movies that you think were unfairly trashed and take pride in watching even if others around you turn up their noses

mine are
1.Buffy--I think this movie got better after the series came out as it gives the back story
2.Drop Dead Fred
3. Wishmaster Trilogy
4.Return to Oz
5.Wonderfalls (Ok that's a tv show but I'm still pissed it was cancelled after 4 episodes, but luckily you can get 13 episodes on dvd and it was #4 at one point which should have been a sign for networks to pick the show back up. I think Firefly is in the same situation (Never watched it though)

All creature flicks are underated in my opinion.

favorites include:

Bats
Anaconda I&II
Lake Placid
8-Legged Freaks
Snakes on a Plane

"Unbreakable"

Amen to that sister! I didn't like it when I first saw it but the more I thoguht about it, the more I thoguht "Holy Cow that was good!". You've got to think about it and feel it to really get it and that's why I think it didn't get the recognition it deserved.

"The Sixth Sense" had enough other things going for it that folks could enjoy it on many levels but "Unbreakable", you had to think to enjoy it. And I think people were expecting another "Sixth Sense" and didn't seem to get it.

Now I'm going to have to think on what films I think are underrated. I've got lots that I think folks should see that they've probably never heard of but I'm taking the approach that these are movies most folks have at least heard of and were panned by the critics or didn't do very good business at the box office. Not like foreign films that only get limited release here in the States. Like "Oscar and Lucinda", "Breaking the Waves", "and "Waking Ted Divine". :P Sorry had to get the plugs in!

Most recently I'd say "Inside Man" I thought that was a really cool movie and the first one in a long time that I didn't have even an inkling of what was actually going on until the end. Blue coveralls, brilliant! And the music was great too. I couldn't understand why it didn't get much press of box office.

Along with "Unbreakable," how about Signs? I expected to hate it after hearing everyone talk, but I think I like it even better than Sixth Sense. I think it's like you said, that people were expecting something different from what they got. But I'd rather have gotten what I did than what people were expecting...

Other than that...Return to Me. It's about the only romantic comedy I'll watch. It was so perfectly casted--Bonnie Hunt is hilarious.

(Love the new avatar, RT. :P )

I totally agree with the M. Night Shayamalan movies. It seems since he had so much initially success everyone, including the critics, are looking to cut him down. All the movies of his I've seen--I haven't seen Lady in the Water or The Village but I'm going to, especially Lady because I love urban fantasy/magic realism--have been really good.

I totally agree with what you say Rtlemurs. There's just so much going on beneath the obvious surface in his movies. You can't just sit back and be passively entertained, you have to engage your brain. I love that, but it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea. The Sixth Sense is a perfect example of this. As I've mentioned it's even better if you've seen the commentary because they are so many little details eg the way the color red signals something supernatural is going to happen or the way it appears that the Bruce Willis character is interacting with people, besides the little boy (who's name I can't remember right now), when it's really just your mind making connections that aren't there, so it's fun to go back and see it again with that knowledge. There's something new every time, which is why it's so re-watchable for me. The last time I saw it, I had to wonder if the connection between the boy's mother mentioning she had been praying for help and the Bruce Willis character showing up was intentional (without going too deeply into my religious opinions, I'll just say that I believe that happens way more often in real life than we think). Enough of that though.

Let's see, what other movies do I think should have been more popular,

Erik the Viking-- it's funny and there is some good symbolism in it.

Truly, Madly, Deeply-- From what I understand the American movie Ghost, which I also like, sappy as it is, is loosely, very loosely, based on it. The only similarity I can see is they both feature women who have lost a boyfriend. Alan Rickman is just a bonus. I love the ghost orchestra sitting around practicing in the livingroom.

Kundun--the story of the latest incarnation of the Dali Lama. It sort of unfairly had to compete with Seven Years in Tibet which featured a bigger budget and Brad Pitt--to whom I am definitely not opposed-- but I found it way more touching. I was absolutely bawling when I saw the scene where they're escaping Tibet and the Dali Lama is physically ill at leaving. Just that much commitment to one's religion, life and people is something to strive for.

A.I.-- Critics didn't like it, but it asked some really hard questions about our responsibilities for the lives we bring into the world (human, animal, or cyborg, I guess). I was crying at the end of this one too.

I, Robot It sort of got panned as having been done before. The sad thing is that as it's based of an, early I believe, Isaac Asimov story, it's actually the real thing and the others are the imitation, as any Sci.Fi. nerd will tell you.

The Party--this is a lesser known Peter Sellars movie. It's really pretty stupid, but the trouble his character manages to get into is unbelievable and hilarious at the same time. Just a sample, the character is an actor in a remake of the movie Gunga Din, his character is supposed to blow his trumpet to warn the British troops of an ambush then die, but he takes his time about it, they'll have to reshoot the scene. Meanwhile, the director is getting ready to film another scene that involves blowing up a building, they have an actual building to blow up, but obviously they've only got one chance to do the scene right so the director is lecturing everyone on how careful they have to be. Along comes Sellars' character with an untied shoelace; he's looking for something to put his foot on while he does up his shoe. He ends up using the trigger for the explosives so that the whole building goes up and isn't even on camera at all. At this point the director has had it with him, he calls the producer and tells him to make sure this guy never works again. After hearing the havoc Sellars' character has reeked on the set the producer agrees and goes to write down the actor's name. The problem is the producer has a whole bunch of papers scattered all over his desk. He grabs on and writes down the actor's name on the bottom without really noticing what the paper is. Just after the producer hangs up the phone his assistant comes in and asks is he has the guest list for the party his wife is having. He says yes and hands the list over. The problem is that's where he wrote down the name, so this goofy actor is now invited to his and his wife's nice party where he continues to get into all kinds of trouble.

It is definitely a period piece though, so you might want to get out your love beads and tie-dyed shirts. It is really funny though I swear. Actually anything with Peter Sellars is hilarious (check out [/I]The Bobo[I] for the blue singing, or is that singing blue, matador). Aparently all great comics are British (witness Benny Hill, Rowan Atkinson, various "Pythons", apparently Sacha B. Cohen aka Ali G or Borat, and, of course, Hugh) . I don't know why.

I knew I liked you Catlady! :) This is my 'tied for first place" favorite all time movie. (I have to put the Peter Jackson "Lord of theRongs" Trilogy at the top. I waited far too long for someone to do it right and he nailed it!) I absolutely adore Alan Rickman in this one. And the whole ghosts are real people thing was great. The movies, the orchestra, the political meetings, moving the furniture, etc. And the all around acting was fantastic (Juliette Stevenson, Michael Maloney, and many other faces I reccognize but can't recall names).

The writing was way above average ("Drugs, yes, give me drugs. I want drugs!" :lol: ). And, it was Anthony Minghella's directorial debut. (I think he's right up there with David Lean and Ang Lee when it comes to the look of a film. Although that has a lot to do with the cinematographer, they are all have a very visual style and get a cinematographer that meets their demands.)

Anyhow, I didn't include it becasue I figured it was one of those foreign movies that maybe wasn't so much underrated as just not available for the masses to see in the theater, thus not a good judge of underrated.

I thought this movie brought up many interesting thoughts but over all I wasn't that impressed by it. I think it tried to be too much and the ending fairly sucked. I get the point of the ending but I think there would have been many better ways to get that across.

With that kind of weather you have to have a sense of humour! But then why isn't there a plethora of funny folk from Seattle and Cleveland? Or even seasonal goofiness from the monsoon regions?
Hmmmm, it's .... a mystery!~ :lol:

I think its a really highrated film, but in my opinion it cant be high enough, "dead man walking".
does anyone know this film?
its so sad ..., but one of the best films ever been made ..

Sacha Baron Cohen, the guy who plays Ali G etc, was active in the Cambridge Footlights, same as HL. Cool, huh?

Yup...this is a really great movie... far more poignant than Seven Years in Tibet. And a cool Phillip Glass soundtrack to go with it :)

There is another movie about Nepal that I enjoy- Himalaya is the name of it. Visually stunning (and another great soundtrack).

Oops... my time is up. Gotta run.

I totally agree with you. This one is an old favorite of mine.

Back to M. Night Shyamalan: Yes, I don't think he gets a fair shake from the critics. When Unbreakable came out, everyone was whining that he was repeating himself: Philadelphia, Bruce Willis, cute kid, twist ending. "It's too much like the Sixth Sense!" So then they harp on his next movies because they're not like The Sixth Sense!

Not even Babe Ruth hit a homer with every swing, and not every movie Night makes is going to have the perfection of The Sixth Sense. Signs and The Village had some flaws, true, but they also had a whole lot of good stuff to think about. Even one of Night's less perfect movies is better than 90% of what Hollywood puts out there.


A.I. -- A mess, but a thought-provoking mess. Is it possible to be cruel to a machine?

Hmmm, I didn't know that. It makes this little snippet more interesting.

From E! Online

I agree Aud. M. Night's stuff, even when not hitting on all cylinders, is far better than 90% of the stuff coming out. I missed "Lady in the Water" so will have to catch it on DVD now.

Nomad, I'll have to check out Himalaya. I love a good looking movie, that's why I like Anthony Mingehella. Even if I don't care for the movie I general love the look of his films.

Cakemixo, Catlady-- I guess I'll have to break down and watch "I, Robot". I like good scifi but there so much bad scifi out there that I don't general go see any until someone who's tastes I trust recommend it.