So I was watching The Wicker Man today and couldn't believe how many people didn't "get" it. I don't care if they were making a serious movie or not, the whole thing reeks of "So bad, it's great!" So many awesome scenes of ridiculousness, but my favorite might be Nic Cage's "What?!" reaction when the crow flies out of girl's school desk. That scene is full of some pretty preposterous moments, but that reaction is priceless. I never liked Nic Cage much for a while, but a year ago, I rewatched The Weather Man and it changed my perception of him. This takes it to a new level though.

On the flip side, a movie that I thought actually was good without being "So bad, it's great" is The Happening. I believe a select few here agree and quite a few disagree. But I dug it. It's no masterpiece, but it's not the god-awful mess most make it out to be. I'll follow Shyamalan anywhere... except The Last Airbender.

Anyway, without ridiculing me, what are some of the more hated films that you think aren't that bad after all, "So bad it's great" or otherwise?

I thought The Happening was one of Shyamalan's better movies. Maybe it's because everyone said how awful it was and I'd heard plot details that made it sound hilariously bad before I watched it, but when I did I was pleasantly surprised.

I thought Catwoman was entertaining . I only saw it once when it first came out on DVD though. Maybe I'd change my mind now.

The movie Abandon with Katie Holmes was a very solid movie, IMO. I thought it was well-made and almost hypnotic. A few critics (very, very few) seemed to "get it," but for the most part it was quite underrated.

Wicker Park was really good (not Wicker Man though ).

It has been a really long time since I've seen it, but I remember enjoying Tank Girl.

I'm sure there are some much better examples but these are just some that came to mind.

The first thing I thought about was THE INFORMERS. Loved every second of that movie.

I really liked Wicker Park. And I think lots of people do too.

Intolerable Cruelty.

Norbit.

Wicker Park's very stylish and enjoyable. It has an appealing, quirky...vibe. And a cool soundtrack.

I absolutely LOVE Domino. Not in a "so bad, it's good" way, but rather in a "this movie is badass and schizoid and wonderful" way. It's such an energetic film. It should collapse under the weight of all its preoccupations and eccentricities, and many would say it does, but I feel it powers through to the end and winds up being this frenzied, fascinating, colorful panorama of American oddity. Just consider the scene where they're all tripping in the desert and Tom Waits shows up as a traveling preacher. How could so many people hate this movie?

Does Miami Vice count? I know a lot of people left scratching their heads in 2006, but a lot more seem to have now embraced it as the cool, hypnotic, sexy, and enthralling art-house action movie it is. Colin Farrell and Gong Li were such a terrific screen couple (the Cuba dancing scene is so hot), even if he was having a bad hair day and she was struggling with her English. One complaint: I wish Michael Mann had never restored the original opening for home video, a more conventional start with credits and a setup for the nightclub prologue. I miss the fuck-you-better-catch-up-quick in media res opening of the theatrical version.

Get the hell out.

Miami Vice shouldn't count, but people are retarded so I guess it does.

I absolutely adored MIAMI VICE when I saw it in theaters, but I haven't seen it since.

How about everyone loved it and you Hated it. Terrence Malick comes to mind there.

I'm a sucker for Action adventure movies, so the Allen Quarterman movies with Richard Chamberlain, Oscar, Assassins, and Daylight with Sylvester Stallone. And a lot of later Carpenter films have gotten passes from me.

I agree Gun, DOMINO is awesome. One of my favorite action flicks.


I liked GHOSTS OF MARS . And I'm embarrassed to say this, but I didn't think GIGLI was that bad. I didn't find it GREAT, but it wasn't the abomination it was made out to be.

I don't know about Domino, haha. It's like looking at a Yello Strobe Light while someone sprays water in your face listening to songs your not the biggest fan of.

It might be a bit of an overstatement to say everyone loves Malick. I'd imagine he's quite divisive once you move beyond certain circles.

Agreed. It's very flawed, sure, but had the annoying "Bennifer" craze not been raging, I'm convinced it would've received politely mediocre reviews and quickly vanished into genial obscurity the way, say, A Lot Like Love has or the Shall We Dance remake. As opposed to being this massive target of a nation's derision and effectively ending Martin Brest's directorial career.

And obviously Ishtar isn't nearly as bad as many say, either.

You guys lost me on Domino. I couldn't get into it.

You're right. I'm sure if it had been some indie with a cast of small names it wouldn't have gotten the treatment it did.

Everyone hated Matrix Revolutions, I loved it.
Every non-movie board person loved Crash, I fucking hate that movie with the deepest part of my soul.

I'd also like to say that as far as the huge box office bombs of the last two decades, like Pluto Nash, Cuthroat Island, Hudson Hawk, I didn't find them so much as bad as just mediocre on many levels.

Agree on Wicker Man. That movie is kind of a work of genius in its own right. I think that film HAS to have been as much of a social experiment as a piece of entertainment.

Also agree on Tank Girl - just watched for the 2nd time after 16 years and it holds up pretty decently for a 'so bad its good' movie. The Kangaroo people beg the ? what were they thinking though.

Sucker Punch. I can see why people didn't like it, but hell, I did.

Crank 2. That movie is awesome.

Spider-man 3. Perhaps because I don't really care about the Venom character.

DOA: Dead or Alive. I don't know if was as much unliked as just undiscovered, but it was pure guilty pleasure fun and surprising high production value.

Willard. Didn't get much praise but I love that movie. It was perfect. C. Glover is perfect in it.

Willard is one of my 25 favorite films. Crispin Glover was awesome.

I guess the whole ten yards works for me. It's all dreadful nonsense and completely different in its farcical, preposterous tone to its predecessor, but I found the random bits of comedy that do not mix at all, jammed into one space to be rather refreshingly out of the realm of reason.

Ugh, The Whole Ten Yards was unwatchable. Especially Kevin Pollak's bits.

The Blair Witch Proyect. The ending seriously scared the shit out of me

Sucker Punch