Underrated Movies

[Convincing John]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth yet, with this being a Muppet Forum and all.

The critics (and public) saw The Dark Crystal, pretty much gasped as one, said "This...this is Jim Henson's movie? Where's Kermit? Where's Piggy?" (Points to a Skeksis on the screen) "That's not Big Bird! Boooo! We hate this movie! Boooo!"

With Labyrinth, it was sort of the same deal, but there was another fantasy film that came out the same time (I forget the title) and it overshadowed Labyrinth.

There's that story Frank Oz told about the critics watching "The Dark Crystal" at a screening. "The critics watched the movie. When it was over, they walked out of the theater without saying a word to either Jim or me." Man, that's cold.

UHF got the same bashing, but at least Weird Al's fans spoke up and now it's finally on DVD.

Why are underrated movies underrated? Sometimes it's because they're different and new. Same with TV shows that are underrated. I think Philip J. Fry said it best about clever and unexpected material in TV:

That's not why people watch TV. Clever things make people feel stupid, and unexpected things make them feel scared. You see? TV audiences don't want anything original. They wanna see the same thing they've seen a thousand times before.

Convincing John

 

[crazed gonzo fa]

The Rocketeer is another of my favorite underrated movies. The fact that the director of this is also diecting the upcoming Captain America movie is pretty awesome.

 

[MuppetQuilter]

Please remember that opinions are just that-- opinions. Don't attack someone because they disagree with you. Discussion is great, attacks and name calling are not. If you can't keep your comments respectful, keep them to yourself.

Some people love Disney. Some people hate Disney. Most aren't so black and white about it. It's okay to be pessimistic about where the Muppets are going-- a positive attitude is great, but everyone doesn't have to share it. If we all had the same views there would be no point to a discussion forum. Respect, people, respect.

 

[Gelfling Girl]

The Princess and the Frog, a film that was a complete victim of bad timing. It's really a shame because it's such a sweet movie. And much better music than I anticipated, I was still somewhat bitter about Lasseter getting rid of Alan Menken and getting Randy Newman to do the score but when I finally saw the movie, that all went away.

Yes, I agree. Amazing music and a great story.

Cats Don't Dance. It's one of my very favorite animated movies and WB basically dumped this excellent film in theaters with no fanfare. Which is a crying shame because I can't rave about this film enough.

I used to love this film as a kid, but now I just can't seem to remember it at all. I planned to watch it when I noticed it on a movie channel's schedule, but I must have forgotten or something.

Recess: School's Out and Teacher's Pet.

I remember seeing Teacher's Pet in the theaters when it came out, but I still don't remember it. Of course, I never watched the TV show. Recess, on the other hand was, until a few weeks ago, my favorite currently running Disney Channel show. (At least Phineas and Ferb is still running strong)

Road to El Dorado~ One of my favorite Dreamworks movies. I think Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is good as well.

I've been meaning to go watch it sometime this summer (along with a bunch of other stuff on the bookshelf full of movies) but I never had the time, and there's only one VHS player in the house to my knowledge.

Although I used to be obsessed with Spirit as a kid. (Yeah, I was one of those little girls who loved ponies...)

Return to Oz~ Definitely creepy but very imaginative...and I just found out that Brian Henson voiced Jack Pumpkinhead. x3

Note to self: Look this up.

A Bug's Life 2 doesn't sound all that bad but I'd really be stoked for a sequel for The Incredibles--if that idea were to come up. XP

They recently confirmed that there will be a sequel for The Incredibles. Still not a fan of superheroes, though.

Also, Mirrormask, anyone?

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

Just thought of a few others.

Fantastic Mr. Fox, the other fantastic (wocka-wocka!) animated film that came out over the holidays. If The Princess and the Frog had it bad, Fantastic Mr. Fox had it worse. I've never read the Roald Dahl book but this movie is hilarious. Why the public didn't gobble this movie up is beyond me. Perhaps it was the more adult edge or "***"-ness of the trailers but the fact that people outside animation geeks and Wes Anderson devotes flat-out ignored this movie. The fact that I already started using cuss in place of profanities when I have conversations and use Mr. Fox's trademark whistle-click combo on a frequent basis shows how much I enjoyed this movie.

Matinee. A movie so underrated that I've never seen the whole movie. I only saw it at my former dentist's office because he had a copy of it there. Joe Dante's passion of sci-fi cinema and 50's culture shines through here as it usually does and makes the film a delight. And you can't wrong with John Goodman playing a Alfred Hitchcock parody character. Probably one of Dante's very best films.

Looney Tunes: Back in Action. OK, this one is a pretty lame movie with a lot of great moments. I feel horrible for Joe Dante and the pain he went through due to WB butting in too much with what was essentially Joe's dream project. The stuff Joe was able to keep in without studio pressure (Area 52, the Louvre chase sequence, the product placement spoof) is all great. If it weren't for the lameness of everything else, I'd cut this movie a little more slack.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

As a moderator, I have to say:

Mupp and D'Snowth--If we have problems again like that there will be a suspension.

 

[Son of Enik]

I must agree with UHF and A Bug's Life, two movies I really like a lot. One that comes to my mind is Night Shift staring Henry Winkler, Shelley Long and a then not so well-known actor named Michael Keaton. The movie is funny and yet has some great acting form all of the leads at the same time, plus features my favorite character actor ever, Vincent Schiavelli and also introduced us to a 10 year old Shannen Doherty as a girl scout who clocks Winkler with a box of cookies. (and is then joined by numerous others) Comedy classic!

 

[Drtooth]

Looney Tunes: Back in Action. OK, this one is a pretty lame movie with a lot of great moments. I feel horrible for Joe Dante and the pain he went through due to WB butting in too much with what was essentially Joe's dream project. The stuff Joe was able to keep in without studio pressure (Area 52, the Louvre chase sequence, the product placement spoof) is all great. If it weren't for the lameness of everything else, I'd cut this movie a little more slack.

I really wish they kept more of his scenes on the DVD. The alternate opening was absolutely amazing, and it really slammed the fact they were having so much trouble getting the Batman franchise back up and running. I think a lot of what was left was enjoyable, but they could have at LEAST let the director do what he was doing. And they wonder why it flopped and they had to turn the Looney Tunes into Jackie Chan Adventures. But it still deserved better than flopping against that eye sore Cat in the Hat movie.

 

[BobThePizzaBoy]

How could I forget about Bamboozled?

Spike Lee's critically maulded but underappreciated satircal film. Combining extreme comedy elements with bitter truth, Lee put together a fantastic and thoughtful film on the representation of African-Americans in the media. I'm not even black but this is a movie that is chilling to watch but is a laugh riot because of how absent-minded and thoughtless the main characters are. I won't give much away, but it is quite the movie, check it out whenever you get the chance.

 

[Nick22]

A Bug's Life - i LOVED that movie as a kid and i still do.

The Goonies - maybe not as underrated as i am thinking, but i still love that movie