Movies that should have sucked, but didn't

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

SLC Punk

Yeah, that movie was fantastic. I didn't really think it was a teen movie though, certainly not in the way Empire Records and Bring It On were. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that one shot they did in the party sequence that was made up of hundreds of still shots. That was trippy.

I'd like to add High Fidelity to the list. I love John Cusack's work, and I knew Jack Black was good. But I was just such an ardent fan of the novel, and I couldn't figure out how his internal monologues, which were so key to the book's narrative, would come out on screen. Plus they moved it to Chicago from London, and that book just felt very, well, English to me. But Cusack and Co. pulled it off, hitting all the right beats from the novel, removing some things that probably wouldn't have worked or maybe weren't that great to begin with, and adding some good stuff too (the Bruce Springsteen scene was lifted straight from one of my daydreams). Memo to Hollywood: This is how you adapt a good book.

 

[Green Knight]

I can think of 2 right off the top of my head. Both times I was dragged by a woman-friend. The Rock & The Negotiator. I thought both were going to stink and was entertained by both. The Rock was just pure fun. The Negotiator is actually one of my favorite movies. It probably has more to do with that Sam Jackson and Kevin Spacey are two of my favorite actors but still.

I absolutely ADORE The Negotiator! That's definitely one of the best movies to be released in the last couple of years. The Rock is great, too, but for completely different reasons. However, if it's a choice between the two of them as to which one I'm in the mood to watch, I tend to pick The Negotiator 9 out of 10 times. It is SUCH a good movie.

 

[Zerth]

Nothing that wasn't already mentioned comes to mind. I gotta agree with "Black hawk down" and "13th warrior". I had no big expectations with either, but I ended up pleasantly surprised.

Spider-Man was also very good as a movie, but I'm so big Spidey-fan, that it really doesn't count.

 

[Agamon]

I would say, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, League of Extrodinary Gentlemen and, in a I-didn't-think-it-would-suck-but-I-didn't-expect-a-life-long-memorble-experience-omigod-words-cannot-explain kinda way, Lord of the Rings: FotR

 

[Dimwhit]

I'm going to have to add one to my list: GI Jane. Not my favorite movie, but I was expecting it to really, really suck. But it was actually quite good, and quite a bit different from what I had expected.

 

[ssampier]

Yeah, that movie was fantastic. I didn't really think it was a teen movie though, certainly not in the way Empire Records and Bring It On were. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that one shot they did in the party sequence that was made up of hundreds of still shots. That was trippy.

I thought I was the only person who liked or even heard of Salt Lake City Punk. Strange thing is, I actually live in Utah.

 

[Gorilla726]

Mystery Men, The Stupids, Mazes And Monsters, Pocket Ninjas, and Pirates Of The Carabian (spelling?). All should have been sort of lame, but are now some of my all time favorite movies! Oh! And Rookie Of The Year! Another one that should have sucked but is AWESOME!

Gorilla

 

[Bob Aberton]

Pirates of the Caribbean, definately.

Expectations were extremely low for this movie, pretty much everyone dismissed it as "oh, its a Disney movie based on a theme park, it'll suck."

I myself only went to the theater to watch the tallships in all their glory, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the film's quality. Even the movie critics for the Providence Journal gave it 4 stars.

 

[BluWolf]

Fight Club
I almost puked when I heard it was turned into a movie but sweet lord I watch it about every other month when I start taking things alittle too seriously. I know it sounds weird that a movie that intense and violent could be sublime, it is.

Legends of the Fall
Wife dragged me into that one. I was looking forward to a coupla hours of sleep but I was suprised.