# "Bad" books/movies you actually like **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657 "2009-02-06T02:24:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/61 "2009-02-06T17:19:58Z")
> [@Queen of Town](#): > > Kristen Bell is pretty awful (and she sounds like a man) and I don’t really like Taylor what’s-his-face that plays Jacob, but everyone else is good. And if you have a boycott against Robert Pattinson, it’s not his fault, it’s his fanclub. See the movie if you like the book! Kristen Bell is never awful! Luckily for her, she didn’t have to appear in the movie and Kristen Stewart did. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/62 "2009-02-06T17:27:30Z")
> [@Snickers](#): > > The “Return of the Living Dead” series? Seen 'em - even “Rave to the Grave,” what a piece of dreck. “House of the Dead?” Check. The Last Man on Earth? Yep - it wasn’t bad. Night of the Comet? Yep - definitely bad. Planet Terror? Yep - I liked it. Resident Evils, certainly. Wicked Little Things, sure. _Yaaaaawn_ All zombie movies are good by definition. Yeah, even “Rave to the grave”. Hell, that movie had the same actors that survived the last instalment of ROTLD, but for whatever reason they HAVE FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING ABOUT ZOMBIES! How can you not love that? And Peter Coyote! Peter. Coyote. Just another poster not daring to own up to liking something truly idiotic. Me? I think that the Deuce Bigelow movies are masterpieces of absurdity with an excellent supporting cast. Yeah. That’s how I roll. ---
**Author:** ![akira5822](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@akira5822](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akira5822)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/63 "2009-02-06T18:25:20Z")
Ok, i realize i am signing my own death warrant, But i very much enjoyed David Eddings Belgariad series and The Redemption of Althalus. There i said it…I feel kinda free now 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/64 "2009-02-06T18:40:27Z")
I came in here to say _The Da Vinci Code_. I was raptly fascinated by it, I stayed up until 4am reading it, and I’m pretty sure I gushed to about 12 people about what a great book it was before I began to catch on that everyone hated it. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/65 "2009-02-06T18:44:24Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > **Starship Troopers** (but I never read the book, so that might explain a lot). In fact, most of Paul Verhoeven’s films are great, including **Showgirls**. … get a rope. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/66 "2009-02-06T19:51:22Z")
I loved _Xanadu_. (Granted, I had just hit puberty, and Olivia Newton John was in her prime.) I loved _Joe Versus the Volcano_. There is a lot going on in the backgrounds in that movie. The art director had fun with that film. I loved _The Beast Master_. Rip Torn at his scenery-chewing best. The Jun Horde looked pretty. And the wing-men were . . . interesting. I enjoyed the 1990 direct-to-video version of _Captain America_. It’s trash, but it’s entertaining trash. And Ronnie Cox is awesome as the President of the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/67 "2009-02-06T20:13:12Z")
> [@Auntbeast](#): > > I can’t believe there are other people out there that loved Xanadu. We are not alone! Sign me up, too. I love this movie. I also love _The Manitou_, but that doesn’t count because I don’t think anybody else has seen it. 😛 Trust me, though, it’s terrible. And I don’t care. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/68 "2009-02-06T20:24:01Z")
I have a truly bizarre affection for a good many terrible movies. The old standby is, of course, **Deep Blue Sea**. It has everything: Samuel L. Jackson, magical size-changing CGI sharks, explosions, the un-acting skillz of Thomas Jane, bony stick-insect actresses saying “as a consequence … the shaaahks got smaaataahhh”. And LL Cool J is a wisecracking chef with a pet parrot. **Anaconda** is almost the same movie, except with a bad CGI/rubber giant snake, totally cracked out Jon Voight, J-Lo, and a terribly confused Eric Stoltz. And then there’s **The Covenant**. Which is the saga of a bunch of prep-school pretty boys who have magic powers, due to being descendents of Salem witches or something. It doesn’t matter: the important thing is that they all look like underwear models, are on the swim team, and drip homoeroticism from every pore. And none of them can act. Not even a little bit. Dee-lightful. I would happily watch any of these movies, or of their ilk. And I would enjoy them far more than I would most serious dramas. _ETA:_ And **Krull**! How could I forget **Krull**!! With incredibly young Liam Neeson embarrassing himself and the firemares and the creepy chick in the spiderwebs! ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/69 "2009-02-06T20:58:46Z")
> [@akira5822](#): > > Ok, i realize i am signing my own death warrant, But i very much enjoyed David Eddings Belgariad series and The Redemption of Althalus. > > There i said it…I feel kinda free now 😃 I just finished rereading the Belgariad - and the “remake.” Every few years when I need popcorn, I’ll pull out those books and have a lovely time reading them. ---
**Author:** ![Elyanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5ac83/32.png) [@Elyanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elyanna)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/70 "2009-02-06T21:27:08Z")
The Princess Diaries. Light, entertaining fluff. The pink covers are embarassing, though. Erm… Dragonriders of Pern. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/71 "2009-02-06T21:48:04Z")
I loved _Ladyhawke_, one of the classic 80s saturday-afternoon flicks. Don’t know which I loved more though - Sad broody Rutger Hauer or his black Friesan horse! I happen to think _Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey_ is the equal, if not the better, of _…Excellent Adventure_. Sooo many quotable lines. This is a totally deep hole… Drop and give me infinity! You sunk-a my Battlesheep! Hell sucks, Bill! Really! _Demolition Man_ starring Wesley Snipes, Sandra Bullock, and Sylvester Stallone, is one of the greatest movies of our time, nay, ALL time. I also love true crime novels. _weeps_ ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/72 "2009-02-06T22:44:37Z")
_Night at the Roxbury_ I always thought it was funny but having lived in Los Angeles it makes me snerk on a different level. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/73 "2009-02-06T22:52:05Z")
Oh gawd… Battlefield Earth. I loved that book. For decades I said it would make a great movie…then it happened… Least I didnt get sucked into that gawd awful cult 🙂 Please, look away, I am hideous ---
**Author:** ![slime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@slime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slime)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/74 "2009-02-06T22:56:24Z")
As for movies it has to be **The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai**. When I’m stuck in bed sick for a day or two I pull out the Edgar Rice Burroughs series **John Carter on Mars**. ---
**Author:** ![Linty\_Fresh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Linty\_Fresh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linty_Fresh)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/75 "2009-02-06T23:43:47Z")
> [@slime](#): > > As for movies it has to be **The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai**. When I’m stuck in bed sick for a day or two I pull out the Edgar Rice Burroughs series **John Carter on Mars**. Buckaroo Banzai? First Blood? Red Dawn? Parenthood? The Bill and Ted movies? Steven King’s early novels? Y’all are _trashing_ my childhood!! ☹ If I see just _one_ post about **Strange Brew** in this thread, I’m just gonna snap! ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/76 "2009-02-07T01:02:04Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > **Starship Troopers** (but I never read the book, so that might explain a lot). In fact, most of Paul Verhoeven’s films are great, including **Showgirls**. You can add my name to the list of people that liked **Starship Troopers**. That movie was entertaining as hell. I never read the book, and I’m not going to. Wasn’t **Showgirls** that movie where that girl from **Saved by the Bell** showed her boobs or something? I saw that, and frankly, it was awful. If there had been more boobs or some real sex, it might have sufficed as softcore porn, but essentially it was a bad movie with some worthless ex-teen actress being edgy 'cause she flashed her ta ta’s. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/77 "2009-02-07T01:48:28Z")
I thoroughly enjoyed the modern film version of \*\*Charlie’s Angels \*\* when I saw it in the cinema. No one else seemed to. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/78 "2009-02-07T02:39:45Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Ishtar was pretty good Definitely. It got trashed because of its price tag, not the film itself. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/79 "2009-02-07T04:28:08Z")
I like trashy action/sci-fi movies such as: Starship Troopers The Rock The Island of Dr. Moreau and Con Air “Put…down…the bunny.” ---
**Author:** ![TheBoltEater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheBoltEater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBoltEater)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657/80 "2009-02-07T05:02:07Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Joe vs. The Volcano is unfairly maligned. It’s funny, it’s poignant, it has good to great acting all around, it looks good, it has that whole repeated theme thing, the plot hangs together without holes, it’s just entertaining. I think it’s the best thing Tom Hanks ever did. It fell right between his early (often funny) screwball comedies and his serious (mostly drek) movies. Just the scene where he tells quits- holy crapthat’s exactly what everybody with a job thinks. You know, I must’ve seen Joe v. The Volcano 6 or 7 times on TV and always wondered why people disliked it so much. Then, one day, I finally saw the first ten minutes of the film, which I apparently never realized that I hadn’t ever seen before. As it turns out, the first ten minutes of that film are absolutely terrible. I mean complete garbage. So bad, in fact, that I am totally convinced that they alone are responsible for people’s dislike of this film. So if you’ve never seen it - skip the first ten minutes. Then, when the film is over, go back and watch them and see what you missed and tell me I’m wrong. Also, I totally love Cherry 2000. “Larry” Fishburne’s finest work. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-books-movies-you-actually-like/484657.md?page=5)