15 Most Underrated Movies Of 2016

It’s a rare feat for a film to be both lavished with critical praise and a hit with moviegoers en masse. More often than not, a movie is beloved by critics but snubbed by audiences by audiences once it hits cinemas or, on the flipside, panned by critics and raved about by audiences. Sometimes a snubbing, whether from critics or audiences, is entirely warranted but it often means that brilliant (or at least not totally awful) movies are dismissed before they’ve even been given a chance.

It happens all the time: the big budget superhero movie is lambasted for its focus on action while the micro budget indie flick, if indeed it gets a wide enough release, is not as appealing to audiences as a blockbuster would be. But fear not: from low budget indies that critics loved but flopped at the box office to critically panned moviegoer favourites, we’re here to inform you of the year’s most underrated films and why they’re deserving of your time. Give ‘em another chance, eh?

Starring Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele (of Key & Peele fame) as cousins who find themselves embroiled in Los Angeles’ drug underworld after their cute adopted kitten is kidnapped, Keanu is a hilarious action comedy that somehow managed to flop massively at the box office. It probably didn’t help that it was released around the time of the all-eclipsing success of Captain America: Civil War, but it’s director Peter Atencio apparently suspected that it was the film’s misleading marketing that hindered Keanu’s success as much of it focused on its feline cast member, the titular Keanu. Kittens are an obvious marketing choice because who doesn’t love a cute kitty, but in this case it perhaps suggested a middling family-oriented comedy rather than the R-rated comedy Keanu actually is.

If you need another reason to give it a chance beyond its feline star and the fact that Key and Peele are hilarious, then perhaps a voice cameo in which Keanu Reeves voices his namesake kitten should motive enough.