Ridley Scott fits that description as well.  And Spielberg, for that matter.   I can't think of anyone whose career spans decades and dozens of films that doesn't have a few clunkers in their timeline.   

Of course, if you're successful enough to have a career that lasts for decades, you also get to do the occasional vanity project and/or experiment that isn't necessarily supposed to be a blockbuster.  (See also:  Soderburgh)

Let's not forget that this is about opinion.  I've been public plenty of times before saying that Scorcesse is the least favorite of "legendary," directors.  I think Coppola's praise is well earned and right on.  Same with Kubrick, Hitchcock, Goddard and Kurosawa.  Of all of those, Scorcesse to me is the weak link in the chain.  His stuff just doesn't connect as well as it seems with others.

Which, to me, makes my sister's opinion that Gravity is stupid and boring all the more amusing She watched it in 2D, so all she really had was the story and that did nothing for her.

To put a button on the Scorcese thing so I can move on to yelling about Gravity... Just remember that he made all those movies while supporting a hefty cocaine habit. Ha.

Also... Scorcese's early stuff hits me like a ton of bricks.  Much more so than a lot of other directors.  He definitely lost that punch as he got older and moved away from making movies about working class NYC characters... But shit, man. Taxi Driver connects with me like few other movies.

Any movie you really like, there's someone out there who hates it. Best to get used to it and ignore it.

Just as an off-hand observation, I would say that my generation seems way more obsessed with "plot" and way less interested in "theme" or "story". If I had to speculate, I'd say the rise of long-arc highly-plot driven television (I'm thinking Lost/24) has really shifted people's perceptions of what storytelling should be. A "good" story for a lot of people now seems to be something that's got a lot of plot-points, which would explain why so many movies are overly convoluted and have to have 3 different villains and multiple twists. It's why something like Drive, which would be considered a well paced, well-told action film 30 years ago, can be considered "slow and boring" by a lot of mainstream viewers today.

You guys have to keep in mind I was raised on a steady diet of 70's films, as well as foreign films and some pretty heady experimental stuff, too.  I think if you listen to me rave about Vertigo you'll understand that I am far more interested in character and theme than plot.  Taxi Driver just doesn't connect with me, hence my preferences.

Has there been a Taxi Driver episode yet?  If not, I might just need to fly out to LA so I can spread my love for it all over your podcast... And couch cushions.

Admittedly, I've not seen all of Kubrick's films (particular his earlier work). But I can agree that he doesn't do it for me as much as he does for others. My favourites of his though would be Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001 and A Clockwork Orange.