Movies you thought were better on a re-watch
 

I found that Halloween 8 (Resurrection) was not a bad movie, the first time i watched it i was just turned off by the cheesy college dialogue, but that of course can have that beloved B-Movie feel and was pretty funny the second time around. It's in the same league as Halloween V and VI, which are not terribly beloved for good reasons.V had a bad/melodramatic ending, which is always a terrible mistake for movie-makers, and VI had a generous helping of 90s cheese and no development of the pagan theme introduced early on. The ending was fun for me though.

Re: Movies you thought were better on a re-watch
 

Taxi Driver is a big one for me. I probably watched it first when I was about 15. Thought it was ok but nothing special. Then when I was beginning to appreciate film a rewatch made me realise how many films since had been inspired by the lead character, the dialogue, the atmosphere the score and everything else.

Every movie that is any good

I tend to like most movies a bit more when I rewatch them. When I watch a movie for the first time, I'm just trying to acquaint myself with the source material. Second/third/etc viewings matter the most for me.

I increased my rating for original Friday the 13th (from a 7 to an 8), Blade Runner (from a 7 to an 8), and original Nightmare on Elm Street (from an 8 to a 9) on re-watch.

I also liked Child Bride more on a rewatch.

Ah, the most talked-about swimming scene in one of the 30s HoFs :D I haven't rewatched it yet, but I think it's better than its reputation.

I reacted the same way to Taxi Driver as well as Raging Bull and Goodfellas - each of which I also saw as a teenager and watched again as an adult - but I appreciated them more the second time for different reasons. I think it's because I was better able to relate to the movies' protagonists after experiencing similar adult-specific feelings of self loathing, existential dread and alienation.

Zombie improved significantly for me on a rewatch, once I grew used to the distinct rhythms of Lucio Fulci's work. Went from a 3/10 to an 8/10. That's the most drastic example I can think of.

Re: Movies you thought were better on a re-watch
 

Sixth Sense
Angel Heart
Jacob's Ladder
Brazil
Momento
non linear movies

yeah, the psychological term for that is "priming", once you sort of understand the premise and actors you start noticing different things. Human dialogue, when done properly, is always either complex or realistic, and sometimes that annoys me, yet its usually fine if i keep watching the movie as if i were a child. That's also why better places of employment tend to not focus so much on personal or political issues, people learn things with time as long as they are there and at least try. However, i've noticed despite all appearances, things relating to business often have a decadent trajectory.

Re: Movies you thought were better on a re-watch
 

I agree that most good/great films get better with subsequent viewings, but if I'm going for films that jumped significantly from me being lukewarm to them to now loving them, I have to say The Big Lebowski and Children of Men.

yeah, the big lebowski for sure, the thing that made worst the first time is i had all these stoner friends who were the big lebowski, so i just didn't really get the movie. Certainly a commentary on upper-crust nihilism, and "lazy people", grand achievements, lol

Re: Movies you thought were better on a re-watch
 

Z O D I A C

Parasite gets better and better every time I watch it.

Re: Movies you thought were better on a re-watch
 

Mulholland Drive. I gave it a D rating the first time, and A the second. I did not get what I was looking at.

Out of the recent ones - Promising Young Woman, though I still don’t like it.

Re: Movies you thought were better on a re-watch
 

Batman v Superman

My top ten would likely be

2001 A Space Oddssey
Barry Lyndon
Caligula
A Clockwork Orange
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
The Godfather I and II
Halloween (most of the series)
Jurassic Park
The Maltese Falcon

Re: Movies you thought were better on a re-watch
 

Goodfellas. One case of wrong expectations. It's a great film for what it aims to be, and what it aims to be is precious. But for a kid expecting a pew pew untouchables action movie, yeah, it required a re-adjusted rewatch.

Robocop is a movie I love, but I oddly like it less on even viewings than on odd viewings. Awesome, meh, awesome, meh, awesome, meh, awesome.

Jaws is a movie that I always liked, but I got even better with each subsequent rewatch. I think The Shining is the same. Okay, it's the case with all truly great movies. It's possibly their definition.

Joe Kidd. I used to find it a bit underwhelming. Rewatching it, I really appreciated its political undertones and somewhat uninvolved protagonist.

Bertrand Blier's Actors got better with time, as I was becoming more familiar with the work and identities of the famous actors its features.

Buffet Froid (also Blier) was just weird and okay the first time. It's now one of my favorite movies ever.

Movies like Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead get better each time, because they're for full of meaningful details and echoes, it helps knowing some scenes in advance to catch them.

Sometimes it's a movie requiring a rewatch to notice all its aspects. Or a movie being elevated by the knowledge of its end twist. Or a movie's expectations being cleansed from inadequate marketing. Or a movie being better appreciated after having seen more movies (specific ones or in general). Or simply a subject matter that starts resonating with your experiences at a different age. Oddly varied causes.

Always this conundrum, though. Re-watch a movie or watch a new long due "must see"...