Most Underrated: Doug Liman

I've enjoyed every one of his movies (though I've yet to see Swingers).



Most Overrated: Steve Spielberg

Only Jaws and Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom hold up - - it's been decades since he's made a great movie.

The most underrated is Sylvester Stallone. The most overrated is JJ Abrahms or Christopher Nolan.

I agree that all of those could be good choices.

Could one say (disregarding one's own opinion) that Matthew Vaughn is underrated? I'd go with him. Overrated: Pedro Almodóvar or Ang Lee.

I liked Layer Cake and look forward to Kingsman - - but was severely underwhelmed by his other 3 movies.




I've only see Almodóvar's Volver and loved it.

As for Ang Lee, I agree he certainly hasn't lived up to his potential in recent years, but his early Taiwanese movies are just so much fun, and of course Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is on my lifetime top ten list.

Underrated: Mike Hodges or Sally Potter
Overrated: Pedro Almodóvar or Dario Argento

Underrated- Spielberg
Overrated- Liman

Underrated- James Mangold, Ivan Reitman, Danny DeVito, and Wes Anderson
Overrated- Tim Burton, Steven Soderbergh, Peter Jackson and of coure the Wachowskis

I can definitely support the first three in each of your lists - - interesting choices!

As for Wes Anderson, and even though I'm generally a fan, I would say he is simultaneously underrated and overrated.

The Wachowski's on the other hand have only made a single crappy movie, The Matrix Reloaded - - every other film has been brilliant and far ahead of it's time.

underrated: uwe boll
overrated: orson welles

Underrated: Zack Snyder
Overrated: Ang Lee

I say underrated for Anderson as he still can't really find big mainstream success. As for Wachowskis, they've made one great movie, and the rest have all been shit (Assassins and V for Vendetta not withstanding as they were merely involved in the writing process.

I also wouldn't mind putting Clint Eastwood in the underrated category as well, despite of course being so beloved. His production schedules and sheer amount of detail he can get done often times in a single take is legendary and an often overlooked aspect of directing, and then add in the extra stress of having to act as well.

Two obvious answers here. Edgar for underrated and Terry Malick for overrated.

Roberto Rossellini is undervalued by many younger film fans.

my sort of topic

very overrated

steven spielberg
george lucas
stan brakhage
ridley scott
charlie chaplin
jean vigo
roberto rossellini
john ford

a bit overrated

paul thomas anderson
peter jackson
steven soderbergh
georges melies
sergei eisenstein
jean renoir
rainer werner fassbinder
alfred hitchcock
brian de palma
orson welles
luis bunuel
michael haneke

underrated

lars von trier
gaspar noe
...
most everyone i like is reasonably acclaimed

I had to look up Stan Brakhage ...and I still don't know who he is.

Otherwise, quite a good list Inny (though I'd cut Melies a bit more slack, being a pioneer and all).

bryan singer is overrated.

All the Spanish directors from the last 5 years that seem to have gained popularity are overrated. I think they're only popular because toffs are employing an "oh these foreign directors are so hip" attitude, not because of talent.

While I'll agree that Guillermo Del Toro consistently works below his ability in Hollywood, his most impressive work is damned impressive. Pan's Labyrinth is great. On the other end of the equation, Alfonso Cuaron's last three films - all studio films - were great.

Alejandro Gonzalez Innatiru is the only one who I might deem overrated, but that's mostly based upon the awards season love that Babel received. His latest, Birdman, does look like it could be fantastic.

Guillermo Del Toro is a hack. While I like Pan's Labyrinth, he has made so much more that is just shite: Hellboy, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Blade II, Pacific Rim, and Mimic. He only got a good reputation because of one film, and before and since that film he's made complete shit, and he's locked down to make another Hellboy movie too. So he's continuing his shit. Oh, and Hollywood takes up most of his directing career.

Result: 16.6%
Verdict: Crap

Inarritu made 21 Grams, Amores Perros, and Babel, and I love all three, so he's exempt from my statement.

Result: 100%
Verdict: Great

Cuaron is ok, but doesn't deserve the praise he gets; so he's a classic example of being overrated. Gravity is great, Children of Men is so-so but ultimately unmemorable, Y Tu Mama Tambien is good but not great and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is utter trite. He gets Godly praise for some unknown reason.

Result: 50%
Verdict: Overrated

I am sure there are other ones I'm forgetting.

Gravity, Children of Men and Hellboy 1/2 are all great. And Pacific Rim is enjoyable.

None of the three you mention is Spanish. They're all Mexican.

But they SPEAK spanish!

Ok, but judging by Webslinger's reply, people knew exactly who I meant when I said it. So it really makes no difference if they're Mexican, Chilean, Spanish or Puerto Rican.

So all American and Australians are English.