Great movies you might not have heard of.

[Ketherian]

Shall We Dance? (1996) Shall we dansu? (original title) A successful but unhappy Japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he begins to secretly take ballroom dance lessons. It inspired an Australian story about two young dancers who challenge the ballroom scene. It's quite quirky and has been remade (several times) into US versions that don't have the same level of comedy. Can't find the name of that one.

12 angry men (1957) A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court. I thought everyone knew about this one, but a quick review in my office proves otherwise.

And at this point I'd have to go home and look over my movie collection. I appreciate the list of interesting films thus far - please do keep them coming!

 

[Mallus]

I have this vague memory of some odd deep voice speaking the name "George Orr" - I wouldn't be surprised if I half-watched the 1980 version at some point...

I bet that was the turtle-alien talking in the 1980 version (I didn't realize there was another made in 2002).

I think pretty highly of 1980 version -- it features one my personal, indelible screen images at the end: where George and his lady-friend buy a hot dog from one of the turtle-aliens operating a pushcart in front of some Washington, DC landmark. It's stayed with me all these years, one my favorite moments in screen SF.

 

[sabrinathecat]

Oh, another movie worth a look that you probably haven't heard of (and will probably have a devil of a time trying to find, as I don't believe it has ever been released to DVD) - a 1995 Showtime film of the Vonnegut story, Harrison Bergeron, starring one of our favorite hobbits, Sean Astin.

You mean the second movie I mentioned in the first post?

If "Primer" is the movie I think it is, yes, that was pretty good.

There was an indy superhero movie called "Sidekick" that was pretty good too. Not much in FX--more about story.

"Shoot 'em Up" was pretty good for, well, the title tells you everything. The guy uses a gun to do everything, including cut an umbilical cord from a new-born baby. Just don't get into that one expecting Shakespearean dialog or plot.

 

[Umbran]

You mean the second movie I mentioned in the first post?

Maybe. You stated the version was HBO. I know (having looked it up) that the one I'm thinking of was Showtime. I wasn't going to claim that they were the same.

 

[jonesy]

And like I said there are three Harrison Bergeron movies (four if you count Between Time and Timbuktu, which I don't) so it's perfectly possible you each meant a different one.


One film that I am always surprised when people say they don't know about it is Cross of Iron. James Coburn plays a german army sergeant during the soviet counterattack of WWII. It's a gritty movie about the glory of war and how there is no such thing.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

12 angry men (1957) A dissenting juror in a murder trial slowly manages to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court. I thought everyone knew about this one, but a quick review in my office proves otherwise.

Sorry to pun, but that's criminal. It violates a cardinal rule about jury duty regarding producing your own evidence, but it's MUST viewing for everybody. There's a 1997 made-for-cable version starring George C. Scott and Jack Lemmon that was also very good; won Scott an Emmy I believe.

I'll add one more made-for-cable true-story movie. The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom. Stars Holly Hunter in a story about the Wanda Holloway case; she tried to have her daughters cheerleading rival assassinated in order to ensure her a place on the cheer squad.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Oh, and somebody mentioned Weapons of Mass Distraction, and HBO movie which reminded me of another HBO production - Barbarians at the Gate. Stars James Garner in a true story about the chairman of RJR Reynolds/Nabisco attempting to buy the company to take it private and resulting in an LBO bidding war.

 

[Mallus]

And one more...

The Long Goodbye. It's Robert Altman's take on Raymond Chandler, with Eliott Gould as Philip Marlowe in early 1970s California. My wife and I watched this and Chinatown back-to-back last year. It's better than Chinatown. No lie.

 

[Hand of Evil]

I guess there are some from every generation:

• Red Sun (1971) - Charles Bronson, Toshirô Mifune, and Alain Delon - Western with samurai! Train robbery and the bad guys take a sword that was to be a gift; one bad guy turns on the leader, who then joins the samurai on a quest to get the sword back.
• A Boy & His Dog (1975) - campy yes but in a fun way, some may say stupid movie but not to me.
• Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - Classic movie by Frank Capra, to me a must see. Cary Grant at his funniest.
• Once Upon a Time (1944) - Another Cary Grant movie, about a dancing caterpillar.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Electra Glide in Blue: Robert Blake stars as a motorcycle cop promoted to the Homicide division in remote Arizona. Not only is it a good movie- inspired by a real event- but there's all kinds of oddball trivia that goes along with it, like how several members of the band Chicago are cast as hippies in this movie.