Underrated Movies

[captcalhoun]

Terminator Salvation
Salt

yes.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

That movie is actually damn fun. The car chase in the minivan, and the conversation that takes place during it are just hilarious and worth the price of admission.

yes.

On topic: Underrated movie? John Carter, easily.

yes.

The Punisher (Tom Jane version)- Gritty, imperfect superhero armed to the teeth, with nothing to lose. I like it. It's good to know not every superhero lives in a sugar-coated fantasy land.

Armageddon- Despite all of the scientific inaccuracies, it is a very fun movie to watch. "No nukes, no nukes!"

yes

Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow
As with SMB, this probably counts more as a guilty pleasure, but I love this movie. It reminds me in many ways of both The Rocketeer and Joss Whedon's TV series Firefly, and the animation and voice cast are superb.

The Star Wars prequels
All three SW prequels qualify here, although TPM and AotC ate more underrated than RotS.The prequels might be different tonally than the OT, but they are still recognizably SW and are just as enjoyable as ANH, TESB, and RotJ.

yes

I also have a bit of a soft spot for Daredevil (Ben Affleck).

yes.

also: Red Dawn.

 

[Orac Zen]

One of my others is a small romantic comedy that doesn't get noticed much. However to me it contains the best performance in any movie of Alan Rickman. The movie is Truly, Madly, Deeply. It is very funny and poignant and its sorry more people haven't seen it.

That's a wonderful movie. And I agree, it's a particularly stellar performance from Rickman.

A couple of movies I'd throw into the mix that aren't really obscure are The Best Years of Our Lives and STIII: TSFS.

For the very little I imagine it's worth, I found John Carter to be rather meh. But to each their own.

 

[Starkers]

I also have a bit of a soft spot for Daredevil (Ben Affleck).

I'm quite fond of The Phantom and The Shadow.

The Phantom may be Billy Zane's best role outside of Titanic.

No smoking in the Skull cave

My underrated films;

Strange Days: First, it's important to note this film was made when cameras were still cumbersome.. so they had to invent a new camera for the POV shots. It's an amazing story of a flawed hero, a realistic future (or, now, an alternate past) with some racial subtext and a story that is, for a while, brewing in the background. In some ways, because it shows how a certain technology is incorporated into the real world, it is far more probing than Inception

House; A horror comedy that is always a little freaky, and always a little funny. It's anchored down by William Katt's performance, he gets the tone of the film. Big Ben just rocks, and is my favorite horror villain, even over Freddy and Jason. One thing I love; What do you do when you see something odd in your haunted house? by some cameras! the film hits THAT note to perfection.

Damn came back from the grave and ran out of ammunition...

I love House, it's one of those rare beasts that actually manages to be funny and scary, and Strange Days is an awesome film. Why I don't own both of these on DVD I don't know!

 

[Lonemagpie]

I agree with most of the ones to date - the Star Wars prequels, Strange Days, The Shadow...

I enjoyed both Fantastic Four movies as well.

Must think of a few more...

 

[Starkers]

Yeah I've never understood the hate for the FF films. I mean the first one is a bit pants in places, especially when Jessica Alba has to become invisible to sneak past a big crowd, yet somehow the rest of the group manage to do it as well!?

I really like Street Fighter the Movie!

and I quite liked Howard the Duck...

I always feel like Prince of Darkness gets short shrift as well.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

You can't go wrong with death by Schwinn.

I always feel like Prince of Darkness gets short shrift as well.

 

[Disruptor]

Speaking of, I'm going to champion one you called "atrocious." Ghosts of Mars

Come on! It has Ice Cube and Natasha Henstridge and ancient evil Martian cannibal ghosts! And Natasha's gay! How does anyone not love this?!!

I have it seen it years, but IIRC, one of the sillier aspects was the fact the Martians were ghosts (as the title states) and cannot be killed. Thus every time the "heroes" kill a possessed person, the ghost merely finds another host.

SPOILERS:

In fact, their solution resulted in a big cloud of martian spirits headed for a major settlement, instead of randomly possessed humans that would've taken longer to arrive. That seemed only made the problem worse, which may be a recurring John Carpenter theme (Prince of Darkness, Escape from LA).

It was also another Carpenter film inspired by Quatermass and the Pit (like Prince of Darkness).

 

[DigificWriter]

Since the topic of Batman's come up, I'm going to mention Batman Forever. This film gets lampooned and lumped in with its truly atrocious follow-up Batman and Robin, but aside from the decision not to adhere to continuity in terms of Harvey Dent, the film (BF) really doesn't have that many problems. There's still enough of a Burton-esque tone to the film (thanks to him serving as a producer) and Val Kilmer is a very worthy succesor to Michael Keaton, playing the character of Bruce/Batman in a similar fashion to Keaton while also bringing his own strengths to the table. Chris O'Donnell's Robin and his introduction are handled perfectly. I also really like Jim Carrey's portrayal of the Riddler; people say he went too over-the-top, but I actually think he played the character pitch-perfect, paying homage to Frank Gorshin's version of the character (which had been my favorite on-screen version of the character prior to Batman Forever's release) in his own unique way while also bringing his own strengths to the character.

 

[RandyS]

SpaceCamp- Could be that I'm just a huge Lea Thompson fan, or the fact that it's enjoyable to watch a bunch of young "astronauts" in space for the first time.

Agreed. I've always had a soft spot for this one.

Another favorite of mine that nobody (well, except my brother) seems to like is Corvette Summer, which was, I think, Mark Hamil's first movie after Star Wars.

 

[Holdfast]

Speaking of, I'm going to champion one you called "atrocious." Ghosts of Mars

Come on! It has Ice Cube and Natasha Henstridge and ancient evil Martian cannibal ghosts! And Natasha's gay! How does anyone not love this?!!

I have it seen it years, but IIRC, one of the sillier aspects was the fact the Martians were ghosts (as the title states) and cannot be killed. Thus every time the "heroes" kill a possessed person, the ghost merely finds another host.

SPOILERS:

In fact, their solution resulted in a big cloud of martian spirits headed for a major settlement, instead of randomly possessed humans that would've taken longer to arrive. That seemed only made the problem worse, which may be a recurring John Carpenter theme (Prince of Darkness, Escape from LA).

I liked that movie too. IIRC it was basically a remake of Assault on Precinct 13 but hey, if you're going to remake your own movie, why not do it on Mars?

 

[Captain Craig]

Monster Squad - I think it gets a lot of slack for being seen as a Goonies rip off. Doesn't help the same actress plays the mom in both films either I suppose. It's in my regular October rotation of themed films for the month.

 

[barnaclelapse]

My underrated films;

Strange Days: First, it's important to note this film was made when cameras were still cumbersome.. so they had to invent a new camera for the POV shots. It's an amazing story of a flawed hero, a realistic future (or, now, an alternate past) with some racial subtext and a story that is, for a while, brewing in the background. In some ways, because it shows how a certain technology is incorporated into the real world, it is far more probing than Inception

House; A horror comedy that is always a little freaky, and always a little funny. It's anchored down by William Katt's performance, he gets the tone of the film. Big Ben just rocks, and is my favorite horror villain, even over Freddy and Jason. One thing I love; What do you do when you see something odd in your haunted house? by some cameras! the film hits THAT note to perfection.

Oscar: I think they filmed this film in order, as there were a few shaky early on, but there is a comic gem here... written with a bit of class that is missing from any other modern comedy. Stallone really grows into his roll, and I almost forget its Stallone and he becomes Snaps. The stuttering informant is great, Peter Reigert is superb as the butler, Kurtwood Smith is really really funny, and well, as the film goes, a real comic tone is set. It's a funny story and a good movie if you care to watch.

Disorganized Crime; What if you wanted to plan a small time heist in a low-rent Ocean's Eleven style but you, the leader, get arrested before telling your cohorts what's going. The joy of this film is its slow build as they mistrust and learn about each other, and then figure out what they are supposed to do. It's funny without any burst-out laughing moments. What's more important is that it satisfies.

I, Robot: Not perfect, not as good as it could have been, but there are some truly interesting and Asmovian ideas here. Just look at the last shot. I also think the Del's backstory is fairly gripping, particularly smith's delivery of the story.

The second House movie is just insane. Completely, off-the-walls, cheesy insanity. I love it.

 

[Kemaiku]

Missed the reference to Oscar earlier, have that one too and watch it from time to time, it does take a while to get going but it has a great cast that just manage to make the film work.

And since no one has said it yet I'll get it out of the way, I enjoyed Hudson Hawk.

 

[Ometiklan]

I always thought Last Action Hero was underrated. Well, not always. Despite being a huge Arnold fan, I didn't really like it a lot when it first came out, but each time I saw it after that I liked it more and more. For the past 10-12 years now I have thought it is great.

I also used to think that Cutthroat Island was underrated, but after having tried to watch it recently I realize that it wasn't as good as I thought. Sure, there is action and spectacle (at least 150 million dollars worth or so), but after getting disappointed by the last 3 pirates of the Caribbean movies and reading some fun stuff about real pirates ("Empire of Blue Waters" for one), it seems too cartoonish and just not as fun as the real history.

Also:
The Game: I think this is amazing, very convincing narrative the first time you see it, and a great character piece every time after that.

Unbreakable: One of the best superhero movies. Since this was basically the first act of any other superhero movie (the discovery and acceptance of the hero in his role), I still hope that the remaining acts get made. Even if Shamalan does them (maybe he can executive produce).

Zero Effect: Maybe not so much underrated as overlooked. The greatest Sherlock Holmes-type movie that we had until the recent proliferation (House M.D., Sherlock (BBC), and Sherlock Holmes (Richie)).

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Another of my underrated movies is, Pixars Cars. I just don't get the hate and vitriol hurled against this movie. It's an incredibly sweet movie, with a simple and straight forward message. I love that I can let my 3 1/2 & 2 year old sons watch this without any hesitation. also the CGI is simply amazing and breath taking at times. In an age where even family or kids movies supposedly need an edge, this is skewed in the other direction.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

The Thirteenth Floor - Sort of a poor man's Matrix. I like the film noir setting and the end revelation.

Bicentennial Man - Teeters on the edge of too much Robin Williams wackiness and over-sentimentality, but in the end it's a funny, thoughtful, and poignant scifi drama.

Déjà Vu - Received mixed reviews, but I think it strikes the perfect balance between action and big scifi ideas.

Stir of Echoes - Overshadowed by the similarly themed Sixth Sense, this is a good film in its own right.

The 13th Warrior - Panned by critics, this movie is awesome and has a great warrior poem. One of my favorites.

Nothing to Lose - I normally can't stand Martin Lawrence, but I loved this hilarious movie with him and Tim Robbins.

Unbreakable - Shyamalan's best and most overlooked film, before he started getting self-indulgent. Shame the planned trilogy never materialized, though given his recent track record, that's probably for the best now.

The Incredible Hulk - Seen by some as the worst of the Marvel Avenger's lead-up film, this was actually my favorite after Iron Man.

Dead Again - A cool but little known reincarnation / murder mystery by Kenneth Branagh.

Fast Five - The best of the Fast & Furious films, it reunites almost all of the former casts (plus some great new characters) to take on a cartel, and ends with an implausible but entertaining chase.

Equilibrium - Probably the stupidest film that I love, the Gunkata action is ludicrous but amazing.

Enemy of the State - Can be seen as an unofficial sequel to Gene Hackman's excellent 70s surveillance drama The Conversation.

The Illusionist - Not as good as Nolan's similarly themed Prestige, but a nice film on its own merits.

The Cable Guy - Loses the funny in the final act in favor of dark social commentary, which puts some people off, but up until then one of the most hilarious movies ever.

Zodiac - Highly critically acclaimed, it sadly underperformed at the box office.

Brotherhood of the Wolf - A fantastic French martial arts / horror hybrid (very) loosely based on historical events with an interesting twist. A truly unique movie.

Quigley Down Under - An Australian-set Western with a classic villain and a unique weapon carried by the protagonist, plus a good deal of humor.

Titan AE - A classic animated scifi film that is sadly often overlooked. I'd rank it near The Iron Giant in quality.

Fallen - A great supernatural crime thriller with a fantastic twist ending.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Halloween III: Season of the Witch - Most people automatically hate this movie because Michael Myers is nowhere to be seen (well, actually he is... on a TV in a bar) but aside from this, the movie is creepy as fuck and good luck getting the "*insert number of days here* to Halloween" Silver Shamrock song out of your head after watching it. I like Tom Atkins in it and Dan O'Herlihy is kind of a douche as the CEO of Silver Shamrock. I'm a fan of horror movies, but this movie has one of THE creepiest and disturbing deaths out of all the movies I've seen (where the mask is tested out on the kid).

Saw I - VII - A lot of people dismiss these movies as torture porn, and while they can be a bit gruesome and the acting a bit wooden, I still like them all the same. All the movies build on the events of the others and story threads are carried over through multiple films, and the end of Saw 3D is pretty badass. For movies that were cranked out one per year, the traps are pretty inventive and the plot twists pretty shocking.

 

[captcalhoun]

i second Equilibrium, Incredible Hulk, Fast Five and Cars.

i also like Jet Li's The One.

 

[Starkers]

I always thought Last Action Hero was underrated. Well, not always. Despite being a huge Arnold fan, I didn't really like it a lot when it first came out, but each time I saw it after that I liked it more and more. For the past 10-12 years now I have thought it is great.

I also used to think that Cutthroat Island was underrated, but after having tried to watch it recently I realize that it wasn't as good as I thought. Sure, there is action and spectacle (at least 150 million dollars worth or so), but after getting disappointed by the last 3 pirates of the Caribbean movies and reading some fun stuff about real pirates ("Empire of Blue Waters" for one), it seems too cartoonish and just not as fun as the real history.

Also:
The Game: I think this is amazing, very convincing narrative the first time you see it, and a great character piece every time after that.

Unbreakable: One of the best superhero movies. Since this was basically the first act of any other superhero movie (the discovery and acceptance of the hero in his role), I still hope that the remaining acts get made. Even if Shamalan does them (maybe he can executive produce).

Zero Effect: Maybe not so much underrated as overlooked. The greatest Sherlock Holmes-type movie that we had until the recent proliferation (House M.D., Sherlock (BBC), and Sherlock Holmes (Richie)).

Yeah The Game is great, although I never knew whether the writer of The One Game (British tv mini series from the 80s) ever sued. The basic idea is very similar.

Unbreakable really is a fantastic film, M Night's best by far.

I remember seeing Quigley Down Under at the cinema, great pay off line

And yeah, in many ways Halloween 3 is the second best Halloween film.

 

[Greg Cox]

I also used to think that Cutthroat Island was underrated, but after having tried to watch it recently I realize that it wasn't as good as I thought. Sure, there is action and spectacle (at least 150 million dollars worth or so), but after getting disappointed by the last 3 pirates of the Caribbean movies and reading some fun stuff about real pirates ("Empire of Blue Waters" for one), it seems too cartoonish and just not as fun as the real history.

I have a soft spot for Cutthroat Island, in part because I edited the novelization years ago, although I haven't watched it for a few years. A great soundtrack, though, which I often listen to when I need to write a rousing adventure scene.