# Mediocre films that stay with you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2026, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577 "2026-08-26T15:56:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/81 "2026-08-27T14:26:35Z")
> [@aruvqan\_myers](#): > > Morty!!! MAH NEM EES MUERTE!!! ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/82 "2026-08-27T14:48:53Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > _Edge of Tomorrow_ (2014) – Pretty average sci-fi, but Tom Cruise dies repeatedly to give it extra appeal. On the contrary, I think _Edge of Tomorrow_ was very much above-average, especially for a sci-fi film (which are usually awful, IMHO). As much as I despise Tom Cruise’s wackadoo religious beliefs, personal conduct, and proselytizing for Scientology, he does make good movies. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/83 "2026-08-27T14:53:01Z")
Yeah, that’s not a mediocre movie, it’s an excellent movie that benefits from rewatching. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/84 "2026-08-27T14:59:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Okay, I nominate- _Doc Savage, Man of bronze._ 🙀 > > What do i win? 🤪 I saw that in the theater when it came out! (or maybe at the base theater a couple of years later). Although, being just 8 years old or so, I didn’t realize it was mediocre. 😉 Instead, it was one of the scariest things I’d ever watched. The creepy green glowing “snakes” gave me nightmares. > [@hajario](#): > > _Xanadu_ is one of the most common choices. I haven’t seen the movie myself but based on that I would argue that it isn’t a mediocre film at all. It’s one of my GF’s favorite films. She insisted we watch it last year. I can confirm it’s pretty mediocre. 😄 But like _Highlander_, the music is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/85 "2026-08-27T15:06:21Z")
Rollercoaster (1977) A guy sabotages a rollercoaster causing a fatal crash then demands ransom from theme park owners to not do it again. George Segal is there hero chasing Timothy Bottoms the villain. It was an offshoot of the disaster movies of the day. Back in the last 70s HBO seemed to show this twice a day, every day. For some odd reason I found it remarkably rewatchable and remember it to this day. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/86 "2026-08-27T15:08:51Z")
Plus, it was in SENSURROUND! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/87 "2026-08-27T15:39:57Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Have no fear! Doc Savage is here! Surely, you jest. Please? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/88 "2026-08-27T16:01:24Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > Parody of Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns Which are in a way, already parodies. What happens if you parody a parody? Is it additive, multiplicative or exponential? > [@Stratocaster](#): > > But, yes, it seemed a lead up to some preemptive “payback” that didn’t play out. “How do you like _these_ apples, tough guys?” And then the Nimitz uses all its ammo, missiles and jet fuel. And the IJN has more carriers and battleships. Japan defeats the US and invades the continent, Germany defeats the Allies, and everything is different. Which leads to > [@Horatius](#): > > the Ultimate Final Countdown! ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/89 "2026-08-27T16:11:43Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > > > **TRIANGLE** > > Triangle sails into some strange waters, but this horror outing anchors its idiosyncrasies in a satisfyingly weirdly twisting and scary story. > > I really like this movie! Yeah, when I first started it, I almost gave up because it seemed too implausible. That’s, of course, before I knew what was happening. The ending really got me. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/90 "2026-08-27T16:24:59Z")
_City Heat_ (1984) My parents took me to the movie which finally teamed up Clint & Burt; they grew up during the Depression and loved the setting. Two years later, the _[LA Times](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-01-04-ca-1803-story.html)_ quoted Burt: > Ten days after shooting began, I knew I was going to take the fall. Clint was playing formula Clint that always worked for Clint. I was playing Jack Lemmon in this strange film where people were getting blown away. I never read a review of the film, because I knew I was going to get killed by the critics. > > The public wanted _Boom Town_ or to see us in a contemporary film. They didn’t want _Dirty Harry vs. the Wimp._ It’s regrettable the material wasn’t there, because Hollywood or maybe just Warner Bros. will never let Clint and I act together again. Madeline Kahn plays Burt’s girlfriend, who gets kidnapped and held hostage in a bordello. I still reference her line when the guys finally show up to rescue her: “Well, it’s about time!” ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/91 "2026-08-27T16:32:17Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > What happens if you parody a parody? Is it additive, multiplicative or exponential? There is, as always, a TV Tropes page: > **[Spoofing Spoofiness - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpoofingSpoofiness)** > > Parodies make fun of dramas, comedies, action, romance and every other genre imaginable. But what about other parodies? Yup. They mock those too. These targeted spoofs, like all works, conform to certain rules and vary in quality, creating room … ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/92 "2026-08-27T16:56:27Z")
Anybody remember [Buried Alive](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1030638-buried_alive)? A working man gets injected with a fish toxin that mimics death. It’s his wife and her doctor boyfriend, and he gets his revenge when he digs his way out of the cheap coffin she put him in. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/93 "2026-08-27T16:58:35Z")
That’s a tough one to find. Early Frank Darabont, should be good. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/94 "2026-08-27T17:18:15Z")
[Buried Alive (1990) Trailer Remastered HD](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OfIN4Q6zQM&list=PLzB5NQdffo0lWIJ-LSWeIOH7Of1VjlzaG&index=3) ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/95 "2026-08-27T17:35:22Z")
For some reason, _Memoirs of an Invisible Man_ has stayed with me for years. It’s a very silly movie and it seemed to be on cable constantly around the millennium. I quote from it now and then ‘_losing weight, Richard_’, ‘_I want my molecules back_’, ‘_You’re not caught up in all the boolshit_’. Nobody knows what the hell I’m talking about. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/96 "2026-08-27T18:21:58Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Anybody remember [Buried Alive](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1030638-buried_alive)? Sounds familiar, like one of the B-movies I saw on drinking nights in Cambridge. **EDIT:** Nope, 1990’s much too late. Maybe I saw it during my year in Czechoslovakia. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/97 "2026-08-27T18:28:00Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Every time I see this question asked across various platforms going back many years, _Xanadu_ is one of the most common choices. I haven’t seen the movie myself but based on that I would argue that it isn’t a mediocre film at all. I say this, as someone who has loved _Xanadu_ for 46 years: it’s not a good movie, and I’m not even sure that it’s even a mediocre movie. It’s silly and extremely cheesy, but it has great music (IMO), Olivia is gorgeous, and Gene Kelly brings class to the party. I rewatch it regularly, knowing full well that it’s not a good movie: I simply don’t care. It’s comfort food for me, and I even describe it, to my friends, as “a big beautiful ball of cheese.” ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/98 "2026-08-27T18:31:41Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Surely, you jest. Please? I am not a jester, and stop calling me Shirley! > [@Skywatcher](#): > > _City Heat_ (1984) > > My parents took me to the movie which finally teamed up Clint & Burt; they grew up during the Depression and loved the setting. It has moments i still remember, like Clint just walking down the middle of the street towards the bad guys and Burt marveling at that. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/99 "2026-08-27T18:36:56Z")
I liked Memoirs of an Invisible Man. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2026, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577/100 "2026-08-27T18:44:05Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I haven’t seen the movie myself but based on that I would argue that it isn’t a mediocre film at all. I think all of us Xanadu-lovers had a giggle over that one! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mediocre-films-that-stay-with-you/1032577.md?page=6)