The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

I am hoping that you will dredge your memory for film(s) that surprised you contrary to any knowledge or expectations that you had for it (them) when you first saw it(them).
There are lots of movies, like Strangeglove that I have loved, also lots of non-Science Fiction that I loved, but I am talking about the odd film that you had no great expectations for, didn't expect but that impressed the hell out of you - of the general type of interest here (SF et al.)
I have several that I could mention, but the one I'll mention here is The Quiet Earth

_________________
Thar’s only two possibilities: Thar is life out there in the universe which is smarter than we are, or we’re the most intelligent life in the universe. Either way, it’s a mighty sobering thought. - Walt Kelly

Sin City and V for Vendetta, both from 2005, were movies I just saw back in high school because friends were going. I didn't really expect much from either of them, but ended up really liking both of them at the time. Now, they don't necessarily hold up as well for me today, but I still remember the experiences of coming out of the theater going, "Wow, that was way better than I expected."

I'll go with surpised for now. Though in some cases I was moved as well.

From a marathon I would say Frequency. Along the same lines, Equilibrium.

Non-marathon movie would be Searching for Bobby Fischer. The wife suggested it, I thought it was going to be more of a documentary looking for Bobby Fischer. A few years later my wife told me Lucas should have gotten Steven Zaillian to direct the young nakin scenes. If you have kids and haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Runner up, only because I knew more about it, but still found it very touching in spots was October Sky.

I'm almost embarassed to put this here, but back in 1990, I had a brutal schedule in college and had taken a break from TV so I hadn't seen any ads for this movie. My friend Ken talked me in to going to see it, and based on the title I was expected a horror film. Yes, it is campy and silly, but it was so unexpected, I hadn't seen one ad for it, that I was suprised by .

For suprisingly moved, I'll put in two Pixar films.

Up. I still am touched by the opening sequence, and find the room oddly dusty as I think about it as I am writing now. Same goes with the ending, with Russell's dad still absent and Carl filling in. I've seen too many cases like Russell's, so while the rest of the movie is difficult to suspend disbelief, those bits are all too real.

Wall-E. Yes, it is preachy at times, but the silent portions of the film have some of the same sweetness you find in a lot of Chaplin films. Especially his inteactions with Eve.

And someone Pixar picked up who has done good work, put out a very touching film in the Iron Giant. My older son was inconsolable the first time he saw it when the nuke went off with the Iron Giant.

_________________
The wages of sin are royalties.

Whenever somebody brings up the subject of pleasant surprises and/or guilty pleasures when it comes to movies, there are several examples for me but one that always comes first in the discussion. Now that more than a decade has passed, I can also categorize it as severely underrated, in my humble opinion.

I don't feel like less of a man when I also say that there are a handful of movies that ALWAYS make me cry like a little girl no matter how many times I watch them. (I am ashamed to admit that TITANIC is one of them... but still). This particular film also falls into that category, and it's a little film called DEEP IMPACT. There's just something about it that is satisfying and surprisingly effective, and unfortunately it is usually buried in the shadow of the crappy version called ARMAGEDDON which came out during the same calendar year.

_________________
Aliens? Us?
Is this one of your Earth "jokes?"

Big Fish is a movie that really spoke to me. I can't quite exactly nail down the entire reason for it but it always leaves me feeling inspired and with a sense of peace. The idea that your perception has everything to do with how you remember where you've been and what you've done. It's such a deep movie and so visually stimulating.

Shutter Island surprised the hell out of me. I was expecting, (like most people), a supernatural based movie like a house on haunted hill rip-off. What I got was an almost unparalleled psychological thriller that kept me guessing until the end. Awesome flick.

_________________
"Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you." ~Klaatu

The two best non-marathon theater experiences I've ever had were movies I saw last year that I knew little to nothing about going in. I saw Stoker only because it happened to be playing right when I wanted to see a movie and didn't care which. I hadn't heard of it before I got to the theater. The other was World's End. I knew who was in it and nothing more. I hadn't even seen a trailer.

This has caused me to rethink my stance on spoilers. I've never really cared about movies being spoiled. Now, I mostly avoid trailers. I still won't get upset if something gets spoiled, but I won't go out of my way to learn much about a movie that I'm likely to see.