What movies are underappreciated?

[smith1921]

i have to say closer

[DAROCKNESSMONSTER]

Pump up the Volume.

but I am being dead serious.
very underappreciated christian slater flick.
great writing for a late 80s early 90s teen comedy/drama.

[Stoudman]

Wow, this might be a big list. I consider a lot of the films I love to be under appreciated. For starters, there are a lot of Coen brother films you could put on the list (Miller's Crossing anyone?) but my favorite would have to be:

Barton Fink

brilliantly well done film, I only wish the Coen brothers had done more like it.

and howabout:

From Hell

adapted from yet another graphic novel done by Alan Moore. The film recieved lackluster reviews and support overall, but Depp was BRILLIANT in it, and the vivid use of color and blacks in the film are something I honestly didn't see again until hollywood started to take "comic book adaptations" more seriously. Hate it or love it, From Hell was well done in my book.

Artificial Intelligence

the film Stanley Kubrick never got to do. Instead, Spielberg stepped in for him and delivered one of his most memorable films to date, and probably his last really well crafted one. Maybe it could've been better, but people complain too much about the kid -- haley joel osment. Not only was he a brilliant child actor for his time, but you can't tell me you could make a better choice for a kid trying to play a damn ROBOT. I mean, maybe if it was about an ADULT robot they could've gotten Keanu Reeves, but nah....haley works fine in the film, which has an amazing score and a touching story if you'd bother to look past the "pinnochio" elements and see that it touches on a variety of different aspects about fairy tales in general. This is probably the last film I saw in theaters that actually made me cry. Frickin epic.

Major League: Back to the Minors

Considering how far removed the profitability of the film title was when this one was made, the actors they got to play the roles were PERFECT. This has to be one of my favorite "Major League" titles, to be honest. RESPECT THE BAKULA. Well made film touches on aspects of my favorite sport that most "sports" movies about the game don't normally touch on.

Chasing Amy

Need I say more? Everyone loved Clerks. They loved Mallrats even more. However, throw a little drama in there and get the damn thing plastered as a "chick flick" and nobody wants to see it. Damn shame too, this movie does a perfect job of stereotyping the average "comic book nerd", and the characters in it are even more freakin hilarious than any of the characters in any film before or since IMHO. Haven't seen it? Shame on you. Blind buy. Do it. Naow.

Punch-Drunk Love

Adam Sandler was great in this. At the time, he wasn't exactly known for his ability to act in any more serious or dramatic roles, so this served as an excellent bridge for him. His character is eccentric as hell, and he pulls it off in spades. The mattress man, Philip Seymour Hoffman, one of the best actors in hollywood today (deny it if you can) also delivers one of his most memorable and downright hilarious performances. The story is cute, the acting is great, loved it. Why didn't this get more love?

Lady in the Water

Perhaps suffering from M. Night's more recent hollywood screwups, Lady in the Water was not well received and it was totally ignored in theaters. However, the movie is probably one of Night's best as he showcases the whole "fairy tale" aspect in a much similar manner to Spielberg/Kubrick's Artificial Intelligence. Not only is the story brilliantly moving, leaving you wondering about the characters and exactly which is which up until the very end, but the art style behind the film is reminiscent of a graphic novel, which is something I just LOVE to see in ANY film. Is it any wonder I thoroughly enjoyed Watchmen? Speaking of which..

WATCHMEN.

yeah.

I went there.

Master and Commander

Russel Crowe is great in this film, and the amazing scenery alone is worth the price of admission. However, the story, while slowly paced, is also really great and much more realistic than the oft compared POTC films which are set up from the go to be more expressionistic. In terms of realism, Master and Commander takes it to the limit with the great battle scenes shown. Gotta love it.

TMNT

Followed to the dot faithfully the ideals of the original TMNT comics IMO. The fight between Leo and Raph? Tell me REAL TMNT fans haven't been waiting to see that for YEARS? The story is as encompassing as any other corny TMNT film, show, or comic book. What was the issue here? Were people expecting a group of mutant turtles to have some kind of serious award winning story? Give me a break. Far exceeded my expectations. Loved it.

POTC: At World's End

My favorite in the series to be honest. It adds the most depth to the story overall, as well as to the characters. The ending was exactly what I wanted and expected, the story starts one place and ends up somewhere completely different, which I expect from such an expressionistic line of films. Action out the wazoo.....exactly what I wanted. Again....what was the problem here? not well received AT ALL!

Alright, that's about all I've got for now.

[Mike53421]

Originally Posted by Sarge

Relative to that other Batman movie.

Still, $200+ million and #84 alltime is still pretty appreciated! lol. Had it been significantly less appreciated, we wouldn't have TDK.

Very true, it's tough to say Begins but figured it might have come up at some point. By underappreciated I was moreso thinking along the lines of alot of people either forgot it or have not seen it and declare TDK THE best Batman movie. Although, I agree with that, up until July 15th of last year Batman Begins was one of my favourite movies, at least from the 00's. It still holds up despite the, dare I say, EPIC nature of The Dark Knight.

I like that Chasing Amy was mentioned too, agree there because it's very true, yet my friends enjoyed it.

[Uberbot]

In short :

Serenity / Firefly

The most under appreciated genius in my lifetime.

[Sarge]

Originally Posted by Uberbot

In short :

Serenity / Firefly

The most under appreciated genius in my lifetime.

What an awesome series that was...

[Sarge]

Originally Posted by Mike53421

Very true, it's tough to say Begins but figured it might have come up at some point. By underappreciated I was moreso thinking along the lines of alot of people either forgot it or have not seen it and declare TDK THE best Batman movie. Although, I agree with that, up until July 15th of last year Batman Begins was one of my favourite movies, at least from the 00's. It still holds up despite the, dare I say, EPIC nature of The Dark Knight.

I like that Chasing Amy was mentioned too, agree there because it's very true, yet my friends enjoyed it.

Agree with you there; Batman Begins was certainly my favourite comic-adaptation... and probably a top 25 movie for me.

[Chuck Norris Inc]

Bad Boys - the Sean Penn one.

Also, Rivers Edge and True Romance. Although True Romance probably gets some love. Also, Willard was really cool.

Gotta add another one though: King Kong... the Jessica Lange one. I think its pretty entertaining but gets totally bashed by the critics.

[ScarredLungs]

Originally Posted by Uberbot

In short :

Serenity / Firefly

The most under appreciated genius in my lifetime.

How could I have forgot to add them to my list! Two amazing shows!

[dyerjp]

Big Trouble In Little China

[Eagle_23]

Cinderella Man

[nick1091]

Angel Heart - It gets short shrift in comparison to Alan Parker's other great film, Mississippi Burning, but it's just as good IMO opinion. Prior to The Wrestler, it was Mickey Rourke's best performance, and the atmosphere Parker creates is perfect. Fantastic modern-noir film.

[Sarge]

Angelheart is a great choice. Another one that was generally roasted but I thought has some great one liners, was The Golden Child.

[Porkchop Express]

Originally Posted by Sarge

Let's add... The Ghost and the Darkness.

Good one. It's been years since I've seen that movie.

[kpkelley]

Lust, Caution - great erotic spy thriller that gets overlooked because of it's NC-17 rating. If an X-rated film(Midnight Cowboy) can win best picture, certainly this film should not be tossed aside because of it's rating.

[Uberbot]

For recent movies, I'd like to add Punisher War Zone. I thought it was a fast paced, violent, and faithful presentation to the spirit of the comic on film.

I also feel that Superman Returns received far less appreciation than it deserved. This is proven by the fact that another one isn't coming soon (or at all) from Bryan Singer. The movie set out to be a match to the original films and, while I would have preferred something new, I thought it did what it set out to do with great success. Brandon Routh made an excellent Superman and he deserves the chance to return.

Also, an amazing New Zealand film that beat Jurassic Park at the box office the year it was released, Once Were Warriors. It didn't get much attention in the states but it was a powerfully dramatic film focusing on culture, violence and love within a family living in urban New Zealand. It was very moving.

[andyman1970]

Eyes Wide Shut, In Dreams, Howard the Duck

[JorDamn]

Im gonna say.........

Nightwatch
Daywatch
Prince of Darkness

[kpkelley]

Originally Posted by andyman1970

In Dreams

I'd never heard of this movie before, so I checked it out. Has to be one of Ebert's funniest reviews:

"In Dreams" is the silliest thriller in many a moon, and the only one in which the heroine is endangered by apples. She also survives three falls from very high places (two into a lake, one onto apples), escapes from a hospital and a madhouse, has the most clever dog since Lassie and causes a traffic pileup involving a truck and a dozen cars. With that much plot, does this movie really need the drowned ghost town, the husband's affair with an Australian woman, the flashbacks to the dominatrix mom and the garbage disposal that spews apple juice? All of this goofiness is delivered with style and care by a first-rate team; this is a well-made bad movie.

In my dreams, I'm picturing Tony Lawson's first day on the job. He was the editor of this picture. His survey of the unassembled footage must have been a real horror story.

Link

I think I might add this to my queue.

[Jmills]

Big Fish
Derailed
Gone Baby Gone
Memento
The Cell
The Fall
Dark City
Vanilla Sky
Zodiac