# Movies you weren't sure you liked when you watched it, but then liked later. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450 "2004-08-25T15:20:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/1 "2004-08-25T15:20:23Z")
For me, it was Lost in Translation. When I watched it, it kept me interested, but I wasn’t sure I truly liked it. It was only in the days ahead that I realized something in it stayed with me. Then I started wanting to watch it again. When I saw it at CostCo last week, I bought it. I still haven’t watched it again, but that’s because I’ve had some new movies to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/2 "2004-08-25T16:03:05Z")
Pulp Fiction For some reason I absolutely hated it the first time, but ended up loving it. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/3 "2004-08-25T16:06:23Z")
_Pulp Fiction_ _Zoolander_ I’m sure there are others… ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/4 "2004-08-25T16:09:05Z")
[_Magnolia_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0175880/) ---
**Author:** ![beckwall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b487fb/32.png) [@beckwall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beckwall)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/5 "2004-08-25T16:34:55Z")
I know I’ll be branded un-cool, but at first I didn’t like **Donnie Darko**. Something about it pissed me off, maybe the pretentiousness of the “art house” story line. But now I kinda like it, and even though I don’t understand the cult following it has built, I would definitely recommend it as a must-see. ---
**Author:** ![FriendRob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecc23a/32.png) [@FriendRob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendRob)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/6 "2004-08-25T16:36:14Z")
**2001: A Space Odyssey** - I saw this as a kid and thought it was pretty dull for an SF movie: too much waltz music and weird stuff and nothing happening. Many years later, I read an “explanation” of the movie, that Kubrick was making the point that any alien life would likely be so totally _other_ as to be incomprehensible to us. I decided it was a brilliant movie. I now believe that there is more than one “explanation” for the movie, but that’s part of what makes it so great. (And how about that shot of the space station where the camera viewpoint moves _through_ the ring?!! Done totally without the aid of computer animation - decades ahead of its time.) I love a movie that grows on me like this. (And it doesn’t always take years…) Have to see if I can think of others. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2004, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/7 "2004-08-25T17:45:05Z")
[The Fatal Glass of Beer](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0022883/). When I first saw it, I was very disappointed. I had expected more from W.C. Fields other than two good lines ("'Taint a fit night out for man nor beast." and “I think I’ll go out and milk the elk.”) Then I saw it again. It seemed funnier. The snow on the hat. The giant loaf of bread. The deliberately flat acting (and singing). By the third time, I started to get it. “You won’t consider me rude if I play with my mitts on, will ya?” “He was mighty good with mustard.” Now, I think it’s one of the best comedy short subjects ever made. “He’s crazy.” “Don’t forget to open the window a bit, Chester.” ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/8 "2004-08-25T17:50:59Z")
_Blade Runner_. I was really really really disappointed in this movie the first time I saw it. There are several reasons for this: 1. I was a huge Harrison Ford fan and Ridley Scott fan, so I had absurdly high expectations. 2. I had just seen _The Road Warrior_. Really. I mean right after Road Warrior ended I walked across the street to the theater showing Blade Runner. The movies are heavily contrasted. I was still on a high from the fun and brightness of Road Warrior and not really in the right frame of mind for the more dark and cerebral Blade Runner. The thing that sticks out most for me that I disliked in Blade Runner on initial viewing was the narration. Later, some people who’s opinions on movies I highly respected, and who were also big fans of Ford and Scott, kept raving about how much they loved it. They had seen it several times, and were constantly quoting lines from the movie. So, I decided to try it again, and found I liked it much better. It is now one of my all-time favorites (especially the director’s cut without the narration!)! ---
**Author:** ![andymurph64](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@andymurph64](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andymurph64)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/9 "2004-08-25T18:28:49Z")
Time bandits and Joe vs the Volcano are two movies that pop into my mind. Both movies I did not like the first time I saw them but grew to really like later. Signs could be a more recent one. Saw it again recently (too lazy to find the remote) and enjoyed it much more than when I first saw it. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/10 "2004-08-25T18:45:45Z")
_12 Monkeys_- Like most of Terry Gilliam’s stuff, you really have to be in the right mood to watch it. Now that I’ve figured that out, I like this movie(and Baron Munchausen and Brazil) a lot more. _From Dusk Til Dawn_. Oh, but how I hated this movie. Then I watched it a second time, out of some sick fascination I guess, and it’s really grown on me. I’m sure Salma Hayek’s dance scene in the bar has nothing to do with it. Nothing at all. Oh, and as always, Tarantino is one sick f\*\*\*. God, I love that man. _Chasing Amy_. I really didn’t care for it because I’m a happy endings junkie, but the story is just SO DAMN GOOD. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/11 "2004-08-25T18:55:48Z")
Masterpieces I did not like my first time through: * * * Barry Lyndon Blowup Night of the Hunter Showgirls Monsieur Verdoux\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/12 "2004-08-25T19:13:13Z")
Please God, nobody get him started on Showgirls. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/13 "2004-08-25T19:56:36Z")
Well, it’s an obvious one, but the first time I rented “Citizen Kane” I thought “WTF? this is one long, boring slough about a really sleazy, unlikeable SOB.” (aside: I knew the “surprise ending” about Rosebud ahead of time.) Several years later, I saw it as part of a course on the evolution of film-making and had it’s nuances pointed out to me. Now I realize it is brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/14 "2004-08-25T20:05:35Z")
> [@beckwall](#): > > I know I’ll be branded un-cool, but at first I didn’t like **Donnie Darko**. Something about it pissed me off, maybe the pretentiousness of the “art house” story line. But now I kinda like it, and even though I don’t understand the cult following it has built, I would definitely recommend it as a must-see. The first time I saw it, I was at a friend’s house but walked in about fifteen minutes late and was there for the beer more than I was the movie so I wound up hating it. The second time I watched it, three months ago, I was at some differen’t friends’ house and while I think I might have had a beer during that showing, my mind was focused entirely on the movie. Was very good once I gave it a chance. ---
**Author:** ![SnakeSpirit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snakespirit/32/7271_2.png) [@SnakeSpirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeSpirit)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/15 "2004-08-25T20:11:03Z")
Blade Runner, of course. When I first saw the film in the theatre I came out and was puzzled. What had I just seen? It was packed with so much cerebral matter it was difficult to process. And it was way ahead of its time. Not that I didn’t like it, I didn’t understand it. It had a tremendous, haunting impact on me. I could hardly wait till they invented BetaMax! My betamax copy died long ago. I still have viable VHS copies of the original and the directors cut, and a DVD or two of the director’s cut. I love it. It is my all-around most favorite film. I can’t wait for the sequal! ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/16 "2004-08-25T20:33:31Z")
_A Christmas Story_. I don’t usually go for nostalgic tales. I had caught bits and pieces here and there. When I finally watched the whole thing, I really enjoyed it. It’s “fra-gee-lee”. ---
**Author:** ![saramamalana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@saramamalana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saramamalana)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/17 "2004-08-25T20:41:39Z")
**28 Days Later**. I liked it when I saw it but I’d felt a bit let down. Then a few weeks later I saw a program (I forget what channel) called “Anatomy of a Scene.” It examined the sequence of the lead man walking around the empty city, into the church, and ending with the gas station exploding. Once I saw all the creative research and work that had gone into it I had a tremendous appreciation for the whole thing and liked the movie more. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/18 "2004-08-25T21:46:25Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > [The Fatal Glass of Beer](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0022883/). When I first saw it, I was very disappointed. I had expected more from W.C. Fields other than two good lines ("'Taint a fit night out for man nor beast." and “I think I’ll go out and milk the elk.”) > > Then I saw it again. It seemed funnier. The snow on the hat. The giant loaf of bread. The deliberately flat acting (and singing). > > By the third time, I started to get it. “You won’t consider me rude if I play with my mitts on, will ya?” “He was mighty good with mustard.” > > Now, I think it’s one of the best comedy short subjects ever made. “He’s crazy.” > “Don’t forget to open the window a bit, Chester.” “Taint a fit night out (pause) for maaaaaan nor beast”. I use that line a lot. Nice call on a pretty obscure film. I remember seeing it my first week of college, at a freshman welcome kind of event. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/19 "2004-08-25T21:52:25Z")
I’ll go with **lissener** on **Barry Lyndon**. **Sullivan’s Travels Almost Famous (Theatrical cut sucks, Director’s Cut is pretty good) Intolerance Adam’s Rib All Quiet On The Western Front The Birds McCabe & Mrs. Miller** ---
**Author:** ![Treviathan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/838e76/32.png) [@Treviathan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treviathan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450/20 "2004-08-25T22:12:08Z")
For me, it was **Dark City**. I fell asleep one-third of the way through it the first time - nothing was happening, Kiefer Sutherland was overacting, and all the scenes were, well, so bloody _dark_. Then I saw it again at a friend’s place, and was mesmerized by it. Maybe on some subconscious level, we realize these movies are actually decent - that’s why we seek them out for a second viewing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-you-werent-sure-you-liked-when-you-watched-it-but-then-liked-later/261450.md?page=2)