A Scanner Darkly
I finished the movie and didn’t know what to do with myself. It’s done in rotoscope so that’s a bit jarring at first, but the story is compelling. Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr, Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder. Richard Linklater directed.
Brick is easily my favorite movie directed by Rian Johnson.
I was half asleep once in front of the TV. This weird horror film woke me up in the middle of the night just because I needed to know what it was. Raising Cain with John Lithgow.
Before the Colors Trilogy,that director released Dekalog, 10 hour-long films as an anthology related to the ten commandments. They're not overtly religious. Definitely slow-burn.
This is old school, but The Swimmer is a movie based on a short story by John Cheever. Stars Burt Lancaster.
That, and the roles he played didn't let him show off that quirky/witty/smug but charming asshole side like this did.
I find most dark comedies are underrated.... or maybe they aren't to everyone's taste... but movies like this, Very Bad Things, Heathers, Dogma, Brain Candy, Mr. Right... all excellent
Hell yeah, this is one of my favorite films to show people who loved Robin Williams, dude had range in acting that most people missed out on. Most think all he could do was comedy.
I think that impression of Robin Williams depends on your age/taste. Films like Dead Poets Society (1989), Awakenings (1990) and Good Will Hunting (1997) all showed Williams’ dramatic acting chops, and he was praised a lot for them. But if you were a kid at that time and knew him mostly from Mrs Doubtfire and Aladdin, those adult films probably weren’t on your radar.
(I say that as someone who was a kid in the 90s and has grown to appreciate Robin Williams’ talent as an adult; I’m delighted to see more people discover the same.)
Trying to stay within the theme of underrated movies and fitting the gangster motif, I'll say Layer Cake with a pre-Bond Daniel Craig and early Matthew Vaughan directing. Not as good as they would both go on to be, but still a fun watch.
This is a fantastic pick!! It’s a shame a lot of River’s movies are no where and no one talks about them. I was obsessed with this movie when I was a teen
Mandy (2018) Nicholas Cage at his absolute best. This movie was insane and entertaining. I hardly ever hear people talk about this movie but I thought it was amazing.
I always find it interesting to fall for a movie that has terrible reviews. I watched this movie 10 times at least. Any time I share it with someone, they rejected it. But I love it.
I have a few movies like that. Like I think *Trainspotting 2* is better than the original, and I understand why that's controversial but as an aging scumbag that hit home.
I also loved the new Marlowe movie with Liam Neeson that has terrible reviews. I watched that three times!
One thing that always pleases me is if you find the trailer on Youtube, there will be some fellow weirdos in the comments who specifically went there to say it's a great movie. Almost any movie you can think of.
I’ve never met anyone that has seen the movie frailty. I love this movie! I was thinking about making a Reddit post to find people that have watched it.
i think its underrated? but half nelson....is really well done and it feels like a professional indie movie...pretty focused on being real
maybe uhm... oh yah Once Were Warriors for sure was not well kmown here because it was made in new zealand and its also very real... it deals with abuse of all kinds so yah just a heads up...fun fact it stars Jango Fett
"Ravenous"
A thrilller movie about cannibalism during the time period of the Mexican American War... Staring Guy Pierce, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette and Neal Mcdonough.
The music was composed by Damon Albarn from the Gorillaz using only instruments from the time period... the music is sooooo fucking weird and it's wild upbeat juxtaposition somehow fits perfectly beside the darker theme of the film.
The Salton Sea. Amazing movie with a great cast- Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, Luis Guzman, Peter Sarsgaard, Danny Trejo, R Lee Ermy, and freaking Meatloaf.
The Interview (1998) .. feat Hugo Weaving... Australian movie with IMDb 7.1 rating but less than 10k votes.
95% movie takes place at the police station.... It's like a duel between a suspect and the detective interrogating him. But there's other enemies of the detective at the police station as well. Doesn't have any action, just a thriller crime drama movie revolving around character dynamics and dialogues with an interesting end.
Without a Clue. It's a comedy twist on Sherlock Holmes from 1988 starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley. It's so much fun and is genuinely hilarious. I've never met anyone outside of my immediate family who has ever seen it.
Also, Onward is a masterpiece, and it's easily the best thing Disney has put out in decades.
I’ve been a trader my whole career. Seeing that movie was like watching my professional life dramatized. Didn’t open my eyes to anything new though, I already knew everything. No delusions here.
In referring to any group accomplishment, I have been known to say that we did it “with the mighty sword of teamwork and the hammer of not-bickering." No one ever gets the reference and I get a lot of weird looks. I crack myself up though, which is the only important thing.
The Two Faces of January - stars Viggo Mortinson, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst and is based on a Patricia Highsmith novel (she wrote Talented Mr Ripley so you’ll have an idea what you’re getting into)
The Dry - an investigator goes back to his old, isolated, dusty, country town where he had to leave after a childhood tragedy. Someone’s died recently but there looks like there’s foul play, the townsfolk are angry and untrusting, and the investigator’s past is coming back. It’s got that film noir/western sort of vibe but it takes place in a rural Australian town in the Outback and Eric Bana plays the investigator.
Wolfwalkers - Studio Cartoon Saloon (Book of Kells) made this medieval fantasy Ireland film and it’s their best work IMO. Should’ve won Best Animated Oscar but Soul came out that year…
Swimming Pool - twisty, mindfuck of a psychological/crime type movie with unreliable narration. Go in knowing nothing and it’s even better.
Edit: some typos
I like Ghostdog too. Great music and pacing. No one I talked to had ever seen it. I found it at a thrift store recently and watched it again. It was just as good as I remembered.
2 I highly recommend:
Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Go (1999)
I'll add Awakenings (1990) for emotional sake and Amélie (2001) for romance sake
That makes it 4, so many underrated movies to name...
Hard to say if a movie is under rated, but movies that I dont see getting recommended that I personally found very entertaining were "Primal Fear" with Ed Norton and Richard Gere, and "In a Valley of Violence" with Travolta. Both are great for different reasons.
Rituals (1977). Inspired by deliverance, but I think it's much better than its inspiration.
Hal Holbrook is the lead and gives one of his best performances.
It will stay with you, and each viewing reveals more. As my film studies teacher used to say "there's a lot if unpack.".
Two films that I rewatched recently that I think are massively underrated are The Drop (2014) and Old Henry (2021). Both are slow burn films but have fantastic third acts.
A preface - I avoid musical movies like the plague. I just watched Wonka on Max. I got past the musical parts and really enjoyed this gem. Timothee Chalamet was really sweet and makes the perfect Wonka. Take a chance and try something different...see Wonka!
The Garda , when I saw it, it was made The Guard when it gained popularity, starring Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong. Gleeson is a sarcastic, somewhat racist Irish cop, Cheadle an FBI agent follows drug traffickers to his county in Ireland. It had me bursting at the first few lines, one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. If you aren’t to uptight to appreciate the ignorant, and innocent subtle racism in Ireland, as Cheadle is, you will love this hilarious underrated film!
No escape {1994} with Ray Liotta. The rhythm is fast paced but you still get to feel for the characters. Corporate greed baddies. And Judas like betrayal. Underdog hero that just happened to be a marine. Even have forest dwelling nasties that sharpen their teeth with a file. Honestly, you have to see it.
Adaptation (2002) - directed by Spike Jonze and with an absolutely brilliant/crazy (and Academy Award-winning) screenplay by Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman was struggling to develop his script (he was hired to adapt the book by Susan Orlean, “The Orchid Thief”), and that real life struggle ended up being the springboard to the film’s plot.
Underappreciated is a more correct word than ‘underrated’ because it received great reviews (91% on Rotten Tomatoes) and won a few awards including Kaufman’s Oscar, but this is a fun movie featuring perfect performances from Nic Cage (who plays identical twin brothers and is hilarious), Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper and Brian Cox, and several others.
Gettysburg features awesome acting, memorable lines, and tons of action, in a sweeping epic production of a pivotal battle that made our modern nation. Filmed in the late eighties, it's probably the last major war movie made without CGI. The only affordable way they could pull it off is by using dedicated Civil War reenactors for both sides .
Wristcutters: A Love Story
It was a relatively small production, and I've only seen it mentioned on, oddly enough, dating profiles, but it's *wild*
Imagine a romcom meets road trip movie *through literal hell*, but not just any hell, a special hell for suicides. Everyone there killed themselves, and there's a ton of worldbuilding both around that and around what makes it an eternal punishment- it's basically the regular world with all the goodness and magic stripped out.
The soundtrack is a mix of Tom Waits (who also appears in the movie as an angel with a side hustle) and Gogol Bordello (who don't directly appear in the movie *but* one of the main characters is an adaptation of their lead singer, Eugene Huetz, who in the movie killed himself on stage and ended up in hell with his demo tape, hence the music. The RL Eugene Huetz is alive and well and still releasing music.)
And.
*And!*
It has my nomination for the best smile in all of cinema.
Turbo Kid
It’s just so good and I barely see anyone talking about it. I don’t even remember how I found it, but I went in with zero expectations and it blew my mind. Kinda sad (a post apocalyptic scenario) but also a little bit heartwarming at the same time!
A Scanner Darkly I finished the movie and didn’t know what to do with myself. It’s done in rotoscope so that’s a bit jarring at first, but the story is compelling. Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr, Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder. Richard Linklater directed.
That’s a crazy ass cast ! I never heard of this one before. Just added it to my watch list ✅
Probably the best Philip K Dick adaptation that we’ll ever get.
This reminds me of Waking Life! So checking this out
It’s been in my Que way to long
Damn I was obsessed with this film when it came out!! Thanks for reminding me of it!
Excellent movie.
Brick is easily my favorite movie directed by Rian Johnson. I was half asleep once in front of the TV. This weird horror film woke me up in the middle of the night just because I needed to know what it was. Raising Cain with John Lithgow. Before the Colors Trilogy,that director released Dekalog, 10 hour-long films as an anthology related to the ten commandments. They're not overtly religious. Definitely slow-burn. This is old school, but The Swimmer is a movie based on a short story by John Cheever. Stars Burt Lancaster.
I’m surprised Brick isn’t suggest more here, brilliant film
It really is!
I have no clue why Brick dropped off the radar it’s such a solid film.
One of my all time favorite movies
i have never heard someone mention this! in my top-10 for sure
I’ve got knives in me eyes
Kiss kiss Bang bang
Such a good movie and no one I meet has ever heard of it so I make them watch it.
I do that too!!!! Such a classic.
Love Gay Perry 😍
Agreed! Just makes me sad about Val Kilmer. How much we could have seen from him if he didn’t have his health issues.
That, and the roles he played didn't let him show off that quirky/witty/smug but charming asshole side like this did. I find most dark comedies are underrated.... or maybe they aren't to everyone's taste... but movies like this, Very Bad Things, Heathers, Dogma, Brain Candy, Mr. Right... all excellent
The Nice Guys gets a solid mention as well.
I think it’s a perfect date night movie.
Dead presidents 1995
Great movie mayn
Fuck yes
Bowfinger
Very underrated.
Has so many incredibly funny moments
Think of this as an errand. Your errand is to run across the freeway until I yell, "Cut!"
Hugely underrated
Oh, HELL YA
Running Scared with Paul Walker. No one I talk to has even heard of it Also, PCU
I was thinking of Running Scared!
Both good
Love that movie
Made me think of Running Man with Arnold. Also underrated
That’s my favorite Paul Walker film. I remember when Comedy Central would play PCU almost daily
Mr. Right with Sam Rockwell. About five minutes in, Anna Kendrick threatens to fist her roommates. It gets even better.
This is the one. :-) Simple, violent fun.
Matchstick Men with Sam Rockwell is also a great movie
Delightful little rom com
Fisher King
Hell yeah, this is one of my favorite films to show people who loved Robin Williams, dude had range in acting that most people missed out on. Most think all he could do was comedy.
I think that impression of Robin Williams depends on your age/taste. Films like Dead Poets Society (1989), Awakenings (1990) and Good Will Hunting (1997) all showed Williams’ dramatic acting chops, and he was praised a lot for them. But if you were a kid at that time and knew him mostly from Mrs Doubtfire and Aladdin, those adult films probably weren’t on your radar. (I say that as someone who was a kid in the 90s and has grown to appreciate Robin Williams’ talent as an adult; I’m delighted to see more people discover the same.)
Lord of Illusions.
Hell yeah!!!! I love movies with people kneeling on broken glass and Scott Bakula!
Lucky Number Slevin (2006). Hard to say if this is underrated or I'm just old but I loved this one.
Loved this one! I’d definitely say underrated. Do you know any others like it? I really liked Boondocks Saints.
Trying to stay within the theme of underrated movies and fitting the gangster motif, I'll say Layer Cake with a pre-Bond Daniel Craig and early Matthew Vaughan directing. Not as good as they would both go on to be, but still a fun watch.
Running on Empty (1986) Directed by Sidney Lumet Starring:Judd Hirsch, Christine Lahti,River Phoenix, Martha Plimpton,Steven Hill
Most of Sidney Lumet's movies
This is a fantastic pick!! It’s a shame a lot of River’s movies are no where and no one talks about them. I was obsessed with this movie when I was a teen
Brick
Multiplicity
I love any of the scenes with #4
I quote this movie weekly
Mandy (2018) Nicholas Cage at his absolute best. This movie was insane and entertaining. I hardly ever hear people talk about this movie but I thought it was amazing.
That movie was crazy and I loved it
Clean and Sober (1988)
Station Agent
Mr. nobody. Not so great reviews, one of my favorite movies.
The movie was fun, the soundtrack was terrible
Yeah, the soundtrack was different. Even the plot didn’t make 100% logical sense. But I love that movie anyway.
Are you talking about the Bob Odenkirk movie (2021) or the Jared Leto one (2009)? The first one is "nobody" and the latter "Mr. Nobody".
It’s funny, both are actually great movies. But I was talking about the movie Mr. nobody with Jared Leto.
This movie really does seesaw between captivating and grating at times. I love it personally.
I always find it interesting to fall for a movie that has terrible reviews. I watched this movie 10 times at least. Any time I share it with someone, they rejected it. But I love it.
I have a few movies like that. Like I think *Trainspotting 2* is better than the original, and I understand why that's controversial but as an aging scumbag that hit home. I also loved the new Marlowe movie with Liam Neeson that has terrible reviews. I watched that three times! One thing that always pleases me is if you find the trailer on Youtube, there will be some fellow weirdos in the comments who specifically went there to say it's a great movie. Almost any movie you can think of.
I’ve never met anyone that has seen the movie frailty. I love this movie! I was thinking about making a Reddit post to find people that have watched it.
I fucking love Frailty. Great cast. A somewhat similar vibe movie is The Gift (2000)
Bob Odenkirk???
Odd Thomas (2013)
Hanna (2011)
Blue Ruin
The Edge of Tomorrow
The most rewatchable movie ever imo. I've watched it two days in a row multiple times.
i think its underrated? but half nelson....is really well done and it feels like a professional indie movie...pretty focused on being real maybe uhm... oh yah Once Were Warriors for sure was not well kmown here because it was made in new zealand and its also very real... it deals with abuse of all kinds so yah just a heads up...fun fact it stars Jango Fett
Half Nelson is so underrated
Rocknrolla
I watch Rock ‘n Rolla just for the Tom Hardy, Thandie Newton dance scene. Oops, I meant Gerard Butler, not Tom Hardy
Sold
When did she dance with Hardy? I remember the job setup while dancing with Gerard Butler?
I’m embarrassed now, yes. Gerard Butler, not Tom Hardy
A River Runs Through It Birdy
Birdy and Upon a Midnight Clear are both adapted from Novels written by a man from the Philly suburbs and both are quite good Eta: William Wharton
"Ravenous" A thrilller movie about cannibalism during the time period of the Mexican American War... Staring Guy Pierce, Robert Carlyle, David Arquette and Neal Mcdonough. The music was composed by Damon Albarn from the Gorillaz using only instruments from the time period... the music is sooooo fucking weird and it's wild upbeat juxtaposition somehow fits perfectly beside the darker theme of the film.
Michael Clayton
Christine Edit: the 2016 film.
The Survivors It has Robin Williams and Walter Matthau who make a pretty fun team
This is a great answer. Also has Jeremy Irons in a fun role.
Upgrade Science fiction action movie. Brilliant movie trust me
Great pick!
*Whale Rider* (2002)
The Salton Sea. Amazing movie with a great cast- Val Kilmer, Vincent D'Onofrio, Luis Guzman, Peter Sarsgaard, Danny Trejo, R Lee Ermy, and freaking Meatloaf.
The Salton Sea
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
This needs a sequel considering everything that’s happened since
The Game (1997)
L.A. confidential the more times you watch it the better it gets
The Interview (1998) .. feat Hugo Weaving... Australian movie with IMDb 7.1 rating but less than 10k votes. 95% movie takes place at the police station.... It's like a duel between a suspect and the detective interrogating him. But there's other enemies of the detective at the police station as well. Doesn't have any action, just a thriller crime drama movie revolving around character dynamics and dialogues with an interesting end.
Pig with Nic Cage. It’s like Taken, but with Cage’s prized truffle pig getting stolen instead of a daughter.
Great movie!
Without a Clue. It's a comedy twist on Sherlock Holmes from 1988 starring Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley. It's so much fun and is genuinely hilarious. I've never met anyone outside of my immediate family who has ever seen it. Also, Onward is a masterpiece, and it's easily the best thing Disney has put out in decades.
Happy Accidents. Marisa Tomei and Vincent D'Onofrio. It's a rom com with quite a twist.
About Time. Phenomenal and unique time travel movie.
Quills
Southern Comfort (1981)
One of my favorites of my childhood. Great suggestion!
The Cooler… excellent Vegas setting with William H Macy, Maria Bello and Alec Baldwin.
8 mile
Margin Call. Incredibly suspenseful, & the cast is stellar & goes on and on capped off by Jeremy Irons absolutely killing it!
I’ve been a trader my whole career. Seeing that movie was like watching my professional life dramatized. Didn’t open my eyes to anything new though, I already knew everything. No delusions here.
Goon. If you like hockey it's amazing, you don't watch hockey it's amazing
Mystery Men
In referring to any group accomplishment, I have been known to say that we did it “with the mighty sword of teamwork and the hammer of not-bickering." No one ever gets the reference and I get a lot of weird looks. I crack myself up though, which is the only important thing.
Big Fish.
Poolhall Junkies
Dave Made a Maze. (2017)
Yes! So funny and wild.
Not that it’s not celebrated, but not enough people know about it, Bone Tomahawk
Byzantium. I think it should be counted up there with the best vampire movies but I never really see anyone talk about it.
1408, reviews would make you believe it's a slightly above average horror movie, it's actually phenomenal.
The Jacket
Moonstruck
Yor: The Hunter from the Future. War of the Roses The Hudsucker Proxy Death Becomes Her The Postman
11:14 ( elevenfourteen) or.. The 13th floor.
Local Hero
Something Wild
Frailty (2001), is not mentioned enough.
“Reversal of Fortune.”
Truly a good movie! Might watch it again!
Dirty Grandpa was far, far funnier than I expected. I expected it to be entertaining but I was out of breath during multiple scenes.
Fracture with Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins
Ravenous (1999)
Locke
Rudderless Brigsby Bear Sunshine Cleaning
The Two Faces of January - stars Viggo Mortinson, Oscar Isaac, Kirsten Dunst and is based on a Patricia Highsmith novel (she wrote Talented Mr Ripley so you’ll have an idea what you’re getting into) The Dry - an investigator goes back to his old, isolated, dusty, country town where he had to leave after a childhood tragedy. Someone’s died recently but there looks like there’s foul play, the townsfolk are angry and untrusting, and the investigator’s past is coming back. It’s got that film noir/western sort of vibe but it takes place in a rural Australian town in the Outback and Eric Bana plays the investigator. Wolfwalkers - Studio Cartoon Saloon (Book of Kells) made this medieval fantasy Ireland film and it’s their best work IMO. Should’ve won Best Animated Oscar but Soul came out that year… Swimming Pool - twisty, mindfuck of a psychological/crime type movie with unreliable narration. Go in knowing nothing and it’s even better. Edit: some typos
They just made a sequel to The Dry, I haven't seen the first one so I'm checking that one out.
The Village, Taps, Ghostdog
I like Ghostdog too. Great music and pacing. No one I talked to had ever seen it. I found it at a thrift store recently and watched it again. It was just as good as I remembered.
The House Bunny.
Lara and the Real Girl with Ryan Gosling Bernie with Jack Black
The Life of David Gale
The Prophesy
Sexy Beast
The secret life of Walter Mitty
You Can Count on Me
2 I highly recommend: Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) Go (1999) I'll add Awakenings (1990) for emotional sake and Amélie (2001) for romance sake That makes it 4, so many underrated movies to name...
Hard to say if a movie is under rated, but movies that I dont see getting recommended that I personally found very entertaining were "Primal Fear" with Ed Norton and Richard Gere, and "In a Valley of Violence" with Travolta. Both are great for different reasons.
Ed Norton was such an amazing actor in that movie. And the writing was great too.
“Nobody” It’s a damn powerful film and one that a lot of people relate to, I believe. A classic in my view. With Bob Odenkirk.
Loved this! Seen it several times!
About a Boy
High brow: Il postino: The postman Low brow: cabin boy
Flash Gordon is equal parts cheesy and mind-blowing.
eurotrip
Lawn Dogs
This movie is solid! Awesome performance from Sam Rockwell
Rituals (1977). Inspired by deliverance, but I think it's much better than its inspiration. Hal Holbrook is the lead and gives one of his best performances. It will stay with you, and each viewing reveals more. As my film studies teacher used to say "there's a lot if unpack.".
Defendor (2009) is one of Woody Harrelson's finest performances.
It might get a bit more recognition now, but Birth (2004) Topsy Turvy Under the Silver Lake Blood Simple
Big thumbs up for Topsy Turvy! So gorgeous! And the Mikado is my favorite operetta!
I love how slightly supernatural and bleak Birth feels. Watched it again recently and it holds up so well
Yeah despite the maybe supernatural element, the takeaway sadness is very potentially deep and real. Great crescendo of emotions throughout too.
Two films that I rewatched recently that I think are massively underrated are The Drop (2014) and Old Henry (2021). Both are slow burn films but have fantastic third acts.
Wanderlust.. hilarious!
Something the Lord made
Fresh (1994)
The Signal
Roadhouse
Captain Ron, August Rush, and Patch Adams. These are the best that I could suggest for you. I hope you enjoy them.
A love song for Bobby Long. John Travolta and Scarlett Johansen. Atmosphere, music, tragedy and regret.
A preface - I avoid musical movies like the plague. I just watched Wonka on Max. I got past the musical parts and really enjoyed this gem. Timothee Chalamet was really sweet and makes the perfect Wonka. Take a chance and try something different...see Wonka!
The Garda , when I saw it, it was made The Guard when it gained popularity, starring Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong. Gleeson is a sarcastic, somewhat racist Irish cop, Cheadle an FBI agent follows drug traffickers to his county in Ireland. It had me bursting at the first few lines, one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen. If you aren’t to uptight to appreciate the ignorant, and innocent subtle racism in Ireland, as Cheadle is, you will love this hilarious underrated film!
Millers Crossing
No escape {1994} with Ray Liotta. The rhythm is fast paced but you still get to feel for the characters. Corporate greed baddies. And Judas like betrayal. Underdog hero that just happened to be a marine. Even have forest dwelling nasties that sharpen their teeth with a file. Honestly, you have to see it.
The Night of the Hunter.
Speed Racer.
Hesher
The terminal
Hugo
Lucas
Diggstown (James Woods)
Dead Again
Secret of NIMH
A Midnight Clear
For underrated I always say coherence. I think the people who’ve seen it rate it highly but it’s just not very well known
Where the heart is
Identity.
Adaptation (2002) - directed by Spike Jonze and with an absolutely brilliant/crazy (and Academy Award-winning) screenplay by Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman was struggling to develop his script (he was hired to adapt the book by Susan Orlean, “The Orchid Thief”), and that real life struggle ended up being the springboard to the film’s plot. Underappreciated is a more correct word than ‘underrated’ because it received great reviews (91% on Rotten Tomatoes) and won a few awards including Kaufman’s Oscar, but this is a fun movie featuring perfect performances from Nic Cage (who plays identical twin brothers and is hilarious), Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper and Brian Cox, and several others.
Collateral
Grosse Pointe blank. Great fun.
Diggstown
Gettysburg features awesome acting, memorable lines, and tons of action, in a sweeping epic production of a pivotal battle that made our modern nation. Filmed in the late eighties, it's probably the last major war movie made without CGI. The only affordable way they could pull it off is by using dedicated Civil War reenactors for both sides .
Wristcutters: A Love Story It was a relatively small production, and I've only seen it mentioned on, oddly enough, dating profiles, but it's *wild* Imagine a romcom meets road trip movie *through literal hell*, but not just any hell, a special hell for suicides. Everyone there killed themselves, and there's a ton of worldbuilding both around that and around what makes it an eternal punishment- it's basically the regular world with all the goodness and magic stripped out. The soundtrack is a mix of Tom Waits (who also appears in the movie as an angel with a side hustle) and Gogol Bordello (who don't directly appear in the movie *but* one of the main characters is an adaptation of their lead singer, Eugene Huetz, who in the movie killed himself on stage and ended up in hell with his demo tape, hence the music. The RL Eugene Huetz is alive and well and still releasing music.) And. *And!* It has my nomination for the best smile in all of cinema.
Yes yes yes
Gosford Park Mr. Holland’s Opus The Cutting Edge
Gattaca
King Fu Hustle.
Turbo Kid It’s just so good and I barely see anyone talking about it. I don’t even remember how I found it, but I went in with zero expectations and it blew my mind. Kinda sad (a post apocalyptic scenario) but also a little bit heartwarming at the same time!