Film Underrated Movies

Pogue Mahone

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Partly as a contrast to this thread but mainly because I have a couple of specific movies in mind, let's spread the word about movies which you expected to be crap but turned out great. Can either be a film which you believe most critics treated unfairly or a genuinely top quality flick that - for whatever reason - hardly ever gets talked about.

No Escape
Everything about this screams mediocre but I thought it was deadly. Genuinely nerve-jangling roller-coaster ride from start to finish. Probably a little bit racist but hey, you got to take the rough with the smooth!

Rescue Dawn
Random discovery on Netflix. I love me some Werner Herzog but wasn't aware of this at all. The style/visuals weirdly dated for a film made in 2006 but that might be deliberate, considering when it was set. If (like me) you're a sucker for man against nature dramas, then this is a must watch.

Add your own nominations below...
 

VorZakone

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No Escape (1994)
With Ray Liotta and Lance Henriksen. It's cheesy but it has a cool plot and the locations are nice.

Untraceable (2008)
Only a 6.2 on IMDB but the plot was pretty interesting.

Godzilla (1998)
Why is this movie so badly rated? It's very entertaining with plenty of action-packed scenes.

New Jersey Drive (1995)
Solid ghetto movie.
 
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Keenst

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I thought The Road was a better adaptation than most people I know give it credit for.
 

SteveJ

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Arlington Road
Steve Bannon's favourite feel-good movie is a chilling reflection of our times.
 

Kraftwerker

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The Butterly Effect.

Panned by critics but I thought the plot was interesting, it explored some dark themes, and there were some decent if not outstanding performances.

I watched it at release, enjoyed it, and then again years later when it was on TV to see if I'd only liked it first time round because of my teenage naivety. But still enjoyed it.
 

SteveJ

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2001: A Space Odyssey
I'm claiming that 2001 is the greatest film ever made, even if Mr Wibble kills me for doing so. :D
 

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The Edge (Anthony Hopkins)
I was surprised to see its ratings on IMDB, deserves more.
 

SteveJ

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Nic Cage in Yes, I'm doing this for the money. So f*cking what?



...and FFS, I've ruined my career:

 

Dir Wangem

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EDIT:
Misread. Changed now.

_____________________________________________

Seeing as I tend to agree with critics far more often than the general audience, you wont see me mention a movie that is both disliked by critics and the general audience. So, I'm gonna focus on movies that I think are underrated by movie critics:

Inception
I'm by no means a huge fan, but it's still a very enjoyable movie. The reason critics hate on Inception is undoubtedly because Nolan's pretentiousness can be unbearable at times. He's trying too hard to please both the general audience and critics at the same time, and it really shows. But if you view the movie for what it is, an expensive Hollywood blockbuster with with a dash of sci-fi, then there's not that much wrong with it. Nolanisms and boring side-characters aside: if you compare Inception to the vast majority of big Hollywod productions(snoreworthy comic book adaptations, unneccassry reboots, Vin Diesel movies and anything from Michael Bay), it really comes out strong.

Slumdog Millionaire

Basically the same story as above, but this movie doesn't seem to be that hated by critics. It's very feel-good, but it's also well-edited, interesting and overall enjoyable. I like it.

Django Unchained

Now this movie on the other hand, I absolutely love! It didn't need to be so long, but it's still a fecking great movie. Not Tarantino's best, but possibly the most re-watchable.
 
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decorativeed

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Steve Bannon's favourite feel-good movie is a chilling reflection of our times.
Good shout. Most people have never heard of it. Same goes for an obscure 70s heist film with Robert Redford called The Hot Rock, which I think is a bit of a lost classic.

I don't think Ghost World is as well liked as it should be either. Same with The Hudsucker Proxy.
 

spwd

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One on at the minute on horror channel or +1 called Burning Bright, pretty decent for the horror channel.
 

Randall Flagg

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EDIT:
Misread. Changed now.

_____________________________________________

Seeing as I tend to agree with critics far more often than the general audience, you wont see me mention a movie that is both disliked by critics and the general audience. So, I'm gonna focus on movies that I think are underrated by movie critics:

Inception
I'm by no means a huge fan, but it's still a very enjoyable movie. The reason critics hate on Inception is undoubtedly because Nolan's pretentiousness can be unbearable at times. He's trying too hard to please both the general audience and critics at the same time, and it really shows. But if you view the movie for what it is, an expensive Hollywood blockbuster with with a dash of sci-fi, then there's not that much wrong with it. Nolanisms and boring side-characters aside: if you compare Inception to the vast majority of big Hollywod productions(snoreworthy comic book adaptations, unneccassry reboots, Vin Diesel movies and anything from Michael Bay), it really comes out strong.

Slumdog Millionaire

Basically the same story as above, but this movie doesn't seem to be that hated by critics. It's very feel-good, but it's also well-edited, interesting and overall enjoyable. I like it.

Django Unchained

Now this movie on the other hand, I absolutely love! It didn't need to be so long, but it's still a fecking great movie. Not Tarantino's best, but possibly the most re-watchable.


Django and inception both got about two or three oscars each

Slumdog got about 8

Underrated?
 

Paxi

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Nic Cage in Yes, I'm doing this for the money. So f*cking what?



...and FFS, I've ruined my career:


He really does churn out some amount of movies.
 

Paxi

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I might get banned here but I really love Harley Davidson and Marlboro Man. Always enjoyed it.
 

Oscar.Z.Acosta

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2001: A Space Odyssey
I'm claiming that 2001 is the greatest film ever made, even if Mr Wibble kills me for doing so. :D
You are correct. Underrated as not enough realise exactly how good 2001: A Space Odyssey is. Perhaps it's not linear enough for some minds, or too long or slow, but I say they're philistines (or didn't encounter the Monolith as apes!).
 

Zen

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2001 is like top 5 on the They Shoot Pictures list, which is pretty much a compilation of all lists around more or less. It's not remotely underrated. It's like saying War and Peace is underrated because you are expecting Harry Potter fans to love it or something.
 

Snow

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Godzilla (1998)
Why is this movie so badly rated? It's very entertaining with plenty of action-packed scenes.
First of all because marketing and trailer's didn't deliver what it advertised. It's 140 minutes long but Godzilla is only in it for 11 minutes. That's not plenty of action packed scenes.

Maria Pitillo was crap. The director was disinterested about this movie (he doesn't even like the old Godzilla movies) and that makes for a lot of shitty little mistakes and problems.

Godzilla was ugly, his powers were changed for the worse. Godzilla was also just some big dumb animal and not the character that it is. It's basically not a Godzilla movie.
 

Snow

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Reign of Fire

Promotional campaign ruined this movie. Advertised as some dragon action movie so obviously that backlashed. The world and premise was cool looking, the actual CGI for the dragons was great and McConaughey's character was badass. Also an excellent rendition of Star Wars within the movie.
 

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Reign of Fire

Promotional campaign ruined this movie. Advertised as some dragon action movie so obviously that backlashed. The world and premise was cool looking, the actual CGI for the dragons was great and McConaughey's character was badass. Also an excellent rendition of Star Wars within the movie.
Aye it was pretty good, better than expected
 

Paolo Di Canio

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Sea of Love (1989)

This is in my top 10 movies but I am not sure alot of people have seen it because I have never heard anybody else mention it.
Murder Mystery starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barken (Smoking hot in this).
 

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Sea of Love (1989)

This is in my top 10 movies but I am not sure alot of people have seen it because I have never heard anybody else mention it.
Murder Mystery starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barken (Smoking hot in this).


Sea of Love (1989)

This is in my top 10 movies but I am not sure alot of people have seen it because I have never heard anybody else mention it.
Murder Mystery starring Al Pacino and Ellen Barken (Smoking hot in this).
Idiotic ending spoils the film for me.
 

Wibble

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You are correct. Underrated as not enough realise exactly how good 2001: A Space Odyssey is. Perhaps it's not linear enough for some minds, or too long or slow, but I say they're philistines (or didn't encounter the Monolith as apes!).
I understand the monoliths and I like non-linear films but 2001 was just pretentious bollocks. Typical Kubrick, immensely pleased with himself combined with the emotional depth of a house brick.
 

Wibble

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Paths of Glory is an exception I think.

Also very underrated.
Not seen it. I usually regret it when I watch a Kubrick film with the only one I find vaguely watchable is The Shining and even then he let Nicholson's overacting and dumbing down the book plot spoil the ending.
 

Mciahel Goodman

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Not seen it. I usually regret it when I watch a Kubrick film with the only one I find vaguely watchable is The Shining and even then he let Nicholson's overacting and dumbing down the book plot spoil the ending.
More of a straight forward drama than most Kubrick films, it doesn't try to be anything other than a war movie. It depends on how much you dislike Kubrick though, as you might see some elements of the above in it.
 

Jim Beam

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Zodiac from David Fincher
Many people do rate it, many feel that it's quite boring. IMO it was one of the best movies of the last decade, well certainly one of the best thrillers. Watch it few months ago for the second time and the impression is even better. Extremely detailed version of the story but more important when the movie starts it grabs you and don't let you go until the final.


Fearless (1993)
Directed by Peter Weir, one of the best performances from Jeff Bridges


Others that I can remember: The Broken Circle Breakdown, Burn After Reading