I agree with Shane Scott-Thomas when he says in his introduction that movies such as Paul Haggis’s Crash (2004) lack longevity and resonance. Haggis’s script is pretentious and shallow (as are some of his other screenplays) and the characters are stereotypes. Where Haggis really went wrong was directing the picture because although I enjoy some of his works that were filmed by other directors, Haggis is not a good director (the only other two movies he’s directed were dull and flat).

*My* answer to all of Inquisitor General “disqus’s” questions here would be “No,” except for the question “Are you tired of the race issue” to which I respond “Yes!” Race has absolutely nothing to do with critiquing the movie’s glaring shortcomings and, besides, Shane Scott-Thomas was not even discussing Crash in his introductory remarks, he merely mentioned it in passing, along with Forest Gump and Green Book, as an example of trite and trendy mainstream fare that will be forgotten in a generation. If movies such as Crash and Green Book speak to some viewers about matters of intolerance, fine and good, but that does not exempt them from intelligent criticism. There were some good performances in the movie – I’ve enjoyed Thandie Newton ever since Flirting – but good acting alone could not revive this victim of PC/wokeness.

I’m Hispanic and lived in Los Angeles (Crash’s setting) from 2013-2018 and I didn’t find the movie at all compelling. The 2005 best picture Oscar would have been more justified had it gone to Cronenberg’s A History of Violence or Brewer’s Hustle & Flow, Assayas’s Clean, Malick’s The New Land or even Herzog’s Grizzly Man.

DePalma’s “Hitchcock phase?” He’s sampled Hitchcock throughout his entire filmmaking career, and quite well too.

I don’t think Stranger Than Paradise is underrated either

I was unimpressed with it. It was during DePalma’s “Hitchcock phase” and the pacing is just lugubrious.

Worldwide Box Office for ‘Sex, Lies And Videotape’ was $24,741,667. Even for 1989, that’s underwhelming. Citing 1(!) critic’s assessment doesn’t make the argument.

Just watched 1 hour of it before I gave up. Sooooooo boring. Joe Pesci, Rutger Hauer, Mickey Rourke wasted here. Horrible dialogue, meaningless drawn out scenes and gimmicky zoom shots galore.

it’s the only one I don’t remember watching as well.

I thought it was a ponderous snooze-fest.