# unexpectedly good movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 3, 2008, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664 "2008-08-03T02:51:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/41 "2008-08-04T19:45:11Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] The moviegoing crowd must be _very_ different in Tennessee. I lived in Tucson when Shaun of the Dead came out and here in San Diego when Hot Fuzz came out, and both times, everyone and their mother was raving about them. [/QUOTE] Sadly, I only know a handful of people in this area who have seen either flick without me insisting that they watch it. I have created a rather large Simon Pegg fanbase around here by raving about those movies! Remember, I live in a pretty small town. ---
**Author:** ![mrsspooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/439d5e/32.png) [@mrsspooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrsspooky)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/42 "2008-08-04T20:20:10Z")
Why? Dont ask! But doggy poo was much better than I thought it would be. So much so I hav it on dvd - good viewing! ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/43 "2008-08-04T20:23:02Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/44 "2008-08-04T20:32:57Z")
This isn’t comprehensive, but my list includes: **Groundhog Day**. I did not expect to love this movie, but I do. I did not expect to because I do not like Bill Murray. I do not like him a lot. I also do not like Andie McDowell a lot. My usual practice is to avoid Bill Murray movies, and pretend that Andie McDowell doesn’t exist in the movies she’s in. **Local Hero.** It wasn’t that I expected it to be a bad movie; the first time I saw it I had no expectations at all. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/45 "2008-08-04T20:36:11Z")
Others: \*\*The Iron Giant The Dish The Hidden \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/46 "2008-08-04T20:58:22Z")
[QUOTE=mrsspooky] Why? Dont ask! But doggy poo was much better than I thought it would be. So much so I hav it on dvd - good viewing! [/QUOTE] uhm…? ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/47 "2008-08-04T21:17:09Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] I didn’t expect **The Terminator** to be very good. Nobody knew who the hell James Cameron was when it came out, and the ads made it look to me as if it was a low-budget sci-fi flick featuring people running around LA with rubber masks. Then I saw it, and was blown away. [/QUOTE] Ditto here. Probably my all-time biggest disjunct between what I expected and what I got. ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/48 "2008-08-04T21:17:19Z")
**Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle** It sounded like it would be a really lame stoner movie about a couple of lovable losers. It turned out to be a really _good_ stoner movie about a couple of lovable losers. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/49 "2008-08-04T21:20:14Z")
**The Arrival**. I was expecting bad Sci Fi packaged as a star vehicle for Charlie Sheen. Which it kinda was…but was also kinda great. Effective f/x and even some good Sci Fi elements that I hadn’t seen before, like that room sucking bomb thingie. **Executive Decision**. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know the exact instant when I started getting hopeful that I watching something that didn’t suck. ---
**Author:** ![abbeytxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@abbeytxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abbeytxs)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/50 "2008-08-04T21:22:09Z")
I agree with many of the already named movies, but my most recent “didn’t expect it to be good movie” was **Lars and the Real Girl**. I had no idea what to expect. A movie about a guy who falls for a life sized sex doll?! It was a really well done, captivating, movie. ---
**Author:** ![Litoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@Litoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Litoris)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/51 "2008-08-04T21:31:37Z")
[QUOTE=abbeytxs] I agree with many of the already named movies, but my most recent “didn’t expect it to be good movie” was **Lars and the Real Girl**. I had no idea what to expect. A movie about a guy who falls for a life sized sex doll?! It was a really well done, captivating, movie. [/QUOTE] Heh. I just finished watching that this weekend, and while it was ok, it just wasn’t that good. The story line was as predictable as they get for that type of movie, but I can see how it would exceed others’ expectations. I would recommend it for someone looking for an offbeat chick flick, but otherwise, nah. I agree with everyone about \*\*Harold & Kumar \*\*-- totally unexpectedly decent. Keep 'em coming, I am looking for something to add to my Netflix queue after we watch all of the original Speed Racer shows (I promised my son we would watch those, as he was hooked after the movie!). ---
**Author:** ![abbeytxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@abbeytxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abbeytxs)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/52 "2008-08-04T21:35:39Z")
[QUOTE=Litoris] Heh. I just finished watching that this weekend, and while it was ok, it just wasn’t that good. The story line was as predictable as they get for that type of movie, but I can see how it would exceed others’ expectations. I would recommend it for someone looking for an offbeat chick flick, but otherwise, nah. I agree with everyone about \*\*Harold & Kumar \*\*-- totally unexpectedly decent. Keep 'em coming, I am looking for something to add to my Netflix queue after we watch all of the original Speed Racer shows (I promised my son we would watch those, as he was hooked after the movie!). [/QUOTE] Given that I am an offbeat chick, I guess that explains why I liked it. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/53 "2008-08-04T22:16:40Z")
**Super Troopers** was a surprise for me. It was more odd than I had expected. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/54 "2008-08-04T22:29:44Z")
**Tremors**. It was by no means a good movie, but it was much, much better than I expected it to be when I watched it on late night TV. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/55 "2008-08-04T23:31:05Z")
[QUOTE=uncle squeegee] “The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.” Expected to be mildly entertained and amused, but was really drawn into the story. Good storytelling and character development. [/QUOTE] This. ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/56 "2008-08-05T00:43:50Z")
[QUOTE=Morbo] **The Arrival**. I was expecting bad Sci Fi packaged as a star vehicle for Charlie Sheen. Which it kinda was…but was also kinda great. Effective f/x and even some good Sci Fi elements that I hadn’t seen before, like that room sucking bomb thingie. **Executive Decision**. If you’ve seen it, you’ll know the exact instant when I started getting hopeful that I watching something that didn’t suck. [/QUOTE] Love the username: “Kittens give Morbo gas…” Ha! Lemme Guess When Stephen Segal gets killed? As for mine? I feel that my inputs won’t really count. Mainly because I underestimate them going in, and I appreciate them more for other reasons. Take Commando, for example. By all means a thoroughly bad movie, but there are so many classic Arnie moments to make up for it. And let’s not forget the part where he jumps out of a plane going 100+ MPH from a height of at least 200 feet and lands in a marsh. Okay, here’s a good one. LA Story. This is by and large just a stupid chick flick from outward appearances, but I really feel like it’s a good movie. It really parodies wacky LA culture which is really even wackier now considering how it seems dated. But it really has a lot of heart and is very whimsical and romantic Then there’s always a movie like Point Break. There’s no objective reason to like it at all, but for some reason it simply works for me. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/57 "2008-08-05T12:14:28Z")
A couple of others: **Quatermass 2** (aka **Enemy from Space** – the first quatermass sequel, that I stumbled upon late at night on TV. I’d never heard of it, and didn’t realize at first that it was the sequel to the movie I’d seen years before under the title **The Creeping Unknown**. It turned out to be an excellent piece of science fiction by Nigel Kneale that’s still not seen very often. At least it clued me in to reaize that **Quatermass and the Pit** wouldn’t be an _unexpected_ good film. **The Day of the TRiffids** – not the 1960s theatrical film, which changed the plot and dumbed it down, but the BBC serial that’s remarkably faithful to John Wyndham’s novel. I didn’t expect that. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/58 "2008-08-05T15:32:06Z")
I just watched _Lars and the Real Girl_ this weekend, and was shocked at how good it was, and that I would actually recommend it to my 88 year old mother. _The Terminator_ totally surprised me, like so many here. I watched it on tape, and in the first three minutes am going “Wait a minute. This is actual science fiction!” _The Forty Year Old Virgin_ surprised me. I don’t know what I expected, but I _didn’t_ expect a rather sweet and romantic, although thoroughly profanity-laced movie about relationships, and in which said virgin was the least screwed up and most interesting of his small band of brothers even before he started dating. Considering that movie was made by and for men, don’t _ever_ try to tell me guys aren’t interested in gossip and relationships! ---
**Author:** ![akira5822](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@akira5822](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akira5822)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/59 "2008-08-05T15:41:31Z")
A second for the Hidden, But i was thinking \*\*Big trouble in little china \*\* i love that movie. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664/60 "2008-08-05T16:56:03Z")
**Pootie Tang** - So shoot me. At first this movie is so bad it’s good. Then you realize there is some sort of genius going on and it isn’t really bad at all. My family has seen this one a dozen times. Sa da tay! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unexpectedly-good-movies/458664.md?page=4)