What is a movie that "looks like" it would suck, but actually is well written and acted and a good time?

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.

The Cabin in the Woods. Only seen it once so far and I'm still floored thinking back on it and how well it did its thing.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves is always a good mention.

It's a fun and very accessible movie.

Originally, Pirates of the Caribbean. A movie made because of a Disney ride seemed like a stupid idea.

Sucker punch.

Looks like a mindless action with titties, but it's actually a good movie. Give it a try if you haven't.

Clue

Movie based on a board game? Blegh

But it's awesome. Tim Curry, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Lesley Ann Warren

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

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.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0100814/

Con Air

It is absolutely not well written but I just love how the film and all the actors are completely aware of how dumb the entire thing is.

Oh, and casting Chief Engineer Miles O'Brien as the jerk that everyone hates is the icing on this guilty-pleasure cake.

Free Guy

Generic video game movie stuffed with trendy references and fanservice is actually a really good singularity story

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.

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.

"The Adventures Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" 1984

Great script, great cast, young Johnathan Lithgow and Christopher Llyod, Peter Weller in one of his best rolls, and bonus Jeff Goldblum as they new guy.

Whole thing is still a perfect package, looking like a B movie you'd totally skip.

There are so many movies I could list but for now I'll go with About Time (2013). Everything about it makes it seem like it would be a dumb sappy romcom but it manages to hit hard.

EDIT: This is the type of image they used to market the film, which is really misleading.

Event Horizon... terror in space? Worse the Alien? can't be.

but it is haunting and PTSD inducing, very well made

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and Renfield were absolutely amazing and I think they fit the bill

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.

The Jumanji sequels. You are going to take a cult classic and "revive" it by changing the premise to be a video game? Stupid. But, it was much better than it should have been.

VVitch (=witch) Logan Eklavya (Hindi)

Velocipastor! It looks and seems like it'll be a parody but it was super engaging and fun. Went into it thinking it would be watched between gaming rounds and eventually turned off, but I ended up quitting the game to full-screen that shit!

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Surprisingly good action and a decent plot to boot.

I'm giving away my age, but Benny & Joon. A story about two mentally ill people falling in love, and the script isn't even that great, but all the actors really sell it and it is such a quirky heart warming and funny movie.

I loved Hudson Hawk. The story was bonkers, the musical numbers were entertaining and had a great ending.

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.

Clerks. It should be some stoner Seinfeld flick but it actually lines up pretty well with La Divina Comedia and the dialogue, although sometimes a bit clunky, is very well written.

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.

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.

Doom 2005 wasn't bad.

Army of thieves.

Prequel to army of the dead, actually an amazingly enjoyable film superior in every way to its stupid predecessor

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.

Warrior with tom Hardy/joel edgarton/nick nolte. Marketed as a shitty MMA cash grab. It’s fantastic. Also has like 2 finales that crescendo so hard one after the other.

Star Trek First Contact

My proof reading has failed me yet again (original fuck up: Star Trek First Conact)

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.

...hot tub time machine; absurdly better film than its pitch had any right to be...

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.

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.

I mentioned this one on another post. It's good enough I'm gonna throw it out there again. Kung Fu Mahjongg. All 3. ....and Kung Fu Hustle

Edit to add, thier whole troop is amazing. Silly stories made amazingly entertaining, due to the charismatic cast and, creative and well executed choreography.

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.

Bunraku is one of those movies that has a stellar cast, but no one's ever heard of it. It's a revenge movie but it's over-the-top cheesy and edgy, but in all the good ways. Seriously give it a chance. It's not a good movie, but it is a fun one.

Although to me it didn’t look like it would suck, Hellboy: The Crooked Man got panned by critics, but it was fantastic.

Somebody must do a Trakt or (Mdblsit) of the titles mentioned here, I am honestly interested in catching up with this backlog lol.

P.S. I love you.

When we were dating, my wife and I just went to the theater and picked a random movie and I left a blubbering fucking mess. We had to go directly to a bar to get a drink to take the edge off. We usually watch it once a year and it still destroys me.

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.

Black Bullet?

The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot.

Dumbest movie title ever, but the best thing I've ever seen Sam Elliott do.

Triangle looks like a generic "slasher on a ship" horror movie at first, but is actually a lot more twisted and clever than that. >!It's actually about a time loop.!<

SPACE TRUCKERS!!!

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.

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.

Reanimator

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.

Mr. Brooks, it has Dane Cook in it but that doesn’t stop it from being amazing.

I'll start: "Happy Death Day"

Wait, I didn't know Re:Zero had a live action!

The Sweetest Thing came off as a pretty saccharine rom-com. It was more like American Pie for late-20s.

Bottoms.

The script feels terrible and they don't even try to make you like the characters. But the jokes always land perfectly. It's a great movie to have a laugh and nothing else.

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.

April Fool's Day

"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.