10 Underrated Movies - Part 1

Underrated Movies Part 1

1. Punch Drunk Love (2002) Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Many people immediately shut down this movie because it’s not the typical Adam Sandler, goofy, laugh out loud comedy. However, I think he did a superb job as Barry Egan. This film shows Sandler’s true depth as an actor. He takes a more serious role in this film, making it sometimes hard to watch; however, he is so captivating, making it hard to look away. It’s a classic story of an emotionally damaged man finally able to free himself from his sister’s emotional and verbal abuse and find the love of his life, willing to accept his flaws. The film had a budget of $25 million, but only made a little over $24 million in the box office. Sandler was nominated for Golden Globe award for Best Actor in 2002; however, he lost to Richard Gere’s role in Chicago. I believe Adam Sandler deserved more praise then he received. He showed a true transformation, steering away from his seemingly natural comic role. The film as a whole is definitely a must watch on my list. The acting was very well done by Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Luis Guzmán; however, it was Sandler that stole the show.

2. Hellboy (2004) Directed by Guillermo del Toro

I believe Hellboy came out a little too soon. We are now in the super hero movie phase, and I feel that if Hellboy came out now, it would have done a lot better. The film did relatively well. Its budget was $66 million, and it made over $99 million in the box office. The film was received well by critics. I believe the only problem is that Hellboy isn’t a mainstream Marvel or DC Comics hero, so those who haven’t heard of him didn’t care to see the movie. However, I feel people would be pleasantly surprised. This film isn’t about all the big explosions and fight scenes; you get true character backstories and gain an emotional connection with them. There was a sequel (Hellboy II: The Golden Army) that was also well received, and I believe it was even better than the first.

3. The Losers (2010) Directed by Sylvain White

Now I’m not saying this movie deserved an Oscar, but I will say that it had a great combination of action and goofiness. There’s a strong line-up of actors in this film: Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, Chris Evans, Columbus Short, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. This film may be a little cliché and have some cringe-worthy punch lines, but I do believe that it is a great watch. The film’s budget was $25 million, and they made a little more than $29 million in the box office. It received negative reviews from critics, but I believe they were over-analyzing it a little bit. In my opinion, it was just for plain entertainment. The character connections were well portrayed by the actors, and the plot twist was a surprise.