OT Surprisingly Good Movies

[DefCONNOne]

Thought of another surprisingly good movie, that is also a cult classic. Big Trouble in Little China.

All aboard the Pork Chop Express!!

 

[billythekid]

I really enjoyed The Kingsmen more than I thought I would. Great action scene in the church set to Freebird.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I really enjoyed The Kingsmen more than I thought I would. Great action scene in the church set to Freebird.

That movie came out of nowhere.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I really enjoyed The Kingsmen more than I thought I would. Great action scene in the church set to Freebird.

I'm looking forward to the sequel, comes out in another week or two.

 

[storrsroars]

It's Complicated.

One of very few adult comedies to be released this century. Expected nothing, got a number of good laughs.

 

[intlzncster]

It's Complicated.

One of very few adult comedies to be released this century. Expected nothing, got a number of good laughs.

If only it didn't have Meryl Streep. She's annoying.

 

[superjohn]

If only it didn't have Meryl Streep. She's annoying.

Are you a wealthy 70 year old white woman?

 

[huskyrob1]

If only it didn't have Meryl Streep. She's annoying.

I agree, loved her in "Out of Africa" though, best movie she ever made.

 

[Waquoit]

If only it didn't have Meryl Streep. She's annoying.

No, she's great. She can do anything. In French Lieutenant's Woman she was hot. In Defending Your Life she was the coolest chick in the world.

 

[intlzncster]

No, she's great. She can do anything. In French Lieutenant's Woman she was hot. In Defending Your Life she was the coolest chick in the world.

She always seems exactly the same to me. Overacts. And I don't find her remotely attractive (at any ages).

 

[nelsonmuntz]

She always seems exactly the same to me. Overacts. And I don't find her remotely attractive (at any ages).

I find a certain smugness to her when she is in non-Oscar bait movies, like she wants everyone to know she is slumming it. That said, when wants to turn it on, she is one of the best actresses of the last 20 years.

 

[Waquoit]

And I don't find her remotely attractive (at any ages).

Me either. But she was in the two movies I cited. That's what I call good acting.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I really enjoyed The Kingsmen more than I thought I would. Great action scene in the church set to Freebird.

That movie came out of nowhere.

Loved it is and sequel is coming out soon. Early reviews are very positive.

 

[G0UCONN]

In Defending Your Life she was the coolest chick in the world.

Defending Your Life belongs in this thread. Very good movie.

 

[Husky25]

Defending Your Life belongs in this thread. Very good movie.

No it doesn't. Thread title/post.

There should have been no surprise that it would be a good movie.

 

[ZooCougar]

Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy

 

[dbmill]

Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy

Solid movie. I enjoyed seeing it when it came out.

 

[ZooCougar]

Solid movie. I enjoyed seeing it when it came out.

I didn't enjoy it as much in theater as I do now. It seems to have improved with age.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I didn't enjoy it as much in theater as I do now. It seems to have improved with age.

It wasn't very good, but the story itself is quirky and has moments that you tend to remember more fondly. That's my take anyway. Plus, Zooey Deschanel is absolutely adorable. Stephen Fry is good as the narrator.

 

[Husky25]

The Walk, starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and Sir Ben Kingsley. It's about the tightrope walk from the top of the Twin Towers when they were just about to be completed. I first saw it about a year ago during a sleepless night, putting my then newborn back to sleep.

I don't remember it being in theatres, so it is very good, presuming it was "Straight-to-video."

 

[meyers7]

I find a certain smugness to her when she is in non-Oscar bait movies, like she wants everyone to know she is slumming it. That said, when wants to turn it on, she is one of the best actresses of the last 20 years.

She won her first two Oscars in 1979 (Kramer vs Kramer) and 1982 (Sophie' Choice), 38 and 35 years ago.

 

[Chuck]

I don't want to start another thread, but I'm going to add "Surprisingly Good Kid Movies (or Movies You Thought Were for Kids)" as a subsection. Kids movies are a necessary evil for parents, and it's great to find a movie that you like. They may even be movies that you'd want to borrow a kid for if you didn't have young kids. There are a lot, but here are the first couple that jumped to mind.

• Most Pixar movies. They're not "surprising" now, but I a lot of people thought of animation as "kids" stuff and CGI as technology over story telling. So Toy Story was surprisingly awesome. I also like Toy Story 3 a lot and the original Cars (which has a reputation about being more for kids than other Pixar films, or at least for rednecks). Up and Wall-E wouldn't even be considered kids movies if they weren't animated.
• Tim Burton movies. These could fit in the "Thought They Were for Kids" category. He has a childlike storytelling along with his gothic vision, but some of the movies are deeper or scary. Beetlejuice jumps out as the one that adults would've found surprisingly good (but I was a kid), but Nightmare Before Christmas was unexpected also. I just saw Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children on a plane because I've seen every other movie that airlines are now offering. It was good (not great), but pretty darn scary. Not sure I'll let my young kids see it. And Miss Peregrine has a hot version of Mary Poppins / Hogwarts professor thing going.
• Lego Movie.
• Scooby Doo animated show/movies during the "Mystery, Inc." run. Just about every comment is a double entendre that is funny for the kids and parents. A line from Fred when reminiscing about summer camp: "There we were... up Schmit's Creek without a paddle between us."

 

[dbmill]

It wasn't very good, but the story itself is quirky and has moments that you tend to remember more fondly. That's my take anyway. Plus, Zooey Deschanel is absolutely adorable. Stephen Fry is good as the narrator.

Zooey Deschanel was also absolutely adorable in Elf, one of the best things about that movie. As for Hitchhiker, kudos also should go to Alan Rickman for doing the voice for Marvin the Paranoid Android. He was right on.

 

[Deadrody]

Thought of another surprisingly good movie, that is also a cult classic. Big Trouble in Little China.

Phenomenal. Other weird ones like this that I have a soft spot for:

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension - Same kind of cult classic-ish movie
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane - shockingly good for an Andrew Dice Clay vehicle

 

[dbmill]

Phenomenal. Other weird ones like this that I have a soft spot for:

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension - Same kind of cult classic-ish movie
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane - shockingly good for an Andrew Dice Clay vehicle

Buckaroo Banzai. They were certainly aiming for the cult audience when that one came out. Not sure how much sense it makes, but it is an enjoyable movie. I recall at the time that I was a bit disappointed that they never came through with the more or less promised sequel. Nowadays, that wouldn't bother me all that much.