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What is a movie/show that you really weren't looking forward to, but were surprised after viewing...

posted 4 months ago by Hereonlyforfun (157)
14 replies | jump to latest

One of my most recent was that of the latest Mission Impossible movie (the first part). I was not really interested in seeing that but was very pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it was after watching it.

Ah, the new Dune movies, too.

And a sort of retro one - when ads for HBO's The Wire - especially just print ads - started showing up I thought it was going to be a science fiction series and wasn't even going to watch it. Then, out of pure boredom, I watched the first episode and I immediately knew after seeing the intro scene of McNulty talking to a witness of a murder that this was going to be a program to remember.

[–] DarthAckbar (2154) 4 months ago

i wasn't even planning to watch JOKER (2019) and it ended up being a masterpiece

[–] fourlemons (2474) 4 months ago

I put off watching Succession and The Bear for years thinking I wouldn't like them much and I was wrong.

[–] Hereonlyforfun (157) 4 months ago

Have you seen the third season of The Bear, and if so, do you think like I do that many are missing the point of the third season of The Bear and possibly the overall arc of the series so far?

[–] fourlemons (2474) 4 months ago

I have seen the third season and I liked it. I just went onto IMDb to read a few people's reviews of Season 3 and while I can see where they're coming from, I don't share their sentiments. I think the writers have a unique style of giving us a window into the character's minds and histories which can be profound. They often say a lot with a little.

[–] Hereonlyforfun (157) 4 months ago

I don't know too much about others, but my thoughts are the third season is like the splitting of the chrysalis with the beauty of what is inside slowly being revealed as the show has developed from an egg, to a pupa, to the chrysalis, to season four.

Or sort of like each season has been a volume of change and each volume has chapters on the characters following how they evolve and grow.

[–] fourlemons (2474) 4 months ago

That's a very beautiful way to put it. I did wonder as I was watching season 3 at what point the showmakers knew each season if the show would be renewed again. I wondered if for the first couple of seasons they weren't sure about the show's longevity so they kept it somewhat surface level, and maybe after season 2 they realized they had a hit that would go on for a while and felt confident delving further into the characters.

[–] fourlemons (2474) 4 months ago

I should also add that some people were saying the season was too slow, but Carmy is trying to get a Michelin star which no doubt is a slow, exhausting and frustrating process. The slow pace of the season I think helps the viewer to feel those feelings "in their bones".

[–] Stratego (30761) 4 months ago

Tarantino's first 3 films. Had no interest in seeing them in the 90s. First saw Reservoir Dogs in 2000 or something.

[–] Mustang (5520) 4 months ago

Took me a couple of decades to watch the original Roadhouse but when I did I loved it. It got panned at the time and Swayze to me was the pretty boy in Dirty Dancing, another film that took me ages to watch.

The Footloose remake surprised me, it is quite good as it mostly follows the original storyline. I thought it was going to be crap.

TV show wise, One Tree Hill was one I never watched during it's original run. Finally watched it during CoVid 2021 and loved it, have re watched it a few times since. Not what I normally like but it hooked me in.

[–] VinceD (10023) 4 months ago

Fallout (2024) - I never played the games and had no idea what to expect, but I ended up loving the show. I'm looking forward to season 2.

[–] ColumboKate (5724) 4 months ago

24.

For months, my brother tried to get me to watch it and I kept putting it off.

Brit series are about 8 episodes at the very most, so the thought of having to watch 24 episodes bored me. I finally relented and never looked back! I was a quite obsessed with it afterwards.

[–] jriley555 (8343) 4 months ago

The first time I tried to watch 'Don't Look Up', I wasn't in the right frame of mind, and the over-the-top absurdity hit me wrong, or I passed a hasty judgment & turned it off after say 10 minutes.

Then I watched it again. This film got basically panned, but I think its a classic.

Here is a quote from Peter Isherwood, a mashup of autistic savants Steve Jobs/Elon Musk, who basically runs google or something, to the scientist (DeCaprio) who alerted the world to its planetary crisis, the preventive response to which Isherwood busily subverts :

Peter Isherwell : You know that BASH has over 40 million data points on you, on every decision you have made since 1994, Doctor? ... I know what you are. I know who you are. My algorithms have determined eight fundamental consumer profile types. You are a lifestyle idealist. You think you're motivated by beliefs, high ethical beliefs. But you just run towards pleasure and away from pain. Like a... Like a field mouse.

[–] M1sterDoct0r (4423) 4 months ago

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (2023)

I wouldn't say I was hyped for it. I'm not really a D&D guy. I don't hate it, I just never got into it nor did it appeal to me.

But the movie turned out to be hella fun with likeable characters.