OT Surprisingly Good Movies | Page 2 | The Boneyard

OT Surprisingly Good Movies

HuskyHawk said:
While we wait for the seasons to begin, here is another thread to occupy your time. I'm curious to see what you think are movies that surprised you to the upside. Maybe the story, or acting, or perhaps they just moved you in some unexpected way.

I'll start with the 2013 version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I confess to generally liking Ben Stiller's comedies, especially with Owen Wilson or Vince Vaughn. But here we have a drama that was well told and moving. Use of the song Little Paws was also brilliant.

Another one is Don Juan de Marco. Something about it just feels right. Both movies involve people discovering who they are and who the can be.
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My list of surprisingly great films....

1) The Great Santini
2) Last of the Dogmen
3) Woman in Gold
4) Stripes
5) Working Girl
6) Tomorrow is Forever
7) October Sky
8) The Swimmer
9) White Lightening
10) The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (the original, not the remake)
 
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huskyrob1 said:
My list of surprisingly great films....

1) The Great Santini
2) Last of the Dogmen
3) Woman in Gold
4) Stripes
5) Working Girl
6) Tomorrow is Forever
7) October Sky
8) The Swimmer
9) White Lightening
10) The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
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The Great Santini and October Sky are great ones for this list. Both excellent movies.
 
The Big Year. It got rather indifferent reviews when it came out, but I thought it was quite good and very entertaining.
 
dbmill said:
The Big Year. It got rather indifferent reviews when it came out, but I thought it was quite good and very entertaining.
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That title just reminded me of three others I enjoyed more than expected:

Big Fish
Big Night
My Favorite Year
 
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ZooCougar said:
The Count of Monte Cristo.
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This is one of the most famous books in history and the story is so good it is almost impossible to screw up. It is kind of hard to argue it was "surprisingly" good.
 
nelsonmuntz said:
This is one of the most famous books in history and the story is so good it is almost impossible to screw up. It is kind of hard to argue it was "surprisingly" good.
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So you're the decider of this? Movies are pretty easy to screw up. That one really didn't have a eye catching cast, yet it was cast perfectly. In my opinion, it is like Shawshank. When it's on you don't turn the channel.
 
Exit Wounds.
I am not a big Seagal fan but I remember thinking this movie wasn't all that bad. So to me it was surprisingly good although not a great movie.
 
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Kolumbo said:
Exit Wounds.
I am not a big Seagal fan but I remember thinking this movie wasn't all that bad. So to me it was surprisingly good although not a great movie.
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Under Siege. Has Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, Dale Dye and Steven Seagal. 70 something % on Rotten Tomatos.
 
The Firm and The Cotton Club. Both movies seemed to get universally panned when they came out. I think they are both pretty great and extremely watchable.
 
auggie22 said:
Great movie!
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Of course, it helps if to be into bird watching to enjoy this movie. Still, Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson is a good starring combination for any movie.
 
Stardust. Kind of like The Princess Bride, if it actually had a budget for special effects. Takes some fantasy/fairly tale tropes and has quite a bit of fun tweaking them.
 
dbmill said:
Of course, it helps if to be into bird watching to enjoy this movie. Still, Jack Black, Steve Martin, and Owen Wilson is a good starring combination for any movie.
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I've been a bird nerd since 6th grade. I didn't like this movie that much. But the great gray scene is so true...we trek a long way to see a bird when if we just sit and wait we'll get rewarded, too.
 
Surprisingly good (to me):

Cloverfield
Miracle...I know, "Wha?". It did not fall into the schlocky true story abyss. It was fresh and greatly performed.
Bowfinger...hysterical premise.
Rock Star with Wahlberg
 
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superjohn said:
The Firm and The Cotton Club. Both movies seemed to get universally panned when they came out. I think they are both pretty great and extremely watchable.
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Tom Cruise never loses.
 
superjohn said:
The Firm and The Cotton Club. Both movies seemed to get universally panned when they came out. I think they are both pretty great and extremely watchable.
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The Firm was a bad book made into a marginally better movie.
 
nwhoopfan said:
Stardust. Kind of like The Princess Bride, if it actually had a budget for special effects. Takes some fantasy/fairly tale tropes and has quite a bit of fun tweaking them.
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Agreed for the average person. I had read Stardust the graphic novel, so knew the story. Neil Gaiman is pretty much brilliant, so it didn't surprise me. DeNiro is fantastic. Bad casting of Claire Danes however, she's just not very good or very attractive.
 
Letsgohuskies11 said:
Evil Dead 3 Army of Darkness, for what that budget must of been. Would love a future remake
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I am reading Bruce Campbell's second biography right now. It is thoroughly entertaining if you enjoy Campbell's Snark.
 
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Letsgohuskies11 said:
Evil Dead 3 Army of Darkness, for what that budget must of been. Would love a future remake
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Army of Darkness has some of the best lines ever.

 
Surf's Up - an animated movie that I had never heard of prior to a Netflix viewing earlier this year. The mockumentary style was a little odd for a cartoon but I think the movie was sneaky good. Jeff Bridges should be in literally every movie.

Hotel Transylvania 1 and 2 - one of the few things that Adam Sandler has touched in the last 20 years that isn't total, unwatchable dog-shit.
 
Down Periscope with Kelsey Grammer. Slow paced, but fun to watch and easy to follow (for me, a huge plus)
 
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