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Movies that surprised you.

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Comments

  • #52
    Your Face
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,275 ✭✭✭Your Face


    Probably Les Misérables from 2012. I was surprised I enjoyed it.
    Also, Russell Crowes singing was unjustly panned in my opinion.


  • #53
    Hangdogroad
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,271 ✭✭✭Hangdogroad


    Gwynplaine wrote: »
    Suicide Squad. Was looking forward to it, had high hopes, thought it would be brilliant. An absolute stinker. Jared Leto was an abomination. I felt embarrassed watching it. Should be deleted from history.

    I no longer watch anything with Will Smith.Guaranteed stinker if he's in it.


  • #54
    littlevillage
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,178 ✭✭✭littlevillage


    I don't get surprised by movies too often as I usually do a bit of research beforehand.


    But one that completely blindsided me was

    Straw Dogs (2011). i just came accross it by accident one night. I didn't know any of the cast. Expected a trashy horror.....maybe with a bit of heaving cleavage thrown in :-) Buts its really excellent.

    Turns out it is a remake of the 1971 original by Sam Peckinpah starring Dustin Hoffman. I immediately went and watched that .... its set in the English countryside and doesn't really work for me.

    But the remake re-locates to the American deep south ... and maybe thats why it works far better.



    Off the top of my head, a couple of other films (that people mightn't be that familar with) and I accidently came accross ...and found them to be excellent

    The Prestige (2006) starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman
    Knowing (2009) starring Nicolas Cage
    Moon (2009) starring Sam Rockwell.
    Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang (2005) starring Robert Downey Jnr, Val Kilmer
    Walking Tall (2004) Starring Wayne "the Rock" Johnson
    This is 40 (2012) starring Paul Rudd


  • #55
    Worztron
    Registered Users Posts: 8,741 ✭✭✭Worztron


    statesaver wrote: »
    Black 47. Didn't expect much but really enjoyed it.
    +1

    Mitch Hedberg: "Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something."



  • #56
    Worztron
    Registered Users Posts: 8,741 ✭✭✭Worztron


    cjmc wrote: »
    Midnight run . I'd never heard of it and it came on tv ( years ago) thought it very funny.
    Also another movie I'd never heard of at the time ' the killing fields'. I remember 'imagine ' at the end and thinking 'wow'
    I was a teenager then !
    I saw both a good while back, excellent alright.

    Mitch Hedberg: "Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something."



  • #57
    Jurgen The German
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,220 ✭✭✭Jurgen The German


    Martyrs, original version.

    Knew nothing about it other than a few people had recommended it, picked it up in HMV and threw it on.

    It's rare a horror movie leaves me speechless but this one blew me away completely. I was thinking about it for days after viewing which very rarely happens.

    I've only watched it once since as the initial impact and reveal is obviously lessened having seen it but fcuk me pink, it is a tremendous, gut wrenching piece of work.


  • #58
    HappyAsLarE
    Closed Accounts Posts: 771 ✭✭✭HappyAsLarE


    byronbay2 wrote: »
    LA LA Land.

    Romantic comedy jazz musical about Hollywood!!! Thought (indeed, assumed) it would be absolutely terrible but was the first American movie for a looong time that pleasantly surprised me! The 2 leads (Gosling and Stone) were excellent and had real chemistry together. The musical numbers (I HATE musicals, except for Willy Wonka) worked well within the movie and were catchy. Most importantly, they didn't do the ridiculous tacked-on happy ending that EVERY American movie does!

    Kudos to LA LA Land - great movie.

    I never trust anyone who dislikes “American” movies.


  • #59
    banie01
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 16,942 ✭✭✭✭banie01


    Finding Mr Banks.

    Was expecting Disney style family schmaltz.

    Got a beautifully put together movie that wove the story of the creation of Mary Poppins, with the devastation that alcoholism wreaks on a family and the little tricks of imagination one creativity that we come up with to deal with it.


  • #60
    Church on Tuesday
    Registered Users Posts: 3,858 ✭✭✭Church on Tuesday


    Casablanca.

    Just a really well made film that holds up today.


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  • #61
    s7ryf3925pivug
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,007 ✭✭✭s7ryf3925pivug


    I thought A Serbian Film would be a movie but actually it’s someone sh!tting in your brain.


  • #62
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,202 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    US. American horror film released in march of this year. Lupita Nyong'o is amazing in it.


  • #63
    Quantum Erasure
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,773 ✭✭✭Quantum Erasure


    End of Watch with Jake Gyllenhaal, not sure what kind of film I was expecting, but I was very impressed


  • #64
    Irish Guitarist
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,736 ✭✭✭Irish Guitarist


    Split starring James McAvoy. I couldn't even decide whether I liked or not until the end. It's hard to say much about it without spoiling it. It's best to watch it without ever having read or heard anything about it.

    Between Worlds starring Nicolas Cage surprised me. Not because it was good. I just wasn't expecting
    to see him have sex with a teenage girl who was possessed by the spirit of his dead wife while he read poetry from a book called Memories by Nicolas Cage
    .


  • #65
    Big Nasty
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 22,080 ✭✭✭✭Big Nasty


    Any of the Disney / Pixar Movies I watch with my 5 year old daughter. Literally ball at the happy / sad / eureka moment every damn time.


  • #66
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,202 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    I think i was surprised by sixth sense. The guy himself is dead.

    Fight club!

    Its hard to remember if you were surprised or not by movies.


    Mulholland Drive. But hard to tell if i actually get it now or not.


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  • #67
    Salvation Tambourine
    Registered Users Posts: 933 ✭✭✭Salvation Tambourine


    Guy Person wrote: »
    On the other end I love really good spoof movies Airplane, The Naked Gun, Loaded Weapon etc.. There is a spoof movie called Not Another Teen Movie that was made by MTV in the early 2000's that I thought would be shíte because it was made by MTV but actually was really funny.

    I was the exact same, Not Another Teen Movie is genuinely very funny.


  • #68
    ziedth
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 9,081 ✭✭✭ziedth


    Nokotan wrote: »
    I was the exact same, Not Another Teen Movie is genuinely very funny.

    I hope history will come to remember the monsters the Wayne's brothers really are for running spoof movies...... I still genuinely laugh at aeroplane


  • #69
    Quantum Erasure
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,773 ✭✭✭Quantum Erasure


    Eye in The Sky, Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman, very disappointing. was expecting something like Good Kill, don't want to ruin it on anyone but you know the Americans would have handled it differently


  • #70
    valoren
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,515 ✭✭✭valoren


    Psycho was always one of my favourite movies but I never got around to seeing Vertigo until a few years ago. It's a fantastic film the kind of film I think about randomly, the mark of a good movie in my mind.


  • #71
    ILoveYourVibes
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 15,202 ✭✭✭✭ILoveYourVibes


    valoren wrote: »
    Psycho was always one of my favourite movies but I never got around to seeing Vertigo until a few years ago. It's a fantastic film the kind of film I think about randomly, the mark of a good movie in my mind.
    They are very good ..but very predictable.

    Actually the film Audition ...the Japanese version. THAT really surprised me.


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  • #72
    Yamanoto
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,489 ✭✭✭Yamanoto


    Wasn't looking forward to Sing Street but found it utterly charming.

    Had low expectations of Dr. Sleep and though it's far from a stellar movie, I thought it was considerably better than both IT films and didn't jar or do a disservice to The Shining.


  • #73
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 26,052 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Someone mentioned Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

    I watched it after watching a show called The Feud, which covered the professional and personal rivalry of two old movie stars, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Those ladies hated each other. The show was very good, starred Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange, and it told a good story well. In the show, the two rivals were united for the movie Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? The movie was a true thriller, exploring themes of sibling rivalry and jealousy, helplessness, delusion and mental illness, and mostly confined to a compact and claustrophobic set. The two leads were simply brilliant. Well worth a watch.

    I also agree with Banie, Saving Mr Banks was a fantastic little film that had all kinds of light and shade in it and Emma Thompson was as good as she usually is. An uplifting movie that doesn't aim to bleach the shadows out of life.

    On that note, there is nothing I don't love about Mary Poppins. Even Dick Van Dykes Cockney chimney sweep, and associated ridiculously bad accent.

    ETA: Once, written by and starring Glen Hansard. A charming movie, and a well deserved Oscar for the music.


  • #74
    AllForIt
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,480 ✭✭✭AllForIt


    I don't think Jackman is a very good singer. He's an actor and does an impression of a singer.

    Does he take his shirt off in the movie? If so I'd consider watching it but if not judging by the title alone it's not the kind of movie I'd go to the cinema to see.


  • #75
    Beanntraigheach
    Registered Users Posts: 789 ✭✭✭Beanntraigheach


    Candie wrote: »
    Someone mentioned Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

    I watched it after watching a show called The Feud, which covered the professional and personal rivalry of two old movie stars, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Those ladies hated each other. The show was very good, starred Susan Sarandon and Jessica Lange, and it told a good story well. In the show, the two rivals were united for the movie Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? The movie was a true thriller, exploring themes of sibling rivalry and jealousy, helplessness, delusion and mental illness, and mostly confined to a compact and claustrophobic set. The two leads were simply brilliant. Well worth a watch.

    I also agree with Banie, Saving Mr Banks was a fantastic little film that had all kinds of light and shade in it and Emma Thompson was as good as she usually is. An uplifting movie that doesn't aim to bleach the shadows out of life.

    On that note, there is nothing I don't love about Mary Poppins. Even Dick Van Dykes Cockney chimney sweep, and associated ridiculously bad accent.

    ETA: Once, written by and starring Glen Hansard. A charming movie, and a well deserved Oscar for the music.
    If you liked "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" give "Sunset Boulevard" a try.


  • #76
    Muahahaha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 19,688 ✭✭✭✭Muahahaha


    Movie that surprised me was The Truman Show, I didnt have any high expectations and wasnt a fan of Jim Carrey but thought it was a great movie


  • #77
    Seanachai
    Registered Users Posts: 2,544 ✭✭✭Seanachai


    Doctor Sleep, just saw it yesterday. I wasn't expecting much but I really enjoyed it.


  • #78
    Seanachai
    Registered Users Posts: 2,544 ✭✭✭Seanachai


    AllForIt wrote: »
    I don't think Jackman is a very good singer. He's an actor and does an impression of a singer.

    Does he take his shirt off in the movie? If so I'd consider watching it but if not judging by the title alone it's not the kind of movie I'd go to the cinema to see.


    I thought he was brilliant in Prisoners, a lot of actors play pretty close to their own personality. His character was so far from his own demeanor.


  • #79
    Tammy!
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,149 ✭✭✭Tammy!


    The second Jumanji. Wasn't expecting to like it but thought it was great.


  • #80
    Tired Gardener
    Closed Accounts Posts: 456 ✭✭Tired Gardener


    Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. I'm quite far from the target demographic this film was aimed at... yet I really enjoyed it, and happily watch it again.

    Fiddler on the Roof, I detest musicals... however that was an amazing film. Quite easy to forget that I was watching a film with singing and dancing.


  • #81
    razorblunt
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,300 ✭✭✭✭razorblunt


    Guardians of the Galaxy.

    I hated the Iron Men and Spidermen and all those that had come before.Thor was the only one I enjoyed, I was completely fatigued from the whole Marvel thing at the time (it was only halfway through!) so I avoided this.

    Reluctantly watched it on a Transatlantic flight as it would be a lengthy time killer.
    Man, I loved it, the music, the comedy, the story. Told the wife we had to order it in the room where we were staying a few days later just to watch it again.


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  • #82
    chrissb8
    Registered Users Posts: 1,182 ✭✭✭chrissb8


    The Joker was just an ok film. I thought it was going to be some acting masterpiece but indeed it was nothing even close. Yeah Phoenix acts very well, nice feel to the film but it just lacked that oomph.

    People going on about the emotion of it etc. I always balk at these overtures of emotions....."he portrayed mental illness so well and put a mirror upto reality". No he didn't.....he played a famously psychotic comicbook villian known for killing people en masse because he thought it was one big joke. It was just fine for what it was but people looking for something deeper.

    Manchester by the sea is a film that took me by surprise, I was in tears by the scene between Casey Afflecks character and his nephew at the table towards the end of the film. Don't think I've ever seen or will ever see a better representation of grief and the brutal nature of dealing with loss.


  • #83
    Seanachai
    Registered Users Posts: 2,544 ✭✭✭Seanachai


    chrissb8 wrote: »
    The Joker was just an ok film. I thought it was going to be some acting masterpiece but indeed it was nothing even close. Yeah Phoenix acts very well, nice feel to the film but it just lacked that oomph.

    People going on about the emotion of it etc. I always balk at these overtures of emotions....."he portrayed mental illness so well and put a mirror upto reality". No he didn't.....he played a famously psychotic comicbook villian known for killing people en masse because he thought it was one big joke. It was just fine for what it was but people looking for something deeper.

    Manchester by the sea is a film that took me by surprise, I was in tears by the scene between Casey Afflecks character and his nephew at the table towards the end of the film. Don't think I've ever seen or will ever see a better representation of grief and the brutal nature of dealing with loss.


    Manchester by the sea is great for the drama and the humour, the scene with Affleck where he's arguing with the woman over the shower is priceless.


  • #84
    spurious
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,267 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    'Extra Ordinary'.

    Irish comedy horror...uhoh I thought, but it was quite amusing.


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