# What movie where you most pleasantly suprised after veiwing?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 8, 2000, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719 "2000-01-08T00:52:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@brdrcolle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brdrcolle)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/1 "2000-01-08T00:52:00Z")
This could be a movie you heard bad things about but ended up liking, or a movie you had heard nothing about, saw it on a lark, and really liked it. And I am talking BIG movie that we all might have heard of, not some small indie that the majority have not seen, much less heard of.
Mine include:
“Raiders of the Lost Ark” - believe it or not, I had heard _nothing_ about this movie and saw it only 'cause it was $1.00 night at the movies. Talk about getting your bucks worth.
“The Usual Suspects” - I rented this on video after Kevin Spacey won his Oscar. I now own it and watch it pretty often. Word to the wise, if you have not seen it, make sure you will be able to watch it at least twice.
Of course, I had heard the hype regarding “Saving Private Ryan” and it sure lived up to it!
* * *
“My, my. Such a lot of guns around here and so few brains.”
~Humphrey Bogart in “The Maltese Falcon”
---
### Author:  [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/2 "2000-01-08T01:05:00Z")
Well, I made this home sex movie and upon my viewing it…
Shit!! I’m **HUGE**!!
---
### Author:  [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/3 "2000-01-08T01:08:00Z")
Movies i expected nothing from and LOVED:
Angel Baby
The Usual Suspects
Romper Stomper
Muriel’s Wedding
Dead Again
Eyes Wide Shut (Yes I am the one person who liked it)
that’s all i can think of for now.
* * *
The greater your dreams, the more terrible your nightmares.
---
### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/4 "2000-01-08T01:09:00Z")
The World According to Garp – loved the book but didn’t expect the movie to do it justice. So if a “pleasant surprise” is what you’re looking for, that was one for me.
Oh, and Star Wars – saw it early, a Saturday matinee, expected something a little better than the cheesey Buck Rogers stuff I grew up on – remember leaving the theater and thinking movies were never gonna be the same.
Now that I think about it, that’s not necessarily a GOOD thing. Special effects replaced good acting and plots for quite some time.
---
### Author:  [@special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/special)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/5 "2000-01-08T01:12:00Z")
‘american beauty’. i had no idea what it was going to be about. we went in to see it only because the timing was good. really enjoyed it. neat visuals. even the surprises that seemed to logical after you sdaw them were still surprising at the time.
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/6 "2000-01-08T01:33:00Z")
“The Full Monty,” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.” The only thing I knew about “…Grape” was that DiCaprio was nominated for an Academy Award. I knew nothing about the plot. Turns out that it’s one of the best movies ever made, IMHO.
* * *
“Life is hard…but God is good”
---
### Author:  [@Sealemon88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sealemon88)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/7 "2000-01-08T01:33:00Z")
## American Beauty The Matrix Fight Club The Sixth Sense The Breakfast Club The Mummy Titanic (It wasn’t worth the hype, but it _was_ better than I thought it would be) Galaxy Quest Scream
You say “cheesy” like that’s a **BAD** thing.
---
### Author:  [@brdrcolle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brdrcolle)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/8 "2000-01-08T01:44:00Z")
I didn’t really like “The Sixth Sense” and I really like Bruce Willis.
Star Wars was another pleasant surprise.
I did not care for Titanic and am not sure why. I think it is because I don’t like Leonardo. The best scene in that movie is when Kate Winslet hocks the big loogey all over what’s his names face! Now that was great, the rest of the movie was a let down. I take that back, the last scene was pretty good.
* * *
“My, my. Such a lot of guns around here and so few brains.”
~Humphrey Bogart in “The Maltese Falcon”
---
### Author:  [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/9 "2000-01-08T01:55:00Z")
A couple more – the original Night of the Living Dead was WAY better than anticipated.
Also a funky little 70’s movie called The Witchmaker about (what else) witches.
---
### Author:  [@special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/special)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/10 "2000-01-08T01:58:00Z")
i thought 'titanic; was the silliest, most illogical movie i had ever seen. i spent the whole thing going, ‘they would never have done that! why didn’t they look there? why didn’t anyone ask her?’ my honey almost slobbered thru it he enjoyed it so much.
sealemon, would you suggest ‘the matrix’ or ‘sixth sense’ this weekend?
---
### Author:  [@brdrcolle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brdrcolle)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/11 "2000-01-08T02:29:00Z")
I saw “The Matrix” on video, it was really good. But, I recommend making sure you have the opportunity to see it twice, because it will be half way through before you figure out what the heck is happening!
* * *
“My, my. Such a lot of guns around here and so few brains.”
~Humphrey Bogart in “The Maltese Falcon”
---
### Author:  [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/12 "2000-01-08T02:56:00Z")
Disney’s _Beauty and the Beast_.
Since seeing that movie, I have becoime a big fan of Disney animation (whereas before I classed it as average) (because pre-Mermaid, it often was)
* * *
**-PIGEONMAN-**
Returning Soon!
[The Legend Of PigeonMan](http://www.hotkey.net.au/~guanolad/pigeonman/) - **Watch this space…!** Great things are afoot!
---
### Author:  [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/13 "2000-01-08T03:00:00Z")
Notting Hill
I don’t like Julia Roberts or Hugh Grant all that much but I wanted to see a movie in a theater that day & it was the only thing that sounded lightweight.
But the rest of the cast was inspired & there is some neat editting in a couple of scenes. And Julia Roberts makes fun of herself.
---
### Author:  [@Globe-trotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Globe-trotter)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/14 "2000-01-08T03:01:00Z")
When I was younger, I had to watch “Amadeus” for my drama class. As is the case when one is forced to do something, I wasn’t really interested in watching it. I ended up loving every minute of it.
* * *
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge…others just gargle.
---
### Author:  [@N\_oR\_jVIaL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N_oR_jVIaL)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/15 "2000-01-08T03:16:00Z")
Sid and Nancy took me by surprise … but then I’d never heard of Gary Oldman before that.
Who would have thought they could make a love story out of all that chaos? (I liked the wicked-cool “happy” ending)
The Basketball Diaries was another sleeper with young stars.
(music, drugs, sex, despair, and hope … also PJ Harvey in the soundtrack)
… but the best surprise that I’ve had lately, was Wild America.
It made me remember what if feels like to crave high adventure.
…and I also laughed so hard in places that I thought my liver was going to come unsproiNged.
---
### Author:  [@ChrisCTP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisCTP)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/16 "2000-01-08T03:48:00Z")
American Beauty’s still at #1 on my list…it was extremely hyped on this board, and I went just _knowing_ that it was gonna fall about two feet short of my expectations…and then I went and saw it three more times.
Two Hundred Cigarettes ~ was advertised, looked good, disappeared. Rented it for lack of anything better on the new release wall at Blockbuster. I need to own that one.
## I watch too many movies, mostly ones that everyone hates…I’m going to save you all from the agony of a long post and let someone else take over.
“Wednesday the 15th - Chris made one of her rare good points today.”
_Guanolad_
---
### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/17 "2000-01-08T03:59:00Z")
October Sky – expected it to be boring, but it’s a surprisingly good film.
The Usual Suspects – like brdrcolle, I never heard of it until Spacey won the Oscar.
Them! – I thought it would be a stupid giant insect movie and it turned out to be a well-wrought SF tale. I had the same reaction when I saw _Creature from the Black Lagoon_ and _It Came From Outer Space_. 50s SF was better than it’s reputation these days.
Black Moon – weird plotless movie that, for some reason, worked. Loved the unicorn!
The Well – Excellent film about race relations.
Galaxy Quest – I thought it might be fun, but not as good as it turned out.
* * *
“East is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does.” – Marx
Read “Sundials” in the new issue of Aboriginal Science Fiction. [www.sff.net/people/rothman](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman)
---
### Author:  [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/18 "2000-01-08T04:26:00Z")
An oldie I had avoided until fairly recently - King of the Gypsies (Eric Roberts, Susan Sarandon, Judd Hirsch, Brooke Shields\< late 70’s). It strongly resembles The Godfather, it’s great to look at, and young Eric Roberts is so stunningly beautiful you wonder why God didn’t make more men resembling him and less resembling, say, Ernest Borgnine…
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/19 "2000-01-08T04:33:00Z")
Willy Wonka and the chocalate factory…watched it for my 5 yr old…she fell asleep…
well…
I couldn’t turn it off.
* * *
If you can’t convince them, confuse them.
Harry S. Truman
---
### Author:  [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2000, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719/20 "2000-01-08T04:39:00Z")
btw…
About Raiders of the Lost Ark…y’all know why Indy shot the guy with the swords? (the best scene in the movie IMHO…)
Harrison Ford had the trots!
It was supposed to be a big fight.
* * *
If you can’t convince them, confuse them.
Harry S. Truman
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movie-where-you-most-pleasantly-suprised-after-veiwing/12719.md?page=2)