Lesser Known Movies Worth Seeing

[Rackhir]

I have a bunch, but for now I'll second 1989's Slipstream,

Not a truly great movie from a "best movies ever made" standpoint, but some awesome ideas, well-presented.

I always had the impression that this movie was more MST3k terratory than "Films I'd recomend."

 

[The_Universe]

I always liked Slipstream, but I'm pulling total blank on who's in it.

Cheers
Nell.

Are you kidding? I almost shiv'ed out my own eyes half-way through that monstrosity.

Which, by the way, stars Mark Hamill and the big-game hunter guy who gets eaten by Raptors in Jurassic Park.

As for my own recommendations for good movies, I'll put in Grosse Point Blank with John Cusack.

 

[barsoomcore]

Highway 61 -- starring ... Nobody!

Except Don McKellar and Valerie Buhagiar! Sheesh.

Don McKellar was also in Bruce McDonald's Roadkill, with Nash the Slash, and enjoyed TV fame (here in Canada, anyway) on Twitch City. Valerie hosted Bravo TV's movie program for several years. They're both stalwarts of the Canadian arts scene (leave your Canadian jokes at the door, thank you).

And add me to the list of people who love Pulp Fiction but have no time for second-rate retreads like Boondock Saints. And as much as I loved Ong Bak, Tony Jaa's got a ways to go before he's in the realm of Jet Li and Jackie Chan. Pretending that's not true only reveals one's lack of familiarity with action cinema. Ong Bak was great, but it wasn't Drunken Master II or Once Upon A Time In China. Give Tony some time, let him grow up and stretch a bit, and if he doesn't get himself KILLED, he's going to join the action movie pantheon, no question.

 

[ragboy]

Glengarry Glen Ross - Fantastic movie and the only Mamet play that's made the transition to the big screen with any competence.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

I'll agree with most all of Mark's pics.
And I'll add to the list my choices... Note that many of these are foreign and/or subtitled, and range from being "kid-friendly" to more "adult-oriented".

--Anything by Akira Kurosawa.
--Equilibrium (Already mentioned, but I'll second it.)
--Event Horizon
--Dogville
--Ma Vie en Rose (French, about a cross-dressing child)
--Chambermaid on the Titanic (Romantic French fable)
--Coty of Lost Children (French: already recommended, but worth the second mention!!)
--Shaolin Soccer (See the original, not the ridiculous English version!!)
--The Road Home (One of my favorites, it's a romantic Asian fable.)
--Dancer in the Dark (From Lars Von Trier, very downbeat and depressing.)
--Amelie (Beautiful French fable)
--The Night Porter (Hypnotic tale from several decades ago starring the beautiful Charlotte Rampling.)
--Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (Worth seeing even if you haven't seen the series.)
--The Thief
--Billy Elliot (Great perfomrance by a young Jamie Bell!!)

 

[Hijinks]

Thandi Newton was unbearably horrific in the film, completely ruining the movie for me. I've not been able to look at her since.

In her defense, that's the way the character was written. Beloved is a ghost, returned to earth in the body of a woman it claimed from the grave. She stayed pretty true to the character as written in the novel.

 

[Mallus]

Glengarry Glen Ross - Fantastic movie and the only Mamet play that's made the transition to the big screen with any competence.

I thought House of Games was good...

I'll add a trio from Wes Anderson (someone who gets a lot of mileage out of the idea that art can be both overwhelmingly fake and true at the same time)

Rushmore

The Royal Tenenbaums

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

 

[reveal]

I agree with a lot of folks here. Here are a few of my favorites:

Freaks - Brillliantly written, directed and acted about a troop of circus freaks and their bond with one another.

Dazed and Confused - A fun film that has an AWESOME soundtrack.

Rustler's Rhapsody - Cheesy fun at its best. Jolly R. Blackburn likes this movie a lot too.

Streets of Fire - A classic from the 80's. I think I saw it about 100 times on HBO.

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle - Silly movie. Every person I've "forced" to watch this was glad they did. Very funny.

Noises Off... - Classic. John Ritter, Christopher Reeve, Micharl Caine, Carol Burnett, Larry from Perfect Strangers... Everyone's in this movie.

 

[Gomez]

Alexander Nevsky (1938)
Great battle scene on a frozen lake! Classic Russian film.

 

[Tanager]

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0071691/ This movie is worth to watch for the acting alone.

Excellent movie.