What is a movie that "looks like" it would suck, but actually is well written and acted and a good time?
What is a movie that "looks like" it would suck, but actually is well written and acted and a good time?
I'll start: "Happy Death Day"
VVitch (=witch) Logan Eklavya (Hindi)
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
I didn’t think the trailer looked good and it felt meh, but I ended up loving the movie a lot.
I'm going to have to make a list of the movies recommended here that I want to watch. Lots of interesting picks. Cool idea for a post.
A few that come to mind
2022 - Lovecraftian Horror/Dark Comedy/Fantasy - Glorious
2019 - Mystery/Horror/Thriller/- The Colour Out Of Space (or Color Out Of Space)
2015 - Action/Violence/Scifi - Hardcore Henry
2010 - Action/Violence - Machete
2010 - Action/Comedy/Romance - Scott Pilgrim Vs The World
2009 - Zombie Horror/Dark Comedy - George: A Zombie Intervention (or George's Intervention)
2009 - Adventure/Fantasy/Scifi - Ink
1999 - Adventure/Comedy/Fantasy - Dogma
1997 - Action/Adventure/Scifi - The Game
All were really good movies that I myself initially passed over (numerous times even) before coming back a while later to be blown away on the first watch. Most of these I ordered on dvd as the credits were still rolling. I can list some more if you like any of these.
ink. looks cheap and weird but has a huge heart and vision.
Army of thieves.
Prequel to army of the dead, actually an amazingly enjoyable film superior in every way to its stupid predecessor
Disney's "The Black Hole". It came from a time just after Walt Disney had died and they were still figuring out their shit.
So they made an extremely dark SciFi flick with a cute robot that appeals to children which is such a weird combination, but I liked it a lot. I can't even say why.
The U.S.S. Cygnus looks fucking badass, too. One of the best ship designs in a SciFi movie, change my mind.
Free Guy
Generic video game movie stuffed with trendy references and fanservice is actually a really good singularity story
Ghosts of Mars by John Carpenter
Set on a colonized Mars in the 22nd century, the film follows a squad of police officers and a convicted criminal who fight against the residents of a mining colony who have been possessed by the ghosts of the planet's original inhabitants.
Ghosts of Mars received mostly negative reviews and was a box office bomb, earning $14 million against a $28 million production budget.
Ghosts of Mars has received a cult following since its release, with critics praising the action sequences, soundtrack and blending of genres.
Black Bullet?
Tucker and Dave vs. Evil. Looks like another dumb Netflix original, but it was one of the best horror/comedies I've seen.
Speaking of the genre, big nods to another one - Little Evil.
It Follows - just read the premise of the film and tell me it doesn't sound dumb... Then go watch it
Oh and Colossal!!! Ann Hathaway stars in this bizarre and very deep movie about a giant monster that can be controlled from a playground. Amazing movie. Trust me
Hamlet 2
A delightful comedy about a bumbling highschool drama teacher writing and directing his magnum opus. It's hilarious, heartfelt, and subversive. The cast is excellent.
Tremors
Looks like a B movie, cheesy horror flick.
It's got a great cast with supurb acting. The script is easily one of the tightest ever written. Every line is important to the overall story. And it's just fun to watch.
Osmosis Jones.
A half-and-half cartoon and live action film with Chris Rock as the titular character from the late-90s/early-00s. The movie was a flop, but I think it had more to do with lousy marketing. It was actually pretty good and a fun way to look at how things affect the human body.
David Hyde Pierce as the enormous Pill was a great choice, and Bill Murray was hilarious.
Conan the Barbarian (1982) has no right to be as good as it is. On paper, it's a dumb sword and sorcery flick with a body builder who could barely speak English in the lead. But everyone involved does an incredible job, from the acting to the directing, to the score. It's a crime that Destroyer trashed up the formula, and we never got Conan the King.
The Long Kiss Goodnight
https://imdb.com/title/tt0116908
Geena Davis and Samuel L Jackson. He said in 2019 that it was his favorite role. It was released after a flop for Davis and director Renny Harlin (then her husband), and may have had poor press related to that.
It has an unlikely hero, plenty of action sequences, some fun performances (I had to pause it after a funny line from Brian Cox cracked me up), and heart. Solidly entertaining. But low expectations might help.
Here's a bold one: "Atlantic Rim".
Yes. It is just a low budget cash grab meant to fool grandparents into buying little Johnny the wrong film by accident. (When little Johnny asked for a copy of "Pacific Rim".)
But somehow it actually has a decent script, and passable acting.
The effects are bonkers cheap, though.
Okay, I'm really stretching it with this one.
But I tried to hate-watch it, and couldn't actually hate it.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Surprisingly good action and a decent plot to boot.
Somebody must do a Trakt or (Mdblsit) of the titles mentioned here, I am honestly interested in catching up with this backlog lol.
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot.
Dumbest movie title ever, but the best thing I've ever seen Sam Elliott do.
The Suicide Squad from 2021. The previous Suicide Squad movie was a disaster and you're making ANOTHER ONE? That movie had no right to be as entertaining as it was.
Also The Batman. Comic book movie: check. Comic book character that has been done to death: check. Everything has to be grim and dark and realistic: check. When I say "everything has to be dark" I also mean the visuals: check. But it was fine, surprisingly.
American Werewolf in London
The title alone makes it sound like a cheesy 80s goofy movie...and it kinda is. But the practical effects are right up there with The Thing. It makes you invested in the characters and the main conflict is really tough. It's more dark and gritty than you would expect, especially near the end. The werewolf transformation scene has some of the best practical effects in film. It's stomach churning.
First movie that comes to mind is the Power Rangers movie starring Bryan Cranston from like 7 or 8 years ago. Went fully expecting another Transformers-esque butchering of a nostalgic trip. Was delightfully surprised by the deep and relatable characters. I recommend it as an above-average super hero movie.
Battleship.
Yeah, the movie based off the board(?) game.
Feel free to fire up the torches and start handing out the pitchforks, because I'm not playing by the rules.
It doesn't just look like it will suck, it looks like a 'so bad it is bad' type of movie, an overbudgeted 'this is what is wrong with movies these days' sort of unmitigated hot wet trash from a dumpster fire in the bad part of town.
It isn't well written.
It isn't well acted.
I honestly can't even promise a good time.
These are the thoughts that went through my mind when I read about it before watching: "This is going to be awful and a waste of my time. These actor names kinda look familiar but I don't know who any of these people are. Is Rihanna her first name or last name? Isn't she just a singer. It better not have that stupid umbrella song. Wait, Liam Neeson is in this? Is he doing okay? Did he lose a bet? Does he need money? I bet that evil Jar'jar forced him to to do this. Wait, running time over 2 hours?! How is that even... the board never took more than like 15 minutes... except cheaters moving their... fuck me, I already need a drink."
Go into the movie with that mindset. Be angry at it before it starts.
I'll start: "Happy Death Day"
Wait, I didn't know Re:Zero had a live action!
Not sure if this exactly fits the assignment, but most people think Silent Hill (first one) was a garbage movie that made no sense. And it was if you never played the games. If you did play the games though, you can see the movie is incredibly faithful to the atmosphere. They used a lot of the OST by Akira Yamaoka too, which is an amazing soundtrack. I really liked the acting as well (except for the little kid, but it’s rare to find convincing child actors anyway). Monster design was great. I think they combined cg and practical effects so it made some things a lot more convincing.
Teknolust (2002)
CW: y2k aesthetic, Tilda Swinton in multiple roles.
Do not read wikipedia's synopsis of it first unless you want to spoil it. you can find it here on archive.org.
The Ice Pirates.
Ron Perlman and one of the funniest fight scenes from the 80s.
The Sweetest Thing came off as a pretty saccharine rom-com. It was more like American Pie for late-20s.
Population 436, kind of a revamp of The Lottery but it does things a bit different along the way. It actually has Fred Durst as a cast member and he killed his role I think.
"Decoy Bride" looks like once of those cheap, filler movies that actors do between big roles, and it probably was, but David Tennant, Kelly MacDonald, and Alice Eve gave great performances, the jokes really hit, soundtrack was good, and the romance didn't feel forced at all.
April Fool's Day
