Films you just took a chance on one day that ended up becoming favourites of yours

[sueb1863]

The Emperor's New Groove. It looked stupid to me from the trailers so I skipped it in theaters. Saw it years later and thought it was really clever and very funny.

Also the 1936 version of A Tale of Two Cities with Ronald Colman. Caught it on TV one day and I'd never read or seen the actual story, being only familiar with the 'Tis a far. far better thing' line. Great movie, sort of hammy in places but still entertaining, and Colman's performance is one of my all-time faves.

 

[Mace Dolex]

Donnie Darko - I read reviews on how mind boggling and weird the movie had in a cult like kind of way, and a classmate who'd seen it said it was very trippy that it required repeated viewings to take it all in. Lo and behold I rented it and found it to be really good in a weird not for everyone type of way that I recommended it to a co-worker who also liked it.

Borat - after a string of lame comedies the studios were churning out I gave this one a chance and loved it, so far no other comedy movie has made me laugh like Borat.

The Shawshank Redemption - you can always count on AMC to show damn good movies but I think in this case the references to it on Family Guy made me a fan of this movie.

 

[Deserana]

Kick Ass -
Was expected just another hum-drum superhero flick like Spiderman or The Incredible Hulk so I was incredibly surprised that this was an over the top and insanely fun film. The soundtrack is incredible as were the action scenes. This film is the one I think of whenever I hear "what film surprised you" I've watched it numerous times since.

Children Of Men-
Wow. This film blew me away. I'd heard good things about it but I finished think I'd just watched a masterclass in film making. The two 7 minute one-shot scenes stand as some of my favourite in cinema to date. Not to mention the whole film felt so ******* real!

 

[Donnie Darko]

Swingers

Back in middle school, it one some MTV award so my friends wanted to watch it. I wanted to watch something else (Pulp Fiction, I think, which I had already seen), but they won out. I watched Swingers with them that afternoon, then went to Blockbuster to rent it so I could get my older brother to watch it with me that same night.

It hasn't left my top 5 ever since.

 

[BestGirl]

Sherlock Holmes 1

I hated the trailers and only watched this movie because I was bored. It ended up being my favorite film of 2009.

 

[John Locke]

Pitch Perfect
X-Men and Spider-Man (Didn't like comics then)

 

[DCW]

Three classics I'd never seen and had no real interest in turned out to be some of my favorite movies of all time:

1. Rocky
2. Forrest Gump
3. Shawshank Redemption

 

[dude stannis]

The Thing (1982) - Rented it because Kurt Russell and the cover looked cool.

Aliens (1986) - I was 11 and it was too damn hot to sleep that night. I was channel surfing and landed on it.

 

[scatterax]

Casablanca. Thought it was an old boring chick flic. Caught it on TCM, recorded it to watch later. That movie really holds up well, and has a modern pace. Super good story and performances all around.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

Another Earth - was just randomly browsing through the years films and the title caught my eye. Saw the trailer (loved the music from Cinematic Orchestra) and decided it was worth a go... And it definitely was.

As my first introduction to Brit Marling (who I now adore, and will pretty much watch anything she's involved in), I am so so glad I gave it a chance.

 

[DarthDorranceBane]

2001: A Space Odyssey
- my head was aching badly the day I saw this. I don't know if that contributes to really appreciating a film that I would find boring and sleepy on a regular day.

Blade Runner, The Prestige
- I have to rewatch these films twice to really appreciate them.

 

[Maximus One]

The first two that come to mind are Gangs of New York and The Last Samurai. I just didn't care if I ever saw these or not and ended up watching them with some friends one day and fell in love with both films. Trying to think of some others but none had the impact those two did.

 

[Maximus One]

I randomly saw Altered States on Bravo one night about 6-7 years ago and it quick became one of my all time favorite movies too.

 

[Jake Cassidy]

Pitch Perfect

 

[redhawk23]

I randomly saw Altered States on Bravo one night about 6-7 years ago and it quick became one of my all time favorite movies too.

I had a similar experience, finding it in a bargain bin and picking it up completely blind for 3 dollars. Crazy film.

 

[Maximus One]

Brilliant film! Lol

I gotta say though, nowadays I feel like I'm taking a pretty big chance on basically any movie I watch, lol. I've gotten to where I watch a ton more tv shows than movies. Plus, my entertainment time is too damn precious to waste on so much Hollywood dreck

 

[TheDreamMaster]

Surprisingly, Oldboy. It was before my local Suncoast went out of business in later 2004. I'm guessing it had just gotten its release in America, but I always went in to look at anime and foreign films, to see what they had. I happened upon Oldboy, read the premise, and bought it blindly. Its now one of my top ten films.

 

[James]

The first two that come to mind are Gangs of New York and The Last Samurai. I just didn't care if I ever saw these or not and ended up watching them with some friends one day and fell in love with both films. Trying to think of some others but none had the impact those two did.

Yes indeed, The Last Samurai for sure. I had assumed it would be garbage but watched it some years after its release. I've watched it a bunch of times since.

 

[Drizzle]

Kick-Ass
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
How to Train Your Dragon
Up (because a movie about an old man didn't really appeal to me when it was first announced, it turned out to be one of my favorite Pixar films)
Cabin in the Woods

All of those didn't really impress me with their marketing campaigns, but they all turned out to be some of my favorites of the past five years.

 

[StarLord]

Swingers

Back in middle school, it one some MTV award so my friends wanted to watch it. I wanted to watch something else (Pulp Fiction, I think, which I had already seen), but they won out. I watched Swingers with them that afternoon, then went to Blockbuster to rent it so I could get my older brother to watch it with me that same night.

It hasn't left my top 5 ever since.

Have you seen Made? That's a pretty good movie too.

 

[Donnie Darko]

I've seen Made. I thought it was ok, but I didn't love it and had no real drive to revisit it.

 

[Gianakin_]

Stranger than Fiction

 

[Maximus One]

^^^ Proof that Will Ferrel is ****ing brilliant. Seriously. Hands down his best role ever.

 

[Gianakin_]

That and Anchorman, yes. Also see Winter Passing if you love some subdued Will.

 

[Maximus One]

Dude I didn't even know he was in Winter's Bone. I'm gonna have to check that out now