Underrated Movies

[Erin]

^ Little Children was good! Did you read the book?

 

[peppi]

Nice thread, when I have the time I'll definetly try and look for some of these films..

Mine are Beautiful Girls, Drop Dead Gorgeous, In America and that one with Emily Blunt and the red-headed girl whose name I can't remember and the film title I can't remember..

 

[Empress Merel]

Requiem for a Dream. A must-see, but also something you don't want to see. It get's to you. Truly one of the best movies ever.

 

[Erin]

Mine are Beautiful Girls, Drop Dead Gorgeous, In America and that one with Emily Blunt and the red-headed girl whose name I can't remember and the film title I can't remember..

Ohhh, Sunshine Cleaning! With Blunt and Amy Adams! What a good flick. Underrated, indeed.

 

[DJGroove]

Mostly films not made in the USA and not in English.
It appals me. How hard can it possibly be to read subtitles for the sake of good and quality cinema?

 

[CaitlinC]

Babe
Fear and Loathing Las Vegas
The Libertine
Charlotte's Web
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Dawn of the Dead ( original)

 

[XxXRedRubYXxX]

Nice thread, when I have the time I'll definetly try and look for some of these films..

Mine are Beautiful Girls, Drop Dead Gorgeous, In America and that one with Emily Blunt and the red-headed girl whose name I can't remember and the film title I can't remember..

Ohhh, Sunshine Cleaning! With Blunt and Amy Adams! What a good flick. Underrated, indeed.

I agree on these movies except Beautiful Girls I haven't seen it before.

Observe & Report... one of the best comedies I have seen in a long time.
Eurotrip From beginning to end it's very, very funny.
Suspiria is scary as hell I don't think alot of people have seen the movie though.
Taxi Driver is also a very good movie but when compared with alot of other Scorcese movies people don't know it much.

 

[sobriquet87]

Some movies I think are underrated include:

Lust, Caution....it's so beautifully acted and directed. I think it got overlooked a lot, because of the NC-17 rating it received.
Just Friends...it's SO funny and just a great film overall.
Fish Tank...it's a small British film that I don't think a lot of people have seen. It's brilliant and it won a Bafta.
Salt...I thought this movie was brilliant, but I don't think it got the attention it deserves, because there's a female in a lead action role.
28 Days Later...one of the best horror films I've ever seen, but I don't think it gets a lot of love.
House of Flying Daggers...this is an amazing Asian film with a great cast and intriguing story, but I never hear anything about it.
I'm pretty sure hardly anyone's even heard of it.
101 Dalmatians...it's not a Disney movie that I see on a lot of Favorite lists, but I think it's definitely one of the best. I love it way more than The Little Mermaid.

 

[TheCheekyCritic]

Mostly films not made in the USA and not in English.
It appals me. How hard can it possibly be to read subtitles for the sake of good and quality cinema?

A lot of people just can't read.

I just want to know, where was Gran Torino's Oscar nomination in 2009? I would've happily dropped Slumdog Millionaire or Benjamin Button out of Best Picture for it.

 

[TianSoFine]

^^House of Flying Daggers was actually quite huge in China. Usually, the really big Asian films in the west don't make it too big in the east and vice versa. For example, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon wasn't very well-received in China (although it did make lots of movie). I'm sure anyone in China will have heard of HoFD, as the director is pretty much a Tarrantino-sized star there (he also directed the 2008 Olympics). It's a pity the movie never made it big in the west, though. None of my friends know about it.

 

[YoninahAliza]

Some movies I think are underrated include:

Salt...I thought this movie was brilliant, but I don't think it got the attention it deserves, because there's a female in a lead action role.

I totally second this! I loved this movie. Yes, it did pretty good box office wise but not nearly as good as it should have done. And I agree, it's probably in part because the lead role was played by a female. Which to be honest, is totally stupid. How is it that great films like this don't do well but then other action films which have a male lead do (or don't do well but it never gets blamed on the male lead)? I loved the strong female character in Salt! B)

 

[lostgirl]

These come to mind at the moment. Some are brilliant some are just worth more of a look than they usually get.

Peeping Tom: This came out in 1960, the same year as Psycho, and deals with a similar subject matter. But while Psycho got immediate acclaim this movie destroyed director Michael Powell's career. British audiences called it "sick" and "vile" and American audencied felt it "too British". It gathered dust for 20 years before being rediscovered and released. It's very unsettling, and the angelic looking Carl Boehm is a disturbingly sympathetic psychopath.

Eyes Without A Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage This 1960 French horror movie is oddly poetic, and even beautiful, yet I feel like not many people have seen it. It was considered graphic for its time but it's tame now. The story is about a brilliant surgeon trying to create a new face for his daughter who was disfigured in an accident. The last ten minutes or so are really haunting

The Collector- I came upon this 1965 movie not long after I'd read the novel of the same name by John Fowles. Anyone who appriciates psychological thrillers needs to see this one. In many ways it's a precurser to stuff like Silence of the Lambs. The colors are beautiful and the soundtrack is almost cheerful which is at odds with the creepy, unsettling story.

Australia- It got bad reviews and I don't think it did well at the box office which is a shame because it's a really fun movie. Not deep and meaningful but it was romantic and visually appealing with humor and drama. A good movie to watch on a rainy day and get lost in.

Stage Beauty- If Shakespeare in Love is overrated, Stage Beauty is definitely underrated. It takes place about a generation after Shakespeare's death and tells the story of real life actor Ned Kynaston, who was famed for playing women's roles. After the king rules that women can appear onstage, Ned is out of a job and his dresser, Maria Hughes becomes one of the biggest stars onstage in Ned's signature roles

Firelight- This is a gothic romance movie that I'd recommend to fans of stuff like Jane Eyre and Rebecca. It's about a governess to a British landowner's daughter who discovers that she has a hidden connection to her student.

The Sleeping Dictionary- I am not much of a fan of Jessica Alba as an actress and her casting isn't exactly racially accurate but this movie was good enougn for me to overlook that. It's beautiful to look at (as is Hugh Dancy) and unabashedly romantic.

Stir of Echoes-This movie had the misfortune to come out around the same time as The Sixth Sense and to deal with a little boy, and ghosts. Most people dismissed it as immitation (even though the novel it's based on was written 40 years earlier!) But it's a very good movie with some real scares.

Happy Accidents- This is sort of a sci-fi romantic comedy (think Eternal Sunshine meets Serendipity) about a regular girl who falls in love with a man who claims to have come from the future. It's the kind of movie to make you laugh

Dare- I saw this at an advance screening shortly before it's breif 2009 theatrical run, and it struck me as a 21st century take on The Breakfast Club. It's definitely a cut above the traditional teen drama, and boasts an excellent cast. Not for anyone but definitely worth a look.

Shutter Island- I think in the post-Sixth Sense world people look for a twist. From the begining of a movie we're thinking "What's the trick here". That does a disservice to a film like this which isn't leading to a plot twist (though there is one) so much as a moment of catharsis and confrontation for a character. I consider myself lucky to have read the book before I saw the movie, so I already knew the plot and I could appriciate other elements of the film.

Never Let Me Go- This movie was marketed badly, with the trailer giving away far too much. But the movie itself was elegant and haunting, much like the novel it was based on. I thought Keira Knightly was slightly miscast but hers was more of a supporting role- Carey Mulligan was the lead and she gave a great performance.

 

[hedur]

I just want to know, where was Gran Torino's Oscar nomination in 2009? I would've happily dropped Slumdog Millionaire or Benjamin Button out of Best Picture for it.

Totally agree. Gran Torino was fantastic but because the move was so anti-PC, I can see Hollywood being too offended by it to give it much recognition.

I'm in the states and I saw House of Flying Daggers in the theater (largely because of how amazing Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was) but for me it was disappointing. Stunning visuals but I remember being not as impressed with the story.

I love strong female leads but Salt failed for me because of how unbelievable frail Angalina Jolie was in that role. With another woman it might have worked but definitely not with Angie.

lostgirl, thanks for your list. I'm going to check some of those out.

 

[TheChosen1]

Source Code is such a good movie!

 

[TheChosen1]

Other underrated movies that I loved:

Gran Torino
Dead Poet's Society
Being John Malkovich
Magnolia
Requiem For a Movie

 

[sobriquet87]

I love strong female leads but Salt failed for me because of how unbelievable frail Angalina Jolie was in that role. With another woman it might have worked but definitely not with Angie.

Frail? Did we see the same movie? Angelina is what made the movie so great to me. Her performance was flawless in Salt.

 

[TheCheekyCritic]

Australia- It got bad reviews and I don't think it did well at the box office which is a shame because it's a really fun movie. Not deep and meaningful but it was romantic and visually appealing with humor and drama. A good movie to watch on a rainy day and get lost in.

Personally, I think Australia got exactly what it deserved. At 15 minutes short of three hours it was almost arrogantly overlong, and both the main characters and performances so cartoony I wouldn't have cared if they all had died in that bombing. Hugh Jackman and David Wenham both did what they could, but Nicole Kidman probably turned in the worst and most unfelt performance of her career. I like conventional cinema, mind you, but as The King's Speech (rather surprisingly) proved this year, a grand story can still be humbly told, while Australia was simply pompous, silly and deathly boring.

 

[lostgirl]

^well all of this is based on opinion. I felt like Australia was a popcorn movie, plain and simple. It wasn't a "grand story" just a story. As such I hold it to a different standard than I would hold something like The King's Speech. I'm not arguing that it was Oscar-worthy. It wasn't. I'm just saying that some people might enjoy it if they go to it in the right frame of mind.

 

[TheCheekyCritic]

^ Of course, I only disagreed with your opinion. But imo it was precisely a "grand story" - a grand love story to be precise. And as such, it has been done better.

 

[randhrshipper1]

These come to mind at the moment. Some are brilliant some are just worth more of a look than they usually get.

Peeping Tom: This came out in 1960, the same year as Psycho, and deals with a similar subject matter. But while Psycho got immediate acclaim this movie destroyed director Michael Powell's career. British audiences called it "sick" and "vile" and American audencied felt it "too British". It gathered dust for 20 years before being rediscovered and released. It's very unsettling, and the angelic looking Carl Boehm is a disturbingly sympathetic psychopath.

Eyes Without A Face (Les Yeux Sans Visage This 1960 French horror movie is oddly poetic, and even beautiful, yet I feel like not many people have seen it. It was considered graphic for its time but it's tame now. The story is about a brilliant surgeon trying to create a new face for his daughter who was disfigured in an accident. The last ten minutes or so are really haunting

The Collector- I came upon this 1965 movie not long after I'd read the novel of the same name by John Fowles. Anyone who appriciates psychological thrillers needs to see this one. In many ways it's a precurser to stuff like Silence of the Lambs. The colors are beautiful and the soundtrack is almost cheerful which is at odds with the creepy, unsettling story.

Australia- It got bad reviews and I don't think it did well at the box office which is a shame because it's a really fun movie. Not deep and meaningful but it was romantic and visually appealing with humor and drama. A good movie to watch on a rainy day and get lost in.

Stage Beauty- If Shakespeare in Love is overrated, Stage Beauty is definitely underrated. It takes place about a generation after Shakespeare's death and tells the story of real life actor Ned Kynaston, who was famed for playing women's roles. After the king rules that women can appear onstage, Ned is out of a job and his dresser, Maria Hughes becomes one of the biggest stars onstage in Ned's signature roles

Firelight- This is a gothic romance movie that I'd recommend to fans of stuff like Jane Eyre and Rebecca. It's about a governess to a British landowner's daughter who discovers that she has a hidden connection to her student.

The Sleeping Dictionary- I am not much of a fan of Jessica Alba as an actress and her casting isn't exactly racially accurate but this movie was good enougn for me to overlook that. It's beautiful to look at (as is Hugh Dancy) and unabashedly romantic.

Stir of Echoes-This movie had the misfortune to come out around the same time as The Sixth Sense and to deal with a little boy, and ghosts. Most people dismissed it as immitation (even though the novel it's based on was written 40 years earlier!) But it's a very good movie with some real scares.

Happy Accidents- This is sort of a sci-fi romantic comedy (think Eternal Sunshine meets Serendipity) about a regular girl who falls in love with a man who claims to have come from the future. It's the kind of movie to make you laugh

Dare- I saw this at an advance screening shortly before it's breif 2009 theatrical run, and it struck me as a 21st century take on The Breakfast Club. It's definitely a cut above the traditional teen drama, and boasts an excellent cast. Not for anyone but definitely worth a look.

Shutter Island- I think in the post-Sixth Sense world people look for a twist. From the begining of a movie we're thinking "What's the trick here". That does a disservice to a film like this which isn't leading to a plot twist (though there is one) so much as a moment of catharsis and confrontation for a character. I consider myself lucky to have read the book before I saw the movie, so I already knew the plot and I could appriciate other elements of the film.

Never Let Me Go- This movie was marketed badly, with the trailer giving away far too much. But the movie itself was elegant and haunting, much like the novel it was based on. I thought Keira Knightly was slightly miscast but hers was more of a supporting role- Carey Mulligan was the lead and she gave a great performance.

I'm glad someone mentioned The Collector! It is scary and believeable--stunning.

In the same vein, has anyone else seen See No Evil. It has Mia Farrow in it, and it's a horror film from the '70s or early '80s. She plays a blind woman running from the man who killed her family. Wow. It might have had a different title in the UK.