Movies You Thought Would Suck But Turned Out Great

[WillBrink]

What of La la land? I have heard people say they thought it would be one of those movies but actually enjoyed. Anyone see it? With all but a few exceptions, I hate musicals and have heard a few tunes from la la land and thought they they sucked.

Anyone willing to admit they saw it to confirm/deny?

[Waylander]

+2 for Drive. I didn't think it would be anything like what it was and was a lot better than I thought it would be.


Frailty --

I've never been much of a fan of the supernatural horror thriller type movie but this one worked for me. Great acting and story telling. I think it was one of, if not the best by Bill Paxton. I think me may have directed it as well.


Warrior --

I didn't have high hopes for a movie about MMA fighting. The acting and story line helped make it great.


127 Hours --

I thought a movie starring James Franco about a mountain biker getting stuck in a cave would be awful but it turned out well.


Memento --

A movie about a guy with short term memory loss that has to tattoo himself so he can remember things. The plot is in reverse time sequence to get to the root of who murdered they guy's wife. I picked it up on a whim and was surprised. It's a classic I've watched several times.


Joe --

This sort of stood out in Nicolas Cage's recent history of duds. It was a little predictable but easily worth watching.



Matchstick Men --

This one kind of put Cage back on the map before a series of duds. The acting and the plot twists made it great. Cage's character with his OCD and nervous ticks was hilarious. The professional cons getting conned themselves was priceless.

[Doc Safari]

Blended

I'm not much on Adam Sandler, and most comedies suck out loud, but this one was kind of funny for a change. It got savaged by the critics but it reminded me enough of the old Disney "Parent Trap" with Hayley Mills that I actually liked it. Not sure I'd want to own it, but it was decent.

Repo Man

A 1984 cult classic with Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton. It was meant to be "funny peculiar" and succeeds. It's about car repossessors looking for one certain car that supposedly has dead aliens in the trunk. And that's just for starters. A unique movie, for sure.

Elizabeth

Okay, it's more of a chick-flick drama, but I'm a history buff and it just appealed to me for some reason. Great ending.

Shakespeare in Love

Same reason I liked Elizabeth (historical drama), but more of a "funny peculiar" comedy in places.

Army of Darkness

Whew....I'm hitting the "funny peculiar" button pretty hard today. I expected this movie to be a giant Thanksgiving Turkey. Instead it was pretty great if you keep an open mind and a healthy "anything goes" attitude. It was definitely different.

Water for Elephants

Another movie I thought sure I'd sleep through while the GF got her chick-flick rocks off. This one turned out to be a great dramatic movie that wasn't the usual shoot-em-up and wasn't boring, either. It was a great drama for anyone to watch. Christoph Waltz should get an Oscar for his villainy. Highly recommended.

Das Boot

Submarine movies are usually about as interesting as watching paint dry. This one was great, with real tension and the crew realistically dealing with the reality of being stuck in what is for all intents and purposes a submersible coffin.

Casablanca

I thought it would be a sappy romantic chick movie and instead I decided it deserves to be called a classic.

Bridesmaids

Of all the sappy, estrogen-drenched chick flicks you get dragged to, pray it's not one about planning a wedding for some bitch's BFF. But....the movie was great. I'm a believer that most comedies are as flat as stale soda pop...but this one had some genuinely funny moments. The food poisoning scene in the bridal shop should be thought of as one of the classic movie scenes of all time. Kristen Wiig should have won an Oscar for the look on her face when she's trying to rationalize that she doesn't need to throw up. If ever I would make a space in my movie collection for a chick flick--it would be this one.

Big Trouble in Little China

I had seen bits and pieces of this over the years and was convinced I should never waste my time to see all of It. Finally one day I told myself if I just watch it from beginning to end ONCE then I could avoid landing in the middle of it on some cable channel ever again. I LOVED IT. It's something of Indiana Jones meets Rush Hour meets Army of Darkness. It's just plain campy, weird, quirky and fun. When Kurt Russell says--tongue-in-cheek--"if we're not back by dawn... call the president" you know you are watching a camp classic.

[Bubba FAL]

Secondhand Lions - Caine and Duvall were outstanding as the boy's uncles.

Thought, how can a movie with Hayley Joel Osment be any good, but couldn't stop watching it.

[SteyrAUG]

Secondhand Lions - Caine and Duvall were outstanding as the boy's uncles.

One of my favorites.

[Firefly]

God Bless America

It seems like a liberal movie but I never considered it as such. It's a twisted mix of Taxi Driver, Leon, Falling Down, a smidge of Fight Club, and the 60s version of Bonnie and Clyde.

It's kinda cathartic. In fact I'm watching it now

[sandman99and9]

As already mentioned here I loved Big trouble in little china



And also a huge fan of Army of Darkness



I don't remember ever seeing much about Smokin Aces but lots of gun porn and action plus some just crazy characters !! I thought this one was going to be a steaming pile but it is just fun to watch.







S.M.


WTF did I do here ? why is there an attached thumbnail box down here ? My internet Foo is weak today