Movies: Pleasantly Surprised

[Kalashnikov2092]

Falling Down starring Michael Douglas blew me away. After watching the trailers I expected something along the lines of a fun Death Wish type of movie. In reality it is SO much more than that. It's now a big contender for my favorite movie I've ever watched. Definitely check this one out.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I know a lot of people here don't like it but Sucker Punch. It was a lot more meaningful and also creepily resonant with me and my some parts of my life than I expected it to be.

It's now second only to Fight Club on favourite films.

Tangled

After the horror that was The Princess and The Frog I had unfathomably low hopes for Disney's latest. Especially since all the markting made it look like fucking Shrek, a movie I loath.

I ended up falling head over heels in love with this film though.

Yeah that was a pretty great film, although I seemed to have some sort of OCD reaction at her hair dragging around the floor and stuff...

 

[malestrithe]

How to Train Your Dragon.

I like that the movie took a few risks with the story and decided to not tell a straight rip off of a Disney movie. I also like how there are consequences in the movie.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

Rango. Making a western about lizards has never been so great.

Tangled

After the horror that was The Princess and The Frog I had unfathomably low hopes for Disney's latest. Especially since all the markting made it look like fucking Shrek, a movie I loath.

I ended up falling head over heels in love with this film though.

That 'un too.

 

[Bambi On Toast]

Sleepy Hollow surprised me. I randomly picked it a few years ago from a rental store because I needed a movie for the night.

I thought that Johnny Depp hunting a headless horseman (Christopher Walken!) would be complete nonsense. The visual style is just so dark and creepy... you gotta see it. If you like super evil forests, fountains of blood and Christopher Walken with razor teeth - this is for you! /cringe

 

[HardkorSB]

I saw "Rango" last week and it was the best comedy I've seen in months.

The most recent one was Creep. It was actually a very effective horror movie.

That was also a nice comedy for me
As the girl was approaching some door, I've made a comment that if this was a cartoon, there would be a brick wall behind them. And a brick wall there was.
This was the only memorable thing about the movie for me.

 

[esperandote]

A Christmas Carol. I wasn't expecting anything and turned out surprised. Good use of 3D.

 

[xerounlimited]

Well, I have a couple:

Wall-E (would put How to Train your Dragon here, but I think it's been well covered by previous posters), sure I knew it would be good (it is Pixar after all) but I didn't expect to like the first half's lack of dialogue as much as I did (the second half was fine, I just didn't find it as interesting).

Donnie Darko, I remember some family really liking this; I had seen a bit of it with my brother but hadn't remembered a lot. I ended finding it instant on Netflix and watched. Probably one of my favorite movies of the decade.

Evil Dead 2, I had no idea what I was going into...

 

[StrixMaxima]

Hm, been a while since a movie wows me...

Machete was definitely more entertaining than I gave it credit, initially, and Zombieland was actually a delight to watch (well, except the very end, when it drags a little).

However, the movie that blew my mind and still manages to do so, every single time I watch it, is The Big Lebowski. Holy crap, it took me by surprise back then, and whenever I'm feeling a bit down, I pop that sucker up. It never fails to make me feel really good about life.

 

[FilipJPhry]

Taken. I thought this would be a generic cat and mouse movie that would have crappy dialogue with Liam Neeson as a replacement for Harrison Ford. I feel bad because I didn't watch it until it was on TV.

 

[Susurrus]

Black Hawk Down was surprisingly good, given the relatively small amount of plot for a 2 hr movie.

Scott Pilgrim was also great. Really brilliant, which I wasn't expecting.

Watchmen. One of my all-time favorite movies. I was expecting it, kind of, but only because I read the graphic novel - I was expecting rubbish, from what I had heard of the film (got novel after film came out), read novel, then rushed out to buy DVD as soon as it came out.

Conversely, disappointed with Scarface. I couldn't get into it - hated Montana himself, couldn't really enjoy the movie because of it.

 

[nothingspringstomind]

Definitely X-men First Class (in recent years, can't seem to remember any others at the moment.)

I had heard all the hype and reviews, but i tend to be the person who likes what everybody hates (for it's own merits, not because i'm contrary.) and is usually disappointed in something everybody seems to love. (I'm looking at you, Avatar. Seriously? Biggest grossing movie ever?)

But getting back on track; X-men blew me away. Loved the soundtrack, loved the aesthetic, loved the setting, absolutely everything about it was bloody brilliant.

 

[ultrachicken]

"The Debt." I went in expecting a rather generic WWII spy flick filled to the tits with James Bond knockoffs, but it turned out that this movie kicks most spy movie tropes in the balls and throws them off a cliff. I was very pleasantly surprised, and it might be my favorite movie of the past several months.

 

[Last Hugh Alive]

Dodgeball. I went in not knowing anything about the film beyond its premise and I never really liked Ben Stiller that much. However, it is still one of my favourite comedies today as well as my favourite Stiller role.

Also, Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim. Again, I didn't have any knowledge of the source material so I felt a bit intimidated, but they turned out to be my favourite two films of 2010.

 

[Kalashnikov2092]

DOG SOLDIERS. Werewolves fight soldiers. Those three words are used to make the BEST werewolf movie I ever saw. Cool characters, cool fights, and even cooler werewolves. Plus an end scene that makes my spine tingle every time I think about it. If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about.

 

[Crazy_Dude]

DOG SOLDIERS. Werewolves fight soldiers. Those three words are used to make the BEST werewolf movie I ever saw. Cool characters, cool fights, and even cooler werewolves. Plus an end scene that makes my spine tingle every time I think about it. If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about.

Gotta say as a big fan of B monster movies. I loved Dog Soldiers one of the best werewolf films of the past ten years.

 

[Kalashnikov2092]

DOG SOLDIERS. Werewolves fight soldiers. Those three words are used to make the BEST werewolf movie I ever saw. Cool characters, cool fights, and even cooler werewolves. Plus an end scene that makes my spine tingle every time I think about it. If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about.

Gotta say as a big fan of B monster movies. I loved Dog Soldiers one of the best werewolf films of the past ten years.

For sure. When written on paper, some of the parts sound sort of cheesy (guy boxes werewolf). However, they pulled it off in absolutely awesome fashion.