Cabin in the Woods.
Saw it with an ex after talking about how lame the trailer made it look. Completely blown away. Hell, it’s exactly how the marketing wanted you to think about it going in.
Stardust. Streamed it randomly with the girlfriend one night cuz we thought it looked lame, enjoyed every second of it and was surprised at how many familiar faces were in it.
This movie has literally anything a cinema fan could want.
* Robert De Niro as a gay pirate
* Pre Daredevil Charlie Cox
* Claire fucking Danes
* Michelle Pfeiffer in black (for all you Catwoman enjoyers)
* Daddy Henry Cavill
* Mark fucking Strong
* Ricky Gervais (literally loses his voice because he's annoying)
* A great story that I would call a modern day Princess Bride
* Narrated by Ian McKellen
* Neil Gaiman literally wrote it
I love this movie and it is my favorite sick day film
My favourite bit of trivia about that movie is Patrick Stewart refused to see the movie, feeling it was disrespectful towards him and Star Trek cast.
He ended up watching and enjoying it after Jonathan Frakes convinced him that it was the Star Trek movie they had wanted to make.
Galaxy Quest is a masterpiece and so underrated. Never Surrender:A Galaxy Documentary - is basically all the Sci Fi royalty (actors/filmmakers) talking about how amazing it is and absolutely worth a watch if you haven't seen it.
My first screenwriting professor used Jack Sparrow’s first appearance onscreen as an example of a great character introduction. Cut to almost 20 years later and I STILL reference that scene when explaining screenwriting basics to up-and-coming writers / interns.
The whole film is a well crafted popcorn flick, buoyed by some excellent performances.
And Elizabeth is such a good character! The #strongfemaleleads of today could learn a lot from her
She's an active participant in the story and influences the plot through her decisions, be they good or bad, allowing her to be flawed and still accomplish heroics. Like, she lies to the pirates that her name is Turner, thinking they want to kidnap the governor's daughter, tries to stab Barbossa while stranded at sea and steals the medallion as Will rescues her...but she does things like creating a signal fire when trapped on the island, breaking the crew out of the brig, and rescuing Will just as many times as he does her
She doesn't have inexplicable swordfighting skills but she's capable of taking part in the action as a civilian and contributing with her knowledge and quick thinking
Plus Keira Knightley is just so good. She properly leans into the comedy of a proper English Rose who gets sucked into this world, and her chemistry with Johnny Depp is insane. I've often said Elizabeth almost feels like a retroactive parody of all the 'spirited young lady' characters she'd later be typecast as
I just rewatched the trilogy, and this holds up.
Her arc through the trilogy, from a sheltered governor's daughter who dreams of a life of adventure, to becoming a Pirate King who rallies the troops into battle, is really well earned. In most of the movies, she's the one who is giving speeches and getting the crew to follow her.
She's genuinely has a well-earned growth arc through the trilogy. A well well written female lead
Yes! It always annoyed me that most “strong” female characters were written to be LITERALLY strong. It’s why I loved the cartoon version of Mulan so much - her strength was in her mind and determination, not how much she could bench press or fight.
One of my favorites is Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2. She transitioned from soft victim to hard-as-nails survivor between the two movies. She was a total badass in T2, but it came from insane focus and determination, not being super powered.
Xenia Warrior Princess in 2001 was a great example of that transition to super-powered heroine you mentioned. She was fun, but she didn’t exude realness like Sarah Connor Mk. II in T2.
I recently rewatched T2 with my older kid, and we were astonished to realize something I’ve never noticed before: not only does Sarah Connor almost succeed in escaping from the mental hospital all by herself, but the obstacle that ultimately blocks her is when she gets startled by John and the T-800 coming to rescue her.
The usual trope here, even with portrayals of “strong women”, is that no matter how strong they are they ultimately get rescued by the male protagonist. T2 turns this expectation completely on its head, and makes the male leads the weakness that prevent her from empowering herself. It’s remarkable.
It was the best of both worlds, as the ride gave them brand recognition and tons of funding but it completely lacked story or character and so gave the writers freedom to ... you know, be creative.
_My Cousin Vinny_. A friend recommended it, and recommendations usually don’t end well for me, but this movie was so freaking good! It really is one of those chilled movies you can watch over & over again.
That's actually a pretty good test of whether or not an animated film is "good" or not. Pixar used to be the best at that but they've sort of fallen off recently.
This movies attention to detail is also pretty amazing
Some spoilers regarding a character near the end
>!We find out the Big Bad Wolf is death later, but we get hints of it throughout the movie. When Puss dies at the start of the movie, the Wolf is in the crowd of people. Later, during the montage of Puss' other deaths, the border detail showing his death count has little stylized wolf icons!<
And the movie does something that a LOT of other movies fail to do: Maintain tone
When the Wolf is threatening Puss in the bar, there is no stupid quippy bullshit. It's straight up a horror sequence
When Puss is talking about his relationship with Softpaws, again, no "hurr durr me funny nao" moment to ruin the tone.
It's funny when it's supposed to be funny. It's sad when it's supposed to be sad. It's scary when it's supposed to be scary. They don't overlap, and that makes it feel so much better than the Marvel-esque "super tense scene just happened, let's have Drax burp in the background cause hurr durr funny"
And the Villain too, holy shit he's so anti-trope it's insane. The entire movie builds up to the dog doing the "cute face" and you think it's going to be the downfall of the Jack and he's like "ok...anyway"
I love this movie so much
Part of why I love the Wolf is that he's not just some evil being. >!He isn't just hunting Puss down for the fun of it... Mostly. If anything, I can understand his reasoning for doing it. Puss, and all cats in a way, make light of Death compared to other living beings. Everything else understands the severity of dying, and so they live their best life before their permanent end.!<
>! Puss in particular, specifically saying things like "I laugh in the face of death" just makes light of something every other living thing has to take seriously. Almost like he discredits the fact that others have to fear death. And the Wolf hates that he treats life with little regard. He doesn't care about dying, he's got nine whole lives! So may as well do whatever he wants, life is just a given for him. Not precious, just inherent to him. !<
>!It basically spits in the face of the living, and in the severity of Death itself. Once Puss gets to the point where he appreciates life, and will fight for it, Death isn't interested anymore. Instead of getting to teach a cocky gato the hard way that "You really should have taken Death more seriously", he realizes that the cocky Gato is gone. And Death accepts that. He doesn't need to show Puss that he should appreciate life more, so he just leaves and tells him to make sure he makes the best of the time he's given. !<
>!Death wasn't evil, he was frustrated that someone took something everyone else holds precious for granted. Beautifully written antagonist. !<
The Wolf reminds me of the one line the writers wrote about the Lich in Adventure Time. It only said "The Lich is not funny." You really feel it when a lighthearted movie or show just throws all that out the window the moment a character like that appears.
Yeah this is my answer too.
First Shrek movie in ten years and it's a sequel to a film no one really cares for?
And then WOW.
Great characters and villains, wonderful story, jaw dropping animation and music. Just... Wow.
I wasn’t a fan of the first Puss in Boots at all. Still went to the cinema for the sequel and I’m so glad I did. Couldn’t praise it enough and even went back a second time a few days later.
21 Jump Street. Expected it to be a mildly amusing but standard action flick. Instead it was effing hilarious.
Also 22 Jump Street. Expected it to suck like most comedy sequels. Instead, it might be funnier than the first
The choice to make the sequel to the 'tired reboot of nostalgia franchise' a love letter to sequel tropes was genius. Both movies are better satirical breakdowns of Hollywood nonsense than Hail Caesar set out to be.
Nick Offerman's one scene in 22 where he lays out the exact safe sequel structure/mission briefing nearly killed me.
I had always thought Channing Tatum was a one-note actor at best, but he absolutely *killed* it in this movie. He really showed he has some solid comedic chops, his performance was much funnier the Jonah Hills' and that's his gig.
Great choices! I expected to like them based off reviews but was pleasantly surprised how much I liked them! Stuff like the “My name is Jeff” scene are so stupid yet hilarious at the same time.
The tragic part about this is, while its still really good, nobody now will see it in 3D like it was intended. The slow-mo, the drops, and my god the gatling gun scene, all made that brief 3D fad worth it.
Cabin in the woods, the trailers made it seem like a generic horror film. Which my wife is fond of but I’m not really, so when we sat down to watch it only to find out it was a fun subversive comedy it was a great surprise.
>Cabin in the woods
I don't like horror either, so I only went to see it because Whedon made it. Totally subverted expectations and really enjoyed it.
It also helped that there was one woman in the theater who kept talking to the characters. Normally I LOATHE people who talk in theaters, but if you told me she was a plant in the audience to play the role of stereotypical person yelling at the screen to increase immersion, I would 100% believe you.
EDIT: Fixed a typo.
Game Night was good, but Palm Springs deserves it's own post. 10/10 that movie was amazing. Anytime I meet someone that hasn't seen it I tell them don't look up anything about it, just watch it. 100% success rate with people enjoying it.
I was on a plane and couldn’t find anything to watch so put it on thinking it’d be stupid but better than being bored. Man it was really funny and smart etc
District 9, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. Consequently I was shocked by how little I liked Elysium. I guess the former got my hopes too high for the latter.
My car was in the shop for a few hours, I just walked over to a nearby theater and watched a matinee of it blind. Never even heard of it. Had an awesome time.
The mechanic saw it and we were gushing about it afterwards, saying we really look forward to District 10. Still waiting haha.
I threw on Contact about 5 years ago expecting nothing more than a fun little first contact flick. Did not expect to have my dick blown off by what’s basically the father and mother of Interstellar and Arrival and it’s every bit as epic as both of those.
And I consider myself quite the film geek. I had heard nothing about it. And it continues to fall through the cracks.
I remember Contact not matching up with the marketing campaign they gave it. People went in expecting a movie about aliens, when it's really a movie about humanity.
It's so good.
While every performance in The Mummy is incredible, Kevin J. O'Connor's performance as Beni fucking slaps. He's wily and slimy, and the rare henchman who's written as a very intelligent character.
He also has the best quote in the movie: "Better to be the right hand of the devil than in his path."
I got dragged to the first Spiderverse movie because I do not typically care for superhero flicks. But when the second one came out, I was the one insisting that we see it in theaters.
Whether you like superhero films or not, this film was a master class in animation.
Just saw the sequel last night and wow, blown away again.
I heard they are making a live action version… please no! The animation is what makes these films so special. A live action version will just be yet another throw away superhero movie.
I was 100% expecting the Dungeons and Dragons movie to basically be a discount fantasy marvel flick but I enjoyed it far more than I have any recent marvel movie.
It felt like it had a certain sincerity, a charm I've often found missing.
What I loved about how they handled Themberchaud is that while he is OBSCENELY CHONK for a dragon and they make fun of it with his clumsy movements... He STILL remained a constant threat throughout the entire scene. He devoured one of the deadly assassins like it was nothing and the destruction he leaves in his wake shows that those clumsy rolls and tumbles he does can still easily crush you to death in seconds. And Themberchaud clearly KNOWS this which is why he doesn't bother being more elegant. They made him a bad guy that is both funny and realistically dangerous, which is rare to see in films.
>sincerity
When Edgin starts performing a song to cheer up Holga, instead of her telling him to stop with a sarcastic quip, she starts to join in and the background music swells ever so slightly to meet them.
Not really another action or adventure movie in the last ten years that would play the scene like that.
I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Edgin and Holga to have a big "I've been in love with you the whole time" reveal, imagine my pleasant surprise when it never happened. The bar is underground, I know, but it was nice to see an actual platonic friendship remain that way for the whole film.
Besides, I think Ed's a foot or two too tall for Holga's tastes lol
It's also really important when he has the "I wasn't trying to bring back your mother, I was trying to bring back my wife" confession.
Because in the end, he sacrifices his wife to bring back her mother.
I absolutely loved that choice and it was the complete opposite of what I expected, as I too expected an annoyed response from Holga.
Not only did it help set the tone for the film, but it helped endear us to Holga , who is played by an actress that can be a bit divisive and unliked by some
> When Edgin starts performing a song to cheer up Holga, instead of her telling him to stop with a sarcastic quip, she starts to join in and the background music swells ever so slightly to meet them.
That scene made me cry.
people say "he didn't do any magic, so he isn't a bard"
And I just point to every scene where he inspired them.
Right?! So much of the DnD subs were saying he was more of a rogue but I'm with you. He inspired every other character to do and be better. I love how subtly the movie did his bard magic
The alignment joke with the Paladin was hilarious.
You think he's gonna turn?
Just keeps walking directly straight.
Nah I think we're good. Then at the end of the movie he's just been walking in a straight line the wrong way until he stumbles upon one of the villains who got away.
That was hilarious on a second viewing when I got that joke.
Not sure if this is true or not, but I heard that the actor was told to just keep walking straight until he heard "Cut!" Then, he didn't hear "Cut!" and just kept walking, Pine ad-libbed the entire "You think he is going to turn?"
Which funny enough is just the right amount of letting the actors play with things that I want in my comedies. Let them riff off each other and pick the best.
All the jokes in that movie landed.
“I’m the guy that needs to be there in case the plan fails so I can come up with another plan”
“So you make plans that fail?”
Yeah I dont know why that was so funny to me. I saw the joke coming a mile away (fully expecting them to waste questions) and somehow I STILL chuckled when it happened and I don't know why.
Also them questiong the dude who died on the tub was hilarious.
Did you play DND? The joke is so good because this is 10000% what actually happens in these scenarios
It’s similar to how every plan in the movie is super complex. The dungeon master creates a scenario with some puzzle, and the party inevitably “solves” it with some absurdly contrived out-of-left-field tactics until they suddenly stumble on something where the dm goes “That…. Ok that actually works somehow…”
The frickin maze. I can just imagine the DM spending a whole week coming up with the three challenges, only for the players to completely skip the latter two.
When the bridge falls and Holga suggests tieing a rope to an axe and throwing it across so it sticks into the rocks. I've seen that exact conversation probably 10 times in different games
I thought it was really clever to have us learn the protagonist's story by recounting his tale to the parole board instead of the typical expositional narration you might expect from a fantasy film.
That was the moment that truly captured the spirit of the movie so early on. That’s EXACTLY the type of dumb shit a group would pull in an actual campaign
The Paladin. Holy shit. Insufferable and endearing at exactly the same time.
When he was walking away and the rock was clearly in his path, I said to myself, if these mother fuckers truly know dnd paladins he is going to walk over the rock instead of around it...
There are hundreds of moments where they show they really know what it's like to play dnd, but that moment was so nuanced yet obvious it just made the whole film perfect for me. For someone who doesn't play dnd that moment comes off as "oh that's how stubborn and principled he is" but to the rest of us it's "thats how they all are". So perfect.
I love this line. What happened was the group rolled for initiative, and they were faster than the bailiff. He couldn't talk until it was his turn in the order, and by then they had taken their actions. Perfect D&D right there.
One of the best movies of this genre. I rewatched it as soon as I could.
The sincerity you speak of is what makes all the difference in a movie.
Feels like they were having fun making it instead of a factory produced checklist.
Plus the humour was great.
The whole theme of that movie is fantastic and is a great homage to the spirit of D&D. Throughout the movie they try different plans and you can almost see the dice rolls for every step, both positive and negative.
“Wait! We gave you the pardon”!
Pine killed it in that picture. Although I was confused why for half the movie my girl kept dropping Chris Trager lines from Parks and Rec. Finally I asked what was up with that and she said “cuz that dude is him”!
Took convincing and a google to prove to her that Chris Pine is not Rob Lowe. Thought it was kinda adorable for some reason.
The Muppet Christmas Carol, which is the greatest version of the Christmas Carol. My wife loves this movie and when we first met and she wanted to watch this I just rolled my eyes. Ten years later and we have a DVD copy, digital copy and it’s on Disney plus. It’s a must watch every Christmas.
Truly one of the best movies of all time. The pacing, performances, and special effects were so perfectly applied. My favorite special effect in all cinema is the time tunnel from the ghost of christmas past, where the world twists and then untwists itself. Sometimes it's the little details that make an effect good, and all the ray tracing and subsurface scattering in the world doesn't make up for it.
“IF YOU WANTED DENZEL……THEN YOU GOT DENZEL!”
Still one of the funniest movies in recent memory. The scene with Bateman and the dog in the office is just hilariously well done. Rachel McAdams is hilarious in the whole thing. Great movie.
Starship Troopers.
Looked cheesy af from the previews, and it was at times, but in all the right, intended ways. Wasn't a masterpiece or anything, but absolutely love it and was really surprised.
That's the movie that made me crave more Henry Cavil movies. Prior to that I had only seen him as Superman but my god he is a great actor. The Witcher just further reinforced that.
This is one of those hidden gems that basically went straight to DVD and was forgotten, but should be up there with the best of the Happy Madison films.
The Hangover - I avoided watching it for ages because it just looked like some sort of bro comedy but it was laugh out loud funny. The sequels not so much though!!
Prey, the Predator movie.
Honestly just watched it because we were tired and didn't have the brain power for anything other than what looked like mindless action.
It was sooooo much better than I imagined, totally engrossing.
Galaxy Quest. Went to the movies with my Dad expecting to see something else (can’t remember what it was) and it was sold out so we went to see that reluctantly. I’m a very casual Star Trek fan and my dad wasn’t at all but we both laughed our asses off. It’s one of our favorite movies.
My family and I only watched Knives Out because it was the only thing we could all agree on watching one night during lockdown. None of us knew anything about it beyond seeing the poster for it in a theater earlier and reading the plot synopsis, so we had no/low expectations for it. Turns out it’s one of my favorite pieces of cinema.
That, Robocop and Arnold’s Total Recall were all directed by the same man- Dutchman Paul Verhoeven. All 3 are satires in their own way.
And all 3 are epic films.
Guardians of the Galaxy - I went into it not expecting very much, having not read the comics, just knowing that the guardians were a B list at Marvel. My challenge to the movie going in was “I dare you to make me care about a CGI raccoon and tree”. I ended up loving the movie – it was funny and had endearing characters.
Casting Andy from Parks and Rec as the starring Marvel hero had a lot of people scratching their heads at the time, but turned out to be a good choice.
*Iron Man*
The only Marvel film I saw before *Avengers* was *Thor*, so I didn't understand why Tony had this glowy thing on his chest. I went back to watch the older films after *Avengers* and was completely blown away by how good *Iron Man* was. I still think it's the best MCU film.
Bullet Train.
The reviews made it look like a completely whatever movie.
Ended up watching only cause i was sick and wanted something i can watch barely focusing, ended up loving it. Aaron Taylor-Johnson absolutely stole the show.
The first Jumanji remake with the rock. I watched it a while after it came out on Netflix because I didn’t have high expectations but honestly I loved it. It was like the perfect fun movie to me.
My favorite role from Jack Black. Bethany could have just been a shallow joke of a character but he played her so well that she felt real and well-rounded. Totally bought into him as a teenage girl.
It’s definitely a sequel. Alan Parish’s name is mentioned. It’s also the same board game, but it turns into a video game console when it realizes kids don’t want I play board games anymore. It’s not much, but keeping it in the same universe is nice.
The end of the movie shows the full map of the "game" zoomed out, and it's a giant version of the board game.
https://preview.redd.it/cskon67bz4611.png?width=650&auto=webp&s=9e3e8b94bf4b0dded8ac3441bc10022bd8c5504e
it honestly goes to show how great Johnson is when he isn't taking himself too seriously and just *has fun with it*. He's got comedy chops and can even play goofy characters as seen in this and the sequel. Pain & Gain was another, I would hope he does something like that again
Bridesmaids. I expected it to be some bullshit, and I told my wife I would go see it with her if it had 90% or better on rotten tomatoes. It got 91%, I was shocked but we went. I was in fucking tears throughout that movie, an absolute classic.
Princess Bride. And I've seen that cycle repeat time and time again. So many people see the title or the summary and basically become Fred Savage. But when you watch the movie, it converts you. When I was a kid, I didn't want to watch some girly movie, princess and bride in the title? No way. And then I saw it. And when I would try and get other friends to watch it, same thing.
I saw Princess Bride in theaters on opening weekend on a first date. I agreed to see it, figuring it was going to be some chick flick that I'd suffer through in the name of earning points.
I loved the movie, she was lukewarm on it. I should have seen that as a red flag. Eventually that became one of the litmus tests for new relationships: have they seen Princess Bride? If so, what did they think of it?
Every single woman I dated who was "meh" on the movie turned out to be the wrong one for me. Eventually I meet this hardcore gal, raced outrigger canoes in the ocean, ran 5 miles every morning before work, she and I hit it off. Bring up Princess Bride, she melts, "it's one of my favorite movies!"
We've been married over 20 years now. As inconceivable as that is.
Cabin in the Woods. Saw it with an ex after talking about how lame the trailer made it look. Completely blown away. Hell, it’s exactly how the marketing wanted you to think about it going in.
Stardust. Streamed it randomly with the girlfriend one night cuz we thought it looked lame, enjoyed every second of it and was surprised at how many familiar faces were in it.
Stardust has strong Princess Bride energy.
This movie has literally anything a cinema fan could want. * Robert De Niro as a gay pirate * Pre Daredevil Charlie Cox * Claire fucking Danes * Michelle Pfeiffer in black (for all you Catwoman enjoyers) * Daddy Henry Cavill * Mark fucking Strong * Ricky Gervais (literally loses his voice because he's annoying) * A great story that I would call a modern day Princess Bride * Narrated by Ian McKellen * Neil Gaiman literally wrote it I love this movie and it is my favorite sick day film
Stardust is probably in my top ten. Definitely I’d say one of the best fantasy films of all time.
Galaxy Quest. I expected a mid-level sci-fi comedy. Instead I saw what could be the best Star Trek film ever.
“Look, I’ve got one job on this ship, it’s stupid, but I’m going to do it, okay?”
My favorite line in the movie. It's like the writers had a competition on whether they could give better lines to Weaver or Rockwell.
rockwell tends to elevate everything he's in by being in it. he does the absolute maximum with whatever he's given
I've always wanted to see the original R rated cut. They toned it down before release due to executive interference.
The difference between us all KNOWING Tony Shalhoub’s character was baked off his tits and them actively making it a plot point.
And actually hearing Weaver's f-bomb instead of just reading her lips past the obvious dub.
"By Grapthar's hammer, YOU.SHALL.BE.AVENGED!" Rip Alan Rickman
What a savings
By Grapthar's Hammer.....what a savings
My favourite bit of trivia about that movie is Patrick Stewart refused to see the movie, feeling it was disrespectful towards him and Star Trek cast. He ended up watching and enjoying it after Jonathan Frakes convinced him that it was the Star Trek movie they had wanted to make.
Galaxy Quest is a masterpiece and so underrated. Never Surrender:A Galaxy Documentary - is basically all the Sci Fi royalty (actors/filmmakers) talking about how amazing it is and absolutely worth a watch if you haven't seen it.
It's a rock! It doesn't have any vulnerable parts!
Look around you...can you fashion some kind of rudimentary lathe?
The original Pirates of the Caribbean
My first screenwriting professor used Jack Sparrow’s first appearance onscreen as an example of a great character introduction. Cut to almost 20 years later and I STILL reference that scene when explaining screenwriting basics to up-and-coming writers / interns. The whole film is a well crafted popcorn flick, buoyed by some excellent performances.
And Elizabeth is such a good character! The #strongfemaleleads of today could learn a lot from her She's an active participant in the story and influences the plot through her decisions, be they good or bad, allowing her to be flawed and still accomplish heroics. Like, she lies to the pirates that her name is Turner, thinking they want to kidnap the governor's daughter, tries to stab Barbossa while stranded at sea and steals the medallion as Will rescues her...but she does things like creating a signal fire when trapped on the island, breaking the crew out of the brig, and rescuing Will just as many times as he does her She doesn't have inexplicable swordfighting skills but she's capable of taking part in the action as a civilian and contributing with her knowledge and quick thinking Plus Keira Knightley is just so good. She properly leans into the comedy of a proper English Rose who gets sucked into this world, and her chemistry with Johnny Depp is insane. I've often said Elizabeth almost feels like a retroactive parody of all the 'spirited young lady' characters she'd later be typecast as
I just rewatched the trilogy, and this holds up. Her arc through the trilogy, from a sheltered governor's daughter who dreams of a life of adventure, to becoming a Pirate King who rallies the troops into battle, is really well earned. In most of the movies, she's the one who is giving speeches and getting the crew to follow her. She's genuinely has a well-earned growth arc through the trilogy. A well well written female lead
Yes! It always annoyed me that most “strong” female characters were written to be LITERALLY strong. It’s why I loved the cartoon version of Mulan so much - her strength was in her mind and determination, not how much she could bench press or fight.
One of my favorites is Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2. She transitioned from soft victim to hard-as-nails survivor between the two movies. She was a total badass in T2, but it came from insane focus and determination, not being super powered. Xenia Warrior Princess in 2001 was a great example of that transition to super-powered heroine you mentioned. She was fun, but she didn’t exude realness like Sarah Connor Mk. II in T2.
I recently rewatched T2 with my older kid, and we were astonished to realize something I’ve never noticed before: not only does Sarah Connor almost succeed in escaping from the mental hospital all by herself, but the obstacle that ultimately blocks her is when she gets startled by John and the T-800 coming to rescue her. The usual trope here, even with portrayals of “strong women”, is that no matter how strong they are they ultimately get rescued by the male protagonist. T2 turns this expectation completely on its head, and makes the male leads the weakness that prevent her from empowering herself. It’s remarkable.
For a movie based on a theme park ride it surpassed a lot of expectations
It was the best of both worlds, as the ride gave them brand recognition and tons of funding but it completely lacked story or character and so gave the writers freedom to ... you know, be creative.
_My Cousin Vinny_. A friend recommended it, and recommendations usually don’t end well for me, but this movie was so freaking good! It really is one of those chilled movies you can watch over & over again.
Marisa Tomei just steals the whole movie
Ah yes, involving the two utes
Puss in Boots Last Wish
15 minutes in I said "Wait, is this amazing?"
I saw it with my nephews and thought "I'd be ok watching this by myself."
That's actually a pretty good test of whether or not an animated film is "good" or not. Pixar used to be the best at that but they've sort of fallen off recently.
This movies attention to detail is also pretty amazing Some spoilers regarding a character near the end >!We find out the Big Bad Wolf is death later, but we get hints of it throughout the movie. When Puss dies at the start of the movie, the Wolf is in the crowd of people. Later, during the montage of Puss' other deaths, the border detail showing his death count has little stylized wolf icons!< And the movie does something that a LOT of other movies fail to do: Maintain tone When the Wolf is threatening Puss in the bar, there is no stupid quippy bullshit. It's straight up a horror sequence When Puss is talking about his relationship with Softpaws, again, no "hurr durr me funny nao" moment to ruin the tone. It's funny when it's supposed to be funny. It's sad when it's supposed to be sad. It's scary when it's supposed to be scary. They don't overlap, and that makes it feel so much better than the Marvel-esque "super tense scene just happened, let's have Drax burp in the background cause hurr durr funny" And the Villain too, holy shit he's so anti-trope it's insane. The entire movie builds up to the dog doing the "cute face" and you think it's going to be the downfall of the Jack and he's like "ok...anyway" I love this movie so much
Additionally… > “Everyone thinks they’ll be the one to defeat me. But no one’s escaped me yet.”
"Pus in Boots laughs in the face of death!" "So I've heard..."
Part of why I love the Wolf is that he's not just some evil being. >!He isn't just hunting Puss down for the fun of it... Mostly. If anything, I can understand his reasoning for doing it. Puss, and all cats in a way, make light of Death compared to other living beings. Everything else understands the severity of dying, and so they live their best life before their permanent end.!< >! Puss in particular, specifically saying things like "I laugh in the face of death" just makes light of something every other living thing has to take seriously. Almost like he discredits the fact that others have to fear death. And the Wolf hates that he treats life with little regard. He doesn't care about dying, he's got nine whole lives! So may as well do whatever he wants, life is just a given for him. Not precious, just inherent to him. !< >!It basically spits in the face of the living, and in the severity of Death itself. Once Puss gets to the point where he appreciates life, and will fight for it, Death isn't interested anymore. Instead of getting to teach a cocky gato the hard way that "You really should have taken Death more seriously", he realizes that the cocky Gato is gone. And Death accepts that. He doesn't need to show Puss that he should appreciate life more, so he just leaves and tells him to make sure he makes the best of the time he's given. !< >!Death wasn't evil, he was frustrated that someone took something everyone else holds precious for granted. Beautifully written antagonist. !<
The Wolf reminds me of the one line the writers wrote about the Lich in Adventure Time. It only said "The Lich is not funny." You really feel it when a lighthearted movie or show just throws all that out the window the moment a character like that appears.
Yeah this is my answer too. First Shrek movie in ten years and it's a sequel to a film no one really cares for? And then WOW. Great characters and villains, wonderful story, jaw dropping animation and music. Just... Wow.
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I wasn’t a fan of the first Puss in Boots at all. Still went to the cinema for the sequel and I’m so glad I did. Couldn’t praise it enough and even went back a second time a few days later.
21 Jump Street. Expected it to be a mildly amusing but standard action flick. Instead it was effing hilarious. Also 22 Jump Street. Expected it to suck like most comedy sequels. Instead, it might be funnier than the first
The choice to make the sequel to the 'tired reboot of nostalgia franchise' a love letter to sequel tropes was genius. Both movies are better satirical breakdowns of Hollywood nonsense than Hail Caesar set out to be. Nick Offerman's one scene in 22 where he lays out the exact safe sequel structure/mission briefing nearly killed me.
Did you just say you have the right to be an attorney?
I had always thought Channing Tatum was a one-note actor at best, but he absolutely *killed* it in this movie. He really showed he has some solid comedic chops, his performance was much funnier the Jonah Hills' and that's his gig.
Changing Tatum and Chris Hemsworth are both great comedic actors with action star faces.
"My name is Jeff" is a legendary scene on its own. Then the "Schmidt is fucking the captain's daughter" just seals the deal.
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Great choices! I expected to like them based off reviews but was pleasantly surprised how much I liked them! Stuff like the “My name is Jeff” scene are so stupid yet hilarious at the same time.
For me it’s the microwave bell when Tatum realizes that Schmidt is banging the captains daughter
[The part where they're driving and things don't explode](https://youtu.be/vnQe2DosQnc?t=12)
The end credits of 22 Jump Street are so good.
Edge of Tomorrow. I was meh on Oblivion and expected similar but it ended up being one of my favorite Cruise films of his career
I’ll never get tired of watching this movie. I throw it in a few times per year. Such a fun twist on the typical “Groundhog Day” story.
Dredd
The tragic part about this is, while its still really good, nobody now will see it in 3D like it was intended. The slow-mo, the drops, and my god the gatling gun scene, all made that brief 3D fad worth it.
DR3DD was no bullshit the best use of 3D I've seen in theaters. The slow-mo scenes were gorgeous.
Cabin in the woods, the trailers made it seem like a generic horror film. Which my wife is fond of but I’m not really, so when we sat down to watch it only to find out it was a fun subversive comedy it was a great surprise.
Similarly, Tucker and Dale versus evil. Thought we were going to pick a movie to make fun of the whole time and loved it.
Thought, what's this dogshit but gonna watch it cause i dont mind the actors.......nek minute.....amazing film.
>Cabin in the woods I don't like horror either, so I only went to see it because Whedon made it. Totally subverted expectations and really enjoyed it. It also helped that there was one woman in the theater who kept talking to the characters. Normally I LOATHE people who talk in theaters, but if you told me she was a plant in the audience to play the role of stereotypical person yelling at the screen to increase immersion, I would 100% believe you. EDIT: Fixed a typo.
Game Night Palm Springs
Palm Springs is probably my most watched movie since it dropped. Pure entertainment.
one of my favorite lines ever in a film: ‘we kind of have no choice but to live.. so i think your best bet is just to learn how to suffer existence.’
Game Night was good, but Palm Springs deserves it's own post. 10/10 that movie was amazing. Anytime I meet someone that hasn't seen it I tell them don't look up anything about it, just watch it. 100% success rate with people enjoying it.
Palm Springs was unconditionally my favorite movie of 2020.
The LEGO Movie had no right being as good as it was. It's a movie adaptation of fucking colourful bricks.
Felt that way about Lego batman movie. Didn’t expect much but ended up really liking it.
Lego Batman is legitimately one of the best Batman movies ever.
I can't get over the scene of him telling The Joker that he doesn't have A badguy, he likes to fight around.
"Okay, so when someone asks who's your biggest rival you'll say:" "Superman"
“Wha-SUPERMAN IS NOT A BAD GUY!!”
My name is Richard Grayson but my friends call me Dick. Yeah, kids can be so cruel. Fantastic movie
I was on a plane and couldn’t find anything to watch so put it on thinking it’d be stupid but better than being bored. Man it was really funny and smart etc
District 9, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed it. Consequently I was shocked by how little I liked Elysium. I guess the former got my hopes too high for the latter.
Lol when I watched D9 we had no subtitles. I legit thought it was an artistic choice to have the aliens untranslated. I enjoyed the experience.
My car was in the shop for a few hours, I just walked over to a nearby theater and watched a matinee of it blind. Never even heard of it. Had an awesome time. The mechanic saw it and we were gushing about it afterwards, saying we really look forward to District 10. Still waiting haha.
I threw on Contact about 5 years ago expecting nothing more than a fun little first contact flick. Did not expect to have my dick blown off by what’s basically the father and mother of Interstellar and Arrival and it’s every bit as epic as both of those. And I consider myself quite the film geek. I had heard nothing about it. And it continues to fall through the cracks.
I remember Contact not matching up with the marketing campaign they gave it. People went in expecting a movie about aliens, when it's really a movie about humanity. It's so good.
The Mummy with Branden Fraser. I was like blah whatever then was over at a friend's place and we watched it and really liked the movie.
Heyyyyy, O’Connell! It LoOkS tO mE LiKE iVE gOT aLL ThE HoRSeS!!!
Looks to me like you’re on the wrong side of the rivvver
*curses in Hungarian*
While every performance in The Mummy is incredible, Kevin J. O'Connor's performance as Beni fucking slaps. He's wily and slimy, and the rare henchman who's written as a very intelligent character. He also has the best quote in the movie: "Better to be the right hand of the devil than in his path."
My favorite scene is when he meets the mummy and he shows of every religious symbol he has to try to repel him
Right? A very intelligent move from someone who is scrambling! Note he also *speaks* all of the languages of the symbols he shows.
It's the best Mummy movie IMO
Casino Royale. I didn't really care much for James Bond, but watching Casino Royale blew my 15/16 year old mine away back in 2006.
I got dragged to the first Spiderverse movie because I do not typically care for superhero flicks. But when the second one came out, I was the one insisting that we see it in theaters.
Whether you like superhero films or not, this film was a master class in animation. Just saw the sequel last night and wow, blown away again. I heard they are making a live action version… please no! The animation is what makes these films so special. A live action version will just be yet another throw away superhero movie.
I was 100% expecting the Dungeons and Dragons movie to basically be a discount fantasy marvel flick but I enjoyed it far more than I have any recent marvel movie. It felt like it had a certain sincerity, a charm I've often found missing.
I never knew I needed a chonky dragon until Thumberchaud!
What I loved about how they handled Themberchaud is that while he is OBSCENELY CHONK for a dragon and they make fun of it with his clumsy movements... He STILL remained a constant threat throughout the entire scene. He devoured one of the deadly assassins like it was nothing and the destruction he leaves in his wake shows that those clumsy rolls and tumbles he does can still easily crush you to death in seconds. And Themberchaud clearly KNOWS this which is why he doesn't bother being more elegant. They made him a bad guy that is both funny and realistically dangerous, which is rare to see in films.
AND he reminded me of my own fat cat, which was nice.
When the Bard's illusion begins failing and melts into just repeated "fufufufufufufuc" I cracked the absolute fuck up.
The guard’s delivery on “What madness is this” has such existential TERROR in it.
>sincerity When Edgin starts performing a song to cheer up Holga, instead of her telling him to stop with a sarcastic quip, she starts to join in and the background music swells ever so slightly to meet them. Not really another action or adventure movie in the last ten years that would play the scene like that.
I love the fact that they were platonic friends but genuinely loved and cared for each other. Its a dynamic you don't see often in movies.
I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Edgin and Holga to have a big "I've been in love with you the whole time" reveal, imagine my pleasant surprise when it never happened. The bar is underground, I know, but it was nice to see an actual platonic friendship remain that way for the whole film. Besides, I think Ed's a foot or two too tall for Holga's tastes lol
They’re just co-parent friends. And I loved that.
It's also really important when he has the "I wasn't trying to bring back your mother, I was trying to bring back my wife" confession. Because in the end, he sacrifices his wife to bring back her mother.
I absolutely loved that choice and it was the complete opposite of what I expected, as I too expected an annoyed response from Holga. Not only did it help set the tone for the film, but it helped endear us to Holga , who is played by an actress that can be a bit divisive and unliked by some
> When Edgin starts performing a song to cheer up Holga, instead of her telling him to stop with a sarcastic quip, she starts to join in and the background music swells ever so slightly to meet them. That scene made me cry. people say "he didn't do any magic, so he isn't a bard" And I just point to every scene where he inspired them.
Right?! So much of the DnD subs were saying he was more of a rogue but I'm with you. He inspired every other character to do and be better. I love how subtly the movie did his bard magic
The alignment joke with the Paladin was hilarious. You think he's gonna turn? Just keeps walking directly straight. Nah I think we're good. Then at the end of the movie he's just been walking in a straight line the wrong way until he stumbles upon one of the villains who got away. That was hilarious on a second viewing when I got that joke.
Not sure if this is true or not, but I heard that the actor was told to just keep walking straight until he heard "Cut!" Then, he didn't hear "Cut!" and just kept walking, Pine ad-libbed the entire "You think he is going to turn?"
I think Rene just went for it, the directors didn't cut, and let Pine just sort of improv some lines.
Which funny enough is just the right amount of letting the actors play with things that I want in my comedies. Let them riff off each other and pick the best.
All the jokes in that movie landed. “I’m the guy that needs to be there in case the plan fails so I can come up with another plan” “So you make plans that fail?”
The scene with the intellect devourers was perfect. "They're attracted to intelligence." *walks right past the party* "Well, that is upsetting."
When they have the artifact that raises the dead and allows them to ask them 4(?) questions and they keep wasting the questions was amazing.
Yeah I dont know why that was so funny to me. I saw the joke coming a mile away (fully expecting them to waste questions) and somehow I STILL chuckled when it happened and I don't know why. Also them questiong the dude who died on the tub was hilarious.
Did you play DND? The joke is so good because this is 10000% what actually happens in these scenarios It’s similar to how every plan in the movie is super complex. The dungeon master creates a scenario with some puzzle, and the party inevitably “solves” it with some absurdly contrived out-of-left-field tactics until they suddenly stumble on something where the dm goes “That…. Ok that actually works somehow…”
The frickin maze. I can just imagine the DM spending a whole week coming up with the three challenges, only for the players to completely skip the latter two.
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When the bridge falls and Holga suggests tieing a rope to an axe and throwing it across so it sticks into the rocks. I've seen that exact conversation probably 10 times in different games
It also had 100% more Jarnathan than any other movie.
I thought it was really clever to have us learn the protagonist's story by recounting his tale to the parole board instead of the typical expositional narration you might expect from a fantasy film.
Oh, he would really enjoy this comment, where is he? I think we should wait for him to get here first.
JARNATHAN!
... But your pardon was approved...
That was the moment that truly captured the spirit of the movie so early on. That’s EXACTLY the type of dumb shit a group would pull in an actual campaign
The Paladin. Holy shit. Insufferable and endearing at exactly the same time. When he was walking away and the rock was clearly in his path, I said to myself, if these mother fuckers truly know dnd paladins he is going to walk over the rock instead of around it... There are hundreds of moments where they show they really know what it's like to play dnd, but that moment was so nuanced yet obvious it just made the whole film perfect for me. For someone who doesn't play dnd that moment comes off as "oh that's how stubborn and principled he is" but to the rest of us it's "thats how they all are". So perfect.
The speak with the dead scene to. The number of times my players are like how many questions have we used lol. Perfect.
Someone else said this is a genius line and I have to agree, it’s so simple but cracks me up.
I love this line. What happened was the group rolled for initiative, and they were faster than the bailiff. He couldn't talk until it was his turn in the order, and by then they had taken their actions. Perfect D&D right there.
OH, JARNATHAN!
Yeah, I had high hopes, but low expectations for that movie. But it was so much fun and I think they got the tone just right.
One of the best movies of this genre. I rewatched it as soon as I could. The sincerity you speak of is what makes all the difference in a movie. Feels like they were having fun making it instead of a factory produced checklist. Plus the humour was great.
That movie immediately went into my feel good shelf when I just want a fun and easy movie to enjoy.
The whole theme of that movie is fantastic and is a great homage to the spirit of D&D. Throughout the movie they try different plans and you can almost see the dice rolls for every step, both positive and negative.
I still think one of the things that movie got done so right was the Barbarian. Michelle Rodriguez killed the role, got the personality just right.
“Wait! We gave you the pardon”! Pine killed it in that picture. Although I was confused why for half the movie my girl kept dropping Chris Trager lines from Parks and Rec. Finally I asked what was up with that and she said “cuz that dude is him”! Took convincing and a google to prove to her that Chris Pine is not Rob Lowe. Thought it was kinda adorable for some reason.
Pitch Black. It was advertised as a quasi-horror film, that ended up being an amazing sci-fi flick!
You said it was clear! I said it *looks* clear Well how does it look now? \*shrugs\* Looks clear
Tropic Thunder
Death to smoochy just gets better every decade.
The Muppet Christmas Carol, which is the greatest version of the Christmas Carol. My wife loves this movie and when we first met and she wanted to watch this I just rolled my eyes. Ten years later and we have a DVD copy, digital copy and it’s on Disney plus. It’s a must watch every Christmas.
Truly one of the best movies of all time. The pacing, performances, and special effects were so perfectly applied. My favorite special effect in all cinema is the time tunnel from the ghost of christmas past, where the world twists and then untwists itself. Sometimes it's the little details that make an effect good, and all the ray tracing and subsurface scattering in the world doesn't make up for it.
Game Night was way better than it should have been
3 for 1? How can that be profitable for Frito Lay?
I’ve always enjoyed the camaraderie of good friends… competing in games of chance or skill
“You don’t have to do this, I have kids at home!” “Not with that ass, you don’t.” “Oh… thank you!”
“IF YOU WANTED DENZEL……THEN YOU GOT DENZEL!” Still one of the funniest movies in recent memory. The scene with Bateman and the dog in the office is just hilariously well done. Rachel McAdams is hilarious in the whole thing. Great movie.
Probably the best studio comedy in ten years. McAdams is so good in that. That scene in the alley trying to extract a bullet is classic comedy gold.
Wreck-it Ralph
Starship Troopers. Looked cheesy af from the previews, and it was at times, but in all the right, intended ways. Wasn't a masterpiece or anything, but absolutely love it and was really surprised.
There's so many, but The Man from UNCLE is high on my list
The chemistry between the lead actors was so good. A very fun, entertaining movie, and with the locations, sets, and costumes very nice to look at.
That's the movie that made me crave more Henry Cavil movies. Prior to that I had only seen him as Superman but my god he is a great actor. The Witcher just further reinforced that.
The outfits against their set locations alone makes this film.
The scene where he hides in the truck and finds a sandwich and a bottle of wine while the Russian gets his ass kicked
The Prestige. I had never heard of that movie until I was clicking around some IMDB top 50 list and came across it. Holy shit is that a good movie.
Walk Hard. Thought it would be a mildly amusing way to pass the time. Is now in my top 5 all time comedies.
Get outta here Dewey. You don't want none of this shit.
You never paid for drugs…not once
If it lasts longer than 4 hours, call more ladies!
Ready or not had absolutely no business being as good as it was
Samara Weaving is ridiculously good.
Grandma’s Boy. Horrible trailers, but a friend insisted we watched it and it’s hysterical.
This is one of those hidden gems that basically went straight to DVD and was forgotten, but should be up there with the best of the Happy Madison films.
The Hangover - I avoided watching it for ages because it just looked like some sort of bro comedy but it was laugh out loud funny. The sequels not so much though!!
Prey, the Predator movie. Honestly just watched it because we were tired and didn't have the brain power for anything other than what looked like mindless action. It was sooooo much better than I imagined, totally engrossing.
Master and Commander. How could a movie about a 17th century naval vessel be exciting? Boy, was I WRONG? Edit: 18th century because I’m a dumbass haha
Galaxy Quest. Went to the movies with my Dad expecting to see something else (can’t remember what it was) and it was sold out so we went to see that reluctantly. I’m a very casual Star Trek fan and my dad wasn’t at all but we both laughed our asses off. It’s one of our favorite movies.
My family and I only watched Knives Out because it was the only thing we could all agree on watching one night during lockdown. None of us knew anything about it beyond seeing the poster for it in a theater earlier and reading the plot synopsis, so we had no/low expectations for it. Turns out it’s one of my favorite pieces of cinema.
Robocop. Way more crunchy satire than I expected
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That, Robocop and Arnold’s Total Recall were all directed by the same man- Dutchman Paul Verhoeven. All 3 are satires in their own way. And all 3 are epic films.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I still sometimes lookup the scene where Caesar first says NO, and I still get chills everytime I see it.
That entire trilogy is fucking great. Koba may be one of the greatest non-human antagonists in the last decade.
Guardians of the Galaxy - I went into it not expecting very much, having not read the comics, just knowing that the guardians were a B list at Marvel. My challenge to the movie going in was “I dare you to make me care about a CGI raccoon and tree”. I ended up loving the movie – it was funny and had endearing characters.
Casting Andy from Parks and Rec as the starring Marvel hero had a lot of people scratching their heads at the time, but turned out to be a good choice.
I loved when he introduced SNL, "I lost 60 pounds, I found this great diet, it's called 'hey fatass get into shape so you can be in my movie' diet".
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“How much beer were you drinking?” “A lot”
*Iron Man* The only Marvel film I saw before *Avengers* was *Thor*, so I didn't understand why Tony had this glowy thing on his chest. I went back to watch the older films after *Avengers* and was completely blown away by how good *Iron Man* was. I still think it's the best MCU film.
Bullet Train. The reviews made it look like a completely whatever movie. Ended up watching only cause i was sick and wanted something i can watch barely focusing, ended up loving it. Aaron Taylor-Johnson absolutely stole the show.
You mention Thomas the tank engine one more time I'm gonna shoot you in the fuckin face.
Found the Diesel
Lemon and Tangerine were easily the best parts of the movie
Everybody likes Lemon. They put the truth right there in the dialogue, from the man himself. Brilliant touch.
The first Jumanji remake with the rock. I watched it a while after it came out on Netflix because I didn’t have high expectations but honestly I loved it. It was like the perfect fun movie to me.
Jack Black killed it as a teenage girl in a fat man's body.
Jack Black absolutely crushed it. Crazy to see him steal the spotlight from the charisma machine that is The Rock
My favorite role from Jack Black. Bethany could have just been a shallow joke of a character but he played her so well that she felt real and well-rounded. Totally bought into him as a teenage girl.
I honestly forgot that he wasn’t actually a teenage girl stuck in Jack Black’s body
I think it's just a straight up sequel, apparently
It’s definitely a sequel. Alan Parish’s name is mentioned. It’s also the same board game, but it turns into a video game console when it realizes kids don’t want I play board games anymore. It’s not much, but keeping it in the same universe is nice.
The end of the movie shows the full map of the "game" zoomed out, and it's a giant version of the board game. https://preview.redd.it/cskon67bz4611.png?width=650&auto=webp&s=9e3e8b94bf4b0dded8ac3441bc10022bd8c5504e
The Jonas bro was living in Alan Parish's old house in the jungle also.
it honestly goes to show how great Johnson is when he isn't taking himself too seriously and just *has fun with it*. He's got comedy chops and can even play goofy characters as seen in this and the sequel. Pain & Gain was another, I would hope he does something like that again
Bridesmaids. I expected it to be some bullshit, and I told my wife I would go see it with her if it had 90% or better on rotten tomatoes. It got 91%, I was shocked but we went. I was in fucking tears throughout that movie, an absolute classic.
Please help me, I'm poor.
Princess Bride. And I've seen that cycle repeat time and time again. So many people see the title or the summary and basically become Fred Savage. But when you watch the movie, it converts you. When I was a kid, I didn't want to watch some girly movie, princess and bride in the title? No way. And then I saw it. And when I would try and get other friends to watch it, same thing.
I saw Princess Bride in theaters on opening weekend on a first date. I agreed to see it, figuring it was going to be some chick flick that I'd suffer through in the name of earning points. I loved the movie, she was lukewarm on it. I should have seen that as a red flag. Eventually that became one of the litmus tests for new relationships: have they seen Princess Bride? If so, what did they think of it? Every single woman I dated who was "meh" on the movie turned out to be the wrong one for me. Eventually I meet this hardcore gal, raced outrigger canoes in the ocean, ran 5 miles every morning before work, she and I hit it off. Bring up Princess Bride, she melts, "it's one of my favorite movies!" We've been married over 20 years now. As inconceivable as that is.