# Movies you thought you would hate but ended up loving? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 4, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891 "2010-04-04T04:43:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/21 "2010-04-04T17:54:06Z")
I try to avoid WIll Ferrel, but somehow I was trapped in a theater watching Blades of Glory. I laughed all the way through it. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/22 "2010-04-04T18:07:14Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > I try to avoid WIll Ferrel, but somehow I was trapped in a theater watching Blades of Glory. I laughed all the way through it. I think that Will Ferrell is one of the most over-rated, least funny “comedic” stars around (and his talk show appearances are even worse than his mollyfocking movies—I really believe that he is an overbearing, over-the-top asshole in his personal life) but I saw “Elf” in the theater (I got in for free, and I went in fully expecting to walk out midway) and had to admit that it was one of the best, most heartfelt and touching Christmas movies of the past 30 years… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/23 "2010-04-04T18:58:33Z")
I got dragged to see _Three Kings_ by somebody who wanted to go because she never missed a Marky Mark movie. It was _awesome._ ---
**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:** [April 4, 2010, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/24 "2010-04-04T20:27:06Z")
‘‘Hate’’ is a strong word, but I had low expectations for **Iron Man**. I like superhero movies well enough, but it just seemed like another run-of-the-mill one, and I agreed to go see it somewhat grudgingly. Holy shit, what a great movie. I was positively high after watching that film. I had never emerged from a theater more excited and amped up than when I entered it… until **Iron Man**. Good action, clever writing, original directing–a damn fine movie all around. Another one that surprised me is **The Graduate**. I have an aversion to old movies, but this one blew me away. So much so that I started a thread in Cafe Society about it. On the other hand, the OP’s dismissal of the graphic novel **The Watchmen** in favor of the movie just breaks my heart. If you really think a graphic novel is just a ‘‘long comic book’’ after reading something that intellectually nuanced I really just… …have you read [Maus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maus)? If you want to know what a cartoon can do that prose can’t, try that one on for size. It is the single most powerful work about the Holocaust I’ve ever read. And I’m not alone in that opinion… it won a special Pulitzer Prize. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/25 "2010-04-04T20:42:01Z")
\*On the Waterfront. \*A story about a mob informant . . . a guarantee that I’d be totally uninterested in this film, so I never saw it until recently. But I was curious about it, since it won \ ***eight Academy Awards** , \*and nominated for four others. But wow, every single thing about this film is just amazing. I wound up watching it three times. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/26 "2010-04-04T20:55:07Z")
> [@what\_do\_I\_type\_here](#): > > I even read the “graphic novel” _Watchmen_(which, sorry, I have to be snobbish about this but a graphic novel is just a long comic book and you might as well read a real novel) and it was silly and stupid and pointless. While my attitude towards comic books, pre-_Watchmen_, pretty much followed yours, I will say that it was by reading _Watchmen_ that I realized that I could very likely be wrong. It’s the first graphic novel I read\* where paying attention to the art mattered as much as paying attention to the words. It was like 1/2 of the story was contained in the dialogue and the other half in the panels - something that takes getting used to. Regardless, differences of opinion is one of the things that make this world great. Glad you enjoyed the movie. As for me, I find expectations matter in regards to my enjoyment of the film. For example, I walked into _Armageddon_ expecting a horrible piece of dreck, but when I saw the film was merely mediocre (still as stupid as my dog, but some of the actors had charisma), I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. In this category, however, **Amadeus** is the winner for me. I didn’t like classical music, thought the movie sounded boring as hell, and the only reason I watched it was because of my gf’s promise of sex at the end of it. The next day I drove to Savannah (Georgia, USA) to buy the soundtrack, a 110 mile round trip, and I now know enough about Mozart as to be able to recognize works of his that I’ve never heard before. \*And I realize my experiences in this genre were, and still are, very scant. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/27 "2010-04-04T21:06:02Z")
**Terminator Salvation**. **Paranormal Activity** (primarily because I so fucking hated both **The Blair Witch Project** and **Cloverfield** ). ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/28 "2010-04-04T21:24:10Z")
Back in the early 90s, my then-girlfriend wanted me to watch something called **The Princess Bride** with her. “Aw, Honey, I’m really not feeling up to a bunch of girly-girl crap…” “Trust me, you’ll like it. Really.” Really! ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/29 "2010-04-04T23:08:40Z")
Another vote for **Fight Club**. I, too, thought it was going to be one of those silly “boys will be boys” fighting movies, where the sympathetic main character has to fight the Big Bad Evil Antagonist in order to get the girl. Holy CRAP was I wrong. I also went to see the first **X-Men** movie when it first came out, and thought it would be okay, but not great. After it was over, I sat there in the theater thinking “wow, that was actually a really good movie.” Also, though I haven’t seen **How to Train Your Dragon** , and thought it looked dumb from the previews, this could potentially become one such movie. Because holy crap, [98% on Rotten Tomatoes??](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1194522-how_to_train_your_dragon/) Granted, some of it is “it look purdy,” but…hey, maybe I’ll change my mind. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/30 "2010-04-04T23:20:40Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > Another vote for **Fight Club**. I, too, thought it was going to be one of those silly “boys will be boys” fighting movies, where the sympathetic main character has to fight the Big Bad Evil Antagonist in order to get the girl. Holy CRAP was I wrong. > > I also went to see the first **X-Men** movie when it first came out, and thought it would be okay, but not great. After it was over, I sat there in the theater thinking “wow, that was actually a really good movie.” > > Also, though I haven’t seen **How to Train Your Dragon** , and thought it looked dumb from the previews, this could potentially become one such movie. Because holy crap, [98% on Rotten Tomatoes??](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1194522-how_to_train_your_dragon/) Granted, some of it is “it look purdy,” but…hey, maybe I’ll change my mind. I just got done seeing it. I dug it. Really nice effects, cute dragon, and it was a nice time. My girlfriend found it very informational if we ever happened to come across a dragon. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/31 "2010-04-04T23:41:13Z")
> [@Maiira](#): > > Also, though I haven’t seen **How to Train Your Dragon** , and thought it looked dumb from the previews, this could potentially become one such movie. Because holy crap, [98% on Rotten Tomatoes??](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1194522-how_to_train_your_dragon/) Granted, some of it is “it look purdy,” but…hey, maybe I’ll change my mind. I saw 5 movies last weekend: **Greenberg** , **Chloe** , **Diary of a Wimpy Kid** , **Alice In Wonderland 3D** and **How To Train Your Dragon**. I liked **How To Train Your Dragon** best. It was a lot of fun! [QUOTE=Least Original User Name Ever] My girlfriend found it very informational if we ever happened to come across a dragon. [/QUOTE] 😃 It’s like The Rules in Zombieland. Handy tips, just in case. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/32 "2010-04-05T00:33:22Z")
> [@what\_do\_I\_type\_here](#): > > I even read the “graphic novel” _Watchmen_(which, sorry, I have to be snobbish about this but a graphic novel is just a long comic book and you might as well read a real novel) and it was silly and stupid and pointless. But God bless the makers of the **film** _Watchmen_ because it’s my absolute favorite movie ever. Hmm? They’re substantially different storytelling mediums–one has images, while the other does not, one has to carefully dole out text where necessary, the other does not. In theory, a good graphic novel uses its different abilities to its advantage, like: > [@JohnT](#): > > …It’s the first graphic novel I read\* where paying attention to the art mattered as much as paying attention to the words. It was like 1/2 of the story was contained in the dialogue and the other half in the panels - something that takes getting used to. Like that. Not that I’ve ready any, but I have read webcomics (and if you though anti-snobbery efforts for graphic novels are an uphill battle, let me tell you–anti-snobbery for webcomics is like walking up a cliff.) ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/33 "2010-04-05T00:50:42Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I saw 5 movies last weekend: **Greenberg** , **Chloe** , **Diary of a Wimpy Kid** , **Alice In Wonderland 3D** and **How To Train Your Dragon**. > > I liked **How To Train Your Dragon** best. It was a lot of fun! > > 😃 It’s like The Rules in Zombieland. Handy tips, just in case. The difference is now she wants a black dragon and we (both) don’t want a zombie. ---
**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:** [April 5, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/34 "2010-04-05T01:08:40Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > The difference is now she wants a black dragon and we (both) don’t want a zombie. That movie killed me, because if you pay careful attention, you will see that ‘‘[dragons](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:How_to_train_Your_Dragon_poster.jpg)’’ are really cats. They eat fish for goodness’ sake. I took comfort knowing I had a little [Toothless](http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lb3JlaxOx4VuLZSk-BptEg?feat=directlink) of my own at home. So now all your girlfriend has to do is swing by your local shelter. Poof! Instant dragon.\* \*Minus the flying part. Unless you’re willing to devote hours of training to achieve flight with your cat. Ambitious, but, I am certain, possible. (And yes, this movie rocks. But I knew it would.) ---
**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:** [April 5, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/35 "2010-04-05T01:22:17Z")
I didn’t really expect much from **Amazing Grace** , but it was a hell of a good movie. I also didn’t expect much when I saw **Murder at the Baskervilles** – just another low-budged public domain Sherlock Holmes stories. I was surprised that it was really a framing tale about him verses Moriarty wrapped around one of the most faithful Holmes adaptations on film – a retelling of “Silver Blaze.” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/36 "2010-04-05T01:26:47Z")
Again, hate is a really strong word, but there are movies that blew me away when I thought they would be, at best, “meh” **Stardust** - This was wayyyyyyyyy better than expected. I love this movie. **In Bruges -** Oh, yeesh, a comedy/drama/thriller about assasins in Belgium with thick foreign accents. I’m sure that will be great…it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen in years. **The Matrix** - Surprised if I am the first one to mention this. Don’t you remember when the previews were out on this? Keanu Reeves. A Sci-fi movie from relatively inexperienced dudes. I assumed it was bad so long, I didn’t see it in the theater until it was almost gone. Great movie. Let’s not mention the sequels. ---
**Author:** ![Malienation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Malienation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malienation)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/37 "2010-04-05T02:12:55Z")
**Wordplay** , the 2006 documentary about crossword puzzle geeks. It got rave reviews, but I was absolutely sure I was gonna hate it. I figured I was gonna wind up steaming mad at myself for trusting the reviews, since hey, how could anyone possibly think a movie about crossword puzzle geeks would be interesting? Then it was _excellent_! :eek: Wow, who’da thunk it? :eek: Same with **Shall We Dance?** , the 1996 Japanese movie (_not_ the shitty American one made with Richard Gere). How’s a depressed Japanese guy taking up dancing lessons interesting? The movie explains that dancing with personal contact with a partner is still somewhat subversive in Japan; fine, but why would I, an American, identify with this cultural oddity? And yet, it too was excellent. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/38 "2010-04-05T02:17:20Z")
Mine go a ways back. **PeeWee’s Big Adventure:** when this came out on DVD I knew absolutely nothing about PW. My friend, whose sense of humor is very seldom in synch with mine, insisted I watch it with him, promised me I’d laugh my silly ass off. I was his house guest that weekend, and there was no getting out of it. So we watched it and I laughed my silly ass off, and still do whenever I re-watch it. **Bridges Of Madison County:** Whooda thunkkit. Clint Eastwood, of all people, took one of the very worst books ever written (no I didn’t read it), turned it into a surprisingly decent little chickflick that New-Age-Sensitive-Guys like myself could enjoy too. And, he had the chutzpah to cast himself opposite Meryl Streep, and actually held his own onscreen with her. I’d always thought he was strictly a posing action figure; never would have believed he could be a passably good actor if he wanted to. . ---
**Author:** ![Frostillicus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Frostillicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frostillicus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/39 "2010-04-05T02:23:24Z")
> [@Charley](#): > > **Dodgeball** is mine. I hate anything vaguely slapstick/grossout (I can’t bring myself to watch any of the Dumb and Dumber or Something About Mary stuff), and Ben Stiller makes me stabby, so I asumed I’d hate it. I was stuck for something to watch on a plane, because I never watch anything I really want to see as the environment is so horrible, and Dodgeball looked like the least bad option. I genuinely laughed out loud a number of times and I have done so every one of the four or so times I’ve seen it since. Lemme guess. Was it this scene that made you laugh out loud? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0iXP9yoc4VY/hqdefault.jpg "If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iXP9yoc4VY) ---
**Author:** ![Viridiana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Viridiana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Viridiana)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891/40 "2010-04-05T02:50:11Z")
**Forgetting Sarah Marshall** - Didn’t give it a second thought when I’d see the commercials, usually hate stupid looking rom-coms…but finally saw the dvd on a camping trip where I couldn’t escape it, and now it’s one of my favorites. From what I understand, though, some of the funnier scenes never appeared in the theater release or something. Also, **Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs**. I thought it looked like just another romp for 5-year-olds, but went to see it anyway because I love watching animated food. It surprised me; it was actually quite enjoyable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-thought-you-would-hate-but-ended-up-loving/534891.md?page=3)