One that I’m really at odds with the rest of the universe on is Sleepwalkers. (spoilers ahead: ) There’s a mother and son duo that just happens to be vampire-like nearly-immortal cat/alien creatures. Or something. And they get it on together. And have weird telekenetic abilities and can become invisible. And they steal the lifeforce from innocents. And their biggest weakness is the domestic cat. And there’s a scene where someone gets killed with an ear of corn. And the lovely Alice Krige plays her role like it’s the role of her life. Everyone else seems embarassed to be there.
What’s not to like?
Brotherhood of the Wolf (once referred to as “an explosion at the genre factory”) was also quite enjoyable.
I love this movie, it has some of my all-time favorite lines in it. What I find amusing in retrospect was that after seeing it the first time I thought to myself “this Duchovny guy is an ok actor. Too bad he’s in that X-files show.” Amusing since the X-files later became one of my favorite shows
I love If Lucy Fell and ** I’ve Been Waiting For You**. Apparently other people at imdb don’t since they both rank a 4.9. One of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen Rock and Roll High School Forever ranks a pitiful 3.6, although only 200 or so people have actually seen it based on the number of votes.
I’ll join the tiny chorus of people who liked Cutthroat Island.
I’m not sure if Jurassic Park qualifies, but somebody mentioned it, and I liked it.
I would add a little suspense flick with Gene Hackman and Matt Dillon called Target. I’m not sure what the critical reaction was to it at the time, but Maltin’s review of it is scathing, and it sank into obscurity really fast. But I adored it.
There are a lot of movies that have been mentioned here that left me thinking, “That’s supposed to be a bad movie?” but on this one, at least, I can say with authority that your friends are morons. Jaws is a bonafide classic, beloved by critics and movie-goers alike. It made #48 on the American Film Insitute’s 100 greatest films of all time. Not to mention it was the original blockbuster movie.
In other words, your friends are morons.
(I loved Get Shorty too. “He falls pretty good for a big guy.”)
Oh my gosh, I forgot about Mystery Men. Add me to the chorus of people who love that movie. In fact, I love it so much that I’ve rather become known for it. As in, I’ll recommend a film to someone, say for example, Citizen Kane, and the other person will respond with “Gee, I don’t know. I mean, you liked Mystery Men for the love of God, you’re clearly not to be trusted.”
I would have mentioned Flash Gordon too, but is that really panned? Okay, dumb question. Obviously, it was panned by critics at the time of its release (and I can see why). But I think the cult following that’s grown up around it sort of mitigates its panned status a little bit. My theory is that once a film moves into “cult following” it moves out of “panned.”
When I think panned, I’m talking about the BOTTOM OF THE BARREL. Films so hated that B movie geeks don’t even like them.
David Lynch’s Dune. I was a huge Dune fan as a youngster and although I was disappointed in the movie on many levels, it was fascinating visually and I kept thinking “yeah, that’s what X would have looked like”…
I never saw the remake (was it a Sci-Fi Channel remake?) although many have said it’s better than Lynch’s version (which was so heavily panned that a cheap animated version of Dune would probably received rave reviews compared to Lynch’s).
I dunno… I just really, really liked it… although I’ve yet to meet anyone who even “sort of” liked it…
I, too, thought Joe vs. the Volcano was hilarious…
The Neighbors with John Belushi and Dan Akroyd. I have not seen it for several years I always enjoyed it. I thought it was quirky and odd and liked the way Belushi played straight and Akroyd was the crazy one. For a while I would watch it a few times a year, it always made me laugh. Much better than the later Burbs
I’ve got to second most of those, especially Mystery Men and Bedazzled. Three that I’d add would be Showgirls (for no good reason I can explain, I just liked the movie) Airheads (another Brandon Fraiser movie) and Army of Darkness
I laughed my rear off watching the movie with the real big alligator and Bridget Fonda. I’ve watched it twice now and I still can’t figure out why it only gets one star. (Anybody remember its name?)
Lake Placid! Oliver Platt is so hilarious in that movie–and Betty White, too.
Another Bridget Fonda movie that was panned was Point of No Return. Maybe it’s not as good as La Femme Nikita, but I really like it anyway.
Get Shorty wasn’t panned at all–IIRC it received pretty favorable reviews from critics and everyone I know likes it. Maybe we’re confusing “under-rated” with “panned.”
There’s a number of movies already mentioned that I think are great. I’m surprised some of these were panned. Cabin Boy, Dirty Work, The Postman and The Fifth Element are all classic Cinema as far as I’m concerned.
Jet Li’s Romeo Must Die is part of the bizarre trend of martial artists teaming up with Hip Hop stars (in this case the late Aaliyah). It’s widely hailed as how not to do a martial arts movie, and the wire/compu-fu is a little much, but overall I found it extremely enjoyable.
I also find the humor and the (deliberately, probably) over-the-top style of The Big Hit worthy of my time.
Actually, Lynch’s Dune is better on some fronts. The SFX were far better (I liked the Barqoue feeling of Lynchs’s dune far better) as well as the costumes, but the story and the voiceovers were bad.
Not to mention that BS with the milking cat, the wieridng modules and the thropters.
The Sci-fi version’s big advantage was that the story was understandable, but I was really disappointed with the costumes and the effects, as well as the sets. I just felt like it was far too "Star Trek"y. Most of the desert scenes were clearly shot inside the a sudio, the glowglobes were cheap beachballs and the stillsuits…
“Lake Placid” was, as far as I can tell, treated poorly simply because it was a giant alligator movie. It was a great giant alligator movie, possibly the best of all time.
One of the things I look for in a critic is the ability to deal with a flick on its own terms. Yes, it’s a raunchy teen sex comedy, but is it a good raunchy teen sex comedy? I pretty much knew from the trailer that it wasn’t trying to be “Citizen Kane”.
Then again, I quite liked “Evolution” and “Eight Legged Freaks”.
Wasn’t The Long Kiss Goodnight hated by Siskel and Ebert when it came out? Man I loooooved that movie…ever line of dialog and every frame(seen it over 20 times) Geena Davis as a kind of female Bond…GREAT flick!
I also liked Godzilla…the new one…For some reason everyone said they hated it but it grossed a biiiiiig pile of bucks so someone watched it besides me
