Not well known Great films
This is list of movies I've seen and found to be great or amazing watches, yet mostly unknown to my friends or the general public. As I find movies like this, in both independent and major releases, I will put them on this list so that I may send these recommendations to my friends who aren't aware of these enjoyable films.
List activity
1.3K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
42 titles
- DirectorPhilippe FalardeauStarsReese WitherspoonArnold OcengGer DuanyA group of Sudanese refugees, given the chance to resettle in the U.S., arrive in Kansas City, Missouri, where their encounter with an employment agency counselor forever changes all of their lives.I can't express how much I love this film and it literally embodies what I made this list for. A beautiful story in an under the radar film that deserves to be seen by everyone, especially apathetic Americans. It's sweet, but doesn't pander to cheesiness. It's heavy, but doesn't gratuitously aim to make you wince. I can't watch this movie without shedding baby tears.
- DirectorFernando MeirellesKátia LundStarsAlexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoMatheus NachtergaeleIn the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.One of my favorite films with just a wonderfully interesting story that is based in a truth. Pre-dating Slumdog Millionaire, this film went under the public radar as phenomenal look into the world of poverty, slums and crime world in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppMichelle PfeifferEva GreenAn imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.This was a major film and didn't receive well, but I think this movie is brilliant and hilarious 100x over. Anyone who tells you this movie is terrible or not funny has no humor in their soul. Also released at a perfect time when things like Vampire stories were flooding every other film/book. This shows Tim Burton's genius and humor in a live action film and Johnny Depp is just wonderful in step.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEllar ColtranePatricia ArquetteEthan HawkeThe life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.The brilliance of one my top 2-3 directors in Richard Linklater. Shot over 12 years, with approx. only 3 days of shooting each year, this film literally progresses through the life of one boy and his family. Another awesome film with Ethan Hawke's great work choice. The kind of movie never happens because its an insane idea to try, but its great.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsEmily BluntJosh BrolinBenicio Del ToroAn idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.Not really under the radar, but I loved it enough that I would want anyone to see this unique story that shows some of the aspects of the horrible drug war that is existing on the US/Mexican border due to cartels and their power.
- DirectorAlex GarlandStarsAlicia VikanderDomhnall GleesonOscar IsaacA young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a highly advanced humanoid A.I.Just brilliant Sci-Fi writing & acting. Many people have seen this, but if you haven't, you need to.
- DirectorGeorge C. WolfeStarsHilary SwankEmmy RossumJosh DuhamelA drama centered on a classical pianist who has been diagnosed with ALS and the brash college student who becomes her caregiver.Just a great and heartwrenching story about the human spirit and the horrors of a debilitating disease like ALS and someone else coming to terms with what life is really about. One of the movies that will never be "big", but deserves to be seen like it is.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpyAndrea EckertA young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.One of my favorite movies ever, if not favorite. Literally 2 people walking and talking for an entire film and it's amazing. Director Richard Linklater showing why he's at the top of my list. Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke are awesome.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpyVernon DobtcheffNine years after Jesse and Celine first met, they encounter each other again on the French leg of Jesse's book tour.One of my favorite movies ever, if not favorite. Sequel to 'Before Sunrise'...Literally 2 people walking and talking for an entire film and it's brilliantly ridiculously good. Not for everyone though. Not everyone likes brilliance. Those people want Transformers and the movie equivalence of McDonalds; comfort food, explosions & BS.
- DirectorFlorian GallenbergerStarsEmma WatsonDaniel BrühlMichael NyqvistA young woman's desperate search for her abducted boyfriend draws her into the infamous Colonia Dignidad, a sect nobody has ever escaped from.A insane, truth based film of a missionary cult prison that existed inside of Chile almost too bizarre to believe.
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsEthan HawkeDavid ThewlisEmma WatsonA detective and a psychoanalyst uncover evidence of a satanic cult while investigating a young woman's terrifying past.Interesting truth based thriller showing the media and public's new awareness of underground "rituals" that sparked in the US. Has you looking every which way and wondering what is going on the whole time.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyRose ByrneChris EvansA team of international astronauts is sent on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun with a nuclear fission bomb in 2057.Really decent Sci-Fi thriller based in space
- DirectorGreg MottolaStarsJesse EisenbergKristen StewartRyan ReynoldsIn the summer of 1987, a college graduate takes a 'nowhere' job at his local amusement park, only to find it's the perfect course to get him prepared for the real world.I love this film. Why I very much enjoy anything Jesse Eisenberg does.
- DirectorNima NourizadehStarsJesse EisenbergKristen StewartConnie BrittonA stoner - who is in fact a government agent - is marked as a liability and targeted for extermination. But he's too well-trained and too high for them to handle.Good for laughs. I enjoyed this thoroughly.
- DirectorTarsem SinghStarsRyan ReynoldsNatalie MartinezMatthew GoodeA dying real estate mogul transfers his consciousness into a healthy young body, but soon finds that neither the procedure nor the company that performed it are quite what they seem.Decent science fiction with Ryan Reynolds doing a good job of making you think in an interesting premise.
- DirectorFlorian Henckel von DonnersmarckStarsUlrich MüheMartina GedeckSebastian KochIn 1984 East Berlin, an agent of the secret police conducting surveillance on a writer and his lover finds himself becoming increasingly absorbed by their lives.
- DirectorLenny AbrahamsonStarsMichael FassbenderDomhnall GleesonMaggie GyllenhaalJon, a young wanna-be musician, discovers he's bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank.I'm always looking for great & realistic "musician" movies. This movie is goofy and crazy story, but does actually show some real perspectives of an obsessive musician mind.
- DirectorLee Toland KriegerStarsBlake LivelyMichiel HuismanHarrison FordA young woman, born at the turn of the 20th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After many solitary years, she meets a man who complicates the eternal life she has settled into.A movie that can appear as super cheese, but has enough of an interesting science fiction element and writing that gives your brain way to the big questions and philosophy of living with what ifs.
- DirectorMichael SpierigPeter SpierigStarsEthan HawkeSarah SnookNoah TaylorAs his last assignment, a temporal agent is tasked to travel back in time and prevent a bomb attack in New York in 1975. The hunt, however, turns out to be beyond the bounds of possibility.This is one those amazing movies that seems to sadly slide under the radar, yet is an awesome dark sci-fi thriller making you question throughout. I found it because Ethan Hawke always chooses great roles, no matter the scale of film.
- DirectorSteven KnightStarsTom HardyOlivia ColmanRuth WilsonIvan Locke, a dedicated family man and successful construction manager, receives a phone call on the eve of the biggest challenge of his career that sets in motion a series of events that threaten his carefully cultivated existence.This movie is not for everyone and not for anytime. I don't know how I came to see this film, but it's brilliant in a technical way. I don't want anyone to skip it because of what it is, but the whole film takes place literally inside a car while a man (Tom Hardy) is driving on a single trip. And I was completely engrossed & absorbed into the plot and story. Brilliant writing always wins.
- DirectorAlbert HughesAllen HughesStarsDenzel WashingtonMila KunisRay StevensonA drifter fights his way across a ravaged, post-apocalyptic America while protecting a sacred book that holds the secrets to humanity's salvation.This is a big movie and many people have seen it. But I have to include it because if you have not, you cannot miss it. Probably my favorite Denzel film ever and just a superb story that sucks you into a post-apocalyptic world.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsDenzel WashingtonNadine VelazquezDon CheadleTroubling questions arise after airline pilot Whip Whitaker makes a miracle landing after a mid-air catastrophe.This is another big movie, but if you haven't seen it, the John Goodman character is enough to warrant watching this.
- DirectorRodrigo CortésStarsRyan ReynoldsJosé Luis García-PérezRobert PatersonPaul is a U.S. truck driver working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of Iraqis he wakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. With only a lighter and a cell phone it's a race against time to escape this claustrophobic death trap.This is on the list because another amazing movie on a technical level. Yes, it's a film that's shot entirely front the perspective of a man (Ryan Reynolds) in a box....And it's phenomenal & terrifying.
- DirectorJohn RidleyStarsAndré 3000Hayley AtwellImogen PootsA drama based on Jimi Hendrix's life as he left New York City for London, where his career took off.I've included this because I keep meeting so many people and fans of Jimi Hendrix that this movie completely slid past. Sure, some of the facts and which parts of his life they show off or emphasize is arguable; the book they used as the basis is not a good Jimi bio. Jimi never hit his girlfriend and Clapton didn't walk out of the session like this movie shows. But for most, who don't know anything about his enigmatic life, this is at least a small reveal. Most of all to me, Andre 3000 gives a crazy good job at making you think you are actually watching Jimi.
- DirectorJeff NicholsStarsMatthew McConaugheyTye SheridanJacob LoflandTwo young boys encounter a fugitive and form a pact to help him evade the vigilantes that are on his trail and to reunite him with his true love.This was a great smaller movie that I later realized started the ascent of Matthew McConaughey as an amazing dramatic actor doing crazy parts, yet no one seemed to see this movie. This was the movie that came after The Lincoln Lawyer, but right before the line of his dope acting in Dallas Buyer's Club - The Paper Boy - Interstellar...and most importantly, True Detective.
- DirectorMichael CuestaStarsJeremy RennerRobert PatrickJena SimsJournalist Gary Webb, California 1996, started investigating CIA's role in the 1980s in getting crack cocaine to the black part of LA to get money and weapons to the Contra insurgents in Nicaragua.Not an unknown movie, but you need to see it you haven't. A film retelling of the true story of when a small newspaper reporter learned how the CIA sold cocaine for the Nicaraguan contras into the US and basically 100% started the crack epidemic in poor minority communities in America. Most people still don't know that this actually happened because it was so insanely controversial.
- DirectorEdgar WrightStarsSimon PeggNick FrostMartin FreemanFive friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from twenty years earlier unwittingly become humanity's only hope for survival.I've never been a big fan of Simon Pegg & Nick Frost's Bristish comedy style, but this movie made genuinely giggle and laugh throughout. Saving the world while drunk is a funnier premise than you think.
- DirectorMalik BendjelloulStarsRodriguezStephen 'Sugar' SegermanDennis CoffeyTwo South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.Documentary. A musician who made records never got famous and disappeared. Except that was he famous in other countries. Kinda crazy that this is true, but it's a wild story.
- DirectorJames PonsoldtStarsMiles TellerShailene WoodleyKyle ChandlerA hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl."If you don't like high school or sweet young love story or a teenage coming of age style plots, then skip this. But this smaller film, based on a great book, is a wonderful & sweet end-of-high school story with about 3 actors who were small and now all mega stars. I think its phenomenal.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsJack BlackShirley MacLaineMatthew McConaugheyIn small-town Texas, an affable mortician strikes up a friendship with a wealthy widow, though when she starts to become controlling, he goes to great lengths to separate himself from her grasp.Quirky dark comedy, based in truth, that is just great.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsHugh JackmanJake GyllenhaalViola DavisWhen Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts.Jake Gyllenhaal constantly makes great movies and although this movie was a big enough movie, I constantly meet people that have never seen this. This movie is an amazingly tight thriller. It is just so GOOD.
- DirectorJohn HillcoatStarsTom HardyShia LaBeoufGuy PearceSet in Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a trio of bootlegging brothers are threatened by a new special deputy and other authorities angling for a cut of their profits.
- DirectorGlenn FicarraJohn RequaStarsTina FeyMargot RobbieMartin FreemanA journalist recounts her wartime coverage in Afghanistan.
- DirectorJason LewStarsBoyd HolbrookElisabeth MossOctavia SpencerA recently released former convict becomes involved with a married woman with an abusive husband.
- StarsSarah GadonEdward HolcroftRebecca LiddiardGrace, an Irish immigrant in 19th-century Canada, is convicted of the murder of her employer. However, things take a different turn when a psychiatrist arrives to analyze her mental state.A 6-part mini series that feels like a movie. Really gripping and lures you in completely.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsOscar IsaacCarey MulliganJohn GoodmanA week in the life of a young singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsJulianne MooreClive OwenChiwetel EjioforIn 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have somehow become infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.
- DirectorDestin Daniel CrettonStarsBrie LarsonFrantz TurnerJohn Gallagher Jr.A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.
- DirectorAneesh ChagantyStarsJohn ChoDebra MessingJoseph LeeAfter his teenage daughter goes missing, a desperate father tries to find clues on her laptop.
- DirectorColm McCarthyStarsSennia NanuaFisayo AkinadeDominique TipperA scientist and a teacher living in a dystopian future embark on a journey of survival with a special young girl named Melanie.
- DirectorTodd HaynesStarsMark RuffaloAnne HathawayTim RobbinsA corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution.
- DirectorAndrew ShapterStarsBonnie RaittElvis CostelloLes PaulWith outstanding performances and revealing interviews Before the Music Dies takes a critical look at the homogenization of popular music with commentary by some of the industry's biggest talents like Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews, Elvis Costello, Erykah Badu, Branford Marsalis, Bonnie Raitt and more. Using historic footage the film looks at the evolution of American music and the artists who created it and pulls back the curtain (in a very creative way) to expose the sad truth behind today's "artificial" music stars. "The reality is that superficiality is in," says Marsalis. "And depth and quality is kind of out." Inspired by the death of his brother, director Andrew Shapter and his crew traveled thousands of miles, visiting dozens of cities, speaking with hundreds of fans, journalists, record executives and musicians while searching for "real" American music. What they found were mega-talents without a major label, including one artist Eric Clapton believes is "the real thing."