The best you've never seen...
A list of titles you have yet to see, and have maybe never heard of. In no particular order here are the hidden gems I highly recommend!
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21 titles
- DirectorHenry BeanStarsRyan GoslingSummer PhoenixPeter MeadowsA young Jewish man develops a fiercely anti-Semitic philosophy. Based on the factual story of a K.K.K. member in the 1960s who was revealed to be Jewish by a New York Times reporter.Compelling and complex proof that Gosling is more than a pretty face. This 2001 film is a deep and dark look into a subject that has become monotone in cinema. A refreshing narrative.
- DirectorAnders Thomas JensenStarsUlrich ThomsenMads MikkelsenNicolas BroA neo-Nazi sentenced to community service at a church clashes with the blindly devoted minister.Mads Mikkelson has been dishing out great performances for years. His recent success in the TV market with 'Hannibal' is just one reason to visit a few titles on his filmography. Adam's Apples is a dark, funny, and touching tale that brings something old and new to the table.
- DirectorRégis RoinsardStarsRomain DurisFéodor AtkineDéborah François1958. Rose is a terrible secretary but a demon typist. Her handsome boss resolves to turn her into the fastest girl in the world.A fun, bright, and bouncy (if a movie can be bouncy) take on a 50's rom-com via speed typing competitions. This French film may do nothing revolutionary for the genre but it has perfect pitch, tone, and pace. Sure to make you smile.
- 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.Attention all Danny Boyle fanboys, you should add this to your film library. An international all star cast headlines this interstellar action/thriller. This is a visual delight one wishes could return to the big screen just to see it large scale. Tense, existential, and satisfying film making and John Murphy's soundtrack has been sampled from this for dozens of other features since.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsMia WasikowskaNicole KidmanMatthew GoodeAfter India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.Directed by Chan-Wook Park (Old Boy) this film feels like sitting in a hand crafted wood chair with one of the back legs ever so slightly filed down. There is a wonderful and effective sense of unease that leaves you waiting for the other shoe to drop. Visuals and metaphors abound. It's purposeful and sharp and reminds me of the days when thrillers were meticulously planned instead of money hungry box office bores.
- DirectorMark HanlonStarsAidan GillenEmmanuelle SeignerSusan TyrrellAn introvert relieves the tedium of caring for his invalid mother by spying on his neighbor.An acquired taste worth trying. This film is a bizarre favorite I find myself re-watching now and again. It's a dark thriller Indie film with a lot to offer and great performances.
- DirectorPablo BergerStarsMaribel VerdúEmilio GaviraDaniel Giménez CachoA twist on the Snow White fairy tale that is set in 1920s Seville and centered on a female bullfighter.This is a silent black and white fantasy drama that is plucky and innocent much like the title character. The film itself is beautiful and the retelling of the classic Snow White story in 1920's bull fighting Seville is fresh and fun. Maribel Verdu is in top form as the evil step mother, and Inma Cuesta is a beautiful, big eyed, and boisterous "Snow".
- DirectorJens LienStarsTrond FausaPetronella BarkerPer SchaanningIn a strange city where every person seems content beyond reason a new man arrives in town and stirs up trouble by asking too many questions.All and all there is a heavy handed message being driven home by this Norwegian film but its done well enough that I just don't care. Trond Fausa (Lilyhammer) is great as the down on his luck black sheep of a seemingly idyllic metropolis. The humor is dark, the plot is strange, you may be left scratching your head, but it's a great kind of cinematic palate cleanser if you ask me.
- DirectorStephen FryStarsStephen Campbell MooreEmily MortimerDan AykroydAn adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's novel "Vile Bodies", is a look into the lives of a young novelist, his would-be lover, and a host of young people who beautified London in the 1930s.Based on the novel "Vile Bodies" this is the kind of film that makes me want to see more writing and directing from Brit great Stephen Fry. 1930's London in all of its drunken and debauched absurdity is brought to life by a young writer and his gang of so called friends. The cast is packed with familiar faces and, though flawed, is a fun and romantic little known period piece of British film making.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsNicolas CagePatricia ArquetteJohn GoodmanHaunted by the patients he failed to save, a monumentally burned-out Manhattan ambulance paramedic fights to maintain his sanity over three increasingly turbulent nights.A little known Scorsese flick worth watching. Bizarre, fantastical, and hey Nic Cage!
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsTom HardyKelly AdamsLuing AndrewsA young man who was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending three decades in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter-ego, Charles Bronson.From Nicolas Winding Refn, the man who brought you Gosling in 'Drive', comes Bronson. A highly underrated Hardy performance and piece of film making. Audiences who are a fan of Refn and aren't shy around a fist fight will enjoy the 'cant make this *beep* up' quality that Bronson excels at. Stylish, witty, and mad.
- DirectorRian JohnsonStarsRachel WeiszAdrien BrodyMark RuffaloThe Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they've decided to take on one last job - showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.If you only see one Rian Johnson movie in your life...this may not be the one, however if you are a fan of his, or you are looking for a feel good, heist/ con movie, that leaves you wanting to hug your nearest sibling this is the one!
- DirectorTrey ParkerStarsTrey ParkerDian BacharStephen BlackpoolThe sole survivor of an ill-fated mining expedition tells how his taste for gold was replaced by that of human flesh.Call me a moron, but this is so bad it's good! Catchy and absurd a must watch for any South Park/ Book of Mormon fan.
- DirectorTarsem SinghStarsJennifer LopezVince VaughnVincent D'OnofrioAn F.B.I. Agent persuades a social worker, who is adept with a new experimental technology, to enter the mind of a comatose serial killer in order to learn where he has hidden his latest kidnap victim.Many people have heard of this film starring JLo and Vince Vaughn...but have you actually watched it?...A surprise most people resist. The Cell offers something new and transitioned the 90's into the production value game changers of the 00's. Certainly a visual treat if nothing else.
- DirectorTarsem SinghStarsLee PaceCatinca UntaruJustine WaddellIn 1920s Los Angeles, a bedridden patient in a hospital captivates a young girl with a fantastic tale of heroes, myths, and villains on a desert island.If you refuse to watch director Tarsem's "The Cell" do yourself a favor and watch The Fall. Sure to make you smile and likely cry this lush piece of cinematic candy was concocted in several different countries using real landscapes so gorgeous that they felt like fantasy. Reality and fantasy blur for a young girl and her performance was sinfully overlooked during the films release. The Fall has developed a rather sizable cult following since its release on dvd. You won't regret it.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsAudrey HepburnShirley MacLaineJames GarnerA rebellious student at a girls' school accuses two teachers of lesbianism.The film may be from 1961 but it has never been more relevant. A young girl at a boarding school accuses two teachers of being lesbians. Performances, notably MacLaine, are wonderful. Most people aren't interested in "old" movies but this one has staying power.
- DirectorMarcus DunstanStarsJosh StewartAndrea RothJuan FernándezDesperate to repay his debt to his ex-wife, an ex-con plots a heist at his new employer's country home, unaware that a second criminal has also targeted the property, and rigged it with a series of deadly traps.As a movie paired with 'The Collection' released in 2012 I like this movie a lot. It's a horror movie that a lightweight in the genre like myself can handle and has an unlikely protagonist. The killer/ collector is genuinely frightening for his ruthless and resourceful manner of killing... There is a lot to wade through in the horror dept. now a days but give this series a shot.
- DirectorMarcus DunstanStarsJosh StewartEmma FitzpatrickChristopher McDonaldA man who escapes from the vicious grips of the serial killer known as "The Collector" is then forced to help rescue an innocent girl from the killer's booby-trapped lair.The collection in my opinion surpasses its predecessor 'The Collector'. Not only does the film bring back characters from the original it has a wonderfully rare strong likable female lead that isn't a busty bleach blond who is half naked. We see the killer/ the collector for the first time in his own environment and he himself takes on a sort of preternatural power in this film making him all the more interesting.
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsNicole de BoerMaurice Dean WintDavid HewlettA group of strangers awaken to find themselves placed in a giant cube. Each one of them is gifted with a special skill and they must work together to escape an endless maze of deadly traps.
- DirectorBong Joon HoStarsChris EvansJamie BellTilda SwintonIn a future where a failed climate change experiment has killed all life except for the survivors who boarded the Snowpiercer (a train that travels around the globe), a new class system emerges.In an attempt to combat global warming a chemical is released into the atmosphere which turns the Earth into a lethally frigid wasteland. The only sanctuary is aboard a massive train which circumnavigates the world. The catch is, not everyone has a first class seat. Snowpiercer tackles social commentary and environmental disaster in a successfully uniform manner with comic and dramatic elements that occur naturally. The pace is perfect and the final act has revelations, performances, and action that make this little known locomotive something worth seeking out.
- DirectorJohn KahrsStarsJohn KahrsKari WahlgrenJack GoldenbergAn office worker meets the girl of his dreams and uses a fleet of paper airplanes to get her attention.