Genuinely good movies that have went under the radar?

porsche boy

Whiplash is seriously underrated also. J.K. Simmons is just awesome in it.

porsche boy

'Downfall' is another one. It's subtitled but so unbelievably good.

pixelburp

Whiplash and Downfall did not go under the radar though, they're both critically acclaimed and got wide release, as well as academy awards. I think the nature of the thread are more hidden gems that slipped past without much fanfare

fxotoole

porsche boy wrote: »

'Downfall' is another one. It's subtitled but so unbelievably good.

Black book and The Lives of Others are two great Dutch/German movies as well. Wouldn't necessarily call them "under the radar" though

Technocentral

Bagdad Cafe.

Technocentral

fxotoole wrote: »

Black book and The Lives of Others are two great Dutch/German movies as well. Wouldn't necessarily call them "under the radar" though

Loved "Lives of Others", hated "Black Book".

Zeek12

pixelburp wrote: »

Whiplash and Downfall did not go under the radar though, they're both critically acclaimed and got wide release, as well as academy awards.

Agreed.
Whiplash is a superb film, but hardly went under the radar.
It was widely praised at time of release.

JK Simmons won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his performance and it was also Oscar nominated for Best Picture that year.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

porsche boy wrote: »

Whiplash is seriously underrated also. J.K. Simmons is just awesome in it.

How in the hell is it underrated? Everyone and his dog knows this is a masterpiece.

tomofson

pixelburp wrote: »

Whiplash and Downfall did not go under the radar though, they're both critically acclaimed and got wide release, as well as academy awards. I think the nature of the thread are more hidden gems that slipped past without much fanfare

Exactly, they both literally have hundreds of thousands of votes on IMDB, you may as well say pulp fiction or the shawshank redemption went under the radar by that standard.

Arlington road (1998), I dont know if it would necessarily call it under the radar but literally everyone I told about it has not seen it.

Killer klowns from outer space (1988), might night be everybodies style but this movie is not to be taking too seriously, if you like cheesy 80's horrors mixed with comedy then you will love this.

Spun (2002), the chaotic high risk world of crystal meth addiction/dealing.

pleas advice

porsche boy wrote: »

mad m wrote:

One movie always sticks in my mind. Not just for the riding at start but the music and story was great..

mad m wrote:

Betty blue

I still love the soundtrack to this.

how do some quotes end up like this? are you using an app or something?

to add something:

O' Horten, Norwegian film about a train drivers last day before retirement, from Wikipedia:

O' Horten is a 2007 Norwegian language film directed by Bent Hamer.^[4] The film's title character Odd Horten is a habit-bound train driver, who is about to retire. On the day of his retirement he ends up in an unexpected situation, and is forced to reconsider his life. As in other films by Hamer, the themes are loneliness and old age, and the courage to take chances. O' Horten has been described as a film without a strong plot or a clear chronology

hank scorpio89

Not sure how under the radar they where but..

Secret window and the ninth gate both johnny Depp both really good.

hank scorpio89

Also another one Eddie and the cruisers 1983 michael pare very hard to find tho.there also a sequel not as good tho.

tomofson

Vamp (1986) with grace jones, I am fairly sure from dusk till dawn took some inspiration from this movie.

odyssey06

Some french films that were hits at home but may not have gotten much attention here.

If you can tolerate subtitles:

36 Quai des Orfèvres, French crime thriller starring Daniel Auteuil & Gérard Depardieu.

L'auberge espagnole, a romantic comedy about an Erasmus student starring Romain Duris & Audrey Tautou.

lardzeppelin

+1 for Miracle Mile
Treed Murrey aka Get Down
To Catch a Killer (the John Wayne Gacy story)
Lars and the real girl
Shattered Glass
The Quiet Earth
Boiler House
Trans-america
Predestination
The Exam
Four Lions
Citizen X
Touristas
Arrival

Ironman76

The french movie The Intouchables, is excellent. One of the best Ive seen in recent years actually.

The Connection is on netflix and well worth a catch too, if we're talking french

Technocentral

"Tucker:The Man and His Dream" 1988 film with Jeff Bridges , true story about a 1950s car with revolutionary safety features that was shut down by the big corporations.

SexBobomb

Dredd (2012)
Black Dynamite (2009)
Limehouse Golem (2017) - Now on Netflix
Exiled (2006)

pixelburp

Gah, too many lists of film names. Would be nice if folks took some time to explain what the films are, or why they deserve more attention than they got.

I see 'Predestination' mentioned above, I had recommended it in the Netflix thread, and would do again here: very much a perfect example of a good film that just never gained any buzz, word-of-mouth and so on; probably didn't help that it was an Australian flick & didn't get much (any?) cinematic release - but it's arguably one of the best 'time travel' films of the last decade. To the point where I'd say it's a good example to anyone wondering on how to write a dramatic Time Loop without completely tripping yourself up.

reap-a-rat

Duel.

It's a made for TV movie from the 70s directed by Steven Spielberg. Might have been released in cinema later.

Anyway it's about this regular guy travelling across the states and he overtakes a truck. Sounds basic enough but it's my go-to recommendation for a good thriller that people invariably haven't seen. I saw it 3 or 4 times on late night tv as a kid. I'd say my mother and I have seen it more than anyone else in the world!

superman28

Into the Storm is a made for TV movie by the BBC. For some reason it kind of flopped..

Brendan Gleeson playing Winston Churchill,, its really good.

lardzeppelin

pixelburp wrote:

Gah, too many lists of film names. Would be nice if folks took some time to explain what the films are, or why they deserve more attention than they got.

I hear ya, I've written reviews for all the films I mentioned at one time or another... Unfortunately, people don't read half of what is written so I no longer bother, and furthermore the plot synopses can be gotten through imdb, rotten tomatoes and Wikipedia...
I give a film 30 minutes to get my interest or I'm not going to waste any more time on it, but I have been told I'm selling myself short on occasions (interstellar being one)...

kunst nugget

SexBobomb wrote: »

Dredd (2012)

Dredd's a good shout. Did a great job of portraying the character we knew from the comics after the horrendous Stallone movie of the 90s even if wasn't really anything more than a sci-fi retread of the Raid. Seem to totally disappear shortly after its release.

Mokuba

Stardust, didn't even know it existed until a few days ago.

Watched it last night and found it a very pleasant watch. Really good fairytale/fantasy movie.

pixelburp

lardzeppelin wrote: »

I hear ya, I've written reviews for all the films I mentioned at one time or another... Unfortunately, people don't read half of what is written so I no longer bother, and furthermore the plot synopses can be gotten through imdb, rotten tomatoes and Wikipedia...
I give a film 30 minutes to get my interest or I'm not going to waste any more time on it, but I have been told I'm selling myself short on occasions (interstellar being one)...

Reviews here? Well, if you were annoyed about folks not reading them, I can tell you, they're less likely to go off and separately google/IMDB 14 separate titles; few of us are that idle Kinda comes with the territory of a discussion forum to scribble some thoughts and ideas rather than drop a bunch of names. Sure we can all do that!

Decuc500

Desierto

Made by Alfonso Cuaran’s son, Jonas, this is a tense cat and mouse thriller set on the US/Mexican border. Proud American, anti-immigration psycho Jeffrey Dean Morgan, likes nothing better than bringing his high powered rifle into the desert on the American side of the border and murdering illegals trying to get into the country.

He tracks down a group of desperate illegals, picking them off one by one, as they try to stay alive.

unplayable

shot caller

Ironman76

pixelburp wrote: »

Gah, too many lists of film names. Would be nice if folks took some time to explain what the films are, or why they deserve more attention than they got.

I see 'Predestination' mentioned above, I had recommended it in the Netflix thread, and would do again here: very much a perfect example of a good film that just never gained any buzz, word-of-mouth and so on; probably didn't help that it was an Australian flick & didn't get much (any?) cinematic release - but it's arguably one of the best 'time travel' films of the last decade. To the point where I'd say it's a good example to anyone wondering on how to write a dramatic Time Loop without completely tripping yourself up.

Agreed. Predestination is a great shout as mentioned earlier. Its excellent. The fact that Hollywood didnt get their hands on it is what makes it a great movie. It would have been a two and half hour CGI fest load of crap. Its only 90 mins long and the pacing is perfect.



Also now that I think of it Frequency with Dennis Quaid is another.

An atmospheric phenomenon allows a father to communicate with his son 30 years in the future via radio. The son uses it as an opportunity to warn his father of his impending death in a fire. Of course as we all know when you go dicking around with time it can cause other events to unfold. Very clever.

pixelburp

Ironman76 wrote: »

[...]
Also now that I think of it Frequency with Dennis Quaid is another.

An atmospheric phenomenon allows a father to communicate with his son 30 years in the future via radio. The son uses it as an opportunity to warn his father of his impending death in a fire. Of course as we all know when you go dicking around with time it can cause other events to unfold. Very clever.

There was a TV adaptation of this, came out in 2016 & available on Netflix. Unfortunately got cancelled, but its single season is pretty self-contained & exists as perfectly solid piece of time-traveling drama.

strawdog

Ironman76 wrote: »

The french movie The Intouchables, is excellent. One of the best Ive seen in recent years actually.

+1 for intouchables

going to be a lot of top foreign language movies that understandably didn't make waves here, couple that spring to my mind:

The Best of Youth (Italian), originally made as a mini series but turned into two 3 hour movies, drama about 2 brother that sweeps through the decades of Italian life and politics, beautifully drawn and emotional movie.

The Beat that my Heart skipped (French)Romain Duris as a shady character who starts looking for redemption through classical piano playing. Long time since I watched it but stuck with me, remember it being a gripping interesting watch.

lardzeppelin

odyssey06 wrote:

36 Quai des Orfèvres, French crime thriller starring Daniel Auteuil & Gérard Depardieu.

Excellent film, and while we're in French territory, from long ago, enough to warrant a mention...the original 'la saliere du peur'...'the wages of fear', George Henri Cluzolt's riveting study of male bonding set against the terrifying ordeal of ferrying explosives across an inhospitable jungle to put out an oil field fire....remade by William Friedkin as 'the sorcerer', but falling far short of the original....

fxotoole

pixelburp wrote: »

Reviews here? Well, if you were annoyed about folks not reading them, I can tell you, they're less likely to go off and separately google/IMDB 14 separate titles; few of us are that idle Kinda comes with the territory of a discussion forum to scribble some thoughts and ideas rather than drop a bunch of names. Sure we can all do that!

Some of the movies mentioned work better if you go in blind, without any expectations or knowledge of the storyline. Hence why I didn’t post any synopses.

the purple tin

Alien Nation is a good cop, buddy, sci-fi flick. Think of Lethal Weapon but Riggs is an ET.


Get Carter starring Michael Caine. Excellent gritty revenge thriller set in the north of England.

the purple tin

reap-a-rat wrote: »

Duel.

It's a made for TV movie from the 70s directed by Steven Spielberg. Might have been released in cinema later.

Anyway it's about this regular guy travelling across the states and he overtakes a truck. Sounds basic enough but it's my go-to recommendation for a good thriller that people invariably haven't seen. I saw it 3 or 4 times on late night tv as a kid. I'd say my mother and I have seen it more than anyone else in the world!

Dennis Weaver was perfectly cast. If the role had went to a more macho actor like Paul Newman or Clint Eastwood etc. it would never have worked.

xalot

Aussie film Animal Kingdom some cast with mostly (at the time) unknowns Joel Edgerton , Jacki Weaver and the always incredible Ben Mendelsohn.

Also In The Bedroom from the early 2000's. Got a few Oscar nominations but most people haven't seen it. Same for 21 gramms.

I also thought Edge of Seventeen was a great little film.

Also Take Shelter with Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon. From the same director as Midnight Special which I really liked.

I thought Nocturnal Animals should have won everything in its sight that year.

On a lighter note, I think Drop Dead Gorgeous is bloody fantastic.

Gbear

pixelburp wrote: »

Miller's Crossing, Coen Brothers; When the 'best of' Coen lists pop up, Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Big Lebowski get the plaudits - but for me this is up there with Coen's best work, with a career best performance from Gabriel Byrne. The soundtrack remains quite beautiful.

I mostly loved it - well made, acted, etc. When it ended it felt a bit insubstantial though. The story seemed to kind of peter out.

My pick is The Informant!

It's a biographical comedy drama with Matt Damon about price fixing in the corn industry. It's funny and very cleverly written and plotted out, with some great performances, particularly from Damon, but also from Scott Bakula, of all people.

It's a nice light fun film, but that leaves you thinking at the end of it and feeling quite a lot of empathy for the main character.

Art McCarrick

One Hundred Mornings - Post apocalyptic drama set in the Dublin Mountains.

71 - Young British soldier caught behind enemy lines in Belfast.

Somers Town - A Shane Meadows film that never reached the heights of his others but like "This is England", this film is all the more poignant with Brexit looming.

No Party For Billy Burns - Was on the film festival circuit over the last 9-10 months or so. A bit of a "Garage" vibe off it with Kevin McGahern playing the lead - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEtn8T86je0

fxotoole

Another vote for ‘71 from me. Jack O’Connell puts in a great performance as a British soldier stuck “behind enemy lines” so to speak in a hostile part of Northern Ireland

stormthecastle

Probably a lot of foreign language films fall under this category as they don't get enough attention here. Dangal (India), Memories of Murder (Korea), the lives of others (Germany) goodbye lenin (Germany) Departures (Japan) and I could name hundreds more brilliant movies that are under the radar for most people averse to subtitles.

fxotoole

Starred Up. Another Jack O’Connell movie that not much people seem to heard of. It’s a prison drama starring Jack O’Connel, Rupert Friend and Ben Mendehlson

EagererBeaver

fxotoole wrote: »

Starred Up. Another Jack O’Connell movie that not much people seem to heard of. It’s a prison drama starring Jack O’Connel, Rupert Friend and Ben Mendehlson

Exceptional movie.

tomofson

Just cause (1995) good film with great twists.

King of new york (1990) Christopher walken gangster movie, really good.

Suicide Kings (1997) Christopher Walken, movie where teens kidnap a gangster.

Things to do in denver when your dead (1995)

Dr_Colossus

Ironman76 wrote: »

The french movie The Intouchables, is excellent. One of the best Ive seen in recent years actually.

Thanks, just finished watching this and is was excellent, very funny also.

Watched a low budget movie The Endless last week and enjoyed it A bit of a David Lynch vibe to it. Hadn't heard of it previously.

spookwoman

Deleted User wrote: »

apologies if these dont meet the obscurity requirements or have been mentioned

gattaca- as good as drama-led 90's scifi got imo

once upon a time in the west- if 'america' qualifies, then we have to make room for this, the greatest western ever made for my money and three of the finest turns ever given in one movie from henry fonda, charles bronson and especially the incredible jason robards

bad lieutenant: port of call new orleans- the movie nic cage was born to make, genius direction from herzog, absolutely mental and so, so, so unexpectedly hilarious

dog soldiers- very nicely made werewolf vs squaddies cult british movie from mid 90s

if youve seen and enjoyed the french connection (and you really should have, obv) then the majority of the crew and a good few of the cast made a very decent cops and robbers flick called "the seven ups" that has style, pacing and what is genuinely a top 5 of all time car chase. roy scheider stars, this is never a bad thing (except jaws sequels)

hardly obscure but seldom referenced these days, the sting is an absolute beaut of a movie, a cracking story expertly told and the cast is a dream- and if you dont know the story going in do yourself a favour and watch it cold. even if you somehow guess it youll still have lots of fun.

If you liked dog soldiers try

Dog House British Horror Comedy with Danny Dyer and Noel Clarke. Virus infects a village and turns the women in man hating cannibals

Severance British Horror Comedy with Danny Dyer. During a team-building retreat in the mountains a group of sales representatives are hunted down one by one.

The Decent 1 and 2 - British Horror. A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.

Hellraiser 1 and 2 - British Horror. Clive Barker's feature directing debut graphically depicts the tale of a man and wife who move into an old house and discover a hideous creature - the man's half-brother, who is also the woman's former lover - hiding upstairs. Having lost his earthly body to a trio of S&M demons, the Cenobites. Went downhill after these 2.

Outpost - British Horror - In war-torn Eastern Europe, a world-weary group of mercenaries discover a long-hidden secret in an abandoned WWII bunker.

the purple tin

The Keep is a great 80's horror by Michael Mann. Very atmospheric, great soundtrack.

Pii (the symbol) directed by Aronofsky is well worth a look
Ditto Happiness by Todd Solondz, bleak but good.

odyssey06

I really enjoyed "A Futile and Stupid Gesture".
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5566790/

If you remember the National Lampoon movies of the late 70s and early 80s such as Animal House and Caddyshack, this is a cleverly written biography of one the founder members of the Lampoon. Domhnall Gleeson is one of the leads.

odyssey06

Hammett (1982) directed by Wim Wenders which may or may not have been reshot by Francis Ford Coppola, an homage to the classic private eye film noirs.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085640/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I think it has its flaws - lacking a bit of star power in the casting, and the plot is a bit of a mess, but some of the scenes are just perfect and I love the score.

CalamariFritti

Night on Earth, not sure it got a mention yet. Jim Jarmusch' film featuring 5 episodes with taxis. Excellent stuff with a young Wynona Ryder.

5rtytry56

"My Beautiful Laundrette"

Reasonably well off but in poor standing pakistani gent recruits rough & ready cockney to set up and run Laundrette in tough part of London.

starring Daniel Day Lewis.

Surprised it has'nt been mentioned before now.

Ye Philistines.