20 UNDERrated Movies That Deserved A Better Rep
by UkeItOut | created - 05 Apr 2011 | updated - 05 Apr 2011 | PublicA short (and diverse) list of movies that, in my opinion, deserved a little more credit than they got. This list is in no certain order.
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1. Gothika (2003)
R | 98 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A psychiatrist awakens as a patient in a mental institution, with no memory of the murder she's accused of committing. As she tries to regain her memory, a vengeful spirit manipulates her.
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz | Stars: Halle Berry, Penélope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr., Charles S. Dutton
Votes: 119,222 | Gross: $59.69M
Fun with a decent twist to the end.
2. House on Haunted Hill (1999)
R | 93 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
An amusement park mogul offers a group of diverse people $1,000,000 to spend the night in a haunted house with a horrifying past.
Director: William Malone | Stars: Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Peter Gallagher
Votes: 60,162 | Gross: $40.85M
Sort of a guilty pleasure. Who doesn't love a big, scary house?
3. The Strangers (2008)
R | 86 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A young couple staying in an isolated vacation home are terrorized by three unknown assailants.
Director: Bryan Bertino | Stars: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Alex Fisher
Votes: 143,755 | Gross: $52.60M
I'm a hardened horror fan, and this one gave even me the creeps.
4. Silent Hill (2006)
R | 125 min | Horror, Mystery
A woman, Rose, goes in search for her adopted daughter within the confines of a strange, desolate town called Silent Hill.
Director: Christophe Gans | Stars: Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden, Sean Bean, Deborah Kara Unger
Votes: 244,166 | Gross: $46.98M
I can safely say this was pretty disturbing and creepy, though the end was not much to write home about.
5. Vacancy (2007)
R | 85 min | Horror, Thriller
A married couple becomes stranded at an isolated motel and finds hidden video cameras in their room. They soon realize that unless they escape, they'll be the next victims of a snuff film.
Director: Nimród Antal | Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry
Votes: 107,442 | Gross: $19.36M
This movie was a lot of fun, and anyone who has ever traveled and stayed somewhere a little sketchy or run down has to admit that the concept of this film is always somewhere in the back of your mind.
6. Wild Wild West (1999)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
The two best special agents in the Wild West must save President Grant from the clutches of a diabolical, wheelchair-bound, steampunk-savvy, Confederate scientist bent on revenge for losing the Civil War.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Will Smith, Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek
Votes: 167,338 | Gross: $113.81M
Just good. That's all.
7. Uncle Buck (1989)
PG | 100 min | Comedy
Laid back commitment-phobe Buck babysits his brother's rebellious teenage daughter and her cute younger brother and sister.
Director: John Hughes | Stars: John Candy, Macaulay Culkin, Jean Louisa Kelly, Gaby Hoffmann
Votes: 107,811 | Gross: $66.76M
John Candy is fantastic in this. I laughed so hard at a few parts, I may have peed a little. ;)
8. The Great Outdoors (1988)
PG | 91 min | Comedy
A Chicago man and his family go camping with his obnoxious brother-in-law.
Director: Howard Deutch | Stars: Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Stephanie Faracy, Annette Bening
Votes: 51,523 | Gross: $41.46M
Another guilty pleasure.
9. Connie and Carla (2004)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Crime, Music
A mob mix-up in Chicago sends two chanteuses screaming for L.A., where they score a perfect gig: posing as drag queens on the dinner theater/cabaret circuit. Things get extra-weird when a guy falls for one of the girls.
Director: Michael Lembeck | Stars: Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette, David Duchovny, Stephen Spinella
Votes: 8,650 | Gross: $8.05M
Nia Vardalos is one of a kind. And on that note...
10. My Life in Ruins (2009)
PG-13 | 95 min | Comedy, Romance
A disgruntled tour guide in Greece gains an unexpected new outlook on life thanks to one of the people on what she intends to be her last tour.
Director: Donald Petrie | Stars: Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Rachel Dratch, Alexis Georgoulis
Votes: 20,870 | Gross: $8.66M
This movie was also a great example of her talent. She's just got those facial expressions that make you chuckle.
11. King of California (2007)
PG-13 | 93 min | Comedy, Drama
An unstable dad who after getting out of a mental institution tries to convince his daughter that there's Spanish gold buried somewhere under suburbia.
Director: M. Cahill | Stars: Michael Douglas, Evan Rachel Wood, Willis Burks II, Laura Kachergus
Votes: 23,670 | Gross: $0.26M
I loved this. It was funny and sad and different... it just tickled my fancy.
12. Mad Money (2008)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Three female employees of the Federal Reserve plot to steal money that is about to be destroyed.
Director: Callie Khouri | Stars: Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes, Ted Danson
Votes: 22,837 | Gross: $20.67M
I thought the 3 leading ladies were a very interesting combination. Made for some good laughs.
13. Miss Congeniality (2000)
PG-13 | 109 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
An F.B.I. Agent must go undercover in the Miss United States beauty pageant to prevent a group from bombing the event.
Director: Donald Petrie | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Michael Caine, Benjamin Bratt, Candice Bergen
Votes: 230,492 | Gross: $106.81M
Sandra Bullock is a comedy pro. The sequel deserves some credit too.
14. Matilda (1996)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A girl gifted with a keen intellect and psychic powers uses both to get even with her callous family and free her kindly schoolteacher from the tyrannical grip of a sadistic headmistress.
Director: Danny DeVito | Stars: Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Mara Wilson, Embeth Davidtz
Votes: 174,750 | Gross: $33.08M
Miss Trunchbull was the perfect villain and Miss Honey was the perfect way to balance her out. And Danny DeVito.. just awesome.
15. Saved! (2004)
PG-13 | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
When a girl attending a Christian high school becomes pregnant, all of her former friends turn on her and she is ostracized and demonized.
Director: Brian Dannelly | Stars: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin, Patrick Fugit
Votes: 49,007 | Gross: $8.94M
Everything about this movie was good for a laugh. Special credit to Eva Amurri, who played Cassandra. Every line she had was delivered with just the right amount of I-Don't-Care.
16. Untraceable (2008)
R | 101 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
FBI agent Jennifer Marsh is tasked with hunting down a seemingly untraceable serial killer who posts live videos of his victims on the Internet. As time runs out, the cat and mouse chase becomes more personal.
Director: Gregory Hoblit | Stars: Diane Lane, Colin Hanks, Joseph Cross, Billy Burke
Votes: 52,837 | Gross: $28.69M
A fairly good thriller. Diane Lane does a good job.
17. Rat Race (2001)
PG-13 | 112 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A Las Vegas casino magnate determined to find a new avenue for wagering sets up a race for money.
Director: Jerry Zucker | Stars: Breckin Meyer, Amy Smart, Whoopi Goldberg, Vince Vieluf
Votes: 123,150 | Gross: $56.62M
Just a good cast with good comedic timing. The scene with the helicopter and the ex is awesome.
18. Sister Act (1992)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Family, Music
When a nightclub singer is forced to take refuge from the mob in a convent, she ends up turning the convent choir into a soulful chorus complete with a Motown repertoire, until the sudden celebrity of the choir jeopardizes her identity.
Director: Emile Ardolino | Stars: Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Harvey Keitel, Bill Nunn
Votes: 108,472 | Gross: $139.61M
Whoopi Goldberg as a nun. The film almost doesn't even need a script. It would probably still be funny.
19. Women in Trouble (2009)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama
A serpentine day in the life of ten seemingly desperate women: a porn star, a flight attendant, a psychiatrist, a masseuse, a bartender, a pair of call girls, an actress, a masseuse. All of them with one crucial thing in common. Trouble.
Director: Sebastian Gutierrez | Stars: Carla Gugino, Adrianne Palicki, Connie Britton, Dan Mailley
Votes: 6,586
Not even sure why this was good, I just know it was.
20. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
PG-13 | 116 min | Drama
After years of mother-daughter tension, Siddalee receives a scrapbook detailing the wild adventures of the "Ya-Yas", her mother's girlhood friends.
Director: Callie Khouri | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Ellen Burstyn, Fionnula Flanagan, James Garner
Votes: 20,961 | Gross: $69.60M
The story was good, and the older ladies made a great team. You really buy that they could be old friends.
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