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…
I got dragged to see Three Kings by somebody who wanted to go because she never missed a Marky Mark movie. It was awesome.
‘‘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? 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.
*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.
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.
Terminator Salvation.
Paranormal Activity (primarily because I so fucking hated both The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield).
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!
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?? 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.
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.
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:
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.)
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’’ are really cats. They eat fish for goodness’ sake. I took comfort knowing I had a little Toothless 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.)
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.”
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.
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:
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.
.
Lemme guess. Was it this scene that made you laugh out loud?
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.