My Top 3 Underrated Movies!

I did a post on my top 3 underrated TV shows, so I thought it was about time that I followed up with my top 3 underrated movies! (And my definition of underrated are things I love that nobody knows what I'm talking about when I bring them up. So, as a friend pointed out, they might technically be more accurately termed "cult classics", but if I can't bring it up with people at work and think there's a chance they might know it, I call it underrated!)

The Count Of Monte Cristo

This movie is incredible, and everyone I know who has watched it has been blown away. I actually saw it in theaters with my friend (hi Kara!), so this isn't like the next movie I'm going to bring up that may have just skipped theaters altogether. It is really rare that I run across someone who has watched this movie, and I can't for the life of me figure out why that is. It's so incredibly good!

There are lots of movies that I like for specific reasons, but this movie really is the complete package. It has great actors, a really intense and compelling plot (I've never read the book but it's certainly a famous one, and based on the movie, I can see why! I need to buy that book), and there's no super fancy graphics but it is visually appealing . . . I think marketing just dropped the ball with this movie. 

So that's all I have to say, just go watch it. This one, I swear, you won't be disappointed. The next ones might be more subjective, but this one is just all-around wonderful.

Wet Hot American Summer 

 * Don't close your browser! Yes, I know it sounds like a porno title, but it's not, it's a comedy!

 

First of all, I don't like this new DVD cover because I feel like it's trying to capitalize on the fame of so many of the stars in it. Look, here is the original cover:

 

The movie is an ensemble cast, and frankly, I'm annoyed that they cut out half the characters, put the most famous ones on the front, and added that it's from the makers of "Role Models". LAME!

What has always made this movie so cool is that it doesn't try hard to be funny. It's got great comedic actors, a 70's camp movie spoof plot, and the most random one-liners ever. As far as I know (and I didn't bother checking any official movie database, so I could very well be wrong) this is the first movie that really showcased Paul Rudd's comedic chops (and David Hyde Pierce, for that matter! I never thought Frasier was all that funny). This movie is one of those great ones that feels like a bunch of random comedians hijacked a movie set, goofed around for a day, and then put it out on DVD. It's just all around fun to watch, which you don't find much of these days.

I'm guessing that this movie won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I've never had anyone watch it and not find it, at the very least, mildly entertaining. I could watch it a thousand times and never get bored, and with the splash that movies like "The Hangover" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" have made, I think this movie could make a resurgence (or it's first real surgence, at the very least! I swear this movie just skipped theaters entirely). So you should go watch it right now, and then when it ends up being a big deal you can say that you always knew how cool it was ;)

Shaun Of The Dead

Now, I think more people have heard of this film (particularly after "Hot Fuzz" came out and got such a buzz) but I still feel like people give me the blank, uncomprehending stare whenever I try to reference it. (And in case you're wondering, this movie is way, way funnier than "Hot Fuzz" was).

This movie is kind of a zombie/horror film spoof, and it has a very British sense of humor. So it's pretty deadpan, which I don't always find funny, but it works well once you factor in the absurdity of the zombies and how they are portrayed. I don't like zombie or horror films but I adore this movie, so it's not a humor that is based on a love of gore. It's actually a movie that seems to make fun of that gore. There's really no good way to describe the movie or argue that you should see it. You just should, because it's funny! I don't know anyone who has seen it and not liked it. (That seems to be my usual argument, but it's all I have to hold up as proof that I'm not the only person who has seen and liked the movie!)

So those are my top 3, what are yours? If so many people in the world have missed out on my favorite movies, I'm sure there are lots of other movies that I'm currently missing out on as well, and I'd love to know what they are! 

 

 

** This post contains Amazon affiliate links. All that means is that if you use my link to access Amazon and buy something, Amazon gives me a kick-back. I don't even think it matters if you buy what I'd linked to in the first place, they're just happy that you ended up buying something from them at all! So if you need to purchase anything at all on Amazon, use my link to access the site, and help me afford a baby, by golly! :) Or not. It's your choice, and I'll love and respect you either way. But it would be cool if you did ;)