THANK YOU. I can't stand all these people who call it a masterpiece or "Kubrick made that movie, how can it be bad?!" I have a friend who is annoying in that if its something high class or considered a classic, then he has to love it no matter how much he hates it. Like he refuses to read novels that aren't considered classic literature, no matter how good they are, he'll only drink the best booze, and when we rented this he actually fell asleep like an hour into it and when it was over declared what a great film it was.
The Shining wasn't a very good movie either.
I liked Hero though... if you're talking about the Jet Li movie.
I think it could be argued that 2001 suffers from pace problems towards the end, but other than that, I do think it's a brilliant film.
As for The Shining, I think it's incredibly directed and impossibly creepy right from the start. Even the scene where Nicholson's character is interviewed manages to be amazingly scary.
Edit: Oh, and your friend is an idiot.