Annlyel shares five top movies which were surprisingly better than she expected!
You know what’s fun as a movie fan? Running across a movie that you think isn’t going to be that great but it ends up blowing your mind. It doesn’t happen often but when it does it’s nice to treasure that memory of that moment you sat down and watched something that you’ll never forget. Here are five films that I have seen over the last five years that I went into with low expectations and came away from absolutely blown away.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
It was a few days after my sixteenth birthday. My family and I wanted to go see a movie but we had to make a choice; go watch Maleficent or take a chance on Edge of Tomorrow. Edge of Tomorrow was in IMAX and so we decided to give it a go.
For the next hour and fifty-three minutes, I was transported to an apocalyptic Earth where aliens were swiftly taking over. Imagine Groundhog Day meets Independence Day starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt in an action-packed science-fiction story of the ages. It was nothing short of brilliant.
The pace never slowed, the action never ceased to amaze, the characters never swayed to annoyance and the movie was simply riveting. I now own it on my personal Amazon account because I wanted to see it as many times as I felt like. If you thought Edge of Tomorrow would be a bust just check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
And if I can’t convince you the film has a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Transformers: Edge of Extinction
I know there are a lot of people who think this movie is garbage, I know it garnered a very rotten 18% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but I LOVE this movie. My family and I went and saw this film three times because we were that blown away. The loudness, the IMAX, the Transformers! Everything about this movie screams epicness. Even the characters didn’t annoy me that much.
This is one of those films that I’m glad I didn’t let the Rotten Tomatoes score sway me from seeing. If you want a movie that has over two hours of action watch Transformers: Edge of Extinction.
Arrival
I like science-fiction films. I love Interstellar. When Arrival came out and started receiving positive reviews I was skeptical. Was the movie really that good? I watched it in the movie theaters, I was impressed, but it wasn’t until the second viewing that I realized just how amazing this movie actually is. Its story is unique, Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner play off of each other brilliantly and bring a lovability to the film that most science-fiction movies can’t achieve, and the dang film made me cry like a baby the last time I watched it.
At first glance, this movie may seem like your typical aliens-come-to-Earth movie but in reality, it’s actually a love story told in a sneakily complex way that takes two viewings to get. If you haven’t seen this film just give it a chance. You’ll love it.
War for the Planet of the Apes
I don’t like the Planet of the Apes movies. I’m not a fan of the original one starring Charlton Heston and I didn’t like Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which I saw in the movies. So imagine my surprise when I watched War for the Planet of the Apes.
It’s easily the best installment in the entire franchise and, in my opinion, deserved an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. It’s that good! Andy Serkis does his best acting yet as Caesar, Woody Harrelson plays the heck out of the villain, and don’t even get me started about the CGI. This movie blew my mind and it will blow your mind as well with its well-written storyline.
Shazam!
I love superhero movies, particularly Marvel movies. DC Comics has tried their best to deliver some fun and fascinating films but they haven’t been able to crack the code. Shazam! is the first film in the recent DC Comics movies that have managed to find a way to actually legitimately be good.
The storyline, while simple, feels fresh with this new superhero to learn about. The movie is filled with humor that is actually very funny. Shazam, played by Zachary Levi, does an amazing job convincing me that he’s a powerful hero with the brain and attitude of a fifteen-year-old. I loved the fear factor this movie actually managed to deliver in a shockingly grotesque and frightening way. And don’t even get me started about that twist. If you haven’t seen the film I won’t elaborate any further but if you did you know what I’m talking about. You want to talk about clapping and cheering with sheer joy? That’s what I did when that thing happened.
It was such an amazing surprise and truly made me feel like a little kid. I was that happy.
So, these are the five movies (that I can currently recall) that have managed to surprise me in the last five years. I would like to give some honorable mentions to Creed, Aquaman, Coco and the Netflix comedy starring Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston, Murder Mystery.
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Annlyel James is a prolific Staff Writer for The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Follow her on Twitter @annlyeljames where she channels the Force frequently!
Author
Hello everyone. My name is Annlyel James. I’m a young woman who loves movies of all genres (specifically ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel movies.) I am also a Senior Correspondent for The Future of the Force.
