Favorite But Underrated Movies (2 Viewers)

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livefromDC said:
There's a couple 80s movies that I would say were underrated, but it could just be that I was 8 or 9 the first time I saw them. Everything seems great at that age.

Willow
Summer School
Real Genius
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Just tried to get the family to watch willow. Kids left the room. Wife went to sleep. I watched the whole thing. Still great.

I'll add Top Secret and, as already mentioned, Spies like us to your awesome list.
 
Phantasm. It has a cult fanbase for sure and has been successful enough to spawn an entire series of low budget sequels across the 80's, 90's, and 00's but the original Phantasm is something truly special that deserves to be held up as an all time great horror/sci-fi (ish) film. It was substantially ahead of its time in many ways.



guidomerkinsrules said:
didn't want to do this but you yung'uns are forcing me
Kevin Smith is the most overrated director ever
he is to movies what ren n stempy are to cartoons - niche enjoyment, but little more

i assume now you'll all be thanking me for letting you know
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I'm just going to copy and paste what I wrote about Smith's filmography in a thread from last fall. It all still holds true:

Sun Wukong said:
Because no one asked for it, here is my take on the "Askewverse" filmography of Kevin Smith (not even touching his post-Smodcast, post-"I spend all day smoking pot" career, which is not worth acknowledging or discussing at all).

Clerks- Fine for what it is, but somewhat overrated. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a nostalgic attachment to it and that it was probably more formative for me than I would like to admit, but it has been over-hyped. This is partially due to the fact that at the time it was something of a cinematic Rorschach test. Given the trends in early 90's indie cinema and the fact that Smith was a totally unknown quality, when it came out it was basically a question of "Is this an intentionally low-fi examination of the malaise and pop-culture obsession of a directionless Generation X?" or "Is this just a really cheaply made movie with a lot of comic book and movie references and toilet humor?" Time would show us it was closer to the latter than the former, but no one at the time was really sure as to what Smith was all about. There were people at the time who thought he might be the next Richard Linklater. Obviously that didn't pan out.

Mallrats- Again, I have a dumb nostalgic fondness for this, but it is an objectively terrible movie and arguably the movie that outed Smith for what he really was. He'd been given a budget and a cast of actual actors and there was no more guessing as to what he was all about. He made a goofy, pop-culture and toilet humor filled buddy comedy. It was the low-culture elements of Clerks writ large with none of the low-fi aesthetic to shield it. Again, probably far more formative for me than I'd like to admit and I won't pretend I haven't watched it a thousand times, but what I say here is true.

Chasing Amy- Smith attempts to regain the cred he had established with Clerks and squandered with Mallrats. And here's the thing about Chasing Amy. He almost fools you. The first 2/3's of that movie you think maybe he really is the guy everyone thought he was and that this movie is going somewhere. And then it ***** the bed so spectacularly in the third act (possibly only rivaled by "Stripes" for worst third acts in cinema history) that it totally invalidates everything that came before it. He basically throws his hands up, looks at the audience and goes "Yeah, I got nothin'." The first 2/3's are why some people still defend this as a good movie, but to even attempt that stance you must ignore the disaster of final act. It's like watching a hurdle jumper do really well for the first 2/3s of the race, and then on the last hurdle they trip and fall and break their neck and defecate everywhere and vultures come down to eat their dead body and everyone in the stands starts uncontrollably puking. That's what Chasing Amy is.

Dogma- This movie is absolutely fantastic when you're 15. I say that both as praise and condemnation. Nothing really beyond that. Probably the last movie Smith put any real effort into.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back- The film that showed us how thin-skinned Kevin Smith was. He also finally gives into his absolute worst instincts with this movie. It's sort of a prototype for the post-Smodcast era films. Lazy, sloppy, cheap, poorly thought out. Nothing redeemable about this one at all.

Clerks II- As a sequel to Clerks, it's fine. There's some OK thematic stuff and self-awareness to it and it seems to be as much a reflection on his career as anything else. It's not super memorable or quotable or of high quality, but it's not really actively terrible, either.

Everything after Clerks II is indicative of a man that has not just given up on his career, but appears to be actively trying to destroy it and ruin whatever good will he once had.
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The mighty Quinn- Denzel Washington

Bamboozled - spike lee

Regarding Henry - Harrison Ford

Breach

Mr Brooks - Kevin Costner

Deceived- Goldie Hawns only dramatic role
 
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Innerspace- Dennis quaid

Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Humphrey bogart, not mentioned much as a 40s classic
 

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