Have you ever sat down to watch a film, and been surprised at how good it is? I don't mean you watch a film you thought would be good, and it was great. Rather a film you thought would be just alright, but it turned out to be a good film. Or any hidden gems you know of? Films that are good but not many people have even heard of?
I recently watched Welcome to the Jungle (The Rundown) staring the Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and a film with him just sounds lame. But it was a good film, not just good for the Rock, but a good film! Very surprised by that, and I really enjoyed it. I also watched Big Nothing staring Simon Pegg, and I had never heard of it before and it sounded a bit lame, but again it was a really good film.
By hidden gem I mean films that are hidden from the audience that will enjoy them. The film could be hidden because it was relatively low budget, and had little to no advertising. Or because it's own advertising/promotion/actors/synopsis shrouded what the film truly was. I don't mean simply hidden from main stream.
So what about you? Any surprisingly good hidden films you know of?
EDIT: When posting a film, post it with an IMDB link if at all possible.
Big Nothing is the first one I come to think of, also fight club because I was years later on seeing it than everyone else.
another one I come to think of is a film with a title I've forgotten, it COULD have been "Dazed and Confused". Caught it in mid-airing on the TV, seems like it didn't have any "main" story, yet it was so awesome, great soundtrack.
Edit: wow, Funny Games seems great.. obviously, it has Tim Roth in it and face it, he's awesome really
cube really is awesome. it was the first movie with a little horror in it that i watched when i was 14 on my first own tv in the night. before that i never liked horror films (try watching sleepy hollow as a 10 year old in an outdoor movie theatre in the woods :o ), but cube was the film that really brought me to enjoying movies as a whole product, not just zapping in and out.
i can not agree on dazed and confused, i know that a lot of people (especially americans) like this movie, but i found it to be so utterly boring that i stopped it half-way through because i almost fell asleep - no plot at all.
other films i first thought would be cliché and boring, but turned out to be awesome: stardust, iron man, zombieland .. and many more i can't think of right now, i will add them later
Oh wow, I had forgot about Primer. anyone who appreciates a mindfuck has to see it, several times. 50 first dates was also surprisingly good imo, especially considering I automatically have a grudge against anything with Sandler in it.
I'm sorry but someone made me watch City of the Lost Children (think it was a girl) and I'm very lucky I didn't tear my eyes out of my skull. I was so bored, it reminded me of when they made you watch Movies in School, because they thought it would be cool but it just sucks!?!? Ya... like that.
@ cursor well perhaps you didnt have the "mind" to understand the movie in complete its just one of the greatest movies i ever saw but can be that people who normaly watch action movies and such things not understand the whole movie (thats not a flame its total understandable its rly not everybodys movie mind ^^)