Which movies have grown on you (or aged poorly) over time?

Look, you guys have turned into total snobs. You think you have to laugh at movies like Tango & Cash or anything starring Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. Give me a break. Those movies were made to be dumb, and they're meant to be funny. That’s the whole point. 😉

Man, I was just sitting here thinking John Huston is easily one of the top three greats ever, when suddenly his big breakout flick pops up on TV. Awesome, right? So I start watching and... man, it’s garbage. Bogey is totally off, the plot is nonsense, the dialogue feels forced, and honestly, the only thing even remotely salvageable is the girl. Though even she’s kind of a poser.
Then, fast forward a few years, watched it again on DVD and—holy crap. Bogey absolutely kills it. The plot doesn't even matter, the dialogue is perfectly clunky in that classic noir way, and the girl is just effortlessly cool.

Every time I catch myself thinking I can't stand Americans, I just remember guys like Huston, Sam Peckinpah, Francis Ford Coppola, or Clint Eastwood.

Cobra - I loved this as a kid, but looking back at it now at 22, the whole thing is just one massive smoker's cliché...
Masters of the Universe - Careful now, I'm talking about the sequel, not the original. It felt like a decent follow-up when I was younger, but today? It's total garbage. Though, I will admit, that scene where the spiders crawl out of the villain is actually pretty good.
Mortal Kombat 2 - This was the first entry in the series for me, and I was obsessed. But once I finally sat down to watch the first one, I realized the second installment is absolute trash...
Xena, Warrior Princess - She was great when I was a kid, but as an adult, it's just bland, mindless nonsense for children.

I just realized this thread would have been a much better fit for those thoughts I had about Apocalypse Now... but oh well, 🙄

"Professional: Reporter" by Michelangelo Antonioni—man, when I first sat down to watch this about five or six months ago, I honestly thought it was just cold, pretentious, and incredibly stiff.

But looking back on it today and playing the whole thing over in my head, all I can think about are those absolutely brilliant directorial choices. That filmmaker is just deviously clever sometimes; some of those shots are pure genius. I’m seriously going to have to hunt down an original print to own... god, I actually got chills just remembering that one sequence where David (Jack Nicholson) and his girl (Al Schneider) are sitting in some cafe lobby sipping on whatever mystery drink they've got there. The camera captures them from inside the cafe—I think there might even be some window grates involved—while cars are just tearing down the street outside. The lens follows one car passing to the left, then catches another heading off in the opposite direction, all while keeping this duo framed at their table, with nothing but the muffled, off-screen sound of their conversation drifting through. 🙏 👍

I’ve always had a problem with those overhyped, bloated classics—the ones everyone insists are masterpieces, like *Lost in Translation*, *Sideways*, or *As Good as It Gets*.
At first glance, all three felt pretty underwhelming—just a bit bland and lacking any real bite.
Looking back at them now, knowing exactly what I was in for, they were actually excellent.
Now, this has officially climbed its way into my all-time favorites list...

I remember thinking *Raging Bull* was such a bore when I was about sixteen. Then last year, I stumbled upon it again on your channel and it was absolutely brilliant! It’s funny how that works. Same thing with *2001: A Space Odyssey*; I barely made it through it back then, but now I’ve got it loaded up on my computer, just waiting for this heatwave to break so I can finally settle in for a movie marathon. I also never quite managed to get through *Close Encounters of the Third Kind* because it felt way too overwhelming at the time, but looking back, I'm certain I'd actually love both of them... if I had been fourteen instead of a kid.
As for *12 Monkeys*, I first saw it when I was maybe thirteen or fourteen and it didn't really do much for me. I rewatched it about a week ago, though, and man, what a great film. 😍

I honestly wasn't much of a fan of those old sitcoms back in the day—they just didn't click for me—but now? They've become 👍 absolutely delightful! It’s funny how tastes change, right? And don't even get me started on *Chicago*—the first time I sat through it, I actually found it pretty dreadful, but after giving it a second chance, I found myself totally charmed by it

Honestly, when I first saw Titanic, I thought it was incredibly boring—I could barely finish it. But now? It’s easily one of my all-time favorites!

HurlyBurlies. I remember watching this for the first time with a buddy. Thought it was way too pretentious back then. Just felt like a bunch of actors ego-tripping and trying to outdo each other, which just didn't click for me... but after catching it on TV again recently, I took a closer look and finally got it. Actually an excellent film...

Top Gun.

It’s honestly one of the greatest films ever made.
A total blueprint for young Americans.
A sacred text for the rest of us...

🙏

Brenda Carter96 said:Top Gun.

It’s basically the greatest movie ever made.
A handbook for young Americans.
The holy grail for the rest of us.

🙏

There's just something about it... I keep hearing people say Val Kilmer was actually the real standout in that movie, and without him, the whole thing would've fallen flat. And man, he has a knack for those kinds of roles... the mentor in True Romance, Doc Holliday in Tombstone, Chris Shiherlis in Heat, Philip in Alexander...

Just speaking off the top of my head here...
Goonies... initially I thought about the legalities... then I thought about those shallow American kids who care about nothing but treasure... and then, well, just children...
Gladiator... what an absolute masterpiece of cinema... such profound sentimentality...
The Warriors... I used to think it was a solid film... but I rewatched it a few months ago and the only thing that crossed my mind was how everyone looks like they're wearing ridiculous, neon spandex...
Donnie Darko... what tedious nonsense... and yet, what a beautiful, nostalgic piece of filmmaking...

There’s a massive pile of movies that I absolutely loved when I was a kid, but looking back now, they're complete garbage.

And then there’s the opposite scenario. Films like *The Departed* or *Waterworld*—though with *Waterworld*, I didn't even need a second viewing to realize it was actually decent, if not quite great.

I used to love Scarface. Now I can't even look at it without feeling weird.

It’s hard for me to experience a complete reversal like that. Usually, if I think a movie is stupid or good, it stays that way. There is one major exception, though. As time goes by, everything I once thought was mediocre starts looking great, while most modern productions feel like they belong straight in the trash. I’m not sure if it’s that nostalgia effect—you know, where childhood and being a teen just feels better than adulthood—or if it's simply because today's filmmakers are desperately uninspired.

Moulin Rouge!—honestly, at first, I couldn't even sit through five minutes of that movie without wanting to turn it off... now? I pretty much know the whole thing by heart.

Laura Palmer25 said:Or perhaps it’s just the sheer, desperate lack of imagination found in today's filmmakers.

Or maybe you're just watching garbage.
It isn't true that movies are bad nowadays.
But I can certainly understand why you'd feel that way if your diet consists solely of Hollywood blockbusters.

goldenhound32 said:Or maybe you just watch garbage.
It's not true that movies are bad nowadays.
But I get why you feel that way if all you watch are Hollywood blockbusters.

Look, it's not like I don't pay attention to what I pick. I always try to check in with someone who's seen it or find a review first, but even then, nothing compares to the previous decades.
And it's far from being true that I only watch blockbusters; European and East Asian cinema are regular staples for me (though they miss the mark plenty of times, trust me), but does anyone actually believe those carry weight globally? If Americans churn out 70% bad movies relative to their annual total, we're going to suffer for it, because most of what's offered to us comes from there. Personally, I think about 30% of their production is just remakes—either old classics or films from other languages that they refuse to watch with subtitles, so within two years, they just pump out their own version of some Japanese or French hit.

Laura Palmer25 said:If Hollywood pumps out 70% garbage movies compared to their annual output—well, we’re going to suffer too—since the vast majority of what hits our screens comes straight from them.

That is exactly why DivX exists.🙏