I love this thread. Something like 90% of the films listed are either critically acclaimed or have had stellar reputations for a LONG time.
Troll Hunter instantly became one of my favorite movies.
This. Given the cast, and premise, I had high expectations for Galaxy Quest. And was not disappointed.
Yes. But, for instance, when I went to see The Terminator it had just come out and had no reputation at all. James Cameron was a peripheral figure who you’d only know about if you followed cult cinema closely. He had directed an obscure short and the sequel Piranha II before this.
A lot of the films listed in this thread are well-known and acclaimed NOW, but not necessarily when they came out. And it does no good to say “Anyone who follows cinema knows that…” Everyone doesn’t follow it, and know what you may know.
Another one I thought of that I don’t think was mentioned: Stardust. A really fun fantasy movie.
The Terminator is actually the best example of what I’m talking about. Critics loved it back in 1984. If you read a single review of the movie before seeing it, you would know that it was sci-fi action at its finest. And if you went in unspoiled (which was fairly common back in the 80s), you couldn’t have any expectations.
'm not sure there were any reviews out when I first saw it.
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer.
I only watched to see how stupid it was going to be, but it was actually fun. I don’t know how, but it “worked”. I never would have believed it.
Romancing the Stone.
I got dragged along when my sister and her BF went to see it (he had to take his younger sister as well) - of course they sat elsewhere to us. I only knew about it from the posters in the cinema but it looked like a crappy romance flick (an anathema to 13 year old me) but it ended up being a pretty damn entertaining adventure/action/comedy/romance.
This is one of the winners of the thread. We all accept that it’s a great movie now, but it looked like a terrible idea before it came out.
Guillermo Del Toro talked about it on NPR as one of the truly great movie of the last few decades. His point is how hard it is to make funny comedies that remain funny over and over and through time.
He’s kind of right.
Kung Fu Hustle. The title makes it sound like MST3K material, and the first few minutes are not promising. After that, it’s hilarious, and intentionally so.
7.8 at IMDB.
Shaolin Soccer was better 
Another one for me that always stuck was Joe Dirt. A poorly reviewed movie that was excoriated for bottom-of-the-barrel comedy and blah blah. When I watched it I noticed very little potty humor, relatively funny witty stuff, and at the end of the day it was a movie with a LOT of heart, a good message, and a happy ending.
I am always pleasantly surprised when I see it on cable.
The Fellowship of the Ring and Searching for Bobby Fischer.
David Zucker (Airplane/Top Secret/Police Squad/Naked gun cowriter/codirector) has been involved with the Scary Movie franchise since number 3 in the franchise. The 4th one had Jim Abrahams (Airplane/Top Secret/Police Squad/Ruthless People/Hot Shots) as a cowriter too, so in some way its the only continuation of those type of movies at the moment…
Paranormal Activity. After all the hype of Blair Witch I was ready to hate this movie with a passion; but it’s probably the only movie since I was a kid watching the Exorcist that made me actually jump in my seat. The later movies were meh.
Wimbledon. Sure it’s a derivative of rom-com stereotypes but I enjoyed the internal dialogue of Paul Bettany’s character trying to summon up just one more good performance at the end of a long career and walk away a champion.
Fast and Furious:Tokyo Drift I generally like car movies but I had really suspected this was going to suck badly. I was surprised by the somewhat intelligent dialogue and the humour. I will never forgive them mutilating that Mustang. That was just wrong…
Wall-E is genius.
Hell Baby is deliberately, knowingly, and outrageously dumb–and hilarious.
I agree. I went in as a Civil War buff, didn’t expect too much, and really enjoyed it. I just told my brain to get in the swing of things and totally went along with super-badass-ninja Abe. I even giggled with glee when President Lincoln brought out his axe, complete with beard and stovepipe hat.
Yet the logistics of the ending totally pulled me out of the movie. After I spent 90% of the movie accepting the vampire hunting.
Isn’t that something?
Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies
The man playing Lincoln is so incredibly good, he carries the whole film. They play around with history a bit, too, and that’s fun. Lincoln on a zip-cord is worth the price of admission. If I can find ALVS, I’ll watch that and see if there’s any good comparisons to be made. Stay tuned.
I can now add to this thread August: Osage County. Wow, what a great movie!
I second this recommendation, with the caveat that the story does kinda fall apart towards the end, falling prey to the need for having twist upon twist upon twist until you have no clue what’s really going on.
Another good one: Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death, a quirky B-movie satire starring former Playmates Shannon Tweed & Adrienne Barbeau, as well as Bill Maher before he was famous. With a name like that and a cast to match, you know that if nothing else, it’s gotta be worth watching!