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Have you ever thought your favorite movie doesn’t get enough credit? Have you ever been impressed by a film that you had heard was awful? Have you ever found yourself telling everyone you know about the same obscure thriller from the Nineties? Only me?

There is no pattern or explanation for why some movies are deemed “underrated.” Some simply slip between the cracks until they are rediscovered years or even decades later, while others aren’t given a fair deal upon release. However, they’re entertaining to discuss and argue passionately over.

In light of this, we have selected some movies that ought to be at the top of your list of things to see. or add to your watch list. Some you’ve undoubtedly never heard of, while others you’ve most likely heard of. However, their lack of respect for one another unites them all.

2003’s The Cat in the Hat

Alright, listen to me. Indeed, The Cat in the Hat is regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. When you mention its name, almost everyone you meet trembles. However, I am certain that this is an illustration of the Mandela effect, which states that everyone has everything backwards. The Cat in the Hat, a movie that received so many negative reviews that it led director Bo Welch directly to jail, is also incredibly humorous. It even occasionally exhibits genuine genius. It takes a while, but when bored kids Sally (Dakota Fanning) and Conrad (Spencer Breslin) inadvertently call forth Mike Myers’ anthropomorphic cat, it sets up an extended sequence of zaniness and numerous hilarious anecdotes. You don’t trust me? Go to YouTube and watch the cupcake scene. I just don’t know what to say to you if you don’t find that funny. Stolworthy, Jacob

Paradise Return (1998)

If [insert really ridiculous scenario here] happened to you, how would you respond?Numerous semi-classics from the 1990s, including the Nicolas Cage lottery ticket romcom It Could Happen to You and the Demi Moore thriller Indecent Proposal, were asked this question. Return to Paradise was one movie in this odd subgenre that didn’t hold up over time or even garner much attention in 1998, even though its whole cast was one of Hollywood’s most popular young stars at the time.
Following the discovery of the hash he purchased in Malaysia with his two friends—baby Vince Vaughn and baby Ghost Whisperer actor David Conrad—by the authorities, baby Joaquin Phoenix portrays an American on death row in Malaysia. The rub? By the time the drugs were discovered, his friends had already returned to America. Now, a tough lawyer (the talented Anne Heche) makes them an unpleasant but possibly life-saving offer: return to Malaysia, accept responsibility for purchasing the drugs with him, and they will all serve three years in prison instead of one year in prison. Or they fail to do so, and their companion passes away.
This is the kind of pulpy, costly melodrama we simply don’t get anymore. Check out baby Jada Pinkett Smith as a vicious New York reporter who is planning to foil the plot as well. So put it on and act like you’re back in 1998. Adam White

Spy Game (2001)

Spy Game failed miserably, even considering its bankable stars (Brad Pitt and Robert Redford) and its likable plot (a gruff CIA man mentors a young, attractive trainee). When the movie came out in 2001, it was criticized for being more about style than content, and Redford was called—quite oddly—a charismatic void.
A very fine, if not fantastic, espionage thriller has been unfairly sabotaged. Spy Game, as a movie, has the same tense narrative and intense action scenes as some of Tony Scott’s best films, including Crimson Tide. A throbbing soundtrack and tense camerawork that are expertly put together in the editing room complement the memories’ thoughtful but quick-paced vigor. Nugent, Annabel

Bad Santa (2003)

You would assume that Bad Santa is just another unmemorable early Noughties raunch-com based on the poster. (However, its outstanding cast may give you a hint: John Ritter and Bernie Mac are among them.) What that obviously terrible marketing conceals is a ridiculously funny, out-of-pocket holiday movie that has no business being as terrific as it is.
Intoxicated, self-loathing, foul-mouthed, and motivated solely by money—not the paycheck, mind you, but the cash in department store safes that he smashes annually with his mall elf sidekick, Willie—Billy Bob Thornton is a depraved mall Santa. There is a glimmer of hope for our mischievous Saint Nicholas as a little recluse affixes himself to Thornton’s Santa. It joyfully defies all expectations of a Christmas picture. It makes perfect sense that the story was conceived by the Coen Brothers. An

That chilly park day (1969)

Perhaps Robert Altman’s most well-known work was his expansive ensemble photographs, such as Gosford Park and Nashville. However, he also excelled at creating movies about women going completely crazy. His earlier thriller That Cold Day in the Park is worth seeing, but 3 Women, which stars Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall, is undoubtedly his greatest there. Starring as a wealthy recluse who spends her days staring out of the window of her deceased parents’ enormous Vancouver home is the frail, frazzled Sandy Dennis (imagine Amy Adams imprisoned in a room for a few days). One day, she spots a teenage boy in the park it overlooks and extends an invitation to him. An electric tête-à-tête ensues, which is always a little weird but may also be maternal or sensual at times. The film’s ending is disturbing, and Dennis is amazing. AW

(2001) Get Over It

This 2001 teen film is a (very) loose interpretation of Shakespeare, much like 10 Things I Hate About You before it and She’s the Man after it. This time, writer R Lee Fleming Jr., who two years prior had written the script for the classic She’s All That, gives A Midsummer Night’s Dream the modern romcom treatment.
Ben Foster portrays a naive high school student who attends his year-end performance with the intention of regaining his former fiancée, who has broken up with a British boy bander (Shane West). A hilarious writing and an ensemble cast that includes Kirsten Dunst, Mila Kunis, Sisqó (remember “The Thong Song”), and Martin Short—who steals moments as the school’s stupendously camp acting teacher—bring the generic plot to life. An

The Greatest Father in the World (2009)

In a dark comedy about autoerotic asphyxiation, a deceased teen, and the act of transforming tragic lemons into self-aggrandizing lemonade, do you recall Robin Williams going all out? You don’t, of course! What is probably Williams’s final truly outstanding performance is in Bobcat Goldthwait’s wonderfully barbed 2009 film World’s Greatest Dad, where he plays the challenging part of an unfulfilled father whose horrible kid dies in a strange accident and then chooses to take advantage of the situation. It’s the kind of so-mean-it’s-hilarious comic nastiness that Williams always secretly loved—aside from the Flubbers and the weepies, I suppose—but not everyone will enjoy where the movie goes from there. AW

The 2019 film Lucy in the Sky

Either adopt Natalie Portman’s style or give up completely. Everyone did the latter quite fast after Lucy in the Sky. However, this psychological thriller—which was loosely based on a true story—did not deserve the barrage of criticism that made it one of the most costly failures of 2019. After returning to Earth, Portman’s character, an astronaut, fights with her sanity and grows more suspicious of her husband, her bosses, and her new boyfriend. While writer/director Noah Hawley (FX’s Fargo) employs every style trick in the book, including split screens, aspect ratio adjustments, and a lot of slow motion, she is surrounded by a glamorous supporting cast that includes Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn, Dan Stevens, and Colman Domingo. Perhaps that had a negative impact on how it was received when it was released. Although Lucy in the Sky features one of Portman’s best recent performances, complete with a horrible bowl cut hairstyle, there is something really moving about the film and its gradual spiral into hyper-stylized craziness. AW

(2003) Duplex

Consider the children’s entertainment vengeance story Death to Smoochy or the self-evident Throw Momma from the Train, two of Danny DeVito’s many films that veer between goofy ridiculousness and downright meanness. However, Duplex, which was known as Our House in the UK, is the one that nobody discusses at all. Drew Barrymore and Ben Stiller portray prosperous New Yorkers who discover the ideal brownstone apartment for sale, but the catch is that they have to live in the same building as an elderly widow. However, the elderly woman only turns into a complete threat once they move in. In essence, this is a film about two of the most charming romantic comedy stars in Hollywood discussing whether or not they could ever kill an elderly woman. It’s delicious! AW

2021’s The Last Duel

Naturally, when The Last Duel was released in 2021, it was a huge affair. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Adam Driver, and Jodie Comer were among the new and old stars in this Ridley Scott-directed Disney blockbuster. However, the response was unsatisfactory, and The Last Duel—a medieval epic for the #MeToo era—performed poorly at the global box office. It was always going to be difficult to sell a movie about rape that took place in Paris in 1386, but even the critics weren’t particularly enthused.
The Last Duel is a movie that stands up to its lofty goals now that it is free of the pandemic’s shadow. Although the three-act structure is risky, it pays off, especially in the last chapter, which is written by Nicole Holofcener and recounted from Comer’s Marguerite’s point of view. Co-writers Damon and Affleck invited her on board to provide a female viewpoint. I would also propose that the last, title battle is the reason why The Last Duel isn’t as grandiose as Scott’s earlier movies. Scott, it’s peak. An

Dream Demon (1988)

Dream Demon is worth a second look, even though it could have been too influenced by the then-popular A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise to succeed in 1988. This horror film, which has a heavy dose of London dirt, is distinctly British. For heaven’s sake, it even features Jimmy Nail. There are royal parallels in Jemma Redgrave’s portrayal of Diana, a young yuppie who is pursued by the paparazzi, betrothed to a wealthy man, and plagued by terrible dreams. Soon after, a punky American starts discussing the “astral plane” and haunted houses, Timothy Spall sports pig prosthetics on his face, and dreams and reality start to blend together. Imagine a Clive Barker-written episode of The Crown, and you’re somewhere in the ballpark. It’s just a lot of silly fun. AW
The Devil’s House (2009)

Although Ti West is most recognized today for the critically lauded X trilogy, The House of the Devil, a Noughties horror classic and the director’s most egregiously underappreciated masterpiece, came out before Mia Goth’s axe-wielding heroine appeared on film. The 2009 picture, which was released with minimal fanfare, follows a well-worn plot: on the night of a full lunar eclipse, a struggling college student (Jocelin Donahue) accepts a babysitting job in a haunted mansion. There is terror.
The slow speed at which any action unfolds was criticized at the time for the plot’s sluggish character. Although The House of the Devil is a long burn, West makes the most of that time by skillfully evoking the Satanic hysteria of the 1980s while simultaneously creating tension in the story. And fear. There is a great deal of fear. The gory horror scenes are earned by the time they appear. Have I mentioned Oscar winner Greta Gerwig’s iconic turn? An

Jones, Love (1997)

Theodore Witcher is the writer-director of Love Jones, a romantic drama that, incredibly, is still his only directing credit nearly thirty years later. You could be forgiven for not knowing his name. He may at least claim the award for making the hottest movie of the 1990s. As one might anticipate from a movie with stars like Larenz Tate and Nia Long, Love Jones is incredibly charismatic. They play two unmarried (maybe) twentysomethings, poet Darius Lovehall and photographer Nina Mosely, who meet at a Chicago pub and fall in love. The film is a story of sexual attraction and longing that is heightened by the challenges life is prone to throw at you. The screenplay has hints of Before Sunrise, which will appeal to hopeless romantics who enjoy Darius’s otherwise stalky pursuit of Nina. JS

(2014) They Came Together

It can be challenging to parody a genre (just take a look at the Scary Movie franchise’s quick collapse), but David Wain’s raucous satire of romantic comedies hits the mark with the perfect tone: loud and annoying. The film, which stars Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler as a couple growing in love, is precisely as subtle as a headbutt. They ramble over the clichés of romcoms in a humorous and indiscriminate manner throughout the course of a mere 80 minutes (do you remember when movies were so short?). Do you enjoy fiction? No one else I’ve met enjoys fiction as much as I do!In their encounter at a bookstore, Poehler’s character yells.
A comedic who’s who, including Bill Hader, Ellie Kemper, Cobie Smulders, Jason Mantzoukas, Jack McBrayer, Max Greenfield, Kenan Thompson, Randall Park, Ed Helms, and Melanie Lynskey, join Rudd and Poehler, whose comic skills alone are enough to keep the movie alive. Adam Scott, John Stamos, Ken Marino, and so on. An

Unafraid (1993)

Yes, The Big Lebowski is a film by Jeff Bridges. Real aficionados, however, are aware that his best work occurred a few years prior, in 1993’s Fearless, a heartwarming film about a guy who escapes a terrible plane crash unscathed because to his nuanced and nuanced acting. Bridges alternates between beatific ecstasy and violent madness, but the film’s jagged wonder comes from his hesitant bond with another survivor who lost her infant as the plane crashed. Rosie Perez, an Oscar nominee, plays her, and she is fantastic. AW

The 1978 film Girlfriends

Maybe “underrated” isn’t the best word to use here, but “if you know, you know” is the case with Girlfriends. Even if you’ve never heard of it, Claudia Weill’s 1978 study of female friendship—praised by contemporary filmmakers like Greta Gerwig, Wes Anderson, and Lena Dunham—probably impacted your favorite film. Even Stanley Kubrick, who described Girlfriends as “one of the very rare American films that I would compare to the serious, intelligent, sensitive writing and filmmaking that you find in the best directors in Europe,” was perplexed by the fact that it wasn’t a box office hit.
The movie follows Susan and Anne (played by Melanie Mayron and Anita Skinner), best friends and roommates, as they make their way through that hazy, peculiar period of their twenties. When someone asks Susan how her life is going, she responds, “Oh, I have a few things cooking.” Actually, I don’t have anything to cook. The bond at the heart of Weill’s coming-of-age story is crucial, and Girlfriends was among the first movies of its kind to take female friendship so seriously. An

1978’s The Silent Partner

Like films about Christmas? Like a crime? Like the flamboyant chest hair of the Seventies? Next, explore The Silent Partner, a unique Canadian thriller that is both remarkably romantic and strangely brutal. Elliott Gould portrays a disinterested bank teller at a mall in Toronto who finds out about an upcoming heist but chooses to keep it to himself and keep some of the loot for himself. Naturally, things take a turn for the worst after that, with Gould lowering his typical velvety-voiced showmanship and a string of powerful cameos from actors like Christopher Plummer and a pre-fame John Candy. When it was released in 1978, this essentially disappeared, but in more recent years, it has rightfully developed a cult following. Perhaps because it’s a thrilling experience. Perhaps because the most gruesome fish tank scene in movie history is in there. Who can say? AW

Scandal in 1950

From Rashomon to Seven Samurai to High and Low, several of Akira Kurosawa’s films are regarded as some of the greatest and most widely acclaimed Japanese productions ever made. However, certain projects will unavoidably fall between the cracks in any 30-film career. The 1950 movie Scandal is one example. Toshirō Mifune and Takashi Shimura, two of Kurosawa’s most regular partners, are both superb in this well-crafted morality tale about an artist who sues a tabloid newspaper. Scandal is frequently left out in retrospectives of Kurosawa’s works; it isn’t included in any of the four DVD box sets released by the BFI, although as of this writing, it may be viewed online. Perhaps a deep cut, but one that is incredibly valuable. Chilton, Louis