10 'Rotten' Drama Movies With High IMDb Ratings | Screen Rant
It is well known that audiences and critics don't always agree when it comes to movies. In a lot of cases, the critics find something great that casual moviegoers don't quite understand or grasp. On the flip side, there's also the stuff that fans love but critics consider to be flat-out bad.
The latter is at hand often with superhero movies or blockbusters that are meant to please audiences. However, every once in a while there's a drama film that most critics consider "rotten" even though viewers find it good enough to give it a solid rating on IMDb, which is interesting to find.
The true story of the kidnapping and murder of teenager Nicholas Markowitz is a pretty famous tale and it became known to more people when it was the subject of 2006's Alpha Dog. The film depicts the final few days of his life (he was renamed Zack Mazursky for this adaptation) and how he actually bonded with his captors for a bit.
The heartbreaking movie is boosted by a strong cast including Anton Yelchin, Emile Hirsch, Olivia Wilde, Ben Foster, and more. Critics were mixed on most aspects outside of the acting, though audiences found it to be better than average all around.
There's no doubt that Timothée Chalamet is one of the hottest rising stars in Hollywood. He broke out in Call Me By Your Name and now leads an epic sci-fi franchise in Dune, which is just the tip of the iceberg for him.
However, a lesser-known work of his is Hot Summer Nights, where he plays Danny Middleton, a teen who gets caught up in the world of drugs in 1991. Critics praised the acting and visual style but said the story was uninspired. Those who saw it seemed to appreciate it more and gave it a solid IMDb rating.
There are some films that completely capture their era and Cruel Intentions is one of those. The iconic teen drama focuses on a harrowing bet made by two wealthy step-siblings to get the brother to take the virginity of the school's newest student.
Everything from the soundtrack to the performances by Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Reese Witherspoon have become the stuff of legend over the years. Although casual film watchers seem to love it, it only received mixed reviews.
One of the more recent dramas to pull this off is Five Feet Apart, another story about teenagers. Instead of being scandalous though, this is more of a sad tale as it centers on two teens with cystic fibrosis who fall in love despite never being able to actually touch.
Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse carried this with fantastic chemistry and audiences were captivated by the sweet nature of it all. Critics felt that it was bogged down by clichés, though those are things that are done so often because they work with casual viewers.
Based on a 1993 book, Blow tells the story of cocaine smuggler George Jung. Johnny Depp was lauded for his performance as Jung though critics felt that was really the only thing that stood out. They seemed to say that it hit a lot of notes that had been done to death in Hollywood.
While some of that could be considered true, Blow remains as entertaining as ever two decades later. While it was a commercial flop at the time, the film remains one that people fondly remember and still check out from time to time.
The on-screen pairing of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling is one of the most impressive in history. They have been incredible together in La La Land and Crazy, Stupid, Love, though one of their films was met with a colder response from critics than the rest.
That came in the middle of those in Gangster Squad. The movie is a fictionalized account of a group of detectives who worked together to take down notorious criminal Mickey Cohen. The cast and production were highlights though the writing was panned. Still, audiences seemed to like most of it.
Most people remember Dangerous Minds for Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" being a massive hit off of the soundtrack. A closer look would remind folks that there is actually an engaging plot in this emotional drama starring Michelle Pfeiffer.
Based on an autobiography, this film follows LouAnne Johnson, a retired U.S. Marine who takes a teaching job in a poverty-stricken area where most of her students are Black and Latino. She gets through to them in remarkable ways and it was a hit that spawned a TV show, even if critics found it below average.
Not enough people seem to talk about it but Tupac Shakur had an underrated acting career. While he was a standout in films like Above the Rim and Juice, it could be argued that his best work came in Poetic Justice.
The film paired him with another music icon in Janet Jackson and they were tremendous together. The story sees them bond on a road trip after the death of Jackson's character's boyfriend. Like many others to get panned here, the acting was at least praised, which is likely why fans like it so much.
It might not be known to everyone but Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg actually worked together long before the Best Picture-winning The Departed. Over a decade prior, they appeared in The Basketball Diaries.
Though the title might not make it clear, the film isn't really about sports and is more about a player (DiCaprio) who develops a heroin addiction. Critics said the message of the movie was muddled but again, the performances more than held it up for audiences.
You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who isn't completely moved by John Q but apparently, critics weren't. The 2002 film tells the story of a father who holds up a hospital to make them do a life-saving transplant for his child since it isn't covered by insurance.
While critics lambasted the film for being over-the-top with its message, audiences loved it. They related to the struggles with the health care system and empathized with the father's desperation. Having Denzel Washington lead the film certainly helped.