That was better than I expected. Actually, I really like it!

What are some movies, music, or other media that you went into with low expectations - either from preconceptions or lack of any idea what they were like - that surprised you and made you rethink your opinion of an actor/writer/musician/etc. for the better? Share the story of your great journey of discovery, especially if it involves going from hating something to loving it, and get a chance plug some of your new-found favorites, too.

Pretty much all of the superhero movies. I went into Iron Man, Captain America, The Dark Night Rises, The Avengers, pretty much hating actiony superhero type movies. But after watching a couple I thought they were actually pretty interesting, leading me to watch more and be even more excited for things like The Avengers.

After a good few years of subtly disliking the Biebs AKA Justin Bieber AKA prodigal child of Usher AKA his usurper, I finally gave his album Believe a try some weeks ago. Now, I wouldn't say I'm a Belieber, far from it, but the end result of my dabbling into the dark side was that I became a lot more open to the Biebs and his music. He's definitely becoming someone I could respect as an artist in the near future.
Let's see...who else has surprised me as of late.... no one, oops

I'm with Chris about Beiber. I didn't listen to the whole album, but I have generally enjoyed his singles off of Believe. I like how his voice has turned out.

I also like Carly Rae Jepson's voice. Call Me Maybe is annoying, but I love the way her voice sounds in it. And in her feature in Owl City's Good Time. It's just so nice I can't not like it.

And my boyfriend dragged me to The Avengers and I'm not big on superheroes, so I thought I'd hate it, but it was a pretty awesome movie, and I think anyone that's seen it can agree.

The Hunger Games trilogy. I started reading the books expecting them to be another awful YA series but I found them to be quite entertaining.

Also agreeing with the sentiments on The Avengers. I thought it was going to be corny and awful but I changed my mind after actually watching it. It was awesome.

Reply to your own thread time.

I used to want nothing to do with old "classic" Hollywood movies, especially musicals. If it came from the 40s, 50s, or 60s I just refused. But I ended up seeing some (I can't remember how, but it was because of my housemate who likes them) and that broke the ice a little. I've seen a lot of old movies now, and while I can't exactly say they're all great, and I still think the acting in many leaves a lot to be desired, when I think of them like stage plays adapted for the silver screen I kinda like the stories and writing a lot of them have.

The Bourne Legacy. When it was premiered here in the Philippines, there was a big buzz around because the film was shot in our country. I begged my father not to watch it -- I'm not really a fan of action movies -- but he's the one who had the money, so what could I do?

We watched it, and at first I had no idea what was happening. It got better when it was near the climax. It was definitely better than I expected, but it won't be anywhere near my favorites list.

.My Little Pony/some other cartoons. Thought they would be girly and not good for people over five.
.Some music (even if I tried it before hand in a way). Thought it sounding borring and couldn't understand anything before hand.

I agree what others have said about Bieber. His latest CD had some pretty good singles. I didn't listen to the whole thing though, but I downloaded Beauty and a Beat and also As Long As You Love Me. And no, I am not a bieliber.

Besides that, The Hunger Games. I didnt think I would enjoy it, but my friend made me read the first one, and I just had to read the other two and see the film.

Avatar.
When it first came out, everyone was so hype about it and I didn't see why. The story was just rehashed over and over, so I didn't even bother watching it. But when my dad decided to buy it on Blue-Ray, I was really bored one night and decided to give it a shot and I gotta say, The movie was really good. The visual effects were freaking awesome, I don't know if it has sometihng to do with the movie being on Blu-Ray and me watching it on a 55 inch TV with a good sound system, but I really enjoyed it, that I even watched the movie more than once after that. Even my dog loves the movie haha, when I put the disc inside the player to watch it, my dog just comes to sit down next to me and watch the movie with me.

The best example I can think of recently would be the film version of 21 Jump Street. TV series getting remade into films (or having film sequels) have a notoriously bad reputation, and reboots of decades-old properties aren't much better. Maybe it's just a result of a double negative, but 21 Jump Street manages to be both and somehow was really funny and charming and poignant and much much better than I was expecting. In terms of pure pleasure, it was one of the best films of last year; it may not be the most artful, but it's the one I've seen the most times, and enjoyed every one! :D

Harlequin said:

I finally gave his album Believe a try some weeks ago. Now, I wouldn't say I'm a Belieber, far from it, but the end result of my dabbling into the dark side was that I became a lot more open to the Biebs and his music.

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So much this, honestly. I disliked Justin Bieber very much when he first became popularized in the media, but with his most recent album... my opinions have absolutely changed. I can say that I'm actually sort of a fan almost a little bit. I enjoy listening to most of his recent music, Beauty and a Beat, As Long as You Love Me, and Boyfriend most notably.

When it comes to movies, I expect all action/adventure movies to completely flop because they're all basically composed of the same properties - one to four protagonists take on a mission that seems impossible on paper but they take it on anyway, two or three of them die in the process, they save the world regardless. Never saw it coming! Despite all of this I still end up liking the movie for some reason... I'm not even sure what it is. Perhaps the noticeable progression of graphical content? Perhaps the character development has advanced beyond what older movies once were? I may never know.