I’ll start: “Happy Death Day”
There are so many movies I could list but for now I’ll go with About Time (2013). Everything about it makes it seem like it would be a dumb sappy romcom but it manages to hit hard.
EDIT: This is the type of image they used to market the film, which is really misleading.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Surprisingly good action and a decent plot to boot.
Doom 2005 wasn’t bad.
I’ve not seen it since it came out but Crank (2006) is a terrible, dumb action comedy that has no right being that entertaining. It’s sequel Crank High Voltage is less good but also still enjoyable. I should rewatch them see if that’s rose tinted glasses or not!
Crank is great! Another JS movie in that category is The Transporter. Totally a B action movie but the premise is unique, the fight scenes are clever (the oil fight!), and the electronic music score is très magnifique. The love aspect, however, is terribly written and cringey. Crank did that part better, and Amy Smart is hilarious.
The first Transporter is a genuinely good film, the 2nd is also pretty decent. But I’m not sure the third and 4th are worth the time of day.
Aren’t those movies in the same universe as Glass and Split?
I do not believe so! They’re not superhero films, are you thinking of Unbreakable?
Yes I absolutely am! Thank you!
Reanimator
Con Air
It is absolutely not well written but I just love how the film and all the actors are completely aware of how dumb the entire thing is.
Oh, and casting Chief Engineer Miles O’Brien as the jerk that everyone hates is the icing on this guilty-pleasure cake.
Con Air is an amazing “Sunday evening after eating too much dinner” film.
Cop Land.
I didn’t have Sly Stallone outacting Robert Deniro as a possibility, but then that movie happened.
Cop Land is amazing. Most people forget that Stallone has been nominated for three academy awards.
The Suicide Squad from 2021. The previous Suicide Squad movie was a disaster and you’re making ANOTHER ONE? That movie had no right to be as entertaining as it was.
Also The Batman. Comic book movie: check. Comic book character that has been done to death: check. Everything has to be grim and dark and realistic: check. When I say “everything has to be dark” I also mean the visuals: check. But it was fine, surprisingly.
James Gunn can make decent cape slop
The In-Laws (2003)
Right before his daughter’s wedding, a man finds out his future son-in-law’s dad is a spy.
The Cell (2000)
A detective has to enter the mind of a serial killer and search his dreams for the location of his latest victim before time runs out.
Skulls (2000)
At an ivy league school, a law student joins a secret fraternity known only as “The Skulls.”
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
Two stoners get the munchies for White Castle cheeseburger sliders.
Swiss Army Man (2016)
I’m not even going to try and explain this.
Old School (2003)
A group of men wanting to relive their college days start a fraternity at a nearby school.
Teknolust (2002)
CW: y2k aesthetic, Tilda Swinton in multiple roles.
Do not read wikipedia’s synopsis of it first unless you want to spoil it. you can find it here on archive.org.
Battleship.
Yeah, the movie based off the board(?) game.
Feel free to fire up the torches and start handing out the pitchforks, because I’m not playing by the rules.
It doesn’t just look like it will suck, it looks like a ‘so bad it is bad’ type of movie, an overbudgeted ‘this is what is wrong with movies these days’ sort of unmitigated hot wet trash from a dumpster fire in the bad part of town.
It isn’t well written.
It isn’t well acted.
I honestly can’t even promise a good time.
These are the thoughts that went through my mind when I read about it before watching: “This is going to be awful and a waste of my time. These actor names kinda look familiar but I don’t know who any of these people are. Is Rihanna her first name or last name? Isn’t she just a singer. It better not have that stupid umbrella song. Wait, Liam Neeson is in this? Is he doing okay? Did he lose a bet? Does he need money? I bet that evil Jar’jar forced him to to do this. Wait, running time over 2 hours?! How is that even… the board never took more than like 15 minutes… except cheaters moving their… fuck me, I already need a drink.”
Go into the movie with that mindset. Be angry at it before it starts.
Event Horizon. The trailers made it seem like just another 90s sci-fi horror flick trying to ride the Alien high, but it ended up being such a good movie with a tight script, beautiful set design, actually smart characters, and great acting.
I will forever mourn the movie we could have had. The theatrical cut ended up being a Disney movie compared to the original. Alas, all footage is lost to time.
i’ve got a long list, but most recently is Heart Eyes (2025)
i went in thinking boring bullshit teenage slasher, but i’m pretty shocked how well written the dialogue is. the movie is cookie-cutter for sure, but the dialogue is well done.
100% agree with op. Just saw Happy Death Day recently for the first time and was impressed by how fun it was, but it took me a while.
American Werewolf in London
The title alone makes it sound like a cheesy 80s goofy movie…and it kinda is. But the practical effects are right up there with The Thing. It makes you invested in the characters and the main conflict is really tough. It’s more dark and gritty than you would expect, especially near the end. The werewolf transformation scene has some of the best practical effects in film. It’s stomach churning.
