My Top 8 Underrated, Unpopular, & Unknown Movies
(Paramount Theater, Oakland, CA. © 2018 FRANCK BOHBOT)
I have 7 movies (at least) that I feel have flown under the proverbial radar, sat on shelves underestimated, or otherwise not received their proper due from audiences and critics alike.
These are movies that make me cry, make me laugh, become nervous, get excited, tremble in fear, and exult in the pain of love so bright it burns. But seriously, these are just awesome films that deserve some respect on their names!
So, without further gilding of the lily, preamble, and adieu, I bring you...
The basic synopsis from IMDB is: "[t]wo young Americans with special abilities must race to find a girl in Hong Kong before a shadowy government organization called Division does."
But that only scratches the surface of this gritty, near-future dystopian sci-fi flick. The cyberpunk influences are obvious to anyone who has read a Phillip K. Dick novel, seen Ghost in The Shell (the original anime), or visited a city in East Asia.
And yet... there's more! We've got Ocean's Eleven-esque misdirection, fatalism versus individualism, as well as an eclectic cast of characters that few people truly valued at the time. We've got Chris Evans before he was Captain America; the ever-present Djimon Hounsou, who despite being so many great films never seems to get the awards he deserves; an adult-ish Dakota Fanning acting in ways that make those of us who remember her from way back in the day with Uptown Girls (alongside the late Brittany Murphy) fairly uncomfortable; and even Camille Belle! who played the girl attacked by Compies in Jurassic Park 2, but is probably more well-known for her short relationship with Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers.
Admittedly, some critics and audiences didn't really "get" this kind of movie, calling it "convoluted" or "a confused jumble", which I think has more to do with personal taste than the actual merits of it. The world-building alone makes this worth watching, from the types of powered people to the place they inhabit, and the veiled backstories of the characters that leaves you wanting more. It's truly sad this didn't get a sequel or spinoff, but it did get a prequel comic miniseries by DC that's worth checking out as well.
The basic synopsis from IMDB is: "[a] fateful event leads to a job in the film business for top mixed-martial arts instructor Mike Terry. Though he refuses to participate in prize bouts, circumstances conspire to force him to consider entering such a competition."
Accurate enough, but it doesn't include the masterful performance by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who somehow manages to convey strength, vulnerability, virtue, and redemption while still bringing those hands (and feet) through amazing fight choreography. Also it fails to mention that this was written and directed by David Mamet, the master of Glengarry Glen Ross, The Untouchables, Hannibal, and more besides.
The series of events walked by the protagonist conveys the ideals of honor and dedication sorely lacking in today's world of fast-food consumerism. It reminds us that we not only should act with this way, but that in doing so we will find our true strength. If you're a mixed martial arts fan, or even interested in those old samurai films, you'll dig this flick. The fight scenes are particularly spectacular because they aren't about the flash but the clash of personalities and ideologies. (They're also more realistic in my humble opinion.)
I especially enjoyed the lowkey casting of Tim Allen as some Hollywood douchebag, Dan Inosanto (Bruce Lee's former sparring partner) as a martial arts elder statesmen, and City of God's Alice Braga as the counterpoint of how material obsession is ultimately self-defeating. Hell, even Randy Couture makes an appearance!
I kind of love how IMDB summarizes the plot of Rob Reiner's cult-classic like this: "[w]hile home sick in bed, a young boy's grandfather reads him a story called The Princess Bride."
Forgetting the fact that we're getting a story told by Peter Falk (AKA Columbo, who I could listen to all damned day) to an appropriately annoying Fred Savage (which brings Wonder Years tears to my eyes), this movie brilliantly breaks so many barriers that you almost forget how the hell is it still standing after so many years!?
I'll tell you how: amazing dialogue, perfectly cast characters, and a story that is so self-aware it's having an existential crisis during a Turing test.
Cary Elwes did this movie before Men In Tights, which is probably a good thing because it would have been awkward to see him do this film if the reverse had occurred. Rather like the film's frame narrative itself (and the book it was based on, WHICH YOU MUST READ!), Elwes portrays our protagonist as matryoshka doll of personalities, farm boy, lover, mystery man, pirate, and finally basically Jesus, only without a 3 day waiting period and all that "I am God' stuff.
We've also got Forrest Gump's Robin Wright, long before she -- literally -- stole the show in House of Cards, who inverts the damsel-in-distress model on its head and then spins it like a top.
But the true breakout characters are those played by Mandy Patinkin, André the Giant, and Wallace Shawn. I mean, half the quotes in that movie are basically all of their spoken lines. Mandy and André (RIP) play especially well off of one another, like a fantasy-version of Laurel and Hardy.
Honorable mentions also go to Billy Crystal and Carole Kane for their bit parts in the film, which were so hilarious I almost wish they could've made a spinoff just for them as a couple; and also to Peter Cook, who ensured that no wedding vows will ever be read the same way in our heads again.
Obviously almost everyone knows this movie (and if you don't then you better ask somebody for a copy to watch right-the-fuck-now) so I won't belabor the story's awesome use of satire, romance, adventure, fantasy, and even a little bit of horror, to capture our imaginations until we, like Fred Savage's character, just shut the hell up and enjoy this masterpiece crafted solely for our enjoyment.
Nonetheless, this movie deserves all the praise for its impact on pop culture, starting with "you keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means."
The IMDB synopsis reads: "[e]ight candidates for a highly desirable corporate job are locked together in an exam room and given a final test with just one question. It seems simple yet confusing that soon, tensions begin to unravel."
This is an understatement. The film is a thriller with tension thick enough to spread over an entire breadbasket.
If you enjoyed Black Mirror, then you'll love this piece of British cinema. (If you didn't, then you're probably not reading this anyways, so whatever.) The entire film is not just a social commentary but a (to appropriately paraphrase Winston Churchill) riddle inside of a mystery wrapped inside of an enigma and the key is scattered in a thousand split-second clues.
The cast itself includes some honorable mentions: Luke Mably from The Prince & Me, Gemma Chan from Crazy Rich Asians, Pollyanna McIntosh from The Walking Dead, Colin Salmon of numerous James Bond and Resident Evil films (among others).
The main reason to see this movie is to watch the plot unfold, sweating bullets as you wonder (or maybe fear?) what you would do were you presented with that situation.
IMDB's synopsis is rather spot-on: "Basil, the rodent Sherlock Holmes, investigates the kidnapping of a toy-maker and uncovers its link to his arch-enemy, Professor Ratigan."
For those of you who, like me, enjoy the world of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous detective as well as his equally infamous arch-nemesis, AND you love cute lil' animals, then this movie is definitely for you. There's something to be said for a little Brian Jacques's Redwall-meets-19th century steampunk. The animation is, of course, superb, and the characters well-drawn, with all the excellent crafting of Disney's animation department.
Interestingly, while it was part of Disney's late 20th century Golden Age, the film itself has received far less heavy nostalgia in the popular zeitgeist. Though, it was, at the time, a critical and financial success. Indeed, it helped pave the way for the Disney Renaissance after the undeserved failure of 1985's the Black Cauldron. (Side-note: I'm proud to state this movie came out the year and month I was born.)
The movie itself features so many wonderful fan-winks, like the name of our protagonist being a nod to one of Holmes's aliases in "The Adventure of Black Peter" and actor Basil Rathbone, who played Sherlock in 14 films between 1939 and 1946, coming to embody the character in a way that virtually no one has done before or since. (Sorry not sorry Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller -- I still love ya'll though!) The film also, rather like Sherlock Holmes himself, went by various iterations such as The Adventures of the Great Mouse Detective for the 1992 reissue, and Basil the Great Mouse Detective in many other countries.
Oddly, there was no real soundtrack released at the same time as the movie, which is unusual for a Disney flick. Still, it was eventually released during a reissue and contains a number of wonderful songs from the film that showcase classic American sounds and Victorian British music hall parodies. Notably, the score also marked the official debut of renowned Henry Mancini!
Anyhoo, the point is this overlooked cinematic nugget is worth digging into, especially during family movie night.
Per IMDB's curious synopsis: "[a] young boy whose dreams transcend reality is sucked into his own fantasy, which is everything he has dreamed of until he unleashes a century old secret that may not only destroy this perfect dream world but reality itself."
Unlike most cartoon films marketed towards children, I actually wouldn't recommend letting your kids watch this. I still remember the first time I saw this at the tender age of 4ish. It gave me nightmares for months... BUT IT WAS SO GOOD I KEPT WATCHING IT!!
This amalgamation of Japanese and American cartoon film-making is eerily done, with the film truly feeling like the dream world it shows us, as we follow the titular hero Nemo along his adventure through a world where the Bushido maxim that life is a dream reaches an apex. The movement from reality to dream to nightmare to awakening amidst a host of fantastical creatures is reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland and the Labyrinth.
Additionally, while I can't speak for the Japanese adaptation's voice-acting, the English ones were a veritable treasure trove of entertainment industry gold: Gabriel Damon, voice of Littlefoot from The Land Before Time; Mickey Rooney, a man who needs no introduction anywhere in Hollywood; René Murat Auberjonois, who played Odo in Deep Space Nine; Danny Mann, of Heathcliff, Transformer, DuckTales, and Balto; as well as so many others.
Interestingly, this movie's conception and execution was fraught with conflict. Originally Hayao Miyazaki and George Lucas were in talks to create it! (I mean, could you imagine what brilliance they might have made of this material?) But, ultimately, due to a number of creative and business differences, it was made by the same masterminds at TMS who brought us Akira.
I cannot recommend this under-appreciated masterpiece enough, especially if you're lucky enough to be able to watch it on the original VHS format.
IMDB provides this spare synopsis: "[a]fter he dies in a car crash, a man searches heaven and hell for his beloved wife."
Come on!!! This movie is so much more than this one sentence. It's about soulmates, love, loss, life, death, courage, fear, suicide, children, old age, parenthood, dogs, Dante's Inferno, oil paintings, and Shakespeare. The title actually comes from a line in Hamlet's speech, "To be, or not to be."
The cast is headed by the paragon of both comedy and drama: Robin betta-put-some-mothafucking-respect-on-his-name Williams. Also included are Cuba Gooding Jr., an odd choice for the character he plays, but he did a good job with it; Annabella Gloria Philomena Sciorra, who you may recognize from The Sopranos; the incomparable Max von Sydow, who has basically played everyone from Jesus to Liet-Kynes; as well as Rosalind Chao and and Lucinda Jenney. Werner Herzog even has a sweet cameo that is easy to miss on your first watch-through.
Be warned: this film is full of sadness. I'm not talking about that beautiful sad where everyone sheds these perfectly scripted tears -- although there is a lot of that too. No, I'm talking about those ugly tears where your nose starts running into your mouth and suddenly you're tasting tears, boogers, spittle, and get all puffy and red everywhere. The emotional twists and turns of this movie are just that fucking heavy. You are literally stabbed, repeatedly, in your metaphorical heart. Maybe the literal one too.
Regardless, this is a movie that, especially in light of the passing of Robin Williams, is an incredibly soul-shattering, spiritually-uplifting thing of beauty, full of stunning landscapes across the human psyche, especially those that haunt our thoughts of Heaven and Hell.
This is a must-watch, but make sure you save it for the appropriate time. You'll need at least half a day to recuperate.
IMDB describes this not-a-rom-com as: "Rob, a record store owner and compulsive list maker, recounts his top five breakups, including the one in progress."
You may notice already that it's pretty fricking meta to have a movie about lists on a list of movies. Well, embrace the meta!
This is a surprisingly great movie (as is the British novel it's based on) and I am still confused how it never got more press after the initial release. Though... it did make the 446th greatest movie ever on Empire magazine's list of the top 500 movies of all time poll back in 2009, as well as still sits high on a number of prestigious albeit obscure lists.
Anyhoo, John Cusack plays the film's tortured cynical romantic protagonist so well I almost wonder if it's his default personality. Indeed, the author of the book once remarked that "at times, it appears to be a film in which John Cusack reads my book." The switch from London to Chicago for the city-setting was a smart movie too, especially for a film marketed to an American audience. Not to mention that Chi-town has a great music scene and the creators of the film could connect the city to every scene indelibly.
He's supported ably by the hilarious Jack Black; an unknown Danish actress by the name of Iben Hjejle, who I never would've guessed wasn't American; Todd Louiso, who is one of those "that guy!" in every movie; a random Lisa Bonet that really deserved more screen time; the sister, AKA Joan Cusack; and that Shawshank mother-fucker, Tim Robbins. Bruce Springsteen makes a cameo, as does Drake Bell, Al Johnson, and Ian Williams.
But the greatest strength of the movie are Cusack's character's exes played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sara Gilbert, Lili Taylor, and Joelle Carter. The second greatest strength of the movie is the constant, hilarious bouts of musical knowledge and one-upmanship that occur between the characters.
If you're looking for a sleeper hit, then this film is for you. And if you aren't, still go watch it you uncultured swine!
(Grand Lake Theater, Oakland, CA. © 2018 FRANCK BOHBOT)
Anyways, I hope you enjoy these movies as much as I do. If you seen any/all of them already, they're still worth rewatching over again with your amazeballs and awesomesauce. We're living in an explosive age of entertainment, where streaming movies, TV shows, documentaries, and music is constantly available in a rapid bombardment that I've given-up trying to keep-up. Look for quality over quantity, starting right here with these 8 cinematic masterpieces.
I don't care what anybody says to the contrary. Fight me.
(After the show though, please. Okies, thanks!)
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