E.T. and Close Encounters - Overrated, or am I just missing something?

I agree w/you re: Spielberg, for the very reasons you stated.

About E.T. and Close Encounters, I've never gotten all of the love and accolades that the latter gets. It's not a bad movie, but it's nothing special IMO. But E.T. is the epitome of movie magic to me.

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A journey into the realm of the obscure: http://saturdayshowcase.blogspot.com/

First of all, E.T. is definitely a children's film (although at 31 I still get a lot of joy from watching it). And yes, it does have flaws that are visible to educated adults and the plot is fairly predictable.

However, other films I used to love as a child and even more recent films which I truly enjoy - Superman, Independence Day, The Matrix, Terminator 2 to name a few, contain magic, implausible events or sequences that could just never happen to me personally, that ultimately restricts them to being just movies.

But, the chance, however remote, for me (or more likely somebody else) to one day experience a close encounter with an intelligent life form from another planet... Is that so impossible?

Surely an experience like that would cause anybody to revert to their inner child and this movie is the closest thing to that experience I will probably ever have. It truly makes me feel ten years old again when I watch it.

I don't think you're serious.

ET is an extremely well made version of what its supposed to be. For those it connects with its far more emotionally moving than most average children's movies. Its also a fantastically made film with great cinematography, great visual style and symbols and themes and it has a fun pace.

I don't much care for overly intense plot analysis in this type of film and instead prefer to focus on how strong the craft of the visual elements are. If you watch the non-CGI touched version you can also see the brilliant ways that you can shoot around a puppet's limitations and use it to create more tension.

But overall frankly its a pretty emotionally intense film and it has a good ethical core so its not just vapid. I mean for a kids film its got a lot of civil disobedience and that whole scene where they come and take over their house is pretty authoritarian. Its not something that just leaves a kid without any impressions. Its got potency while still retaining some light hearted stuff. Its also got enough good cultural references to keep the adults interested too.

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I like to get loaded and watch Deadwood.

They may just not be to your taste. I think they're both very emotionally resonant movies that push all the right buttons. They're exceptionally well made; just compare them to other movies of their type released in the same time period. When CE came out, nobody had seen anything quite like that before. It was truly new. And E.T. perfectly captured the fairy tale qualities of childhood. I was 13 when it was released, and it was exactly what I needed to see - it was a film that spoke to me, not at me. Spielberg's capacity to access his inner child is uncanny, and I think E.T. stands alone as a unique example of a particular type of filmmaking. There have been many attempts at imitation, but this is the true original and stands head and shoulders above the rest of the "teen adventure" crowd. Its tone is pitch-perfect. It's both childlike and mature, and I find that a potent combination. Your mileage may vary.

Close Encounters is slow as sh!t. Really overrated and boring.

ET, however, is really impossible to overrate imo. It has a special vibe running through it, something that's present in very few other films.

Either put on these glasses or start eatin' that trash can