocate by confirming that Father Ted is still fantastic (if occasionally overtaken by history - hard not to watch the piss-taking of Sinead O'Connor without remembering that she was right all along).

*inevitably followed by someone telling me that On The Hour is better.

My take on Donnie Darko was that it was a great teen movie, but a bad sci-fi movie. But I don't think that I've seen it since the mid-2000s, so maybe it's just bad at both. Director's cut definitely hellish.

also strongly recommend not re-watching The Burbs

― it me, Thursday, November 3, 2016 3:49 AM (eight hours ago)

I caught this on TV not too long ago and still really enjoyed it. I was incredibly hungover, though, and I think Joe Dante films are basically perfect 'hungover on a Sunday afternoon' films.

My own version of this was that I hadn't re-watched Ghostwatch since I'd seen it on telly during original broadcast when I was a little kid. Was very worried that it wouldn't be good at all. But! Finally watched it this Halloween and although there are cringe-making bits, those are perfectly in-character w/ its pretence at live TV, the ending is still beautiful, and the little easter eggs were fantastic.

I wish to god I'd seen Ghostwatch as a kid! And as a British kid specifically, as I feel that some of the impact was diminished by my 'Murican lack of familiarity with the presenters.

Ah man, I loved the Burbs.

Ghostwatch seconded, saw it on Halloween a decade ago in the pub on the corner of Steine St.

I think I need to take the full plunge into Dante's filmography. I love everything of his that I've seen (and just recently saw his '80s Twilight Zone episode, which I realized as I watched may have been the source of some buried childhood trauma). Shame that he just seems to be directing shitty tv shows these days.

I'm curious to know if The Peanut Butter Solution is as weird and creepy as it seemed when I was young, but I strongly suspect that it isn't.

The Day Today is still great.

ty sic

Vic Reeves' Big Night Out (Smell of Reeves & Mortimer too although I have rewatched the odd sketch e.g. Masterchef which was still great)

I usually don't get that surprised by rewatches and I don't think there's any tv or film I'd be scared to revisit but I do find that videogames are some of the most likely things to have lost their appeal for me.

I just know from memory that things like Street Fighter animated and Devilman are going to be way sillier than they seemed as a teenager.

In the sff fiction community, the term "suck fairy" became popular, like "this book used to be amazing but the suck fairy changed it and now it's shit".

I love Joe Dante, but I don't remember thinking The Burbs was very good even when I was 10.

Burbs isn't a great movie, but it's likable. I still enjoy it.

Donnie Darko was good upon release and is still good; classic movie.

lol INXS attempting to invent Coldplay is in no way an improvement

― sad, hombres (sic), Friday, 4 November 2016 06:29 (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I could probably get with all of the terrible intertitles if it hadn't put me off upfront by dumping The Killing Moon for fuckwit rock radio's NO REPEAT TUESDAY piss-break track of choice tbf

― sad, hombres (sic), Friday, 4 November 2016 06:32 (three hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yes, but, Echo & the BUNNYMEN. Get it?

I like Chappelle but I always thought his Show was way overrated. Feel like this holds true for a number of feted Comedy Central shows.

yeah definitely. rewatching it now all I can think about is 1) how many of these references are 2003-2004 specific and 2) how little content there is per episode. two or three 4-minute sketches, a ton of commercials, and a musical break

on the other hand I recently started rewatching The Critic (they're all on YouTube) which I loved as a kid and was surprised to find it's actually still quite funny, like maybe 80% as good as classic Simpsons

'green pea-ness'

the fifth element

Everything that doesn't involve Chris Tucker is still A+

Chris Tucker is not only one of the best things about The Fifth Element, it's the only thing he's ever been good in.

He was OK in his tiny part in Jackie Brown.

Recently heard about him being really good in a few things but can't remember what

Fifth Element has aged really well, better than most sci-fi from that period - partly because of all the goofy stuff.

no seriously the adobe flash overlays of the time travel book in the donnie darko director's cut are so, so awful. kelly's movies are better the less sense they make (cannes cut of southland tales is kinda boring and overwrought, the theatrical cut is thrillingly inexplicable)

both Bill & Ted movies are timeless classics that will never age.

i tried watching Brak recently and I couldn't get into it and it kinda bummed me out :(

Don't feel bad, Brak Show (and pretty much all original adult swim stuff) is... acquired taste to be kind

some kind definitely helps

Never watched The Brak Show but Brak on Cartoon Planet is still brilliant and wonderful.

Thought this revive was because of the trailer of Trainspotting 2 coming out! Seen the first one approx ten thousand times right after it came out, but never saw it again. 2 looks exactly like the first one, in the trailer at least.

loved Trainspotting in college, thought for sure it was the best and most realistic drug movie of the era (over say Blow and Requiem), probably watched it 8-9 times, influenced me more than I want to admit

watched it again last year and it depressed the shit out of me. life has changed a lot for me, both in becoming a father and having one of my best friends dying of an overdose, which made so many of the edgier parts of the movie just feel excruciating

still gonna be seeing the sequel though

i rewatched "Hackers" with some friends on vacation last year, and it should have been so awesome, but it was actually kind of a letdown. this really stunned me as i remember being so into that movie in HS.

Saw the original when it came out, have never watched it again. Based on the trailer, I have zero interest in the sequel.

Trainspotting is great and the sequel looks up to scratch

Hackers was always terrible! HACK THE PLANET

but the rollerblading cyberpunk Angelina Jolie

One of the things I love about Hackers is that my three year old smartphone is more powerful than Jolie's hand built super rig in the movie.

the many Lost Boys mentions are humorous to me - so many different ppl have tried to get me to watch that at least a dozen times over the years and I *always* fall asleep, it is so boring after the first 10 minutes or so. As far as the two Coreys movies go, they have other stuff that is way more fun to hatewatch/enjoy on a camp level.

the UI in hackers was so sick.

curious about what ppl liked abt daria thats changed?

― just sayin, Friday, November 4, 2016 2:13 AM (nine hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

For me, the writing just seemed less sharp than it did when I was younger. A lot of Daria's cracks felt really labored to me as an adult, and you can feel the writers really straining to make them work some of the time. That said, there were certain things I appreciated more watching as an adult--the way relationships change across the series, how the Daria-Tom relationship plays out, and every appearance of Daria's dad.

The only pleasant surprises during my rewatch of Lost Boys were a) realizing that Richard Gilmore played the head vampire (had no idea who Edward Herrmann was back in the day) and b) the oiled saxophonist (which I'd seen in gif form but totally didn't realize came from this movie).

I get why people champion Daria the character but I always thought Daria the show was lame and a pale shadow of its mighty forebear (which, I might add, holds up amazingly well).

My teenage self was blown away by Angel Heart (and somewhat smitten with Lisa Bonet) but I've always been scared to watch it again now.

it's gotta be real bad. real bad

I saw Hackers for the first time last year (at a 20th anniversary screening introduced by Matthew Lillard) and loved it, but was glad I'd avoided it in 1995 on the grounds that it looked terrible then

Ferris Bueller, obv.

Ferris Beuller is reactionary garbage

I root for the Dean. Seriously, just fucking sit through class and wait for the weekend already.

Oh, he was the best thing in it, yeah

skipping class is fun, i really don't route for the dean. ferris is a dickhole tho, and his popularity is not really explained sufficiently

Pure real-life Wile-E-Coyote.

Anyway, moving on...

On a different tack, I was just thinking about a film I saw on late-night Channel 4 in the mid 90s. It's called "Paris, France" and preliminary searches reveal it to have been marketed as a sex-thriller-comedy, though I remember it being a perverse and bizarre arthouse film. It has a horrible poster / DVD box and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB are mixed to say the least. But I have a feeling that it might still be brilliant, a feeling I'm a bit hesitant to test.

Whatever issue I might have with Ferris Bueller, I think it is far better than The Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles.

they're all bad in different ways tbh

watching old stuff with my kids is eye-opening because apparently 99% of everything i watched as a kid was completely sexist and racist.

lol now u r old

Yeah, I sort of liveblogged watching "Help" with Amber and Alice, on here, quite a long time ago now.

I liked "Club Paradise" when it was new. Jimmy Cliff, Peter O'Toole, Elvis Costello. I saw it pop up on Netflix or someplace but I suspect if I watched it now I would be disappointed.

I remember Dark City being cool, but always just backed off rewatching it, just in case its totally spoiled.

Cool World was kinda ok on a second watch, but only cause its always going to be the Rolling Stones to Roger Rabbits Beatles.

Night On Earth?

still great.

Short Circuit

I'm afraid of rewatching Before Sunrise (which I haven't seen since the '90s) because of this. The sequel, which was fine in itself, already ruined the open ending of the first movie (never gonna watch the third one), and I don't want to find out the magic has disappeared from the rest of it too.