True, but they turned it into a zany comedy vehicle for Martin Short. I wouldn't mind seeing a more serious remake.
I always thought Pamela Anderson's Barb Wire was very underrated. Also: Strange Days, Demolition Man, Batteries Not Included.
I actually saw that on-sale in a discount bin at Big Lots yesterday! I admit I was briefly curious, but ended up picking Frankenstein Unbound and Our Man Flint instead!
^I caught Barb Wire for the first time on TV a few years back. Didn't get more than 20 minutes in before my curiosity was sated. Not the worse film ever by any means (from what little I saw) but...yeah. Not very engaging. Mind you, I'm one of the three people on the planet that liked 'The Postman', so what do I know?
I'm happy to see someone else who enjoys this. The movie is friggin' crazy. Has anyone mentioned The Fifth Element yet? [yt]www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoKssDjs64o[/yt]
- The plot's based on Casablanca, so, y'know, pedigree. Seriously, it's a lot of fun and has a bald maître d' called Curly, played by Udo Kier.
No one's mentioned "The 13th Floor" (1999). Got blown away by similarly themed "Matrix". But I liked it. (Make that four people who liked "The Postman".)
Cypher Brainstorm This Island Earth Le Dernier Combat The Illustrated Man The Terminal Man (though I think book is better). Runaway (not a classic really, but I love the cast and cheesy fun)
I actually really enjoyed The Postman. I don't understand the hate it gets from people. Sure, Costner isn't a very good actor, but I thought the movie was entertaining.
LIAR!!!! Just finished watching Silent Running. Ewwwrgh-pwagh! If I'd seen it in the 70s before Star wars, I'm sure it would have been excellent, but there was a time i thought that Ice Pirates was funny... But it's an incredibly poor man's Castaway. WALL-E totally ripped this SOB off.
And Kirk makes six. Do we officially get to call it an underrated film now, or do we need seven people for that?
If you like the more cerebral stuff (such as 2001 and Contact, which you listed) then you may want to check out Sunshine, even though the third act falls apart somewhat. The DVD/Blu also has a fine commentary with scientist and that film's consultant Brian Cox. The Man from Earth is low budget (and it shows) but features several Trek cast alumni and was written by Jerome Bixby, who also wrote for TOS. It's talky and lacks action but if you like The Twilight Zone, you should enjoy this. There's also A Scanner Darkly, which might be the most faithful Philip K. Dick adaptation. George Lucas's debut, THX-1138, is pretty thought provoking (or head scratching) but worth the time investment. It's two commentaries are also great listens. Solaris is mentioned above. I'd recommend both the original Russian and the modern American films adapted from Lem's novel. Slaughterhouse Five, adapted from the Vonnegut novel, is pretty good, too. From around the same era you can check out Truffaut's hit and miss adaptation of Fahrenheit 451. Primer, which like many of these titles is on Netflix, is probably the most complex time travel story on film. I've seen it three times and much as I think I understand it, I'm not sure I do! I'd also second others who mentioned Moon, Dark City, Blade Runner, Gattaca, Children of Men, 12 Monkeys, Brazil. On the other end of the spectrum, if you haven't seen it yet, check out Galaxy Quest (or as I call it, Star Trek V: The Intentionally Funny Frontier). And The Iron Giant is quite good, retro science fiction.