Unpopular Movies You Like?

[RedPhoenix]

The other one I loved is '13th Warrior'. At 33% RT it was I felt so much better than that rating!

Very much agreed. Love that movie. Sad that it's financial failings killed the fantasy adventure genre for years. :(

[Mathim]

Very much agreed. Love that movie. Sad that it's financial failings killed the fantasy adventure genre for years. :(

Funny, I didn't care much for the movie but I did like the book (called Eaters of the Dead originally) a whole lot.

[RedPhoenix]

I liked the book too. The movie was only very loosely based on it, I would say more "inspired" by is a better word.

[Mathim]

I liked the book too. The movie was only very loosely based on it, I would say more "inspired" by is a better word.

Well, when is an adaptation ever better than the books, right?

There's a very interesting one I came across on Netflix a year or so ago and I liked how offbeat and unique it was so I bought the DVD. It's called Officer Downe, and it only got a 36%. I can see why it would rub some people the wrong way but I appreciate how unconventionally they constructed the script so I give them props for that. If you like parodies of bad kung fu movies, a touch of blaxploitation and even some zombie movie themes, you might just like it too.




Holy. Fucking. Shit. I just found out a movie I really love, Branded, only got a 9%. Unbelievable. I would have thought an artsy, thought-provoking thing like that would have gotten a much higher score. That just blows my mind.


Oh, and Will Smith's Bright. 27%. I'd give it at least a flat 50% and I want to see either a sequel or a series based on it since the premise is so intriguing.

[RedPhoenix]

Well, when is an adaptation ever better than the books, right?

I think this is a fun question on it's own. The Princess Bride has been my go to "exception that proves the rule" answer for this. The book is fine, it's just not as amazing as the movie. More recently, The Devil Wears Prada and Crazy Rich Asians I think I'd also put in that category.

Oh, and Will Smith's Bright. 27%. I'd give it at least a flat 50% and I want to see either a sequel or a series based on it since the premise is so intriguing.

I liked this too but I'm a sucker for world building and this movie had a lot of it going on in the background and I think half the enjoyment I got was thinking about roleplaying in that universe. The movie itself I thought was fine, nowhere near 27% bad. I do remember reading about how it was one those movies that critics despised but fans loved.

[wander]

John Carter (2012). It got a rotten 52%, though audiences actually gave it a 60%. As I don't put any respect into rotten tomatos anyway, I looked at imdb and they gave it 6.6, so this is probably a fringe case.
Yes, I like the novels, I'm eehhh... on some of the changes they made to make the adaptation and it's flow was off, though I really enjoyed watching Barsoom and I honestly think the film was just seen badly as it was released early, as in... If it came out today, I think it'd fare much better given how it's tropes seem more accepted in film today. I'd personally score it 8/10 myself, I'm trying not to gush about Barsoom in saying all this (and Dejah Thoris... my lordy, Dejah Thoris...).
I think it's more accepted as a cult thing nowadays than how it was really given a good kicking by everyone it seemed when it came out. We'll never get a sequel though, not only down to the revenue it took in and how meh everyone took it, though also as Disney now has Star Wars to play with and do science fantasy with.

[Inkidu]

Lockout (2012)

Look, trying to find decent sci-fi is hard. Trying to find decent sci-fi that doesn't feel like it has to touch the face of God every thirty seconds is even worse. I'll take some gritty well-done space Diehard.

[Mathim]

The original Re-Animator got 95% but the two sequels didn't top 50%. I like the entire series (I had heard there was going to be a reboot but nothing ever happened with it, I guess) so it's a shame that they couldn't live up to the first one's score, not even half of it, in fact. Though I am curious how the third one got 1% more than the second one when I thought it was the least enjoyable of the three.

I've got a few other movies I wanted to list but some of them are direct-to-video and haven't gotten any critical reviews yet. Can we use their audience scores if that's all there is?

[CaptainNexus616]

I'm that person who had fond childhood memories of Star Wars the Phantom Menance. I know how much infamy it has in some circles, but I always loved how it wasn't afraid to do things different compared to the original three movies.

Seeing the Jedi in their prime.

Had an underwater sub being chased by giant sea monsters.

Had droid cannon fodder instead of Stormtroopers.

A high speed race across the desert.

Darth Maul (nuff said)

Not to mention it was the first movie to have Duel of the Fates play as the Jedi and Maul battled.

It is by no means a perfect movie but it had its moments

[Mathim]

The long, boring stretches, many bland characters and the how Anakin inserted himself into the hero role in the end through such a contrived plot device were the main issues I had with it.

Would it have been so bad for Padme to also be a child his age, and her mother be the Queen? Then maybe through the Queen's tragic death at some point, and young Padme inheriting the throne, it could have ended the same way and the seeds of their future romance not been so...creepy? If Anakin was already so smitten with her then he might have, rather than by accident, given in to his anger and gotten on one of the ships to avenge Padme's mother out of hatred, and while pretending not to have done so and still being the hero, rightfully earns Yoda's suspicion and disapproval.

Also I call bullshit on the one-way laser shields that let fire out but not in on those rolly droids.

[CaptainNexus616]

Like I said. Not a perfect movie.

[greenknight]

Oh, and Will Smith's Bright. 27%. I'd give it at least a flat 50% and I want to see either a sequel or a series based on it since the premise is so intriguing.

As long as said series is basically done with Ward and Jakoby, great. There are how many people in the LA basin and a rhetorical 1 in a million human brights? I want to see their stories and the expanded world building they require, probably in an overarching plot about how those relate to the attempted resurrection of the Dark Lord. Like, what's up with all the antlers on the orc priests/chapels and why was Mikey using a hunting rifle?

The only recurring characters should be Kandomeer and Hildebrandt, and then only every few episodes.
Oh, and who the fuck is the dragon?!

[Mathim]

As long as said series is basically done with Ward and Jakoby, great. There are how many people in the LA basin and a rhetorical 1 in a million human brights? I want to see their stories and the expanded world building they require, probably in an overarching plot about how those relate to the attempted resurrection of the Dark Lord. Like, what's up with all the antlers on the orc priests/chapels and why was Mikey using a hunting rifle?

The only recurring characters should be Kandomeer and Hildebrandt, and then only every few episodes.
Oh, and who the fuck is the dragon?!

I need to watch that again because I'm not remembering anyone's names or that much stuff. But that's why it merits further exploration in a sequel or series.

[RedRose]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0LLaybEuzA

[RedPhoenix]

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

I'm not surprised to see this at 41% because it's the sort of film that movie critics foam at the mouth to attack ("reviews" of it include some of the most eye-roll inducing nonsense you'll ever read), but I don't think there's been a female-led grindhouse slasher nearly this good in the last 20 years or so. I also don't think very many teen thrillers get the characters and their dynamics and interactions together so deep in just a few shots of dialogue and flashbacks as this movie does. It's all so coherent even as it descends into madness. I honestly thought it was terrific.

[Azuresun]

Well, when is an adaptation ever better than the books, right?

Jurassic Park is what I think of when someone asks that. All of the dinosaurs, 100% less tiresome lecturing from Michael Crichton's sock puppets about how science is bad.

And +1 for John Carter. I have a love of straightfoward adventure stories, I loved the performances and the framing device, and it really captured the essence of the books.

[Mathim]

Anyone see the movie F/X? That one is really good and it got an 86% on Rottentomatoes. But the sequel, F/X 2, which I also liked a lot, only got a 38%. I thought it brought a lot of new, clever effects to the story although the overall story and framing were admittedly poorly thought out. Still, the two Bryan/Brians in the lead continue performing admirably and I thought it deserved at least a 60%.

I also find it humorous that while the Lethal Weapon movies got progressively lower scores as they went on, the 3rd and 4th ones never got quite below 50% (but are still rated as Rotten).

[Inkidu]

Jurassic Park is what I think of when someone asks that. All of the dinosaurs, 100% less tiresome lecturing from Michael Crichton's sock puppets about how science is bad.

And +1 for John Carter. I have a love of straightfoward adventure stories, I loved the performances and the framing device, and it really captured the essence of the books.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a better movie than book if only because it actually let's Charley make a good decision instead of being boring Dahl child protagonist archetype number 1.

[Mathim]

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is a better movie than book if only because it actually let's Charley make a good decision instead of being boring Dahl child protagonist archetype number 1.

That gave me the idea to go look up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on RT. How did that piece of crap get 83%? I mean, WWatCF got a 91%, but for that one to even be within 20% of that score is shameful.

That said, I really wish they'd make a Great Glass Elevator film. Following the continuity from the Gene Wilder movie.

[Inkidu]

That gave me the idea to go look up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on RT. How did that piece of crap get 83%? I mean, WWatCF got a 91%, but for that one to even be within 20% of that score is shameful.

That said, I really wish they'd make a Great Glass Elevator film. Following the continuity from the Gene Wilder movie.

Can't. It's been forbidden by the Dahl estate. Kind of like how the Seuss estate said no more live-action stuff.

[Giantmutantcrab]

Highlander. The first one.

VERY niche. But I liked it a lot. The soundtrack was truly spectacular.

Boondock saints too.

[Mathim]

Can't. It's been forbidden by the Dahl estate. Kind of like how the Seuss estate said no more live-action stuff.

I get that they don't want it being done POORLY but they should still let people who have more talent than money do something with it. Like Calvin and Hobbes, also cursed never to be anything but a comic strip. That NEEDS to be made into an animated feature.

[Humble Scribe]

It's four years outside the timeline specified in the OP (1996), but I'd like to put a vote in for Hellraiser: Bloodline, which deserves better than the 31% that it languishes at on Rotten Tomatoes. It was the last Hellraiser movie to get a wide theatrical release, and actually tried to do something interesting with the backstory, expanding it out into both the past (via Lemarchand and the Lament Configuration) and the future, and neatly closing off the series with an ending. Plus if you're not enjoying it, it's only 70 minutes long. It had a famously troubled production history, budget cuts, and studio interference, leading to walkouts and director Kevin Yagher taking his name off the picture, but maybe thanks to Clive Barker's continuing involvement, it somehow survived it all. It's not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but off the many (far too many) Hellraiser movies, it's my second favourite after the first. Mind you, I'm a man who owns a Lament Configuration Rubik's Cube, so I guess my mind may have turned somewhere along the line, seduced by a dimension of pleasure and pain.

[BlueOrange]

Sucker Punch is amazingly well told story, and a terrifying portrayal of a pimp. One of my all time favorite movies. 22%

[Writersblockade]

Sucker Punch is amazingly well told story, and a terrifying portrayal of a pimp. One of my all time favorite movies. 22%

I'm a proud owner of Sucker Punch, and have no shame about it.

My submission...Hancock!

41% on RT, and I would say it's deserved, but this movie was on the edge of superhero greatness at a time when people weren't exactly as on board with them. It had a great first half, but suffered on the back end, which robbed it of a lot of the potential it had, but I still defend it any chance I get. If only to dream about what could have been.