Stranger Than Fiction was unexpectedly good for a Will Ferrell movie (or any movie, actually)
Another couple that were obscure as hell but that I loved: True Romance and Legend – both of which are actually in my (very short) list of movies I have been known to quote.
Pitch Black was a big surprise for me when I saw it on DVD for the first time.
It seemed like it would just be a lame “Alien” rip off, but it was actually excellent. I even posted a thread about it at one point declaring it the next Blade Runner(not big in theaters but big on VHS/DVD).
Agreed. I never enjoyed Tom Green, once the shock factor wore off. So I expected this to be a horrible movie. But it was quite good, IMO (probably in large part because Tom Green wasn’t in most of it).
I’d also add Riding In Cars With Boys. I watched it with an old GF, and I expected to sit through a straight chick flick. Instead, what I got was an interesting, well done story about a woman overcoming huge obstacles to achieve success. Especially surprising since it starred Drew Barrymore.
Check out The Blue Iguana starring a pre-Practice Dylan McDermott. It’s a pretty good noir spoof.
Well, you can bet money that the violence will be toned down.
The plot is refreshing. I’d watch a Hollywood version if they didn’t mess with it.
Know what the DiCaprio version will be called?
Lakai writes:
> Know what the DiCaprio version will be called?
It will be called The Chaser.
Click on the link in Mojo Pin’s post, which brings up the IMDb page. Click on movie connections. You’ll see there that it will be called The Chaser and is scheduled to come out in 2010.
I just saw the latest four-DVD release of Blade Runner. Ridley Scott used surplus footage of a unicorn from Legend for Deckard’s dream sequence.
I hadn’t realized how universal my experience with Terminator was. I was essentially dragged to the movie, kicking and screaming, by some friends.
Galaxy Quest was a promising concept, the only thing that made me skeptical going into the theater was the presence of Tim Allen… What a great surprise!
The only other movie that comes to mind presently is Hero with Dustin Hoffman, Gina Davis and Andy Garcia. A brilliant little film (can it really be little with that cast?) with an uplifting message and (I think) one of Hoffman’s great performances…
Molly Ringwald, Michale Ironsides, Ernie Hudson AND 3D. What’s not to like?
I’ll echo the comments on Terminator. My brother saw it in the theaters and discribed it to me and my inital thoughts were “lame”. Of course after I saw it I was like “that’s the most awsome thing I ever saw.”
Actually I felt that way about most Arnold movies. Predator, Commando, True Lies. **Last Action Hero ** didn’t work for me though because the kid was too annoying.
**
Big Trouble in Little China** was a pleasent surprise as was **The Thing ** and They Live. Escape From New York just sounded awesome. Every other John Carpenter film was an unpleasent disappointment.
I found that DeCaprio movie The Beach to be pretty good. Actually I like most of his films. Does that make me a chick?
I found the romantic comedy **Just Friends ** to be surprisingly hilarous. Mostly because of Ryan Renolds probably.
Hey, they’re his movies.
I thought Clueless was going to be terrible. Starring the ‘chick from the Aerosmith videos’… I figured it was going to be lame. But I really liked it.
Was also pleasantly surprised by American Pie, Superbad and Fast Times at Ridgemont High as well.
That’s Tim Meadows, not Don Cheadle. Good movie though.
I had heard Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was fun and quirky, but I didn’t expect to ADORE it.
I’m with everyone else on Harold & Kumar. I don’t even remember what made us rent it, but my husband and I laughed our butts off and generally enjoyed it much more than we had anticipated.
Can’t Hardly Wait was unexpectedly awesome. I rented it right after it came out on video and was completely charmed. I just heard they’re coming out with a 10th anniversary DVD with the deleted scenes (finally!), and I got unreasonably excited about it.
Huh. I hadn’t realized until now that they are two seperate people.
Movies I enjoyed way more than I was expecting to:
Drumline
Heartbreakers
Love and Basketball
The Jack Bull
The Boxer
That movie cracks me up, sometimes when I’m not even watching it. (“I’m finished wit’ dis guy.”). It’s what first made me give some appreciation to Joe Pesci. Also that hand gesture that Marisa Tomei makes against the rail after giving her expert testimony made me want to marry her too.
I loved this movie! Part of my zeal was because I was in a marching band throughout high school and really got into the excitement of the performances. The general plot wasn’t too bad either. Nick ain’t bad either.
I came in here to mention Set It Off, with Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett, Viveca A. Fox and Kimberly Elise. See here:
Not academy award caliber by any measure, but the story set up makes the climax really believable; you care about all of the characters and it’s credible that they’d take the actions they ultimately did. And Queen Latifah at the end was FIERCE!
My friend is a big Adam Corolla fan, so she had to see The Hammer. It wasn’t “Rocky” or anything, but I have to admit he did a pretty good job. Nice to see a comedian do a movie without going for the gross-out factor or throwing f-bombs all over the place.
Reminds me: Hebrew Hammer.
Hilarious if you’re Jewish. Incomprehensible otherwise.
El Milagro de P. Tinto: An absolutely bizarre film from Spain that I ended up absolutely loving.
I’d never heard of Raising Arizona or the Cohen Brothers when it first came on HBO. The opening was strange enough that I almost switched to something else, but by the end I was hooked. That’s kind of how most Cohen Brothers movies have gone for me.
I started watching the first Austin Powers movie with low expectations and loved it. The second was just the opposite, and the third I rented because my wife wanted to see it (she apologized afterward).
I was brought to Muriel’s wedding with some friends, expecting very little. I was unfamiliar with anyone involved in the film, and it’s safe to say that it wasn’t advertised to appeal to a 20-something guy.
It turned out to be one of my favorite movies ever. Muriel was such an authentic and complex character, sincere and vulnerable. The film gives the best depiction I’ve ever seen of the fine line between comedy and tragedy (the scenes with Muriel’s family). And I adored Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths – I wish she had gained a higher profile after this movie…I know about her role in 6 feet under , but I’d love to see her in more films) and the depiction of this friendship and what it meant for Muriel. I could go on…I know the film was a hit but I never feel like it gets the recognition it deserves for being truly great.
(In case it matters, no I’m not gay , though my love of this movie gave my now-wife a bit of pause when we first met… 
)
Count of Monte Cristo with Jim Caviezal and Guy Pearce.
I bought it from a bargain bin at Blockbuster - I think I needed an extra DVD to make up a “5 for £15” offer or something.
Was really good, one of my face “watch again” films.