What (fairly new) movies have you seen in the last few years that have pleasantly surprised you?

I was surprised by how delighted I was by the live action “Beauty and the Beast.” I almost didn’t go and then just loved it.

I just saw an Israeli film called “The Women’s Balcony” that I didn’t know a thing about before I went and loved that as well.

What We Do in the Shadows

I had never heard of it until my friends invited me to see it at a small independent theater. Judging by the poster I thought it was going to be one of those lame parody movies that consists of celebrity cameos and awful visual gags. Instead, it was probably the most I’ve ever laughed in the theater. It was a comedy film in the vein of Young Frankenstein.

Also:

The Skeleton Twins
Brooklyn
The Edge of Seventeen
Hell or High Water
20th Century Women

@rockfan I want to see that; heard it’s fun.

I was surprised at how much I liked “Wonder Woman”

The hot Israeli woman who starred in it notwithstanding, I thought it was great!

I especially liked the “crossing no man’s land” scene was really cool. I also thought it was an interesting twist, which for some reason sticks with me, that she gruesomely kills the wrong guy. Not that he didn’t deserve it, but still.

Arrival. I am often critical of sci fi movies when they have ridiculous, hard to believe elements, but this movie was believable and soooo good.

I second What We Do In The Shadows. That movie surprised me and is one of my all time favorites now.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Edge of Tomorrow

I am amassing a terrific list, thanks guys!

Wonder Woman
Doctor Strange
Amy (2015)

@Mariah

Re: Arrival
The story by Ted Chiang http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223380.Stories_of_Your_Life_and_Others
is even better.

I didn’t expect to like War Dogs, but I enjoyed it.
Incendies and Children Of Heaven are highly rated foreign films, but I delayed watching them. When I did, I was quite taken with them.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I was so turned off by the title but wound up loving this somewhat offbeat love story.

I also loved Funny People. I’m not an Adam Sandler fan but this film, both funny and touching, almost made me one.

@Pachy. Credit Judd Apatow with that, not Sandler.

I was sure “Knocked Up” wouldn’t be any good but it was really cute.

Jordan Peele’s Get Out was great.

I love Keye & Peele comedy, and I expected something amusing. It was way beyond that, it’s crazy how well he did as a first-time director.

I wasn’t aware of What We Do in the Shadows. It streams free with Amazon Prime, cool!

@filmfann, I DO credit Apatow for getting such solid performances out of the whole cast, and I credit Sandler and Rogen for making the stretch.

I also loved Knocked Up for the same resons: smart direction from Apatow, terrific performances, and a witty and at times surprisingly moving script.

@Pachy

It doesn’t have Adam Sandler in it, but have you seen 50/50 starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen? It’s another comedy film that’s genuinely moving at times

@rockfan, I loved 50/50! Having had cancer, with the attendant chemo/radiation folderol, I especially got a kick out of what the theater audience laughed at. I could tell who had experience with cancer and who didn’t by what was found to be funny.