Criminally under-rated films

TwoShedsJackson

My vote for most under-rated/overlooked film of the 90's goes to Arlington Road. I can see why it ws left on the shelf for a year after it was finished and all, but I thought it was superb.

If you want to see a film that doesn't insult your intelligence the way most Hollywood stuff nowadays does, get this out.

Most underrated recently has to be Memento - soon to be out on video - get it out, and that's an order

darthmise

The passion of Darkly Noon....

Figment

While i agree with memento, which was a total genius head fu(k, I just seen arlington road last week on premier and i thought it was good but routine. Very pradictable and hollywood-ized.

Now i know im going to loose all credibility for this but one of my favourite movies that i think is under-rated is Flash Gordon.


Ill get my coat...

Canaboid

.....hands figment his coat.

Belisarius

Arlington road was an amazing film , Itdidnt really do to wel because it dramatised a rather sorepoint in modern Americanhistory , the Whole waco/Oklahoma incidents . Apity as far as i emember it was out at the time of another good film , cant think of it though

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Shrewgar!

ThunderingMike

Being a level 17 nerd with +25 wrist and -30 social life, my favourite under-rated movie is of course, Army Of Darkness.

"Gimme some sugar baby..."

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ThunderingMike Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, And thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pitch and moment, With this regard their current turns away, And lose the name of action... Nows that's a sig.

Zombrex

Arlington Rd. was fab...one of the best twists since Usual S. And Tim Robbins is one scary f*@ker...

plastic membrane

I thought it was a good film up until the twist, then it just went completely round the twist.

I've got loads of films that i can think of that i love but dont get much attention. Two underrated gems are Jacobs Ladder, if you want a Tim Robbins Head wrecker film, thats your only man. I also thought Ronin was a brilliant action flick, one of the best in recent years. Really old style, like something from the 70's.


Ill probably have to get my coat for this, but i really like 2010. I think its great..

Oh yeah, i cant wait to see Momento...

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Damn it Jim, im a doctor, not a Beefy King !

DeVore

I'm gonna join Figment and lose all credibility and say that one of my fav films that is completely underrated is Truely Madly Deeply. Great flic.

There are others but I cant think of them now.

DeV.

Belisarius

Army of Darkness ...Its a classic , much like Evil dead II , Its all down to bruce Campell though , We wouldnt have Duke Nukem without him . Though I wouldnt call it underrated , its got a huge cult following

-Bel
Self Confessed Cambellite

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Shrewgar!

Wyverne

G'Man figment, i agree,

Flash Gordon and Army of Darkness, two fab films a'ight

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Im Going to Thrash you to within an Inch of your Life.....................
AND THEN TAKE THAT INCH!!!!

TwoShedsJackson

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by DeVore:
I'm gonna join Figment and lose all credibility and say that one of my fav films that is completely underrated is Truely Madly Deeply. Great flic.

There are others but I cant think of them now.

DeV.</font>

ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah

oh jesus I'm going to puke!! /expires

Figment

em! Dev, i thought it was going too far to mention Truly madly deeply, even though its the most watched in my collection Alan rickmen is DA MAN.
Also have to agree with Ronin. One of a few inteligent classy thrillers/action films. Fantastic cast as well.

Yo Mamma

There is just one Film Worth mentioning here, The Big Lebowski.

One O the best films ever made !!

[SN]JAG

IMHO the best underated film i have ever seen
is Pitch black, i was at the edge of my seat each of the 3 times i saw it

Gambler

Jags Right ye know I loved that film

bugler

Carlitos Way, or Le Haine.

Megatron

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by bugler:
Carlitos Way, or Le Haine.</font>

both top notch films yes indeedy
how about ( paints a target on his chest)
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man.
ONe of the funnist that and Men at work !!!

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No !!!!! I will crush you with my Bare hands

Evil Phil

The Big Hit with Mark Walburg.

Fuuuuunny!

Miguel_Sanchez

Ah - The Big Lebowski. what a truly hilarious film.

What else is good? Ronin? Average average average.

What about Fearless? There's an intelligent film for you. Great acting, great script, great direction. Brilliant.

Brazil. Another good one.

I'm bored now - bye.

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I'm the Dude

Miguel_Sanchez

Oh yeah - Memento was a top class flick.

Just don't try and see it after a feed of drink. Not recommended.

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I'm the Dude

[This message has been edited by Jeff_Lebowski (edited 02-04-2001).]

BlitzKrieg

uhmm u might diagree but i just finished watching phantoms not great in the acting but as a slightly strange n brainer it was alright.

maybe not be under rated but also just saw Willow(after 12 years before the last time i saw it) kinda funny like star wars except not in space (like ewokes **** for brains)
(oh yeah whoops)

split personnality prob

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BK the KK
Fraggen with a smile:)

neuro-praxis

Man on the Moon
Run Lola Run

Perhaps they are not underrated, just not widely enough seen.

Get 'em both, pronto!

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Give me back my towel. I'll sue.

StarScream

masters of the universe is easily the most underated film ever i mean its HE-MAN even if dolph lungren is in it

Kali

most under-rated of last year was Jesus' Son.. stars Billy Crudup who was in the more recent Almost Famous .
bloody amazing down-to-earth film about a guy struggling to keep his life together after a few too many hits.
dunno if its even available on video at all, if it is do yourself a favour and rent it.

and whats this about Memento being under-rated? I've never seen a bad review for it
its a bloody excellent film.

darthmise

Yep, have to say I loved Man on the Moon, and have re-found my appreciation for Mr. Carrey

'Wag the Dog' also worth the old once over.

amp

In recent memory "Circus" stands out quite strongly. A great script (apart from a loose end or two) and some very good performances from John Hartman, Brian Conly and Eddie Izzard. Keeps you confused till the end.

If you like Pulp Fiction then get this one out. I did, and I plan on buying the t-shirt.

Also special mention for The Cell. Rubbish acting and script but worth watching for the really really artistic set/costume/effects.
Incredibly visual eyeball candy.

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Lunacy Abounds! Play GLminesweeper!
art is everything and of course nothing and possibly also a sausage

[This message has been edited by amp (edited 08-04-2001).]

gandalf

Well I've just finished watching the Criterion Special Edition DVD of Spike Lees "Do the Right Thing". I'd forgotten what a great thought provoking film this is.

Oh I agree with CT Arlington Road is a great film with a totally non hollywood ending.

Gandalf.

Paladin

Hudson Hawk.
Hilarious.

amp

Wasn't as bad as the rep it got but still straight to video fodder.

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Lunacy Abounds! Play GLminesweeper!
art is everything and of course nothing and possibly also a sausage

Elias

This is one subject that will pain my balls trying to keep up with. But Arlington Road was a deadly flick. When I sat down to watch it I thought I detected a hint of cat ****, but yea the Lord did deliver upon us a decent flick. Praise be.

yellum

Arlington Road was good but slow in places. Good ending, not totally predictable until everyone starts saying "great twist at the end", kinda like 6th sense. Many went to that and spent the moving trying to guess the ending instead of watching it.

Man Bites Dog. Great flim that.

metalchicken

The Princess Bride.

I also absolutely love the ice storm but nobody seems to have seen that.

That's a tough question actually.

azezil

Gremlins 2!!! LOL i love that film! heee heee heee

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"just because ur not paraniod, doesn't mean they're not after u!"

D-Generate

It has to be Star Wars or The Matrix.
Oh wait that is criminally over-rated films.

Celt

In The Beginning

Loomer

Arlington Rd was run o' the mill I thought. Army of Darkness was Fantastic but as pointed out is hardly under-rated. One film that people either love or hate if they no it, but I think is fluppin hilarious is National Lampoons Loaded Weapon 1 with Emilio estevez and Samuel L.Jackson. Here are some quotes for your pleasure:

Colt: Give me a name!
Beckard: Weren't your parents supposed to do that?

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Capt. Doyle: Don't be so fast to thank me on this, Luger, because you're going to be naked on this one. It's on the line for you. People are going to be watching. Now you blow it, you're going down. You screw up, you're going to be hung out to dry. You drop the ball, you're going to be left twisting in the wind. If you embarrass this department, your pants will be dancing with figs. Is that clear?
Luger: Everything except for the dancing with figs part!

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Valet: You got anything smaller?
Wes Luger: Keep it.
Valet: Anything larger?

Cake Fiend

Saw a film a good few months ago in the IFC, 'Timecode' - crazy film, probably the strangest I've ever seen. It was exactly 3 hours long, iirc, and every bit of it was shot in real-time, in one continuous roll, with a lot of the acting ad-lib. Doesn't sound so strange? Well, the main novelty of the film was that the screen was split in 4 - and each screen showed the story unfolding through 4 seperate cameras, on 4 seperate characters, each character's path winding through each of the other characters'. Like Pulp Fiction or something, all seperate but linked stories, except this time you watch them all happen at once. Very very strange experience, and one I'm glad I had. You have to keep in mind that all 4 cameras were filming in real time together, with only a minimal script holding the main story together, with a lot of filling-in to be done by the actors on-the-fly. Amazing concept.

And it had Salma Hayek involved in lesbian scenes

Belisarius

One Film that does cross my mind is actually Conan the barbarian , Arnold Schwartsenegger *Phoooonetikal* and Jame Earl Jones .Really underestimated as just a gore flick , but it really is much more than that , a Wonderful film in my estimation

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Shrewgar!

DadaKopf

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Sico:
Saw a film a good few months ago in the IFC, 'Timecode' - crazy film, probably the strangest I've ever seen. It was exactly 3 hours long, iirc, and every bit of it was shot in real-time, in one continuous roll, with a lot of the acting ad-lib. Doesn't sound so strange? Well, the main novelty of the film was that the screen was split in 4 - and each screen showed the story unfolding through 4 seperate cameras, on 4 seperate characters, each character's path winding through each of the other characters'. Like Pulp Fiction or something, all seperate but linked stories, except this time you watch them all happen at once. Very very strange experience, and one I'm glad I had. You have to keep in mind that all 4 cameras were filming in real time together, with only a minimal script holding the main story together, with a lot of filling-in to be done by the actors on-the-fly. Amazing concept.

And it had Salma Hayek involved in lesbian scenes </font>

yup, that film was fantastic! it was actually written like a musica score (figgis is also a composer and writes most of his own music). Hayek was SUPERB *ahem* and that english one with the curly hair - heh, figgis is one lucky guy.

it was definitely a very underrated film - i'd like to see more of it to be honest.

another great film is The Idiots by Lars von Trier, who made Dancer in the Dark. It's hard to get here but it's both funny and shocking at the same time - excellent filmmaking.

BUT - did anyone mention the Princess Bride? One of the bestest films ever!

(Then theres Ghostbusters)

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>

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"I collect spores, moulds and fungus."

mewso

I hate to be blunt and I haven't seen this so called wonderful 4 screen simultaneous experiment **** but I can't help thinking it's pandering to the artsy fartsys yet again. I'm all for a good arthouse film, somebody mentioned Run Lola Run which was a clever and very enjoyable film but entertainment is the key and I feel a 4 way split screen is going to mean I will struggle to follow it. I'm not going to walk out of a film and pontificate on the wonderful experiment I have just seen. Reminds me of one of my pet hates, Eraserhead. Ugh! pretentious ****e. Anyway to pitch in before I sway off topic as usual:-

My Own Private Idaho - (see just why River Phoenix being touted as a great actor wasn't just post-mortem hype, in my opinion a magnificent performance).
[John Carpenter Pimping]
They Live
The Thing
Escape from New York
Prince of Darkness - (especially this one, some amazingly clever and unerving ideas here)
[/John Carpenter Pimping]
Ravenous - (recent Guy Pearce film - excellent black humour of the canibalistic kind)
Palookaville - (if you haven't seen it rent it)

M


[This message has been edited by musician (edited 19-04-2001).]

Miguel_Sanchez

Ice Storm is a great film and a great book.

The Princess Bride --- whoever mentioned that deserves a prize!!

Great sword-fights!!!

"I'm not left-handed either"

Plus Andre the Giant is in it!!

Ah - I must buy that one on video.

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I'm the Dude

Brummers

Me thinks Clerks & La Haine are criminally under-rated, pretty hard to get hold of them as well. If u haven't seen them try to, its well worth it in my opinion.

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Which ******* made my bed so comfortable?

Winning Hand

I never heard of this film before or after i saw it but i have to say its one of the best films i ever saw.

Tombstone: story of wyatt earp with val kilmer, jason priestly, kurt russel and other fine actors. Nevermind the kevin costner bull**** this film owned, excellent gunfights. excellent film.

"Im your huckleberry"

Oh, and Hamburger Hill is easily the best of the vietnam flicks.

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Some say the end is near.
Some say we'll see armageddon soon.
I certainly hope we will.
I sure could use a vacation from this....
bull****

[This message has been edited by Winning Hand (edited 21-04-2001).]

Belisarius

I never understood the fascination with clerks, and I never will .

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Shrewgar!

Paladin

OMG
I forgot "The Princess Bride"!

Inconceivable!

Yossarian

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Winning Hand:

Oh, and Hamburger Hill is easily the best of the vietnam flicks.

</font>

Best Vietnam, best war flick = Apocalypse Now.


Which is beinmg rereleased latter this year.
This is one film which really looks good on the big screen.

azezil

gremlins2

the sceen with ur one in the elevator..."sound alarm" LMAO

oh the film is brilliant hee hee hee

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"just because ur not paraniod, doesn't mean they're not after u!"

Karma

don't forget Trigger Happy
Gross point Blank
The Big Hit
Taxi
The Delivery(anyone?)

"I never really listen to what I hear thats second hand news"

Dustaz

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by DadaKopf:
yup, that film was fantastic! it was actually written like a musica score (figgis is also a composer and writes most of his own music). Hayek was SUPERB *ahem* and that english one with the curly hair - heh, figgis is one lucky guy.

it was definitely a very underrated film - i'd like to see more of it to be honest.
</font>

Funny you should mention it but i just finished working in Italy on Hotel, Mike Figgis' new film. Same sort of deal as timecode, 4 way split. But there is edits in this one, long takes usually.
Hayek and Saffron Burrows (the english wan with the curly hair) are in it again as well as a load of other heads. If you liked Timecode, youll enjoy it. No idea when its due for release, but they started on Post about a month ago.

Talliesin

Eh? wasn't the question "under-rated films"? Most of those mentioned so-far were well-acclaimed and well-promoted.

Some suggestions in no particular order:

The Black Dog (The animated short by Alison De Vere, not the other film of the same name, which I haven't seen and can't comment on).
Pretty Village Pretty Flame (Best war film ever made).
PI
Running on Empty (Weak in many ways, but worth watching just for the domestic normality portrayed of characters in a situation that would normally be over-dramatised).
Last of England and everything else by Derek Jarman.
The Fall of Stalinism in Bohemia
Raining Stones
Life is Sweet, Career Girls, Naked and everything else by Mike Leigh.
Breathing Under Water (Flawed only by the ideological awareness of the main character becoming too much by the end of the film, it seems inhuman for someone to come up with an political analysis of everything)
Céline et Julie Vont en Bateau
1984(The 1984 version with John Hurt, the 1956 version was weak and over-rated, the 1954 TV version is impressive, but more "important" for the effect it had on television and public awareness of the novel than anything else).
Entre deux soeurs (or the translation Two Sisters), and The Street, both by Caroline Leaf, and all her work is worth a look.
Closet Land

Some films that weren't underrated critically but are now unfairly neglected (at least in Ireland):

Jésus de Montréal
My Own Private Idaho
A Taste of Honey (Scary to think a 17 year old wrote something so good).
Camille Claudel
Un Coeur en Hiver
Le Rayon vert
Die Blechtrommel
The Treaty(Mentioned because Brendan Gleeson 0wnz Liam Neeson as Collins).
Truly Madly Deeply
Brazil

Honourable Mention:

The Big Snit which is the best animated comic short ever, and is miles ahead of any rivals even by Canadian standards. I can't understand why The Cat Came Back by the same author/director is more popular.

[This message has been edited by Talliesin (edited 26-04-2001).]