Pretty classical question, curious to see what you all think.

For me, it’s Pacific Rim. It is mostly about giant robots fighting huge monsters, but the the psychological treatment of the characters is more refined than someone would expect for this kind of movies.

spoiler

And the intro is very poignant scene, again, not something you would expect in this kind of movies.

  • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz
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    1 year ago

    Last Action Hero (1993). It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s way better than its reception warranted. I think most people who don’t like it, just didn’t really get it.

    • hydrashok@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      That movie is sooooo underrated.

      The critics never really understood it at the time, and the movie suffered from poor press. Definitely a cult classic. Also love that Arnie got Sly to do a Terminator poster for the video store, and all the references to other movies hidden all over the place. It’s an Easter egg extravaganza!

      • sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz
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        1 year ago

        I didn’t see it for years after its release, just because of the bad press. When I finally ended up renting it, I really enjoyed it.

    • canthidium@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Those roaches were pure nightmare fuel when I was a kid. I actually just rewatched Creepshow 1 and 2 pretty recently.

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    Pacific Rim also makes great use of its aspect ratio, to make the mechs and monster look HUGE.

    Speaking of monsters, perhaps Monsters (2010) would be my suggestion.
    It gave the director an in-road into the film industry, and is broadly appreciated, but it didn’t redefine filmmaking in the way the crew thought it would.
    Made for less half a million, the techniques used in the film to make it look more expensive weren’t adapted as widely as presumed.
    It’s a shame, because now all movies seem to look very low-budget or very high-budget, and the mid-budget film has all but disappeared. This offered an opportunity to provide a mid-budget-looking film, without the struggles for financing. It’s possible, though, that Edwards’ next film (The Creator) will take advantage of his previous work, and the studios will produce some new IP without the $200M risk that’s usually associated.

    • Xilly@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Pacific Rim had a terrible plot but it didn’t matter because the mechs were so cool. Plus it had Ron Perlman in it.

      • AnthoNightShift@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        It had Ron Perlman in it” is the bets selling point for any movie/tv show. During the Beauty & The Beast TV craze they made an album of him as his Vincent character reading friggin poetry, and it works!!!

    • Blaze@discuss.tchncs.deOP
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      1 year ago

      Pacific Rim also makes great use of its aspect ratio, to make the mechs and monster look HUGE.

      Definitely!

      Thanks for your suggestion!

  • hydrashok@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    It Happened One Night (1934) with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. Doubt many here have seen it just simply due to its age, but I always find myself recommending it. It was appreciated at the time – won Best Picture in 1935 – but likely isn’t well known today outside of film circles and history groups.

    Pretty much the template for every

    spoiler

    “a man and a woman thrown into a situation where each has a secret and aren’t too fond of each other at first but end up falling in love anyway”

    movie that’s come after it.

    Still holds up very well, in my opinion, and avoids a lot of the pacing issues that some movies from that era really suffer from. I watch it once every few months.

    Do note that, being made in the 30s, there are social and racial things that are wildly different than today. Very much like watching Pepe Le Pew or Speedy Gonzalez cartoons today.

  • Xilly@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Pacific Rim made me think of Ron Perlman who was in Ice Pirates. It had an interesting premise and I would have loved to see more of that universe. I mean, it had space herpes!

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    1 year ago

    Macross Plus (was originally a mini series). It reflects a lot about our current times and the possible future to come. Has some amazing dog-fights, plot twists and some of the best music around.

    SSS tier.

    Runner up: Patlabor 1. A masterpiece in many ways.

    A tier

    Original Tron. It was the matrix before the Matrix (watch one before the other for extra fun). Again,really reflects the current times and possible future to come.

  • Headbangerd17@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Gattaca (1997) - Sure it has a relatively high IMDB score but no one I know has seen it and I always recommend it when I can.

  • Perrin42@kbin.social
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    Virtuosity - Denzel Washington is a former cop chasing a rogue psychotic AI played by Russel Crowe. Awesome movie.

    • canthidium@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I watched this on HBO all the time as a kid. It’s ridiculous in hindsight but kid me ate up Sid 6.0’s craziness.

  • Cruxifux@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The Green Hornet with Seth Rogan was fucking hilarious and everyone hates it for some reason.

    It’s one of my favourite movies.

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    1 year ago

    The Jacket (2005)

    It’s a mindbendy mystery thriller with some great performances. A bit like Memento or Inception but without Nolan’s focus on the gimmicks.

  • AnthoNightShift@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Bubba Ho-Tep. Everyone I mention it to have a blank expression on their face, some whom I watched it with kept it afterward. DUDE, this is the greatest Bruce Campbell performance, this is probably the greatest Elvis fiction ever, the film is absolutely insane, and they pulled it off for less than the remaining mortgage on my house.

    • James Ivan@mastodon.social
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      1 year ago

      @AnthoNightShift @Blaze Bubba Ho tep shows you two brilliant actors, Bruce Campbell and Osie Davis, who you might never see paired together in a big budget Hollywood Blockbuster. I was prepared to hate this movie, but the performance of the 2 great actors made me a fan. Bubba Ho tep is a classic movie.