Underrated Movies

Why Some Movies Make It and Some Movies Don't

It is a tragedy when a great film goes unwatched because the public didn't know about it or because it didn't appeal to them. This happens more frequently than one might think. A slew of finely crafted movies get overlooked because they were poorly marketed. Worse yet, many entertaining "popcorn movies" get snubbed by critics on a constant basis . Critics review movies for the public, but all too often they are not representing the common movie watcher's views and interests. Whether a film is spurned by the pedantic or by the plebian, it is detestable when these films are not properly appreciated.

Unfortunately, most critics have sunk to an elitist, narrowminded perspective that the public cannot relate to. Because of this, the public does not trust reviewers anymore and some great movies were ignored by the masses.

The only way that some of these underwatched movies could have been seen would have been through good reviews from the critics, and/or great word-of-mouth advertising.

Critics Have Lost Their Credibility

Many movie goers view critics as having two interests in mind when they review movies:

1. They have an inflated ego; because of this, they extol on the virtues of obscure movies, trying to "inform" the public of something they don't know. Which leads naturally into...

2. They want to illustrate that they are more insightful, more aware, and more educated than the average person. They see movies as art, while the average movie goer sees them as simple entertainment. I can appreciate a movie for both its artistic integrity and for its entertainment value just as many other average movie goers can.

I feel that after seeing a few too many movies, most critics become jaded. They don't see each new film on its own term. The banality of the more "run of the mill" films are not entertaining to them anymore.

The average movie goer of today wonders, "What does a critic have to offer that a testimonial from another movie goer won't?" There is now a great disparity between the criteria for an average person to enjoy a film and the criteria required for a critic to appreciate it.

A critic's opinion and the general public's opinion differ primarily in their reason for viewing a film. A critic views it to analyze it, judge it, to compare it to other films, and to point out its weaknesses and strengths. Conversely, the public watches a film in order to be entertained. They prefer to temporarily escape from their reality and relax.

Underappreciated Movies:

Here is my list of movies that were either never seen, or underrated by supercilious critics: (Either way, these movies deserve more credit!)

1. The Game
2. Equilibrium
3. Unbreakable
4. The Final Cut
5. Suspect Zero
6. Perfect World
7. Sliding Doors
8. The Usual Suspects
9. Intersection
10. Memento
11. The Island
12. Shaun of the Dead
13. A Knight's Tale
14. Prophecy
15. Fright Night
16. Heat
17. Dogma
18. Fight Club
19. Happiness
20. Office Space
21. American Psycho
22. True Romance
23. Dark Blue
24. About a Boy
25. Wimbledon
26. Garden State
27. Flight of the Navigator
28. Man on Fire
29. Cuffs
30. Iron Eagle
31. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
32. Donnie Darko
33. Evil Dead
34. Freaks
35. Texas Chainsaw Massacre
36. Scarface
37. Eraserhead
38. The Warriors
39. They Live
40. Heathers
41. 12 Monkeys
42. Edward Scissorhands
43. eXistenZ
44. Event Horizon
45. Big Fish
46. Suspiria
47. Demons
48. Dark City
49. Lost Highway
50. Arlington Road
51. Big Trouble in Little China
52. Buffalo Soldiers
53. Cube
54. Freeway
55. Go
56. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
57. Gattica
58. Pump Up the Volume
59. Stake Out
60. The Seventh Sign
61. Disclosure
62. Best in Show
63. Not Another Teen Movie
64. Waiting
65. Van Wilder
66. Romeo is Bleeding
67. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
68. Snatch
69. Galaxy Quest
70. October Sky
71. Requiem for a Dream
72. The Family Man
73. Boondock Saints
74. The Cutting Edge
75. Spirited Away
76. Starship Troopers
77. The Butterfly Effect
78. Team America:World Police
79. Deep Blue Sea
80. Diggstown
81. Frailty
82. Serendipity
83. Someone Like You
84, Rising Sun
85. Wrong Turn
86. It Could Happen to You
87. Night of the Creeps
88. In Good Company
89. Stakeout
90. Less Than Zero
91. The Ref
92. St. Elmos Fire
93. 13 Ghosts
94. Payback
95. Dead Again
96. The Abyss
97. The Boondock Saints
98. The Specialist
99. Assasins
100. Under the Tuscan Sun
101. Sin City
102. Crash
103. A History of Violence