The Dungeon Of Underrated Movie Gems

10:59 / 24.09.01

So, I was watching some fantastic movies this week. Good stuff. Good ignored slated stuff. Par example: The Wisdom Of Crocodiles,
Henry Fool, Zero Effect and Before Sunrise. I thought maybe, if there were other movies out there that I should see, that I normally would miss out on, you could let me know. Thanks. FingerCuffs xx.

11:39 / 24.09.01

quote:Originally posted by LyssaJonze:

Henry Fool

People slated Henry Fool? Lemme-at-'em!

But seriously, if you liked that and you haven't already seen some of Hal Hartley's other stuff, do so. Amateur and Simple Men in particular are both excellent.

and Trust.

Well, I'm a lone voice crying in the wilderness for the goodness that is The Lair of the White Worm, Ken Russell's masterpiece - a tremendously clever film masquerading as a very, very bad film. Honestly.

12:40 / 24.09.01

Lair Of The White Worm is ace. It is much praised over at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/9078/cheese.htm

that

12:48 / 24.09.01

'In the Bleak Midwinter' - fantastic film, criminally overlooked, about a production of 'Hamlet'. Think Kenneth Branagh might've directed it? Had Julia Sawalha and lots of other UK actors in it...

grant

14:18 / 24.09.01

Truly, Madly, Deeply. a not-quite comedy about romance and grieving.

Hope and Glory. Little kids having a blast in bombed-out, wartime England.

The Year My Voice Broke. Bittersweet Australian coming of age story - early 60s Outback gothic.

Metropolitan. Whit Stilman's odd tale about the urban haute bourgeoisie and their gay deflection of despair.

14:44 / 24.09.01

quote:Originally posted by grantb:
Truly, Madly, Deeply. a not-quite comedy about romance and grieving.

Argh! Mother, make the bad man stop!

The Return Of Rothkoid

15:22 / 24.09.01

The Road to Wellville - corn flakes, John Cusack, laughing exercises, electrocution as health therapy, Antony Hopkins with a dodgy mo proclaiming that his bowels are "immaculate!", as well as a whole stack of other stuff. Nice. And from a T Coraghessan Boyle (sp?) story, to boot. S'nice.

Waiting For Guffman. The number of people I've met who've seen this is small, but they're invariably enthusiastic about it. Documentary-like film chronicling the most atrocious small-town (Blaine, Missouri, stool capital of the USA, hem hem) sesquicentennial celebration. Largely improv, it's just brilliant. Christopher Guest's the brains behind it; his last outing got a little more press, though wasn't quite as good. You really have to see Eugene Levy as a pioneer; fabulously bad. Must resist urge to make "stupid ass-face" joke here...

DrDee

15:41 / 24.09.01

Grosse Point Blank - I watched it a few weeks ago for the first time and was blown away.
The main character evidently spent the '80s in the same continuum in which I was - now if only I had thouight about becoming a killer....

Hell, I DID think about it, I only was not desperate enough to try it.

Not Here Still

16:14 / 24.09.01

Hmmm. Well here is where I could suggest that a lot of Almodovar's work is criminally underrated, talk about the work of auteurs like Atom Egoyan, witter about Aronofsky, or even suggest that Oliver Stone is an undderated 'commercial' director.

But I'm not going to do that...

I'm going to recommend Twin Town.

Why? Because it's funny, it's got great dialogue, and anyway, it's not really a feature film at all.

If you live in Wales, it's a documentary.

grant

16:19 / 24.09.01

quote:Originally posted by The Flyboy:

Argh! Mother, make the bad man stop!

Was that one bigger in the UK than here?

Jamieon

16:33 / 24.09.01

No, but it was crap.

And I wouldn't really describe In The Bleak MidWinter as "fantastic" and "criminally overlooked"; I mean it's alright and all that......

The Knowledge +1

17:08 / 24.09.01

Heart
Ghost Dog
The Spanish Prisoner
The Paper
Holy Smoke
Billy Bathgate
Family Business
The Colour Of Money
A Bronx Tale
Violent Streets
White Hunter, Black Heart
The Dogs Of War
Run Lola Run
Kurt and Courtney
Welcome To The Dollhouse
Buffalo 66
Cube
Swingers
Porkys
Heathers
Mad Max 2
Escape From Alcatraz
Das Boot - The Directors Cut
The Verdict
Society
In The Company Of Men
Running On Empty
Crimson Tide
Snatch
The Straight Story
Last Man Standing
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
The Funeral
Husbands and Wives
Last Of The Mohicans
Point Break
Scent of A Woman
Groundhog Day
Mad Dog and Glory
Jackie Brown
Nil By Mouth
Glengary Glenross
The Game
Empire of The Sun
The Wild Bunch
The King Of New York
Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead
JFK
Payback
Blow Out
This Is Spinal Tap
To Live and Die In LA
Your Friends And Neighbours
Leon
Johns
Ed Wood
Wild Side
The Crow
State Of Grace
Any Given Sunday

17:18 / 24.09.01

A lot of those were rated and appreciated widely. In fact, dude, those are all your favourite movies with a budget of under $40 mil! Get out of my store!

DrDee

19:22 / 24.09.01

This is getting too intellectual.
What about "Tremors"?
Low budget good fun with no strings attached.
The sequels were not so good.

Seth

"Tremors" is ace.

I'm very partial to "Six Degrees of Separation." You will believe that Will Smith can act.

Giving God a high five in the Cistine Chapel is one of my favourite movie images (along with Jim Carrey walking along the horizon and Kaneda's medium defining skid. What a bike!).

Saint Keggers

Well I gotta suggest
Highway 61
Kissed
The Pillow Book

more..when I can remeber their names...

Sundown

quote:Originally posted by Deva:
Well, I'm a lone voice crying in the wilderness for the goodness that is The Lair of the White Worm, Ken Russell's masterpiece - a tremendously clever film masquerading as a very, very bad film. Honestly.

another ken russell movie, i cant remember its title exactly, i think "last dance of salome"...

also...

"true stories" who's to say this isn't beautiful?

"the raven" we don't keep that sort of thing around the house. we're vegetarians!

"clean, shaven"

"crows"

"batman returns"

"pecker" full of grace! full of grace!

another for "henry fool"

quote:Originally posted by expressionless:
I'm very partial to "Six Degrees of Separation." You will believe that Will Smith can act.

This is a brilliant film. In fact I'd safely say it's one of my favourite films of all time (scaring me now, 'less). I could watch the opening hour or so again and again. And it love the way it seduces you into loving the wealthy, cultivated Manhattan livestyle and then shows how they're all a bunch of racist, self-centred, shallow, money-obsessed fucks...

"Chaos, control; chaos, control - you like?"

[ 25-09-2001: Message edited by: The Flyboy ]

GRIM

'Parents'

rizla mission

Mars Attacks!

The critics who panned this are morons, no question.

A work of complete cinematic genius, and if you don't understand why you don't deserve to watch films

deletia

quote:Originally posted by Deva:
Well, I'm a lone voice crying in the wilderness for the goodness that is The Lair of the White Worm, Ken Russell's masterpiece - a tremendously clever film masquerading as a very, very bad film. Honestly.

Not while there's breath in my lungs, you aren't.

Also, "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" - which just goes completely insane about halfway through and also features lovely Janeane Garofalo.

As does "Permanenet Midnight", an absolutely inexplicable film involving Ben Stiller being attacked by an ALF-substitute. For heroin.

As does "The Minus Man", a gentle, elegiac tale of serial killing featuring a superb performance by Brian Cox.

Johnny Mother

The Dentist and its sequel.

Def by Temptation

The Thin Red Line (ok, so this isnt underrated much but it was overshadowed by that spielberg helmed piece of shit which more people liked because more people got shot.)

Pumpkinhead

Dobermann

Lost Highway

and I agree with the above, The Minus Man is interesting.

Jamieon

Knowledge, as someone else said, the vast majority of the films you picked are hardly underrated. Some of them are considered cinema classics.

And 'Lost Highway'? Again I wouldn't describe this'n as lacking in critical acclaim.

There's a difference between indie/art/small release films and the underrated/criminally overlooked kind.

My selection would be 'The Hudsucker Proxy'. People always bang on about other Coen films, but never this one. It's stylish, slick, charming and 100% heartwarming.

Hoorah for the "extended plastic dingus".

Sure, sure... That is also one of my favourite films of all time.

"It's what your beatnik friends would call 'kar-mah'..."

Chubby P

10:39 / 25.09.01

Bad Taste
Brain Dead
Tromeo and Juliet

Jack Fear

10:46 / 25.09.01

Frunt: that's extruded plastic dingus. You know--for kids!

My brother-in-law was a props assistant on that film and, through his good graces, I now own a copy of the script, a prop newspaper, and best of all... a Blue Letter.

mondo a-go-go

11:08 / 25.09.01

not all of these were under-rated so much as under-released, so chances are you might not have seen them...

kitchen

small faces

lovers of the arctic circle

wonderland

beau travail

more when i think of them, i expect.

Ierne

13:07 / 25.09.01

Ken Russell did indeed direct Salomé's Last Dance, which is one of my faves as well. Gothic is another one of his that I especially enjoy.

Azrael Z

13:24 / 25.09.01

Mars Attacks - damn right!
how about Dune? panned and dismissed but visually stunning with (I think) the right flavour of the gradeur of the book. Like the sonic weaponry too!
There is always King of New York (the Walkenmovie, but strangley unknown - good use of Walken dancing and Scholley D).
Az.

[ 25-09-2001: Message edited by: Azrael Z ]