By Diego Pineda Pacheco
Thread 12
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The thing about art — movies included — is that it can't exist outside the context of culture. And the thing about culture — especially contemporary, digital, highly interconnected culture — is that it makes it abundantly easy to share one's opinion on, for instance, a film. As such, throughout cinema's history, there have been many movies that have built up a negative reputation. Whether that reputation comes from being transgressive, disappointing, or just downright bad, a film with bad word-of-mouth can see its reception negatively affected for good.
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However, certain films don't really deserve the criticism they get. Films that, while very much still having a negative reputation today, actually have a solid number of interesting things to offer if one is willing to look deep enough under their surface. From movies generally deemed terrible that are gradually gaining a cult following, like The Cat in the Hat, to movies that are regarded as infamously sick, like Pink Flamingos, these are films that transcend their bad rep.
10 'Looney Tunes: Back in Action' (2003)
Directed by Joe Dante and Eric Goldberg
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With a campy and cartoonish style and a great resume of B-movie cult classics, Joe Dante may seem (at least on paper) like the perfect fit for a movie as wild as Looney Tunes: Back in Action. In it, Bugs and Daffy team up with an aspiring stuntman and a studio exec to rescue the stuntman's missing father and locate a mythical diamond before an evil magnate uses it for his wicked deeds.
If it sounds like the very premise of the movie is hyperactive, that's a pretty good indication of how the story plays out on screen. Sadly, most critics and viewers didn't love the messiness and how it blended with Dante's typical idiosyncrasies. However, the years have been kind to Looney Tunes: Back in Action. It may not be one of the best live-action/animation movies ever, but it sure is one of the funniest in recent years. Delivering the type of laugh-out-loud clever humor that one would expect from the Looney Tunes' Golden Age, with brilliant self-references and a magnetic Brendan Fraser in the lead, it's a family comedy that perhaps deserves a modern re-evaluation.
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Looney Tunes: Back in Action
9 'Batman Forever' (1995)
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Fans may love them today, but Tim Burton's two Batman films were deemed too dark by Warner Bros at the time. So, for the third installment, Batman Forever, they brought in Joel Schumacher to direct a more family-friendly Caped Crusader adventure. With Val Kilmer taking over Michael Keaton's cowl, the story follows Batman battling Two-Face and The Riddler with help from an amorous psychologist and a young circus acrobat who becomes his sidekick, Robin.
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Though Batman Forever never really feels like anything greater than the sum of its parts, many of those parts are truly fantastic, from the quirky visuals to the phenomenal score. It's a campy, endlessly colorful experience with a cast that gets far more hate than it deserves, and if one refrains from comparing it to its predecessor (and compares it instead to its abysmal successor, ), Batman Forever is a super fun experience.
Batman Forever
PG-13
Action
Adventure
Crime
Fantasy
Superhero
- Release Date
- June 9, 1995
- Cast
- Jim Carrey , Nicole Kidman , Tommy Lee Jones , Drew Barrymore , Chris O'Donnell , Val Kilmer , Pat Hingle , Michael Gough , Debi Mazar
- Runtime
- 117 Minutes
- Writers
- Bob Kane , Lee Batchler , Janet Scott Batchler , Akiva Goldsman
8 'Les Misérables' (2012)
Directed by Tom Hooper
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Though its lack of heart typically causes it to be remembered among those shameless Oscar-bait films of the 2010s (of which there were many), Les Misérables is actually far more enjoyable than people give it credit for. Based on the iconic sung-through musical, which is likewise based on Victor Hugo's seminal novel of the same name, it's about a man who has been hunted by a ruthless policeman for decades after breaking parole. One day, he agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter, and their lives change forever as a result.
Admittedly, there are some questionable casting calls (cough, Russell Crowe, cough) and bizarre creative decisions (cough, off-putting zooms, cough) that ultimately bring down the experience a bit. Still, they're not nearly enough to prevent Tom Hooper's version of this legendary tale from being anything less than rousing and deeply moving. Its technical aspects are staggering, performances like Hugh Jackman's and Anne Hathaway's are beautiful, and the whole experience should be more than enough to leave a strong impression on anyone's mind, whether they're musical fans or not.
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Les Misérables
7 'The Cat in the Hat' (2003)
Directed by Bo Welch
For some, a ruthless desecration of Dr. Seuss's legacy. For others, a subversive and tragically misunderstood gem of a parody. There's one certain thing: The Cat in the Hat is mostly a pretty hated film. Its premise sticks close to Seuss's story, following two bored children who have their lives turned upside down by the arrival of a talking cat hell-bent on teaching them how to have fun. That's about as far as the similarities to the source material go, though.
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If one looks at the experience of watching The Cat in the Hat under the right lens, it's easy to side with the latter group described above, which is probably why the movie's streaming numbers have soared lately. Its raunchy humor, surreal tone and visuals, and Mike Myers's fascinatingly over-the-top (and, frankly, a little horrifying) performance as the titular Cat have all aged exquisitely well. In recent years, it seems that many people have been coming around to The Cat in the Hat's hilarious weirdness.
6 'Eternals' (2021)
Directed by Chloé Zhao
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When it was announced that acclaimed indie filmmaker Chloé Zhao would be directing the MCU's Eternals, people didn't quite know what to expect. After Zhao won two Oscars for Nomadland (Best Picture and Best Directing), the hype for the movie went all the way up to the stratosphere. Sadly, many found this millennia-spanning tale about a race of immortal beings shaping Earth's history and civilizations somewhat underwhelming.
Eternals became the first MCU movie to get a rotten Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes — an occurrence that, in retrospect, was more than a bit unfair. Deeply flawed though the script may be, the things that do work about the movie more than compensate for its shortcomings. A solid villain, gorgeous visuals, creative direction by Zhao, and awesome action set pieces all make this one of the MCU's most rewatchable female-led movies. It may not be among the greatest Marvel entries, but Eternals sure isn't anywhere close to the worst, either.
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Eternals
PG-13
Superhero
Action
Adventure
Fantasy
- Release Date
- November 5, 2021
- Cast
- Angelina Jolie , Gemma Chan , Richard Madden , Salma Hayek , Kit Harington , Kumail Nanjiani , Lia McHugh , Brian Tyree Henry
- Runtime
- 157 minutes
- Writers
- Matthew K. Firpo , Ryan Firpo , Jack Kirby
5 'The Godfather Part III' (1990)
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Many recognize it as one of the most disappointing sequels ever made — and it very well might be, but it's also a pretty decent film in its own right. The Godfather Part III follows Michael Corleone, now in his 60s, as he seeks to free his family from the crime business and find a suitable successor to his father's empire. However, following an attempt on his life, Michael is pulled right back into the kind of life that he's trying to distance his dynasty from.
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Monumental production qualities, a greatly interesting arc for Michael, and a potently tragic story with plenty of memorable set pieces make The Godfather Part III a genuinely good — nay, great movie.
Sure enough, Part III isn't anywhere near the level of quality of its predecessors in any department, but it also has an awful lot to offer, making it one of the best gangster films of the '90s. Monumental production qualities, a greatly interesting arc for Michael, and a potently tragic story with plenty of memorable set pieces all make this a genuinely good — nay, great movie. Sadly, though, there is one main thing that has made it so widely criticized for many years: Sofia Coppola's performance as Mary, Michael's daughter. Sofia was brought in at the last minute after Winona Ryder had to drop the role due to a sudden illness and has since admitted that she didn't put much serious effort into her performance. This performance (which itself is somewhat over-hated) isn't at all enough of a reason to discredit The Godfather Part III's strengths, which are abundant.
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4 'Shrek Forever After' (2010)
Directed by Mike Mitchell
One of the most underrated sequels in all of animation, Shrek Forever After, the fourth installment in DreamWorks Animation's most popular and successful movie franchise, brought the series back to form after a terrible third installment. In it, Rumpelstiltskin tricks Shrek, burdened by a midlife crisis, into signing a contract that erases him from existence and creates a dark alternate timeline where he never rescued Fiona and Rumpelstiltskin rules supreme.
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The first Shrek movie sees the protagonist learn how to allow himself to be loved. The second film shows him learning how to love himself. Finally, Shrek Forever After follows the character as he learns to love others. This beautiful thematic closure would probably be enough to show just how good of a sequel this is, but that's not all there is to it. Creative visuals, strong character arcs, a great sense of humor, and a fun riff on It's a Wonderful Life all help make this a solid follow-up to two of DreamWorks' best movies. Its more surface-level script, tonal inconsistencies, and a smaller number of memorable set pieces in comparison to Shrek and Shrek 2 are definitely detriments, but nothing big enough to truly bring the whole thing down.
Shrek Forever After
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3 'Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi' (2017)
Directed by Rian Johnson
Definitely the most divisive entry in the legendary Star Wars franchise, Rian Johnson's subversive Episode VIII — The Last Jedi split the fandom right down the middle as soon as it came out. Seven years later, that's still the case. In it, Rey keeps developing her Jedi abilities with the help of Luke Skywalker as the Resistance prepares for battle against the tyrannical First Order.
For some, it's among the most close-to-perfect sci-fi movies of recent years. For others, it's a poorly-written mess that disgraces everything that Star Wars represents. Usually, when opinions on a movie are so polarized and reach such extremes, the truth tends to lie somewhere in the middle. Indeed, The Last Jedi has a less-than-great script and misunderstands a lot of what makes Star Wars what it is. However, it also has gorgeous visuals, many exhilarating action scenes, excellent performances, and an emotionally affecting story that, all in all, works very well on its own. It may not be as good as the original trilogy, but The Last Jedi undoubtedly gets far more hate than it deserves.
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Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
PG-13
Sci-Fi
Action
Fantasy
Adventure
- Release Date
- December 15, 2017
- Cast
- Daisy Ridley , Oscar Isaac , Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , John Boyega , Adam Driver , Andy Serkis , Lupita Nyong'O , Anthony Daniels , Gwendoline Christie , Kelly Marie Tran , Laura Dern
- Runtime
- 152 Minutes
- Writers
- Rian Johnson
2 'Pink Flamingos' (1972)
Directed by John Waters
One of the most infamous cult classics ever, derided by critics like Roger Ebert, Pink Flamingos (directed by cult cinema darling John Waters) advertises itself as the most outrageous film ever made — and it definitely delivers. In it, a notorious Baltimore criminal goes up against a sleazy married couple trying to humiliate her and take her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive."
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What makes Pink Flamingos's bad reputation special is that, while many today are willing to admit that it's conceptually brilliant, it's the kind of cult classic that only a very particular niche will enjoy: those who love the sickest, most twisted, most grotesque films imaginable. These are all inherently negative terms — but that's the whole point of the movie. Its only aim is to smash as many taboos as it can possibly think of, celebrating bad taste (which Waters thinks is what entertainment is all about) in the process.
Pink Flamingos
NC-17
Comedy
Crime
- Release Date
- March 17, 1972
- Cast
- Divine , David Lochary , Mary Vivian Pearce , Mink Stole
- Runtime
- 93 minutes
- Writers
- John Waters
1 'Hail, Caesar!' (2016)
Directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
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The Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, have been behind some of the most iconic masterpieces of every decade since the '80s. Every now and then, though, they make a film that doesn't quite resonate all that well with the public, and Hail, Caesar! was one such picture. It's a showbiz satire where a Hollywood fixer in the 1950s works hard to keep the studio's stars in line. When a studio star disappears, though, he has to deal with more than just the fix.
What initially looks like just another comedy set in Hollywood, though, soon proves to be a politically complex examination of communism, class, power, and how they related to the entertainment industry back in Hollywood's Golden Age. It has outstanding visuals, a clear passion for Classic Hollywood, a star-studded cast of actors giving their roles their all, and a script that displays all the brilliance that one expects from the Coens, placing it among the best whodunnits of the 2010s.
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Rent on Amazon
NEXT:The Worst Cult Classics, Ranked
- Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
- Shrek Forever After
- The Godfather Part III
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