Bad/Unknown/Unpopular Movies You'll Always Defend

[piranesi]

 

 

Also,William Freidkin's Jade. I think this is genuinely unnerving, well shot film. But all the critics treated it like is a disaster and it's credited with ruining Caruso's film career in the '90s.

 

 

This has a great example of one of my favorite cheap movie shortcuts:  Character gives a lecture for some reason that is completely about the underlying theme of the movie.

 

Usually it happens in a classroom in a slasher, but here it was Linda Fiorentino giving an "academic" talk on violent tendencies in the human psyche...for some reason in what looked like the skywalk of a mall.

 

Plus it has a great end-credits theme:

 

 

and there is actually a track on the soundtrack called "Matt gets turned on":

 

[The Comedian]

Speed Racer is indefensible. I demand to hear one redeeming quality about it besides nostalgia.

 

Shaft and Patrick from Coupling as the announce team for the big race, just for starters

[J.T.]

Speed Racer is a light romp that works if you don't think about it too hard.  I don't think that Christina Ricci has ever been hotter in a movie role than she was as Trixie.

 

I will always go to bat for Big Trouble In Little China and Josie & The Pussycats. 

 

People were so busy bitching about Josie's lack of attachment to the Archieverse that they did not appreciate it as being the best and most scalding satirization of consumerism since the Living Dead movies and it is probably the biggest indictment of the bubblegum pop sector of the music industry ever made. 

 

Jade was a perfectly fine movie.  The problem was that society never forgave David Caruso for (gasp) actually wanting to do something other than NYPD Blue.

[Lazlo Woodbine]

Who doesn't like Big Trouble In Little China? Are they crazy? Is that their problem?

[Reed]

It may have been slated by critics and hated by many wrestling fans, but I nonetheless find Ready to Rumble to be a charming, fun movie. Could have done without Arquette winning the WCW title afterwards, but never mind.

[Territorial]

I will kill a man who doesn't like The Golden Child.

 

Please PM me your picture.  Not that I want to know what you look like since I hate the Golden Child and want to know who to run from.  Uh uh.  No.  Of course not.

 

I rather enjoy Speed Racer.  It doesn't work if you think about it too much, but it's absurd, over the top fun.  I also admire the balls of all involved.  I sit there watching it and say to myself "Really?  You thought this scene would pack a theater on a Friday night?  Why?"

[Tiller]

 

I really like the Phantom. It really makes the most of its period piece nature.

The Rocketeer is like that too, I don't think that film did well

 

Along these lines, I also inexplicably enjoy The Shadow.

[twiztor]

It may have been slated by critics and hated by many wrestling fans, but I nonetheless find Ready to Rumble to be a charming, fun movie. Could have done without Arquette winning the WCW title afterwards, but never mind.

 

i figured this was a given, being that this is a wrestling board and all, but this was the first thing i thought of too.

 

One of my favorite movies ever is "the Adventures of Captain Zoom in Outer Space. it was made-for-TV movie by the crew that also did the Hercules and Xena tv shows. It's super cheesy, much like an updated '66 Batman. It boasts Ron Perlman, Liz Vassey, and Nichelle Nichols as members of its cast.

it's not commercially available anywhere, but i found it at Cinemageddon a couple years ago, so check it out if you're interested.

 

also, Bring It On and Clueless are 2 of my favorite '90s comedies. and anybody that hates Clue should be shot. or hit with a candlestick. by the butler. or Mrs. Peacock. in the study.

[Ace]

 

I will kill a man who doesn't like The Golden Child.

 

Please PM me your picture.  Not that I want to know what you look like since I hate the Golden Child and want to know who to run from.  Uh uh.  No.  Of course not.

 

I rather enjoy Speed Racer.  It doesn't work if you think about it too much, but it's absurd, over the top fun.  I also admire the balls of all involved.  I sit there watching it and say to myself "Really?  You thought this scene would pack a theater on a Friday night?  Why?"

 

 

FWIW, I did see it in a packed theater on a Friday night, but it was a midnight showing. 

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

We are at the point where people are defending popular movies. I blame myself for assuming the damned fools who voted in the 90s movie poll are humans and not soulless androids.

[Brian Fowler]

I have a better argument for Jackie Brown being the best QT movie.  It's called watching all the movies.

 

(Of course, I'm one of the two people who put Jackie Brown #1 on my 90's ballot....)

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

I have a better argument for Jackie Brown being the best QT movie.  It's called watching all the movies.

 

(Of course, I'm one of the two people who put Jackie Brown #1 on my 90's ballot....)

"people"

[Reed]

 

It may have been slated by critics and hated by many wrestling fans, but I nonetheless find Ready to Rumble to be a charming, fun movie. Could have done without Arquette winning the WCW title afterwards, but never mind.

 

i figured this was a given, being that this is a wrestling board and all, but this was the first thing i thought of too.

 

 

 

I find the criticisms of it really lame. "Oh, it makes wrestling fans look bad."

 

Um, hello, they had to be devoted and a bit geeky to make the plot happen in the first place. And is anyone really going to get offended at the "nerd" idea anyway? We like wrestling. We can handle flack.

[MADCAP]

Madcap put me on to Brainsmasher and I haven't looked back.  Andrew Dice Clay at his most PG, Chinese 'ninjas,' Teri Hatcher running around the Pacific Northwest in high heels.  A really fun movie.

 

If I can convert one person to the awesomeness of Brainsmasher, then I have done my job.

 

Also, I will defend Grown Ups and Project X to my last breath.

[Cliff Hanger]

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is like a Max Fleischer cartoon come to life.  It's maybe the one 100% green-screened movie I've seen where everything looks "right", perhaps because unlike some others, the slight detachment from the "set" works in the aesthetic's favor rather than against it.

[Leonidas]

Swordfish is in my top 20 movies of all time, just a very enjoyable action flick with a perfect cast where it looks like everyone had a great time filming it and really works.

 

Rat Race doesn't get the love it deserves, one of my favourite comedies in modern times. Huge cast. Jon Lovitz accidentally doing a Hitler speech at a WW2 veterans gathering gets me everytime.

[RandomAct]

Aw man I love Rat Race.  Quote that shit all the time.  Stuff like "Ass.  We are hauling ass" is just so out of nowhere and hilarious.

[Brian Fowler]

There's that awesome bit at the beginning of Swordfish about bad, dumb action movies. Then the moviebecomes a shining example of how bad and dumb action movies can get.

[RandomAct]

No one ever talks about GROSSE POINT BLANK.  I think that is an awesome fucking movie.  How do people feel about that?  Also, THE BIG HIT.

[Craig H]

The fact that no one talks about Grosse Point Blank doesn't make it a bad movie .

I'll throw in ALL of the Fast and Furious movies. Yeah. Even Tokyo Drift. Those movies are all about fun nonsense.

Couple Kevin Costner films that I like to defend as well are Tin Cup and For Love of the Game.

[RandomAct]

The fact that no one talks about Grosse Point Blank doesn't make it a bad movie .

I'll throw in ALL of the Fast and Furious movies. Yeah. Even Tokyo Drift. Those movies are all about fun nonsense.

Couple Kevin Costner films that I like to defend as well are Tin Cup and For Love of the Game.

Oh, I know.  Not really what I was suggesting, just putting it under the "unknown" category in this case.  I wasn't sure how widespread it was or how people felt about it.

[Trocar Slush Weasel]

Put me down for Joe vs the Volcano.  At least right up until they make it to the island.  At that point it becomes legitimately terrible.

[scraylo187]

Who doesn't like Big Trouble In Little China? Are they crazy? Is that their problem?

 

My favorite movie.

 

 

I went to see a buddy's play and Rain, one of the Three Storms, was in it. My favorite celebrity encounter since moving to LA. 

 

Really nice dude that actually teared up a bit when I said I used to play '3 Storms' in the backyard as a kid with a laundry basket on my head pretending to be him as a kid. 

[Lazlo Woodbine]

I'm all sorts of jealous.

[TimLivingston]

LONG POST COMING. I combed through the thread because I've seen almost all the movies mentioned and they basically fall into the "unpopular" category. And a lot of them aren't bad.

 

My Fellow Americans - This was supposed to be the first non-Grumpy Old Men buddy film for Lemmon and Mathau but Mathau got sick. I'm actually really happy with Garner here. He's sharper with the putdowns. Story is decent, but this is more to hear a bunch of senior citizens give each other shit and it's a fun ride. Not sure if it's better than either of the Grumpy Old Men movies, but still fun.

 

Starship Troopers - Fucking ay, this movie rules. I know people read the book and aren't happy about the adaptation, but man alive, it's an awesome movie. Farcical to a T.

 

Drop Dead Gorgeous - This is one of those movies HBO would show during the summer and I'd watch at least once every couple of weeks. Awesome cast. Will Sasso's parts had me rolling.

 

Battleship - LIAM NEESONS, baby.

 

Zoolander - This is definitely not a bad movie. This is most definitely a forgotten movie.

 

Dark City - Kiefer Sutherland creeped me the fuck out in this one. Also, needles that go anywhere near the eye freak me out, so there's that. Still, visually stunning. I remember Ebert being all about it, too.

 

Bring It On - Great movie. Eye candy, ridiculously over the top arguments, great one-liners...good stuff. AND, I'm also a fan of Stick It, which has The Dude in it and does a lot of the same stuff.

 

The Godfather Part III - A lot of people point out that it's a great movie if you take out the horrible Sofia Coppola performance. But this is a cash grab. And not a good one. The story sucks, Pacino had moved into Yelling Pacino Mode at this point, Andy Garcia was not that good...it's obvious that the first two movies were great because they worked off the actual novel. Yeah, Michael's storyline in Part II was not from it, but it's a good continuation of what they set up in the first. This is considered an epilogue, but it's an unnecessary add-on.

 

Blue Chips - Hoosiers, White Men Can't Jump, then this. Shaq, Penny, not-Larry Bird, ACTUAL LARRY BIRD, Bob Cousy not missing any foul shots, Al Bundy as crack reporter, BOBBY KNIGHT...I mean, seriously. C'mon, now. This movie is awesome.

 

Airheads - One of the great unheralded great casts ever. A great collection of comedic minds. And Brendan Fraser.

 

The Rocketeer - Besides it being a cool little period film with a neat premise, you have the fucking Hindenberg and DALTON. Oh, and Jennifer Connolly at her absolute best. Don't see what else you need.

 

Rookie of the Year - Funky butt loving. John Candy. Gary Busey. Barry Bonds striking out. Yep, this rules.

 

Flash Gordon - Better soundtrack than Highlander. So many points. FLASH JUMP.

 

Ready to Rumble - Yeah, I'll defend this movie til the day I die. Perfectly acceptable movie. David Arquette isn't that great, but Oliver Platt, JOEY PANTS and Scott Caan are fine.

 

Pootie Tang - I know even Louis C.K. finds it hard to defend this movie, but it's great. Sah da tay, my damey.

 

Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift: Fuck yes. All about this movie. The girl gaijin can't act her way through a paper bag, but the driving is incredible and it's a great, dumb action flick.

 

Tin Cup - I love this movie. Don Johnson is a great asshole. Rene Russo isn't exactly great, but Cheech is awesome and every time I play golf and someone brings out a pink ball, I have to say, "We'll be playing with the pink lady today."

 

For Love of the Game - Least of the Costner baseball films, but it has Vin Scully doing commentary, John C. Reilly at catcher and some cool baseball psychology stuff. I enjoyed it.