I don't think you are wrong there. There is always a lot of subjectivity with things like this. Many people would never ever consider picking up a phone while watching any movie, while for others even absolutely exciting movies like Escape from NY feel boring. It's about taste, not about the film being old, and I'm sure it was exactly the same when it was released.
I tend to prefer films like this and I think there are plenty of "modern" examples. I do find some older films too slow paced, but I think its only when it's coupled with weaker writing and atmosphere building. In Alien I find the pacing works for the content and I assume it was a conscious decision, and that's why I think it holds up. But I'm not an expert on this stuff so I could be quite wrong here.