Ever assume a movie would suck & it turned out GREAT?!

[MaggieMae]

I record a bunch of stuff I think I might want to watch at some point, and I had DVR'd the movie "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" never having heard of it and my only interest being that it starred Johnny Depp. (I love Johnny Depp, and any other actor who can adapt to roles of all persuasions while losing their own personal identity.)

The movie, which I assumed would be a comedy, turned out to be anything but. There were "funny" situations, but hardly a "Weekend At Bernie's" deal.

So when it was over, since the movie was made in 1993, I got to wondering whatever happened to the retarded brother to Johnny Depp who played the part so beautifully--a pitiful but oh, so annoying troublemaker, and spoiled in spite of his handicap.

Shocker to this movie junkie!! It was a young Leonardo DiCaprio!!

Had I studied the character's face more intently, I probably could have seen him. But again, the part was played to flawless perfection. And to think DiCaprio is still identified with "Titanic" more than any of his other of his films, when he is a supberb actor going way back to "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"

Anybody want to discuss "sleeper" films that either did (or didn't) ultimately make Hollywood headlines?

 

[Shogun]

i saw that movie when it came out. It's a very good flick.

 

[Xenophon]

Happens all the time with me.

When bored I watch random on demand movies on HBo hoping for something good (70-30 it's bad) but sometimes you get good movies.

For example, a small comedy called 'Let's go to prison' looked lame, but actually was pretty funny.

Movies I thought would be corny like 'Flyboys' turned out to be very well made.

 

[GHook93]

For me it was Sideways! The wife dragged me to it. Even though I loved Giamatti and THC, the coming attractions made the movie look like shit. I was pleasantly surprised. Its a classic!

 

[Shogun]

That was a good book too if you ever feel so inclined to read it. A few little differences but still.. damn good.

 

[manifold]

Frailty.

Great flick that I expected to suck. It's also the only good movie Matthew McConaughey has ever starred in.

 

[MaggieMae]

Frailty.

Great flick that I expected to suck. It's also the only good movie Matthew McConaughey has ever starred in.

I think that's one I watched and still couldn't figure out which brother did it. In the end, if you blink, you miss that. I think. Or maybe I wasn't paying attention.

A movie I've seen 3 times and still can't figure out what the aliens were trying to do is "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Were they trading children to experiment with universal language?

 

[manifold]

Frailty.

Great flick that I expected to suck. It's also the only good movie Matthew McConaughey has ever starred in.

I think that's one I watched and still couldn't figure out which brother did it. In the end, if you blink, you miss that. I think. Or maybe I wasn't paying attention.

You must've fallen asleep for the last fifteen minutes or left the room or something. It definitely doesn't leave you wondering about who did it at all.

 

[xotoxi]

Rarely do I ever watch a movie that I think will suck, because why would I watch a movie that I think would suck?

Most of the time, it will be a movie that I don't know anything about that turns out awesome.


But strike that first thought...I watched Mama Mia and was sure it would suck. I just don't like musicals as a rule. But in the end, it was highly entertaining.

 

[American Horse]

I like "pyschodrama" and intrigue; Action is good but it has to seem reasonably possible; crazy cases of flying cars will cause me to leave the room as fast as anything. For me there is a strict requirement that the action fit into the realm of physical reality, Violence for the sake of violence totally turns me off, and so does unnecessary profanity. Sophisticated people simply do not pepper their speach with a lot of that, so it's a turn off. I remember, that my wife and I got up and walked out of "The Firm" starring Tom Cruise, when its useage was virtually unrelenting.

The movie "Hitman" is a film (2007) based on the video games series with the same title and that was almost a turn-off at first. But the action was reasonable and well staged, the demeanor of the actors fit the action and except for two perhaps three instances which stretched the bounds of human abilities, it did just that. But the instances weren't too blatant, and I reminded myself that it was after all a film based on a video game. That mitigated them, because it was made for a broader audience than just me.

There is a very well staged bit of two handed "swordplay" between agent "47" and three other 'hit-men' all of whom conveniently came carrying long-knives tucked into their suits, which was a stretch, but I was able to dismiss that because of the real excitement it generated.

There was a little sex, and the use of the F-word but its inclusion was in normal language useage, meaning it was in real context for the whole of the plot and too, the sex and the language were essential to the plot of the movie.

It only got 2 or 2-1/2 stars but I'd give it 4+. It was one of the best movies my whole family has seen in a while!
The theme music was some of the best.

Hitman Wikkipedia
Hitman Preview

 

[GHook93]

Frailty.

Great flick that I expected to suck. It's also the only good movie Matthew McConaughey has ever starred in.

How about Dazed and Confused and U-571 were pretty damn good!

 

[manifold]

Frailty.

Great flick that I expected to suck. It's also the only good movie Matthew McConaughey has ever starred in.

How about Dazed and Confused and U-571 were pretty damn good!

Dazed was good, but he was just a bit character. U-571 I haven't seen. I do know that Reign of Fire blew serious chunks.

 

[KittenKoder]

OP: So far ... NO. I go the opposite of the reviewers and so far all the movies they like best I hate, and all the ones they deem as bad in some way, I love. Though, Monsters Vs. Aliens did surprise me, usually the previews are the best parts of the movie, but this one wasn't the case.

 

[Toro]

RoboCop.

 

[MaggieMae]

Rarely do I ever watch a movie that I think will suck, because why would I watch a movie that I think would suck?

Most of the time, it will be a movie that I don't know anything about that turns out awesome.


But strike that first thought...I watched Mama Mia and was sure it would suck. I just don't like musicals as a rule. But in the end, it was highly entertaining.

As I initially said, I will watch a movie solely for the actors in it. But that's not to say good and/or famous actors haven't done their share of crap. Although I said I liked Johnny Depp, I haven't seen any of his "Pirates" movies just because those themes aren't my cup O tea. But I've seen enough trailers to know he can also be a pirate as well as a humble brother to a retarded kid.

Mama Mia is on Dish Network PPV now. Thanks for the heads up. But I don't care for musicals either. I have yet to make it all the way through "Chicago" if that's any clue.

 

[MaggieMae]

RoboCop.

Yep. I didn't think I'd like that at all, but played it for my young nephew and it was good.

 

[KittenKoder]

I loved Robocop, what I wouldn't give for modern robot/cyborg movies to be that good again.

 

[Shogun]

Red Foreman thinks Robocop is a dumb ass.

 

[MaggieMae]

Another actor I will always tune in for just to see if it's good or awful is Billy Bob Thornton. (I know, I know, he's gotten weird lately with his rock band obsession.)

"Bad Santa" was hilarious yet heartwarming, but not one I would want my nephew to see just yet since Santa doesn't play nice until the very end.

I saw him in some IFC film that I can't remember the name of. He played a big man recently released from a mental institution and trying to assimilate back into a small town. I think he befriended a young boy (and being IFC, I was fully expecting a pedophile theme, but it wasn't). Billy Bob was so made up that he was unrecognizable--marbles or cotton in his mouth which distorted his face into a grimmace. That was another movie that I enjoyed (but didn't necessarily love) and at the end wondered where Billy Bob Thornton was! So I rewound the credits only to discover he was the main character.

One more great actor terribly underrated by the academy, imo, then I'll shut up, is Edward Norton.

 

[Zoom-boing]

I loved Gilbert Grape. Great movie.

Another along that line was 'I Am Sam' with Sean Penn and Dakota Fanning. I didn't initially want to see it because I figured it would be just another one of those 'retarded person' movies that was stereo typical and not done well. But I underestimated Sean Penn. He was excellent in it and the movie (yeah, a bit of a tear jerker) was very good.

MM - I love Johnny Depp. He's one of those rare actors (Sean Penn is another) that actually make me forget that I'm watching Johnny Depp and believe that I'm watching a person named Gilbert Grape (or whoever). The Pirates movies are not generally my type of movie but if you're a Depp fan, rent the first one. I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did and he was largely responsible for that. I read that he based his Jack Sparrow character on The Rolling Stone's Keith Richards; Depp is fun to watch as he does his take on Keith.

Another movie that I refused to even watch was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The previews made me think that Willie Wonka was a pervert or something. Waay creepy. But someone gave it to one of the kids for a present and the more I watch it the more I like it. Depp does make the Wonka character creepy . . . but oh so good!