Movies that are much better than their reputation

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Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Thanas »

This thread is for you sharing movies that were panned by critics but who you think got an undeserved reputation.

I'll start with this one: Lucky Number Slevin (2006), 51% rotten meter on rottentomatoes.com.

Why you should watch it:

1) Acting. The cast is great (Ben Kingsley, Stanley Tucci, Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu and Josh Hartnett). Many, including Liu and Hartnett perform their best roles IMO. The tempo of the movie is great and the dialogue has a dark vibrant comedy to it, reminiscent of Pulp fiction. The overall plot is a bit of a stretch, but if you like convoluted crime dramas, this one might just be it for you.

2) Style. The movie has great style. The set design is outstanding. It is a well-shot movie where the appartments the people live in say as much about them as the dialogue.


Piece of dialogue to characterize the movie:
Slevin: This isn't the first time this has happened, you know.

Lindsey: You mean this isn't the first time a crime lord asked you to kill the gay son of a rival gangster to pay off a debt that belongs to a friend whose place you're staying in as a result of losing your job, your apartment, and finding your girlfriend in bed with another guy?

Slevin: No, this is the first time THAT happened, but Nick has been painting me into corners since we were kids.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Dread Not »

I might think of more movies later, but the one that jumps first to my mind is Deep Impact, with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 47%, which kind of amazes me considering that POS Armageddon is only slightly lower at 40%. Until recently I had no idea the movie had received such a lukewarm reception. I thought it was a really heavy movie that made great use of its subject matter.

I really enjoyed Robert Duvall's performance and the entire narrative with the astronauts. It also had a teenaged romance that didn't make me want to gouge my eyes out. A lot of the really intense scenes have no musical accompaniment and let the drama speak for itself. It takes the exact opposite approach of this insanity.

To be honest I haven't seen the movie in about ten years, so it's possible that if I watched it today I would find a lot of the touching moments unbearably cheesy, but judging from the few clips I watched on youtube it seems to hold up well for me.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Jub »

Dredd would count, but I think people are warming up to it now due to the positive word of mouth.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by NeoGoomba »

Jub wrote:Dredd would count, but I think people are warming up to it now due to the positive word of mouth.
I thought Dredd was pretty well received, critically?

Anyways, in a nonsensical fashion I love Nacho Libre. It has, in my warped mind, a wonderful deadpan humor and intentionally awkward timing. Plus it's about luchadores.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Lord Revan »

this might seem like heresy here, I think the SW prequels to be this, sure they're ok(ish) but if you go by what the critics are saying (especially the internet ones) you'd think they're "holiday special" like abominations that should be destroyed and never spoken again.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Zaune »

The Adventures of Pluto Nash. Extremely cheesy and the special effects weren't worth a tenth what they spent on them, but it had a number of genuinely funny moments and Eddie Murphy makes a surprisingly good straight-man.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Flagg »

Suckerpunch. Great visuals, great style, great soundtrack.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Ralin »

Megamind (2010). Vastly less stupid than the trailers made it look like it was going to be. The villain protagonist was likeable and quirky in a good way, it was funny and the actual villain was surprisingly effective, if not particularly deep.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by The Xeelee »

Megamind was rated poorly? I thought it was good and have only heard good things about it.

I second Pluto Nash
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by spaceviking »

Megamind is not rated poorly, it has 73% on Rotten tomatoes. It is also my favorite animated movie.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Sea Skimmer »

Most movies put out by Dreamworks animation have terrible trailers that make them look stupid, How to Train your Dragon was exceptional in that regard.

Personally I don't get the hate on the Sylvester Stallone Judge Dread, its such a silly stupid concept to start with. By no means it is a good movie, but Ijust have no idea where people are coming from who think its one of the worst movies of all time.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by fgalkin »

Sea Skimmer wrote:Most movies put out by Dreamworks animation have terrible trailers that make them look stupid, How to Train your Dragon was exceptional in that regard.

Personally I don't get the hate on the Sylvester Stallone Judge Dread, its such a silly stupid concept to start with. By no means it is a good movie, but Ijust have no idea where people are coming from who think its one of the worst movies of all time.
Dredd takes off his helmet. The helmet NEVER comes off.

Having said that, and faithfulness of the adaptation aside, I think Stallone had much better presence as Dredd than Karl Urban did. Much as I like the guy, and love the new Dredd, he simply doesn't have the gravitas to hold the viewer's attention the way Sly's Dredd did.

Have a very nice day.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

fgalkin wrote:
Sea Skimmer wrote:Most movies put out by Dreamworks animation have terrible trailers that make them look stupid, How to Train your Dragon was exceptional in that regard.

Personally I don't get the hate on the Sylvester Stallone Judge Dread, its such a silly stupid concept to start with. By no means it is a good movie, but Ijust have no idea where people are coming from who think its one of the worst movies of all time.
Dredd takes off his helmet. The helmet NEVER comes off.

Having said that, and faithfulness of the adaptation aside, I think Stallone had much better presence as Dredd than Karl Urban did. Much as I like the guy, and love the new Dredd, he simply doesn't have the gravitas to hold the viewer's attention the way Sly's Dredd did.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
Plus I tihnk the Stallone version did a better job of portraying the crapsack world of millions of people crammed together in confined spaces, everything was dark and close-in and claustrophobic, i didn't get that vibe from the new one, much as I enjoyed it.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by fgalkin »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:
fgalkin wrote:
Sea Skimmer wrote:Most movies put out by Dreamworks animation have terrible trailers that make them look stupid, How to Train your Dragon was exceptional in that regard.

Personally I don't get the hate on the Sylvester Stallone Judge Dread, its such a silly stupid concept to start with. By no means it is a good movie, but Ijust have no idea where people are coming from who think its one of the worst movies of all time.
Dredd takes off his helmet. The helmet NEVER comes off.

Having said that, and faithfulness of the adaptation aside, I think Stallone had much better presence as Dredd than Karl Urban did. Much as I like the guy, and love the new Dredd, he simply doesn't have the gravitas to hold the viewer's attention the way Sly's Dredd did.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
Plus I tihnk the Stallone version did a better job of portraying the crapsack world of millions of people crammed together in confined spaces, everything was dark and close-in and claustrophobic, i didn't get that vibe from the new one, much as I enjoyed it.
The comics themselves are pretty inconsistent, as they ought to be after 40 years and dozens of writers, so it varies from the super-serious dark gritty feeling (that I thought Dredd captured quite well, actually), to plain comedy (remember Walter the Wobot?). The Stallone movie was more faithful to the way the setting looks like in the comics, but Dredd captured the feel of it (unsurprisingly, given John Wagner's involvement in the project).

Still, I find this:


to be closer to Dredd than this:


The whole point of the Judges and their silly uniforms is public theater. They keep order by intimidation as much as actual policework. Dredd isn't Batman, he doesn't growl from the shadows. When he comes for you, you see him coming, because the Law must be seen in action.

Have a very nice day.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by The Romulan Republic »

I, Robot. It gets criticized a lot but it has a good story, good actors, and good fights and special effects.

I think it mainly got criticized because it wasn't like the book.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Flagg »

The Romulan Republic wrote:I, Robot. It gets criticized a lot but it has a good story, good actors, and good fights and special effects.

I think it mainly got criticized because it wasn't like the book.
That and hilariously awkward product placement. I did enjoy the movie, though.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by JLTucker »

Note: Anything in the 70 percentile on Rotten Tomatoes (who uses that aggregate site as a metric anyway?) is not a movie that was praised. It's a C average and that is never good.

But here are a few (three) from me:

Terrence Malick's To the Wonder was horribly received by critics who are unable to handle unconventional narratives and actually come to answers on their own instead of being told them. The film is a meditative religious (maybe?) piece told through exquisite visual poetry. It's about three people and their journey of self discovery through love and religion: a man, a woman, and a priest. Even though there is very little dialogue, the performances are nuanced and powerful, proving that you don't need exposition to show emotion. The use of natural light instead of staged lighting is where it excels visually, and just like with Tree of Life, the cinematography is part of the story. The priests battles with his lust and ruminates that his love of Christ prevents him from acting on it. He faces temptation after temptation to turn away from God and give in to his desires. The man and the woman deal with their complicated, and quite dark relationship while journeying "to the wonder." All of this praise can't come without mention of at least a single flaw. The inclusion of Rachel McAdams is misguided and while it serves the story, it still feels like a waste. If you pay attention to what critics say, disregard their opinions here. This may be the director's most personal work.

The Godfather Part III bests Part II because it isn't harmed by flashbacks that ruin the narrative. In Part III, Michael finally atones for his criminal behavior in the worst possible way. His only way out was to witness the death of his child and reflect on the women in his life. His actions drove them away from him, a common theme in modern gangster/family shows like Boardwalk Empire. The film's detractors love to exaggerate their issues with it and namely point to Sofia Coppola's performance. It doesn't suck; it's just mediocre. The story wouldn't be the same without her and I dare say the trilogy as a whole wouldn't be as good as it is without her.

Michael Bay's The Island is his art film (I have not seen Pain and Gain, so that bold claim may change). While it was created with a huge budget, it has important things to say about the plight of home schooled children who deal with extensive sheltering at the hands of their parents. With suppression of knowledge comes ignorance and perhaps an inability to handle new ideas, thoughts, and emotions. An internal and physical revolution is needed to break from the shackles of oppression and come out stronger than ever. While the action does become too intense and cumbersome, the thematic elements overcome that and may make the movie Bay's best.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Admiral Valdemar »

The Romulan Republic wrote:I, Robot. It gets criticized a lot but it has a good story, good actors, and good fights and special effects.

I think it mainly got criticized because it wasn't like the book.
On that note, Starship Troopers (63% RT rating). It annoyed the book fans because it was satire of all they loved, because Verhoeven couldn't stomach the book at all. He did make peace later on with the TV series, though.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by fgalkin »

Admiral Valdemar wrote:
The Romulan Republic wrote:I, Robot. It gets criticized a lot but it has a good story, good actors, and good fights and special effects.

I think it mainly got criticized because it wasn't like the book.
On that note, Starship Troopers (63% RT rating). It annoyed the book fans because it was satire of all they loved, because Verhoeven couldn't stomach the book at all. He did make peace later on with the TV series, though.
Seconded on Starship Troopers, which is actually superior to the book in every way.

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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Eternal_Freedom »

If we are using RT as a metric, I'd add 2010: The Year we Make Contact, the sequel to 2001. Ok, it's never goign to stand up to 2001, but I really enjoyed the film and although it deviated from the book it managed to keep all the essentials in there and held my interest all the way through. The Cold WAr peace message was a bit contrived but I thought it worked well.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Zwinmar »

Love Megamind, has to be my favorite animated movie.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Starglider »

The Losers. 49% on RT, annoyed all the comic book fans for being light-hearted action, lots of critics dismissed it just for being 'a clone of A-Team and/or Expendables'. On its own merits though it's genuinely entertaining with more variety and likeable characters than Expendables and a much better modern take on the A-Team concept than the actual A-Team movie. I didn't expect much when watching this at a 'bad film night' but it was the stand out of the evening; worth watching for the sniper scene alone. Not a great movie but definitely better than the 'bad action knock-off' reputation.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Bedlam »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:
fgalkin wrote:
Sea Skimmer wrote:Most movies put out by Dreamworks animation have terrible trailers that make them look stupid, How to Train your Dragon was exceptional in that regard.

Personally I don't get the hate on the Sylvester Stallone Judge Dread, its such a silly stupid concept to start with. By no means it is a good movie, but Ijust have no idea where people are coming from who think its one of the worst movies of all time.
Dredd takes off his helmet. The helmet NEVER comes off.

Having said that, and faithfulness of the adaptation aside, I think Stallone had much better presence as Dredd than Karl Urban did. Much as I like the guy, and love the new Dredd, he simply doesn't have the gravitas to hold the viewer's attention the way Sly's Dredd did.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
Plus I tihnk the Stallone version did a better job of portraying the crapsack world of millions of people crammed together in confined spaces, everything was dark and close-in and claustrophobic, i didn't get that vibe from the new one, much as I enjoyed it.
I'd agree, as I typed in the original thread, Its a good Dread but a bad Mega City One.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by Ralin »

spaceviking wrote:Megamind is not rated poorly, it has 73% on Rotten tomatoes. It is also my favorite animated movie.
Hmm, well, I mainly remembered how dumb the trailers made it look. And I got the impression that it had gotten at best mixed results from the critics when I skimmed its wiki article the other day.
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Re: Movies that are much better than their reputation

Post by PeZook »

Eternal_Freedom wrote:If we are using RT as a metric, I'd add 2010: The Year we Make Contact, the sequel to 2001. Ok, it's never goign to stand up to 2001, but I really enjoyed the film and although it deviated from the book it managed to keep all the essentials in there and held my interest all the way through. The Cold WAr peace message was a bit contrived but I thought it worked well.
It's much more of a movie than 2001. 2001 is chock-full of subtle artsy messages and the story itself is at most a backdrop to a sweeping vista of humanity's journey from mindless beasts to beings of PURE mind, but it's slow and plodding.

2010 is much tighter and faster paced. I like it t least as much as 2001.

EDIT: And as for Megamind, it's a testament to the way poor marketing kills a movie. I only got the DVD because I was looking for something for my son and he already had literally every other animated movie ; Never saw it in cinemas because it looked dumb as shit from the trailers.

And holy fuck man, it's awesome.
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