[Closed] Films that were much better than you expected them to be. Underhyped?

Right behind you from t'other thread. here's mine:

In Bruges - darkly [i]darkly[/i] very comical
Oh and more recently Watchmen. Not normally my cup of tea but nothing else on at the cinema when I was working away. REALLY enjoyed it

Are you seriously suggesting that Wall-E is a little gem that did not receive much publicity? 😯 😉

I cannot remember whether these were all under-hyped, but:

Waltz with Bashir
I Went Down
Kenny
Grizzly Man
Open Range
Seraphim Falls
Flyboys

No, I know Wall-E got a lot of promotion, but I din't expect it to be as good as it is! It was promoted essentially as a kids' film, but it's far more than that. I reckon quite a few adults might think 'kids' film' (I did!), and not bother. And loads of really good films are underhyped/not hyped up at all, and people just don't know about them.

Stardust

An amazing gem of a film.

BD, definitely hear you on Waltz With Bashir. I think it got sidelined by Persepolis in the "Right-on Middle Eastern autobiographical animation" stakes, but it was one of the best made and most powerful films I've seen recently.

I really liked The Ice Storm, Ang Lee's last film before he went blockbuster, and Wonder Boys, which has Michael Douglas playing a useless English professor who can't stop smoking dope.

And Love Liza, which stars Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a man who deals with bereavement by sniffing model aeroplane fuel. 😯

little miss sunshine hadnt even heard of it when I went in to the cinema but it was the first film on.

Bugger, double post.

In Bruges - darkly darkly very comical

Seconded.

Hi

'Hide', it was on film 4 a while ago.
2 blokes, a twitchers hut and an estuary - doesn't sound good does it.
Recommended.

Special mention for Jason and the argonauts - the skeleton fight scene (for time of film production) was IMHO a true leap forward.

[i]little miss sunshine[/i]

Another vote for this.

Also Napoleon Dynamite - my daughter got me to watch it and I assumed it would be teenage garbage, but it was funny teenage garbage.

Mel Gibson's movie Apocalypto not quite sure if it was an underated film, but I can't recall seeing a lot of hype about it. Even though it is subtitled it had me and the wife rivited to the TV, well worth watching if you get the chance 😀

Stardust

An amazing gem of a film.

The Holiday - expected a run-of-the-mill seen-it-all-before rom com but was very pleasantly surprised
Kung Fu Hustle - excellent fun
Kekexili - not even sure if this is spelled correctly. An obscure film about poachers in Siberia but really enjoyed it
Bridge to Terabithia
Gran Turino - I know it did get lots of good press but it exceeded my expectations

BoardinBob - i agree with u on Stardust.

Absolutely loved it after i was "made" to watch it by the misses.

fantastic film.

Also a cracking chick-flick, The notebook. Very good.

Only one ive watched that i have liked.

I can think of 2 films I've really enjoyed in the cinema which hardly anybody I know has seen.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley, all about the Irish fight for independence from the UK and the formation of the IRA.

And a German remake of an old film, The Wave. About a school teacher who carries out an experiment on autocracy which spirals out of control.

LA Confidential.

Watched it on telly one night (nowt else on) really pulled me in.

In Bruges - darkly darkly very comical

Thirdeded

La Antena - Esteban Sapir.

Touted as arty bollocks; was brilliant.

See, I've not heard of a lot of these. I'll have to check them out.

Keep 'em coming!

Positive vibes; not hate.

Had never heard of [url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289879/ ]The Butterfly Effect[/url] but watched it a couple of years back and really enjoyed it.

I'll fourth In Bruges, too.

And watched Stephen King's The Mist last week. Expected garbage but it was, well, quite engrossing.

Also Napoleon Dynamite - my daughter got me to watch it and I assumed it would be teenage garbage, but it was funny teenage garbage.

I'm [b]really[/b] hoping that the Hannah Montana film turns out that way too 🙄

I hadn't even heard of Charlie Wilsons War before watching it a couple of weeks ago

Great Film

The brotherhood of the wolf,

French subtitles and a kung-fu indian, an absolute out of nowhere hit for me.

The Dish, three geeks try to bugger up the moon landing!

The Ice Storm

Wonderful. I love it every time I watch it.

Mrs North and I have a deal that we alternate choice for cinema viewing. Means I get to choose "art" films, and then she chooses Hollywood nonsense. Works well.

[b]Rudeboy[/b] - If you like Wall-E (and presumably the bit that got you was the first part, pre love interest), then try Silent Running (see more here: [url] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Running [/url]).

I really need to wath stardust... It was filmed in Ashridge just down the road from me... There's a big wall in it or something... Anyway, one night on a night ride, we went down a path into the balley it was filmed in, i was 2nd, next thing i know We were faced with this massive wall at the bottom of the path, which i then proceeded to right straight into...

It was very confusing at the time...

OMITN; think I've seen that. Rings a bell. Was a while ago.

I loved all of Wall-E. It's a beautiful film.

Wall-E was great, but it wasnt exactly underhyped.
In Bruges was good, but not stunning - matched its hype IMO.
I really enjoyed Team America and Donnie darko, dont remember either being hyped much/at all?
Saw Watchmen - still cant decide whether it was epically good or epically bad, but it was too damn long, thats for sure.

Didn't expect much from V for Vendetta but very pleasantly surprised. same for In Bruge.

As for Wall-E it was one of those films that certainly didn't live up to the hype. Both Toy Stories were miles better.

I also really love stardust as does my 6 year old daughter after i got her to watch it.
An old film that i also really like that not many people seem to have heard of is Water.

As for Wall-E it was one of those films that certainly didn't live up to the hype. Both Toy Stories were miles better.

Heresy.

BURN HIM!!!!!!

(Or Her (Or Person Of Non-Specific Gender))

I had a friend who suggested we go and see Donnie Darko at the cinema. I had never heard of the film, and had read no reviews nothing. Totally loved it.

Also, one of my fave films is called Renegade. It is set in the Wild West, and is loosly based on the comics. However, the french director had drunk ayahusca well over 100 times, and the film is a sort of fantasy, with a Shipibo Peruvian shaman who gives the hero ayahusca. I wont describe the plot, but you think it is a typical good guy bad guy kind of film and on paper there are a whole heap of things that could have gone wrong.

But what you end up with at the end is a 10 minute ayahusca trip which is the most realistic 2D rendering of a representation of the hyperdimensional experience that you go through, and yeah, totally loved it.

Magnolia

I'm really fond of [b]Hopscotch[/b] but I'm a silly old sod.

The Station Agent - lovely feelgood film with brilliant acting
Twin Town - better than Trainspotting IMHO
In the Loop - just seen it tonight on a whim - very, very funny

Another vote for In Bruges. Was recommended to me by a friend who has recommended films in the past and they have turned out to be shite but this was actually quite good.

The Diving Bell And The Butterfly really took me by suprise, as did Clubland and Japanese Story.

I'll fifth/sixth/seventh (wherever we're at) In Bruges. Had heard nothing about it other than it was not what you'd expect. Barely stopped laughing the whole way through! Bloody hilarious film...

Another vote for Twin Town. Watched it by accident once, not having heard anything about it. Very funny film!

One that perhaps was hyped up, but I didn't know about it... Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas. OK, I've watched it so many times now it ceases to be quite so funny, but I have never laughed so hard in my life as the first time I watched this film, the part when they try to cross the street in the "depths of an Ether binge"... Also, probably Johnny Depp at his finest acting wise if you ask me!

Also, was expecting to really dislike Kill Bill based on the fact that everybody was raving about it, but when I finally saw it, well... I love it! I know it's totally OTT, but that's what makes it so great. Went out and bought it on DVD, and vol.2 to go with it, the very next day! Seen it dozens of times now.

2nd Donnie Darko
Almost my all time fav, reqium for a dream, my all time fav Bad Lieutenant

I saw Death Proof recently, Tarantino really on form and loads of great individual pieces with the smattering of good movie quotes you expect. Didn't seem to get the press of his other films but I really enjoyed it, clever use of 70's style TV movie graphics and post-processing to make the film have a level of "noise" to suit the genre.

I also like recently "the lives of others" a German film set in the Cold War, spot on for giving you a feel for the way people lived before the fall of communism.

In Bruges is brilliant.

Other little niche movies that I have seen in the last six months that are great:

The Darjeeling Limited, odd but cool. Children of Men. The Happening, really typical of M Night Shyamalan.

Of the mainstream stuff I thought Iron Man was great, bought it for my son and watched with him, he loved Iron Man, I loved Ms Paltrow, great film.

Nigh****ch and Les Visiteurs were suprisingly good for foreign language sub-titled films. Steer clear of the remake in English of The Visitors a pile of steaming ordure!

Count - The Happening? Really?! Are you sure you're on the right thread. Surely that should be on the "films that are a pile of poo thread". Extraordinarily disappointed with that one. Mark Wahlberg's acting was cringe-worthy and when the "fake reveal" popped up early in the film and then proved to be the actual reveal I sank through the cinema seat with disappointment.

The Chronicles Of Riddick seemed to be pretty much universally panned, but it was an great film IMHO.
I loved the style of filming and the look of the worlds, characters, vehicles, weapons and armour they'd created. The story was good too I thought, with a nice twist at the end.

A lot of folks didn't like the ending of X-men Last Stand, but I thought it was brilliant. (Was a bit of a Marvel Comics geek in my younger days though, so it didn't seem too far-fetched to me!)

I'll ninth [b]In Bruges[/b].

Sideways - I really enjoyed it but didnt think I would the slow pace was great and you could really enjoy with a bottle of wine!

Remakes are nearly always utter shite but an exception is City of Angels, remake of Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire which is really great.

The Chronicles Of Riddick seemed to be pretty much universally panned, but it was an great film IMHO

I was underwhelmed at the cinema but liked it much more when it was on TV a few weeks back.

Recently The Prestige was much better than I thought it would be.

Another vote for In Bruges here, thought it was wonderful.

I wish I'd have hung on a bit so I could have eleventhed it.

Oh, and I liked Role Models after going in with really low expectations.

For a foreign language action type film i love Taxi. The car driving seanes are great the 2 follow ups get a little silly but are fun just make sure you watch the subtitle versions and not the dubed or the shit us version.

First Les visiteurs, now Taxi, I'm sorry but no, you really can't mentioned them...And those films are released in Arthouse theater which is really really incredible and sad. We need a thread on "foreign movies which should have never been exported".

I'll 11th In bruges.

Also 'Man on Wire' (not Fire) about the french guy who high wired between the world trade center towers.

and 'Pierrepoint' - Timothy Spall at his best.
and 'Right at your Door' - tense and worrying if it were ever to really happen.

Clueless
Jerry Maguire
Forest Gump
Robocop
Demolition Man
Transformers
Sound of Music

All better than I expected.

I can't remember much hype about it, The Princess Bride not just your ho-hum run-of-the-mill fairy tale.

little miss sunshine hadnt even heard of it when I went in to the cinema but it was the first film on.

Agreed, it's fantastic. Saw it at the cinema then I bought it on DVD for £3 or something, and sat and pissed myself laughing again.

Also, my all time favourite film - So I Married an Axe Murderer.
Mike Myres at his very best, I watch it once a year and love it every time.

"Would you tek look at that boy's heed, it's like Sputnik!"

the original funny games was just so amazing, i saw it in the cinema in 1998 and again the other day - so good.

Ohhh!

Run Lola Run.

Subtitled, and brilliant.

The Forbidden Kingdom,

Spiderman 1 and 3,

Ben Hur,

Much ado about nothing (Branagh),

The English Patient,

I was suprised by Iron Man as I thought it would stink but it was good.

[i]The English Patient[/i]

What? You expected to [b]not[/b] like a film with Juliette Binoche?

Sandwich

I can't remember much hype about it, The Princess Bride not just your ho-hum run-of-the-mill fairy tale.

If you've not done so already you should definitely check out Stardust. In a similar vein to Princess Bride but better in so many ways, although not quite as slapstick

Ben Hur,

Underhyped?????

I'll add votes for In Bruges and Little Miss Sunshine, but then I'll try anything with Alan Arkin in.

I know it was well hyped but I was expecting to hate Brokeback Mountain, having hated everything else by Ang Lee. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Some recent ones that spring to memory

The Lives of Others
Sweet Mud
You the Living
The Bothersome Man
The Class

Momento

It's not necessarily underhyped films, but films you found better than you expected.

Me and me mate were watching that 'Brick Vader' YouTube clip t'other day, and were discussing just how good Star Wars actually is, as a film. The later three probbly got even more global hype, but weren't in the same league.

The original Cube film was a real surprise. Great idea, executed really well. Then there's stuff like Ultraviolet, and Aeon Flux, which I expected to be shit, but were actually quite good.

[i]Aeon Flux[/i]

Charlize Theron in sexy outfits - what's not to like??

were discussing just how good Star Wars actually is, as a film.

Sorry but they are complete rubbish. Badly written, often badly acted, basic plots. Even the cast seemed to hate them.

BUT they struck a nerve with me because I was the right age when they first came out - I was 8 when the first film arrived and I'd never seen anything like that before. Watching them now and they often seem, dare I say it, rather boring, but maybe that's because I know them inside out.

The lives of others - best film I've seen in many years.

The Game - it really draws you in.

Zoolander was much better than I expected.

Fargo. Yeeeeap.

[url=

elaborate on the yeeeeap[/url]

Pans Labyrinth is one of my surprise favourites, along with Stardust. Oh, and I really liked Knowing despite the press panning it.

Another vote for "Stardust", fantastic film. Absolutely brilliant.

Last Night - a fairly little known film that never really got noticed when it came out. Quick synopsis: The world is going to end at midnight, no explanation why or how and it focuses on a few people and how they deal with it in their own way

[url= http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0156729/ ]imdb link[/url]

Sorry but they are complete rubbish.

Hanging too good for this one? Disemboweling? Flaying alive? Impaling? Keel-hauling?

Crank - hilarious, superb.

Hanging too good for this one? Disemboweling? Flaying alive? Impaling? Keel-hauling?

You'll have to do me with him then. Except, what he said was an understatement in terms of just how bad they were.

Loddrik: Crank? Really?? I thought it was a complete mess. Couldn't make up its mind what it wanted to be.

You'll have to do me with him then.

(Gets pokers and branding-irons up to temperature...)

(Squares up to RB with fake light sabre....)

If you read my post again you might notice that I actually love the 1st 3 films, but that doesn't alter the fact that they are pretty poor.

Green Street Hooligans 2. It gets a right slagging off on IMDB but I actually enjoyed it. Had more of a TV drama than Hollywood feel, only with people getting their head's caved in every 5 minutes. Certainly put me off the idea of going to prison in the 90s, is it set in the past? also OMG took me about a week to realize the fowl mouthed bent prison guard was Diana Troy.

Another UK recent underrated was Clubbed, this time really set in the 80s. More good old gratuitous violence.

One more to add:

The Flying Scotsman