October 30th, 2014 at 12:37 PM ^
Never Cry Wolf was a good one.
I'll throw "In the Mouth of Madness" out there for horror.
October 30th, 2014 at 9:58 AM ^
A few more, based on some of my favorite actors...
Val Kilmer: Felon, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (love this movie), Tombstone
Sam Rockwell: Moon, Gentlemen Broncos was Ok, but he was easily the best part.
Michael Fassbender: Shame, Prometheus, Frank
October 30th, 2014 at 9:59 AM ^
with Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub.
October 30th, 2014 at 10:04 AM ^
Orange County
October 30th, 2014 at 10:04 AM ^
Orange County
October 30th, 2014 at 10:15 AM ^
OK -- I guess you could consider these either underrated, or perhaps, a better descriptor for some, overlooked, or long-forgotten. Anyway...
Let The Right One In (2008 - original Swedish version): The best vampire movie you'll ever see. Seriously.
Zodiac (2007): Feels almost at times like an old school "whodunnit," but just a great atmosphere throughout...highly engrossing.
Dredd (2012): Someone else already mentioned it, but I'll second it. I went in with low expectations, but was blown away. It very much has the feel of the original Die Hard, at times.
13 Assassins (2010): These kinds of movies (highly-stylized Samurai films) aren't necessarily "my thing," but this one was just unbelievably good.
The Prophecy (1995): Yes...a lot of cheese here, but...Christopher Walken. Enough said. They made a ton of sequels...and I ended up seeing them all. The second and the third aren't THAT bad, but after that, the franchise falls off the cliff.
The Act of Killing (Director's Cut - 2012): It's a documentary that has to be seen to be believed. From the Netflix description: "In this unsettling documentary, Indonesian death squad leaders reenact their real-life mass killings in the style of American movies they love." Yeah. It's THAT odd.
Redbelt (2008): David Mamet meets jujitsu. Enough said. Awesome movie. Superb ending.
Warrior (2011): Again...not necessarily in my genre wheelhouse (MMA-related), but damn if this movie wasn't awesome.
Timecrimes (2007): The best time-travel movie I've ever seen. Forget Back To The Future. Forget Primer. This one is where it's at. The first 10 minutes in, you might be like, "Fuck this," but stick with it...because it pays off in the end, and then some.
State of Grace (1990): Yeah, Sean Penn kinda annoys the piss out of me these days, but back in the day, this movie was one of my favorites...and it still holds up well. Ed Harris is great here, as is Gary Oldman and John Turturro. Yup...a terrific cast all around.
Time Bandits (1981): A movie I've loved from childhood, that I still very much love today. Often forgotten in the Terry Gilliam catalog, this one is just entertaining as hell, start to finish. Very, very dark at times, too -- especially the ending.
OK, enough for now -- I could go on all day.
October 30th, 2014 at 11:47 AM ^
I really liked Warrior, and Redbelt is underrated. I agree with you on 13 Assassins. I love samurai movies, but hate the highly stylized stuff Miike tends to do (think 300). But that was a really good movie.
October 30th, 2014 at 10:15 AM ^
All the Right Moves
Elling
The Trip
Election
The Emmanuele series
October 30th, 2014 at 10:24 AM ^
Well regarded but little known movie, Primer. A great examiniation of Time-travel. The same guy made the movie Upstream Color in 2013.
October 30th, 2014 at 10:27 AM ^
I mentioned it, but I think that Timecrimes blows Primer away. Still, Primer is very good in its own right.
October 30th, 2014 at 10:32 AM ^
Lethal Weapon 4
October 30th, 2014 at 10:37 AM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 10:53 AM ^
Another Korean film I'd recommend (though not under-rated) is "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring". Very slow movie, so you need to be in a patient state of mind, but if you're willing to do that, it was my favorite Korean movie.
In the last decade or two, the Koreans have produced as many high-quality movies as any other foreign nation (I hesitate to comment on the whole state of Korean film, as I'm sure there are also tons of awful movies that we never get a chance nor really want a chance to see, just as America does).
October 30th, 2014 at 2:29 PM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 12:03 PM ^
I Saw The Devil...yeah...brutal. But what an awesome movie.
October 30th, 2014 at 10:34 AM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 10:41 AM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 11:04 AM ^
Japanese Cinema was at its peak, and as good as any other nation in terms of high-quality movies, from the start of the 50s to the mid-60s. After that it became much more hit or miss, as the hippie experimental craze came into full swing, but before then the movie industry in Japan was outstanding (with many great B-movies just as USA had).
Kurosawa and Ozu came to fame around '49 and '50 and brought a wave of very good directors like Mizoguchi, Naruse, Inagaki, and Kobayashi (Harakiri director), as well as great series like Zatoichi and Godzilla. Great era of films, with many Samurai films being the equivalent of the "Western" in that era (and many of the greatest Westerns being based on Japanese Samurai movies).
October 30th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
What's Up, Tiger Lily?
October 30th, 2014 at 1:54 PM ^
A recent samurai movie that i really liked was Twilight Samurai, really slow movie but I was moved by it.
October 30th, 2014 at 10:43 AM ^
No Way Out.
Motel Hell
October 30th, 2014 at 10:53 AM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
I'm posting for a friend.
October 30th, 2014 at 10:55 AM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 10:57 AM ^
Red Dragon (2002)
The Prestige (2006)
Anonymous (2011)
Super 8 (2011)
The Conjuring (2013)
October 30th, 2014 at 11:14 AM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 11:16 AM ^
Barely Legal 7
October 30th, 2014 at 11:19 AM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 11:21 AM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 11:24 AM ^
While it did garner two Oscars it never did well at the box office and has largely been forgotten aside from a niche audience.
October 30th, 2014 at 11:26 AM ^
only got a 72% audience score at Rotten Tomatoes.
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death is seriously underrated.
Waterworld only got a 43%. It gets mentioned as one of the biggest busts in cinematic history, but I enjoyed watching that movie to see how bad someone could make something when given enough money to fulfill their vision. Sort of like our football team this season.
October 30th, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
is honestly not THAT bad. if you forget "The Road Warrior" ever existed it's even better.
October 30th, 2014 at 12:14 PM ^
There are a lot of great movies that have been brought up. Some really good comedies (comedies are always difficult to recommend without knowing people) that show it's not just "film" as well.
But as a bit of a film-nerd, I have to say, sometimes great movies are just great, fun, movies. It doesn't need to be "film". Obviously movies like Indiana Jones and Star Wars, but also movies like Jurassic Park, Terminator, any Hitchcock movie, Die Hard, Heat, LA Confidential, Jaws, Shutter Island, some of the Arnold movies; movies that are just good entertaining movies, those are just as valuable, and often get lost in lists like these because no one wants to be the person that says they love "Air Force One" with Harrison Ford. Well those people can "Get off my plane!" (Every four years I'm tempted to write in James Marshall for president because it's important to him that he catches the Michigan football game, and he's a badass that 'murica needs).
October 30th, 2014 at 11:49 AM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 12:57 PM ^
Speaking of Cameron Crowe, I Bought A Zoo was a pretty good non-saccharin family movie. And Singles is one of my all-time faves.
October 30th, 2014 at 2:19 PM ^
Cliff Poncier and Citizen Dick have a huge following in Belgium.
October 30th, 2014 at 11:53 AM ^
...I STRONGLY suggest you see "War, Inc." Sometimes referred to as "the spiritual successor to 'Gross Pointe Blank'". John & Joan Cusack, Dan Aykroyd, Marisa Tomei, Hilary Duff (best scene in the movie), Ben Kingsley.
October 30th, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^
War, Inc. was spectacularly bad. I remember being literally depressed after wasting my time watching. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
October 30th, 2014 at 11:58 AM ^
THE VERDICT Paul Newman, directed by Sidney Lumet, written by David Mamet...and the cast!
...and ELECTION "Tracy Flick for President"
October 30th, 2014 at 11:59 AM ^
hilarious movie
October 30th, 2014 at 12:01 PM ^
because he made modern message movies raising issues about government intrusion into privacy through technology and US interference and influence in foreign government. And he made Spy Game, an all-time favorite of mine, which was released during 9/11, which significantly damaged its box office. And he also made Enemy of the State, a great movie about Big Brother eavesdropping capability, featuring an outstanding cast.
October 30th, 2014 at 12:04 PM ^
Argo fuck yourself.
October 30th, 2014 at 12:09 PM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 12:13 PM ^
Scent of a Woman.... In spite of the the presence of Pacino and Chris O'Donnell, a young Philip Seymour Hoffman plays a bit part and owns it.... Also a young Gabrielle Anwar.
The first 2 Daniel Craig Bond films.
October 30th, 2014 at 12:16 PM ^
That was still early on in the Al Pacino playing Al Pacino by yelling and screaming (he was a great actor before that), so it was still acceptable Al Pacino at the time. So, in my mind, Pacino isn't a problem with that acting style yet in that movie.
October 30th, 2014 at 12:26 PM ^
the careers of Pacino and DeNiro have diverged. When Pacino signs on to something to cash a big check he's still pretending to be an artist (Any Given Sunday). When DeNiro does it he's winking at the audience (Fockers).
October 30th, 2014 at 12:28 PM ^
I don't doubt Pacino's brilliance early on (even if I'm not the biggest fan of Scarface).
October 30th, 2014 at 1:17 PM ^
October 30th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^
except Godfather 3 of course.
October 30th, 2014 at 2:53 PM ^
NYC police corruption and that is my favorite Pacino performance. Lumet's Dog Day Afternoon was nominated and well-received and had some great performances, Another Lumet movie, Prince of the City, harkened back to Serpico in portraying NY police detective corruption. It's a very underrated smaller budget film with a lesser known cast with a young Treat Williams in the starring role of a cop who turns informer. Then Williams played a smaller role in a gangster film made by the director of Serpico starring James Woods and Robert DeNiro.
That film, Once Upon a Time in America, about turn of the century kids in NY rising to become bigtime hoodlums during the Prohibition era is a purely fictionalized account of the growth of organized crime but direct precedent to Boardwalk Empire, Terrence Winter's historical drama about the roots of a bootlegging criminal network in Atlantic City using both real and fictional, plot-driven characters shades on another earlier film,Ragtime, that explored racial and criminal themes using real life characters with James Cagney playing a police commander in his final film performance.