Doesn't happen often, because, most often, when you don't expect a movie to be decent, well, you just don't waste money or time (or physical space) on it. Still, life being what it is, or, in the best of cases, trust being what it is, sometimes you check out a movie bracing for the worst. Or take a leap of faith.
And it turns out okay. Or good. Or brilliant.
Easy examples : As a kid, I used to assume that any classic was classic for reasons of tradition and snobbery, and would always turn out boring like a school obligatory read (oh how many masterpieces the school context did ruin). So the very fact that Casablanca and Citizen Kane blew my mind blew my mind.
More mundane examples : I checked out the MCU expecting the silliest franchises to make the lamest movies - but Captain America, Ant Man and Doctor Strange turned out paradoxically the most enjoyable ones to me (maybe because the weak premises forced the writers to either subvert them or embrace the silliness, anyway to think further than the original material).
And tonight I just watched Venom, because I once commented that its sequel's trailer looked amusing and some forumer answered that the original was actually very watchable. Which is surprisingly true. The movie suffers from being a Marvel flick at two levels, one benign (Venom is only as "alien" to human culture and biology as a superhero character can be, so it starts like The Thing and quickly turns into Men in Black), and the other critical (very boring Marvel-type ending(s), full with stupid mid-title sequence), but that doesn't ruin the overall experience. It's a fun action movie, for the most part as silly and as grounded as Leigh Whannell's Upgrade, which had struck a perfect balance. And Tom Hardy is definitely a very, very amusing actor.
So, Venom is my latest good surprise. The previous one was The Suicide Squad, which was much more entertaining than what I expected.
Lots of superhero movies in that category. Any good or great movies that you almost completely disregarded, on your side ?
And it turns out okay. Or good. Or brilliant.
Easy examples : As a kid, I used to assume that any classic was classic for reasons of tradition and snobbery, and would always turn out boring like a school obligatory read (oh how many masterpieces the school context did ruin). So the very fact that Casablanca and Citizen Kane blew my mind blew my mind.
More mundane examples : I checked out the MCU expecting the silliest franchises to make the lamest movies - but Captain America, Ant Man and Doctor Strange turned out paradoxically the most enjoyable ones to me (maybe because the weak premises forced the writers to either subvert them or embrace the silliness, anyway to think further than the original material).
And tonight I just watched Venom, because I once commented that its sequel's trailer looked amusing and some forumer answered that the original was actually very watchable. Which is surprisingly true. The movie suffers from being a Marvel flick at two levels, one benign (Venom is only as "alien" to human culture and biology as a superhero character can be, so it starts like The Thing and quickly turns into Men in Black), and the other critical (very boring Marvel-type ending(s), full with stupid mid-title sequence), but that doesn't ruin the overall experience. It's a fun action movie, for the most part as silly and as grounded as Leigh Whannell's Upgrade, which had struck a perfect balance. And Tom Hardy is definitely a very, very amusing actor.
So, Venom is my latest good surprise. The previous one was The Suicide Squad, which was much more entertaining than what I expected.
Lots of superhero movies in that category. Any good or great movies that you almost completely disregarded, on your side ?
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Get working on your custom lists, people !
Get working on your custom lists, people !