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

[Rockbottom]

Could be films you just ended up seeing because another film you wanted to see was sold out or a DVD you just picked up on a whim or even a movie on TV you just came across by mistake and gave a chance.

For me The Prestige is one for me. One day I was in a store and saw Christian Bale and Christopher Nolan's names on a DVD cover (I loved Batman Begins but this was pre-Dark Knight) and just decided to pick it up knowing nothing about it and to this day its still one of my favourite films.

 

[Tanin]

1408
The Neverending Story
Pig Hunt
Ghost Cat

 

[childeroland]

The Blue Kite. It was mentioned in a review for another film I love, so I checked it out.

Millennium Mambo. I'd read that the lead actress used to be a soft core erotic star so I just gave it a look, out of (*cough* intellectual *cough*) curiosity. Ended up loving it on its own decidedly non-erotic terms.

Christiane F. I mistook the director's name for that of another (don't recall who now) whose film I was looking for. Got a copy and fell in love with it.

A Brighter Summer Day. Only watched it initially because I'd just seen Crouching Tiger and was looking for another film with Chang Chen. Discovered Edward Yang that way and immediately sought out his other films.

 

[Still Wynning]

For me, it was Kung Fu Panda. I liked Dreamworks films, like The Prince of Egypt and Shrek, but I wasn't really a big fan of most of their output at the time, so I wasn't expecting much. Boy, I was so wrong.

Megamind and How to Train Your Dragon are some of the other Dreamworks films I decided to give a go and ended up really liking, especially the latter. I rank that one right up with some of Pixar's best, maybe even a little higher.

My opinion of Dreamworks has greatly improved over the past few years. If it wasn't for Kung Fu Panda, I probably wouldn't have given those other films a chance.

Definitely looking forward to How to Train Your Dragon 2.

 

[Duke]

I had never seen American Beauty, till one day there was nothing on cable interesting to my liking & they were showing this film. I decided to watch it & just absolutely fell in love with.

 

[James]

I'll echo Kung Fu Panda, way better than I expected.

3.10 to Yuma was a big one for me, picked up the DVD on a whim one day and by the end I was asking "Why did no one tell me about this?!"

 

[zeroapoc]

Dark City

 

[jacobed]

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
The Deer Hunter

 

[StarLord]

'See No Evil, Hear No Evil', 'Coming To America' and 'SLC Punk'.

 

[Warhammer]

Dark City
American History X
The Sunset Limited
The Phantom
The Shadow
Friday

 

[Octoberist]

Vivre Sa Vie (My Life to Live) is a movie that changed my views on movies, along with FIGHT CLUB.

Also:

DARK CITY
MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO

 

[redhawk23]

Children of Men- My parents rented it when it first came out to DVD and I popped it in on a rainy day. Fantastic.
Blue Valentine
Godzilla Returns '84

Maybe not one of my "favorites" but definitely one the best of the year: I had some free tickets to This Is the End sent to me. I wasn't interested in the film at all, the whole Apatow crew having kind of grown stale, but damn if that movie is not one of the funniest that I've seen in years, all of the actors perfectly playing off of their public personas.

 

[pr0xyt0xin]

Almost Famous. Chose to watch it very randomly and it has been my number one favorite for a long time now.

 

[Ultimatehero]

Of all the films I saw with having no idea what it was about (no prior trailers) other than the back cover, I took this film out from the library and liked it a lot. Granted, I could relate a lot to having a speech impediment and this is the first film I saw that dealt with it realistically. Just the right amount of difficulty of having it without having it be over-bearing. Plus, I have a similar kind of excitable friend who I look after.

Unsure if I like it because it's truly good or because I can relate a lot to it.

But, it was the closest example I could find since most others I've seen promotional material for beforehand with theaters, PPV, and youtube.

 

[redhawk23]

The Lives of Others- Watched it for extra credit for a German class in college.

Troll Hunter, watched this just recently, very fun.

 

[jaymes_e06]

Oblivion
Death Proof
Requiem for a Dream
Pan's Labyrinth

 

[Steamteck]

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire hunter. I was very pleasantly surprised by that film.

 

[Schlosser85]

I didn't like the idea of Daniel Craig as Bond at all. I just let myself get dragged by a friend to see Skyfall at the theater. He didn't like the idea of the casting either, and isn't even especially into Bond movies, but he loved it.

I went and thought it was awesome, and then sought out Casino Royale and very much enjoyed it too. Craig might be my favorite Bond.

 

[the last son]

Wet Hot American Summer. Just happened to be on comedy central years back and I loved it.

 

[Dr. Evil]

Two John Candy films: Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Summer Rental

 

[Soapy]

Drive.

The marketing made it seem like a Fast and Furious ripoff, but I took a chance on it when I saw it on Netflix and it became one of my all-time favorites.

 

[zeroapoc]

Once

I had no idea what it was and happened to catch it one night. It didn't seem like my type of thing but I watched it all and loved it.

 

[CB Fan]

Chronicle
The Devil Wears Prada
The Perks of Being A Wallflower

 

[Victarion]

I was browsing Target's DVDs, saw Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, and decided to give it a shot. I had just finished re-reading the Dark Tower and wanted an Eastwood western. Of the westerns I've seen (TG, TB, & TU, the remake of 3:10 to Yuma, and this), Unforgiven has been my favorite.

 

[redhawk23]

My friend and I rented Wild Things knowing almost nothing about it. It ended up being completely ridiculous but the ever twisting plot was really entertaining, among other things of course.