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.

It was super attentive to d&d details such as almost all the classes of the party using intelligence as dump stats or the specifics of the spells mechanics while also not needing the audience to know any of that to have a good time and understand what was going on.
And the use of d&d lore and mechanics were woven into the characters and narrative, it wasn't just hey remember this thing from d&d. Way underrated, probably bad marketing.

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

It's a fun and very accessible movie.

I may be biased, as an RPG nerd, but man, they hit all the notes so damn well. That was such a good movie.
- I never played d&d or any games of that style, and probably missed out on a bunch of the catered moments, but I still enjoyed it very much
- I thought it might be a stupid movie to hate watch but I enjoyed it. The bread crumb trail quest line type of movie scratched the itch for me.
- Which is precisely the problem: I am not, and not only was I mildly bored, I also found the narrative to be just plain incoherent. It was obvious to me the story was driven by some Reference Guide on RPG stuff, and not on captivating an audience.
  I guess it hit every nail on the head. That's all it hit, actually.
It had a lot of heart and you could almost “feel” the good/bad dice rolls happening.
The Paladin had me in stitches
- I loved the 5 questions.
One of the best movies of the year for me, and I was expecting hot garbage.
This movie took me completely by surprise by how good it was. I feel like you could tell everyone involved had experience playing TTRPGs, from the director, to the writer(s), all the way down to the catering crew!
- Although the interviews with the cast are hilarious just because Hugh Grant doesn't have a single clue about DnD but also couldn't give a single fuck about it.
Good call! Wife and I watched that one on a whim, thinking it would be a good "bad" movie to watch while having a few drinks and were pleasantly surprised!
You probably need be at least familiar with RPG/fantasy tropes to fully enjoy it, but it definitely felt like it came from a place of love and self-awareness, rather than the cynical cash-grab I was expecting.
- Pine as a character and narrator def carried a lot of the weight.
I don't rewatch movies unless its been a few years and I really enjoyed.
Ive provably watched that movie 10x by now. Jarnathan would know what I'm saying if he were here.
Absolutely loved that movie. It's mixture of slapstick humor and melodrama are a perfect representation of actual D&D.
And the 80s Dungeons and Dragons movie is... well, it has Tim Curry.
I just went and watched it for the first time because of this message. FANTASTIC movie! Excellent recommendation!

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.

I was about to say the same, the purge was such a creative joy

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

The first one was fairly clever in that they had probably 50 years of collective ideas and inspiration to work off of. It's a story that needed to push no boundaries and hold to established tropes, with no expectations because it was a ride: perfect for Disney.
Now when Disney gets their hands on an established franchise full of expectations...
Johnny Depp fucking carries that franchise.
He nailed Jack sparrow so damn hard I can't picture anyone else in that role. It sets the pace of the movie too.
- He not only nailed it so hard no one else can play the role, he nailed it so hard he became synonymous with the role.
I just think of it as a live action Monkey Island.
- Does that actually work? I have only played the 1st 20 minutes of Monkey Island lol
The first one was my obsession when it came out in dvd
Wait...the movie is based on the ride, not the other way around?
- Dude, way to make me feel old lol.
- They updated the ride after the movies, so... It's kind of circular at this point.

They Live.

WWF wrestler discovers magic sunglasses and yuppie aliens. It's a John Carpenter film and has one of the longest fist fights.

Clue

Movie based on a board game? Blegh

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

It is then we're reminded of the ability of good writers and performers to take even a low-potential idea and fucking kill it. With a pen. In the study.
This is top 3 of all time for me. There is so much happening in every scene you can watch it multiple times and still catch little jokes or sight gags each viewing.
- No matter how many times I see it I can never figure out if it was 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 or 1 + 2 + 1 + 1.
I also expected a disaster. I wasn't prepared for how entertaining it was!
Having John Landis write the story didn't hurt.
Absolutely one of my favorite movies

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

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil! Amazing movie! I put it on one day just so I could check it off my list of new things out and, figured if I love the Evil Dead series (and also, as someone else mentioned in the thread, the Re-Animator) how awful could this be... it wasn't. It was fantastic.
Enjoyed Little Evil too. So, I'm putting Colossal on my list right now!
- I think Colossal will surprise you. It's not exactly a horror comedy, but a very serious film wrapped in a ridiculous story
It Follows... Amazing
Colossal was weird, but i liked it. I could see where people would be thinking, what is this and why am I watching it, but it felt like real life to me. For a movie about monster avatars unwittingly being controlled from half a world away, anyway.
I think I wtched it follows, fully expecting to be awestruck and it just ended.

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/

There's also Tremors 2: Aftershocks.
Plus there's Tremors 3: Back to Perfection.
Followed by Tremors 4: The Legend Begins.
Then Tremors 5: Bloodlines.
Don't forget Tremors: A Cold Day in Hell.
One might think Tremors: Shrieker Island, AKA Tremors 7: Island Furry (I spelled that wrong on purpose, it has nothing to do with furries) would be enough for Michael Gross to quit his acting career but how else was he going to pay for his ludicrous railroad memorabilia obsession and also the railroad he owns and the 'safety first when crossing railroad tracks' campaign?
So no, it didn't end there. They kept the franchise going, choo! choo! with the imaginatively titled television series, Tremors: The Series.
If you skip the credits, you can watch all of it in less than 24 hours.
- If you skip the credits, you can watch all of it in less than 24 hours.
  LMAO, any Tremors fan around here?
The first sequel is so so, but the others that are all centered around Burt Gummer are plenty of silly fun too.
Came here to say exactly this. Only commented cause I can't upvote twice.
Omg, Tremors...I haven't watched it in years. That was such a good movie.

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.

I loved this movie when I was younger but it's been a while... I'm sorry, WHAT?! O'Brien?! oh I need to see this one again
Con Air is an amazing “Sunday evening after eating too much dinner” film.

Sucker punch.

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

This description reminded me of Club Dread, loved that movie as a preteen/teen
I watched a lengthy video essay about this movie that really made me want to watch it. Was definitely shocked by the level of thought put into the symbolism within the film.

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.

And Laurence Fishburne as Thrax. He was pretty horrifying when he would let loose and make people explode.
It was fantastic. The spin-off show was good too
I love this movie!
Around the time this came out, I, having had no idea about the movie or its premise, wrote a story that was along similar lines in creative writing. Specifically, it featured the immune system and other cells as characters and whatnot.
I was accused of ripping off the idea.

Free Guy

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

"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.

Such a great movie!
I got this at a DragonCon. They did a pre-release showing and gave these out to the audience.
- That's a real treasure! Very nice.
- Jealous!
One of my all time favorites, so quirky
Thank you. I still watch the end credits from time to time. Brings back these sweet eighties memories!
I like to think of it as a sci-fi movie sequel/equivalent to the short story (but not the movie) "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty."

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.

Disney writer #1: Let's make a Tower of Babel parable, but set it space!
Disney writer #2: Are we going to end the movie with the antagonist being sent to actual-factual Hell?
Disney writer #1: You fucking know it!
A space-ship that’s 60% glass, 20% stiffener bars and 20% normal space-ship stuff,
- Then throw an air traffic control tower on top.
- Yeah I can only imagine the number of untraceable air leaks in that thing, especially as it ages and the DAP around the glass starts to crack
- Perhaps that was transparent aluminum, and not glass.
They were trying for their Star Wars.
Oh yeah that thing is a classic.

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.

This was a great one.
This is my favorite movie. It's the best that was ever written about mindfulness.
I've only ever watched it once, but this movie will haunt my mind until the day I die. Fucking amazing movie.
It's such a good time, one of my favourite films that I actually rewatch! Bill freakin' Nighy let's go!!
Absolute stealth hit. The last table tennis game... Man that hits hard.

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

I'll give you the first one, way better than it had any right to be. 2nd was ok.
- For the direct sequel of the 1931 Dracula movie starring Nicholas Cage in a toxic boss/employee relationship in a gory B movie-esque film, I think it was pretty amazing !
Renfield
I'm perpertually locked in Cage but both my s/o and myself passed out on two seperate watch attempts 🫠

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.

I watched this movie when I was in middle school and thought it was badass. I completely forgot about it until your mention and now I gotta see if it holds up. All I remember is that it takes place in winter and Samuel L. says "Pussy is pussy " at some point.
- It holds up. Geena Davis is a straight up bad-ass boss mutha fucka!
- I wouldn't say those are definitely the best lines in the movie, but probably top 5, definitely top 10.
- Hilarious!

Pandorum. At a glance it like like just another bad sci-fi, but it's really good horror sci-fi mind fuckery with a fantastic twist. Dennis Quaid is great in it.

Pandorum was fantastic. I need to watch it again.
Yes! Unexpectedly good movie!

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.

Idk, I thought the idea of the game changing itself to appeal to more people as time went on was a really cool idea.
The second one is more generic, but I agree with the first one
- But I do love Kevin Hart's Danny Glover impression.
  "That... Is a mandrill."
- Oh yes. Jumanji 2 (3?) was mainly unoriginal callbacks to the previous movie.
That didn't bother me at all, I just assumed the video game was a more recent release of the original board game, with the same weird properties.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Surprisingly good action and a decent plot to boot.

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!

yeah i get what you mean. it does look pretty bad 😂
- [Fire Fx here]

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

but it is haunting and PTSD inducing, very well made

Alien is pretty good but Event Horizon is the best space horror movie.
Solid film.

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

Mr hawk I got your stamps!
- Gooood Yogi!

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.

Yes! One of my most favorite Johnny Depp roles.
Where my fellow Spokane peeps?

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.

Conan is a movie that teaches you what is truly best in life.
I watched it expecting the same campy tropes from other fantasy/sci-fi movies of the era and what I got was a movie deeper than it lets on. That score too, amazing.
- It defined the genre in a lot of ways. There's a reason so many 80s flicks tried to emulate it on the cheap. It's the same as "Star Wars" to so many "Battle Beyond the Stars" movies that followed.
- There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle... when the gold loses its luster... when the throne room becomes a prison... and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

I’ve not seen it since it came out but Crank (2006) is a terrible, dumb action comedy that has no right being that entertaining. It’s sequel Crank High Voltage is less good but also still enjoyable. I should rewatch them see if that’s rose tinted glasses or not!

Aren't those movies in the same universe as Glass and Split?
- I do not believe so! They’re not superhero films, are you thinking of Unbreakable?
Crank is great! Another JS movie in that category is The Transporter. Totally a B action movie but the premise is unique, the fight scenes are clever (the oil fight!), and the electronic music score is très magnifique. The love aspect, however, is terribly written and cringey. Crank did that part better, and Amy Smart is hilarious.
- The first Transporter is a genuinely good film, the 2nd is also pretty decent. But I’m not sure the third and 4th are worth the time of day.

Doom 2005 wasn't bad.

The FPS sequence made me go
- It was the best part of the entire movie.
- You should check out the movie Hardcore Henry 😉
Oooohhhh, I watched that back then and totally forgot that that movie was even a thing. I think I need to rewatch it

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.

37?! Like, in a row?
- “Try not to suck any dicks on your way to the parking lot!”
I'm not even supposed to be here today.
I assure you we're open.

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE!

Previews and premise made it look like it would be stupid, but that movie is pure gold. I've never been able to understand how such an entertaining movie had such a low rotten tomato score. So much great stuff is going on.

Good film that. I was 21ish when it came out and one of my friends at the time said “oh yeah, you still think you’re 18 don’t you…”, pissed me off a bit.
- I was old enough to get a bit of nastalgia out of it. Late 80s was pretty fun times.

I thought Dude, Where's My Car? was very entertaining - maybe not a cinematic masterpiece, but way better than the 9 out of 10 reviews I read that all said it was the worst movie they had ever seen. I'm not exaggerating - they didn't just say it was bad, I remember nine of the ten literally called it "the worst movie I've ever seen."

And then?
- No and then.
I used to love that movie, went to try and rewatch it recently and was hit with a blast of early 2000's casual transphobia. Couldn't keep watching after, it put a really sour taste in my mouth.
- It's amazing how much transphobia there was in that time.

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.

I was surprised at this movie, too. I think it was one of Tom Hardy's early movies, so it's pretty unknown.
I love this movie, but the audio mix kills me. One minute you are struggling to hear characters speaking and then your eardrums get blown out when they cut to the next fight starting. I do have tinnitus so I may be biased a bit.
- That’s a fair point. The movie needs a basic compressor pass lol

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.

Everything by Carpenter, really.
I dunno, I think that movie is as bad as it looks

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.

Cop Land.

I didn't have Sly Stallone outacting Robert Deniro as a possibility, but then that movie happened.

Cop Land is amazing. Most people forget that Stallone has been nominated for three academy awards.

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.

I actually loved this one, although the product placement was off the wall
- the product placement was off the wall
  And on the wall. And some of the walls themselves are ads. Also the rubble remains of some of the walls are also still product placement.
  But yes, it's a pretty good film.

Star Trek First Contact

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

I disagree. This both looked and was awesome.
- Exactly. It was one of my top three ST movies, and by all accounts. Ebert reviewed it positively, as one of the best of the franchise.
  I wonder why they put it in the "looks like it'd suck" category?
- As a Trekkie it looked awesome to me but to my civilian friends it looked like made for TV garbage, then they saw it and loved it
I think people are missing that this movie is spelled differently than "Star Trek First Contact".
Star Trek First CONACT was a cheap, B-movie knock-off straight to DVD movie that should have sucked, but didnt.
Angela Lansbury was not nominated for an Oscar for her preformance as the Captain, but Brooke Shields notably was also in the movie as an alien.
/s
- Wait, what are you saying. There is.a.dooferent movie named "first conact"? (Google didn't help me)

VVitch (=witch) Logan Eklavya (Hindi)

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.

James Gunn can make decent cape slop
- Super is another good one he did

Army of thieves.

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

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.

Idc about nuthin, and will defend the first Pacific rim any time! This is also coming from someone who legit got a lump in my throat watching the first Kong v. Godzilla trailer from like six or seven years ago!
Is it better than Pacific Rim: Uprising? Lol
- Haha. Uh...I never thought about it, but I liked it better, yes.
  But my kids like Pacific Rim: Uprising better.
- Hands down. Assuming you saw the second, the first doesn't have the bullshit love sorry.

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

I figured out why that movie is so good because it bothered me for a while.
The casting is absolutely perfect. Its not terribly special in any other way, but they nailed the cast. Even dumb lines like "cox n dix" work.

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.

Kung Fu Hustle was amazing. Watched it randomly and still think it's the best Kung Fu movie I've ever seen.

Reanimator

Combs just brings a captivating presence wherever he goes!

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

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

Yeah I just watched it and really enjoyed it.
The critics on this over were pretty funny to me.
"They made me watch another Hellboy film, and it's a Hellboy film, and I'm angry."
Some of those critics need to learn when to call in sick.
It's a great Hellboy film. Haha.
- Arguably the most Hellboy Hellboy film.

The In-Laws (2003)

Right before his daughter's wedding, a man finds out his future son-in-law's dad is a spy.

The Cell (2000)

A detective has to enter the mind of a serial killer and search his dreams for the location of his latest victim before time runs out.

Skulls (2000)

At an ivy league school, a law student joins a secret fraternity known only as "The Skulls."

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)

Two stoners get the munchies for White Castle cheeseburger sliders.

Swiss Army Man (2016)

I'm not even going to try and explain this.

Old School (2003)

A group of men wanting to relive their college days start a fraternity at a nearby school.

+1 for swiss army man.
Swiss Army Man
Ok, part parody, part comedy. But why "Swiss Army"?
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_Army_knife

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.

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.

I watched that when I had PMS and bawled through the whole thing, I was expecting a romantic comedy and I have never been so upset by a plot twist.
- For what it is, it's an emotional rollercoaster. Like you know that the letters can't go on forever, but damn.

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.

I liked the movie when it came out and can still enjoy it today. I think the monsters are some of the creepiest in any horror movie. The janitor scene gives me nightmares. However, there was a lot of fan service that didn't need to be included. Yes Pyramid Head is the most recognizable character in the series, but he really served no purpose being in the movie. Also, the design of the nurses being "sexy" doesn't make sense. They were designed that way for James in the second game. That was how he saw them. I think they did a really good job for what they managed to pull off from that movie though. I hope they do well with the new one.
- I generally agree, but the sexy nurse critique is hard to take honestly. Even the devs themselves reused the sexy nurse in future games because it became so iconic, even though they didn't make sense for those protagonists necessarily.
I was excited for that movie, and I think yeah they nailed the atmosphere. Ended up not liking it at all, though
Agreed on Silent Hill. Amazing movie. Weird that people thought it was confusing? I saw that movie as a young kid, having never played the games, and it made perfect sense.. idk how anyone can watch that and not understand what's going on. The movie had a very simple plot lol.

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.

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.

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.

SPACE TRUCKERS!!!

My God, I did not expect someone was going to steal my comment.
Great movie, ahead of its time
- Is this your dick?! 😂

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.!<

spoiler tag didnt work for me on the Voyager App for Lemmy.
Love love love Triangle. Maybe my favorite movie
- Yeah, it's pretty great. Only movie that I had to rewatch immediately after the first time.
I found Triangle because it was in the same vein as Primer, which is fucking amazing!
- I wish primer had an 20% extra budget so they could make the last act make sense. It just needed a few more explanatory scenes.
  Time crimes (Spanish: Los cronocrímenes) is my absolute favourite in the genre.

Keanu Reeves holds two places on my list; Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure and Johnny Mnemonic.

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 enjoyed it with a mindset of "This is an unofficial Crysis 1 (PC Game) movie adaption without the power-suit".
I actually thought adding the alien element probably saved it from being a boring movie about ship combat.
It's quite a bad movie, but it did inspire the creation of my podcast, so I don't hate it.
- I love that premise! I am very good at doing that, turning mundane events into epic movie scenes with no shortage of hyberbole. I have frequently said that adding dramatic music to anything a cat or dog is doing, instantly makes it funnier.
  Me and a friend used to do movie reviews but we had the added stipulation that we haad to get drunk while watching the movie and do the review immediately afterwards. A fan requested we do Battleship, which is the sole reason I watched this movie (and probably why I did not hate it outright).
I actually liked Rhianna in that film
Edit: downvotes? Is my personal experience somehow incorrect?

Black Bullet?

Event Horizon. The trailers made it seem like just another 90s sci-fi horror flick trying to ride the Alien high, but it ended up being such a good movie with a tight script, beautiful set design, actually smart characters, and great acting.

I will forever mourn the movie we could have had. The theatrical cut ended up being a Disney movie compared to the original. Alas, all footage is lost to time.

ink. looks cheap and weird but has a huge heart and vision.

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.

Oh man I had forgotten this one. It definitely fits the bill. Just so much fun to look at.

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

The chemistry between Kevin Costner and William Hurt was so perfect. This is one of those hidden gems that I like to recommend people to surprise them with just how good it is.
It also gratuitously uses scenery from Shreveport, Louisiana which is a very real place.

The Ice Pirates.

Ron Perlman and one of the funniest fight scenes from the 80s.

I watched Running Scared with Paul Walker at like 3am probably over fifteen years ago. I thought it was brilliant, really dark but fun.

I'll start: "Happy Death Day"

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

Uwe Boll's Rampage. He gets slated but that movie is great.

Mile 22. Died at the box office and I'd heard nothing but bad things about it. Saw a DVD at the library and a stranger suggested it to me.

Seriously good thriller with action, intrigue, and some great acting.

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.

Marshawn Lynch was great in this movie
That movie had non-stop jokes and never let up. Was a lot like Mean Girls in that regard.

"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.

100% agree with op. Just saw Happy Death Day recently for the first time and was impressed by how fun it was, but it took me a while.

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

Kripendorf's Tribe. That thing is pure gold.

i've got a long list, but most recently is Heart Eyes (2025)

i went in thinking boring bullshit teenage slasher, but i'm pretty shocked how well written the dialogue is. the movie is cookie-cutter for sure, but the dialogue is well done.

Disco Polo

It's a very unserious movie and that's what makes it work. It's just pure Polish nostalgia-based comedy with nothing to prove