Have you ever loved something, only to realize it’s a commercial flop or just obscure? What’s something that deserves more light than it got?
Look I'm not saying that it isn't well rated, but too many people dismiss "Avatar: The Last Airbender" as a cartoon or a childrens show when it is in fact a masterpiece.
Idk, everyone I speak to about it agrees that it's incredible. Doesn't seem underrated. I've been wanting to rewatch it.
Right you're talking about the people who HAVE seen it. It isn't rated lowly, it is dismissed by too many people. Like I said originally...
Ah ok, well you might be right
I think The Good Place is one of the best things to ever happen to tv. I know it's not some secret piece of tv that nobody knows about, but it hit the right notes in my soul that I don't think people are singing its praises loud enough, even a decade on from its release.
CreamyJalapenoSauce figured it out? CreamyJalapenoSauce? This is a real low point. Yeah, this one hurts.
I just suddenly had this calm feeling, like the air inside my lungs was the same as the air outside my body. It was peaceful. You know the feeling when you think a jalapeño popper is gonna be too hot, but you bite into it anyway and it's actually the perfect temperature?
Totally agreed. My favourite get-to-know-you question is this: "if you had the very specific super power that meant you could make everybody into the world love a piece of media in exactly the way you do, for exactly the reasons you do, what piece of media would you pick and why?"
My answer is The Good Place, with a bullet. It's about trying to be better every day and treat people well, and it's hilarious and good natured.
i simply do not hear enough people talking about Outer Wilds, i know it released in the same year as the AA game by Obsidian - Outer Worlds, the title of which is different by whole two letters, which provided a very good distraction but
AAAAA
Outer Wilds is a lighting in a bottle video game that the majority of those who have played it wish they could experience for the first time again. it's a stunning piece of art that makes you cry and you're not even sure what exactly just happened. but there's always a point where it all just hits you - and all you can do is cry
it doesn't handhold you, in fact it doesn't give you any objectives at all, you're lead through the entire game by sheer curiosity alone - and oh boy will that curiosity make you zoom across the space back and forth until you get to the bottom of it. when you utter your first "oh what's that? i'm going to check it out" it'll have you, you might not realise it yet but you're now primed for adventure
this is the only game i'm not afraid to overhype. i watched that game sit in my library, for over a year, and in that time i hyped it up in my head to unreachable levels, to the point where eventually i was close to afraid of playing it because how could it possibly meet that standard i've envisioned? and you know what? it was better than i've ever imagined. it waited for me to be ready to sit down and play it, and then it delivered and experience that i'll forever treasure
maybe it won't hit that exact sweet spot for you as it did for me, but bloody hell can i assure you you'll never forget it - even though you'll wish you did, to play it for the first time again
oh and if any of my vague praise made you interested - rule #1 of Outer Wilds Club: don't talk about Outer Wilds. don't look up anything about it, you want to experience it as blind as you possibly can, some people even go as far as buying their friends a copy so they never have to look at the steam page screenshots
Tour de Pharmacy
It's a mockumentary about the Tour de France, but everyone's been kicked out for doping.
There are only 5 competitors left, Andy Sandberg, John Cena, Daveed Diggs, Orlando Bloom, and Freddie Highmore.
They've got the actual Lance Armstrong doing a "hidden informant" bit.
Each of the racers has a wacky backstory. Hijinks ensue. It's a great time.
Not the best movie ever, but I had an absolute blast with it.
Goodnight Punpun
It's a manga so if you are in the west it's already going to be obscure. It's also pretty messed up so it might not be for everyone, but if you are able to stomach it and read it, man is it amazing. It has very little anime bs that a lot of anime/manga suffer from; it's not a shonen, it's aimed at an older audience. It is very well written. The art is amazing. I could go on, but I think it's best enjoyed blind.
It's 13 volumes, but you can binge it in a day (not recommended). It has a lot of dialog so a lot more reading than most manga.
If you are not sure about the manga, read the first chapter. I think it sets the tone well for the rest of the series.
Like a lot of great things, I wish I could read the manga again for the first time.
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura, it was made by alumni of Interplay. The developers also made Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, which probably is why it gets overshadowed.
Anyways gameplay is effected by build, equipment, and even race because of course it is this is a game made by Fallout 2 devs. If that sounds interesting but not convincing go watch Mandaloregaming, Warlockracy, or Ssethtzeentach for better reasons, though if you aren't familiar with any or all of the YouTubers I mentioned I ordered it by least to most batshit.
Also if any Eastern Europeans try to say "Oh this was a big game when I was in school" yes I'm aware I know about how your bootleggers charged by the disk resulting in everyone having Fallout 1, 2, and Arcanum. Sadly the game didnt do nearly as well here in the US in my experience.
Chinese Lore Podcast, not a singular piece but worth a mention.
The translations aren't bad, it's incredible value for free audiobook/translations.
Pretty much everything "Weird Al" Yankovic and his band have ever done.
They've gained more recognition in recent years, but most people don't realize that his catalogue goes back to the mid-1970s. A lot of people are sleeping on his work, even today, because he's categorized as a "novelty artist".
The early stuff is rough, but from the mid-1980s on up is worth a listen even if you're not a fan.
I've come to appreciate that guy and how hard all of that actually is and should probably listen to more. He did a "Peter and the Wolf" back in ancient times that was seriously great, peerless listening for a kiddo I'd say.
Did you watch the silly biopic? Daniel Radcliffe? Can't remember the name. I tried like 3 different times :( it was so over the top Weird Al that I couldn't fault it for being flat out him AF, but I also just could not finish it lol.
My only other comment in this thread (so far) is singing the virtues of a movie called "Freddy Got Fingered", so. Maybe it's me lol.
The Quest For Glory series from Sierra. They ended up making 5 and you could import your character from the previous game with some save disks. You could pick between a fighter, a thief, or a magic user and grow from there. In the later games you could grow and be a paladin, a sorcerer (with a staff), or the lead to a thieves guild depending on your choices. In the last game you got to become a king and pick a love interest that you met from previous games. The 4th game had a hot vampire babe, so normally tried to marry her.
I played the first game a lot when I was younger, the 16 color EGA version with a command line interface. I got pretty good at typing and spelling as a kid because of that game. The version I had was "Hero's Quest", it's the same game, but a board game company sued them over the name, so later releases are called "Quest for Glory".
Terriers - excellent 2010 caper-style dramedy series starring Donal Logue and Michael Raymond-James, created by the screenwriter behind "Oceans Eleven". Relatable & endearing characters, compelling arcs, razor-sharp writing, wrapped in a noire detective plot set in sunny San Diego. Aired for just 13 eps on FX back in the day, only a couple of years before streaming platforms really hit big (and where it likely would have found its audience) and I've mourned "what could have been" ever since. Can't recommend it enough, despite the final ep having a bit of a "lady or the tiger" ending. I urge you to seek it out.
Freddy Got Fingered.
It's a practical joke disguised as a movie.
Though it has found a cult following since release, I don't think it's appreciated enough for how hilarious it is.
Ah jeez, this movie is so artfully dumb, I really love it. Was never even a Tom Green fan either, don't think I've watched really anything else he's done. I've seen this movie an embarrassing number of times lol.
One thing working (strongly) against it, I do think it's one of those movies that require a few watches to really "get" the humor. I've struggled with how to phrase that, because the movies I find that to be true with, don't stand out for sophistication haha.
But it's almost like ya gotta force yourself to chew through the surface level dumb, to appreciate the true deep well of dumb that lies just beneath the surface. Gotta let your guard down and let it in.
I also just have a soft spot for (barely) lovable irreparable weirdos as characters. Great movie.
"We can live like kings. WE CAN LIVE LIKE KIIIIINGS"
Some parts of the movie are not for everyone, to be clear 😐 Many parts, for lots of different reasons.
Yeah, it's got its moments.
But they all still work toward its overall goal of being a big fuck you to the studio that paid him to make that film.
But the scenes that are funny are funny.
"GORD! GORDY!"
Not so much underrated as it was rated well, but mostly because it didn’t really do well in theaters. Annihilation (2018) which is based on the novel of the same name is often overlooked when talking about great scifi movies. The book is great too.
I had tons of fun with Battleborn! It was a FPS hero shooter/MOBA hybrid with co-op modes and Borderlands style load-outs, skill tree and gear. Unfortunately never became very popular and they shut it down after desperately trying to revive it by changing its model. The only MOBA that ever clicked for me.
Hyperion and Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons. Some of best science-fiction literature ever penned.
However, the author, while a superb writer, is an asshole.
They were mentioned in a post on Lemmy. Decided to take a listen and they are amazing!
They have a story spanning three albums: The Protomen, Act II: The Father of Death, and Act III: The City Made Us.
Found them browsing for new music and fell in love. The albums are all stories and wonderfully done.
Movie wise:
I really found myself loving this movie, which was a surprised to me. But I believe that I found myself loving the characters and how they were shown on screen. I also loved the pacing of the movie. I never felt like there was a moment that had over stayed it's stay. The story it's self was interesting enough for me to keep wanting to watch as well. And no, it's not a film, it's a fun movie. It's not trying to be the next Heat or The Sting.
It's a powerful film IMO. There was a lot to love from the experience and it's one of my all-time favorite stop motion films ever.
Kubo was really good. Only reason it isn't better known is because it wasn't a major studio. If they slapped a Pixar logo on it, it would've been huge.
So far I've loved every tv show Taika Waititi has been involved with, and many of them I've only found out when checking "ok, what else has he done" on wikipedia. Most recently, Reservation Dogs and Our Flag Means Death.
Also, I think there are many canadian tv shows that are really good and deserve a wider global audience: like Heated Rivalry, 19-2 (the original one in French) and Happily Married (C'est comme ça que je t'aime).
One of my favorite super hero movies to this day is the original kick ass. Beats the pants off any marvel movie by miles. Not exactly a flop but criminally underrated.
Tom Goes to the Mayor is a delightful series that really captures the feeling of living in forgotten small-town America and being crushingly poor.
I don't know if that's what the creators were going for but it resonated with me on that level.
What if we took a British-style police procedural and made it not just a comedy, but a full-blown parody/spoof. And also it was created by Charlie Brooker, of Black Mirror fame.
Packed with wall-to-wall sight gags, terrible puns, and blink-and-you'll-miss-it jokes.
There are three seasons, each two 45-minute episodes.
Links (for those outside the US or EU): Season 1, Season 2, Season 3.
If you're post edu and wanting more solid structured yet casual learning, The Great Courses offer a fantastic selection of in-depth overviews. I've spent many hours in their world history, science, humanities and music courses.
Hm. There is a pair of Star Trek adventure games, called 25th Anniversary and Judgment Rites. They are essentially an extra season of TOS, and are quite good.
The Shadow (1994) is delightful. It's fun, atmospheric, and does a great job of capturing the quaint charm of old timey pulp storytelling in a more modern action movie. It's just a treat, and I honestly can't believe it bombed, and as far as I know, never even got a cult following.
The Adventures of Brisco County Jr only got one season and has mostly passed into obscurity. Which is a shame because it's fun and can be a great little time capsule from the days when people thought the future might actually be something to be optimistic about.
Cabin Boy is not what you'd call... good. BUT it is still weirdly enjoyable. It's an experience. One other people should have. Whether they want it or not.
Advent Rising was so unsuccessful it helped kill the publisher, and it got terrible reviews. And yeah, the game feels like there are glaring omissions due to it being rushed out. But I absolutely love it. The powers are cool, the story is simple but works, and it definitely left me wanting more.
Also, Babylon 5 will always be underrated because it's not possible to rate it highly enough.
Akira Kurosawa's lesser known works. He's most famous for films like Seven Samurai or Yojimbo, but his other films like The Bad Sleep Well are super amazing too. It's a film noir movie with a strong anti-corporation message I bet would resonate with a lot of people here.
Better off Ted. I dont think it is underrated, but it definitely seems to be not well known and only got a couple of seasons. It's the first time I got mad at Netflix canceling a show I loved.
Great show, but the Veridian Dynamics commercials are my favorite part.
For me, it's when the octochicken comes down from its web.
I actually really love the average to panned 2001 romcom Kate and Leopold. It's about a average woman working in advertising and a hunky duke(?) from centuries before who fell forward in time. Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan, I think they have reasonable chemistry and there's a lot of good lines that are delivered well. It's a fun movie, and even if it's not good per se it's a good experience with fun vibes.
2 80s movies I just love:
1) Be nice and; have fun
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