List of underrated movies (including FP)

50 UNDER-RATED and/or UNDER-ACKNOWLEDGED MOVIES


A) REMAKES THAT TOP THE ORIGINALS

Solaris (2002) - Sodenberg brings intimacy and focus to Tarkovsky's glacial original.

Thomas Crown Affair (1999) - Retro-stylish, smart and sexy caper movie.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - Re-boots from political to psychological allegory and taps even deeper into our paranoia. An absolute classic.


B) DRAMAS

One Hour Photo - Robin Williams' best performance.

Save The Tiger - Jack Lemmon beats Brando, Pacino, Nicholson & Redford to the oscar.

King of Comedy- Scorsese's best IMO. And Jerry Lewis is a revelation.

Killing Them Softly - Criminally under rated economic critique as gangster flick. Kudos to Pitt for backing Director Andrew ("Jesse James") Dominik.

The Thin Red Line - Mallick's pre-self parody masterpiece.

Barney's Version - Paul Giamatti not even nominated?

Barry Lyndon - Kubrick's last great film IMO.

Paths of Glory - Kubrick's least seen great film.

Night Falls on Manhattan - Idealistic DA (Andy Garcia) confronts the shadowlands of the system and his conscience. RIP Sidney Lumet - one of the all time great directors.

House of Mirth - Terrence Davies charts Gillian Anderson's pitiless slide through the cracks of Victorian society. Heartbreaking.

Missing - Lemmon and Spacek make the most poignant of odd couples in Costa-Gavras fact based expose of US sanctioned persecution in 1970's Chile.

Three Days of the Condor – Redford and Dunaway go on the run from a Watergate era “system” beyond all rhyme or reason. Pollack reboots “39 Steps” into the counter culture then banishes all sanctuary and proclaims Von Sydow’s 9 to 5 free-market assassin IS the new world order. “Bourne” and “No Country” owe so much to this classic (compare Damon and Redford’s respective home invasion death matches).

And Justice for All – Even jarring comedic interludes and horribly dated 70’s soundtrack can’t swamp the glory of a young Al Pacino in full radical courtroom meltdown. Norman ("Heat of the Night") Jewison directs.

Klute – Hardened NY Hooker (Jane Fonda's) defences go fight or flight at visiting PI (Donald Sutherland’s) fundamental small town decency when she becomes embroiled in his murder investigation. Alan J Pakula hands Fonda’s performance the reigns and earns her her first oscar.

Margaret - Playwright Kenneth Lonergan's New York rumination on guilt and responsibility gifts Anna Paquin her most challenging role. Ambitious, affecting, unwieldy and haunting" - Rolling Stone Magazine. Delayed 6 years before it's 2011 release. 3 hour Director Cut recommended.

True Romance - Tony Scott's best milks unexpected dividends from Tarantino with a break through spot for Gandolfini and THAT Walken/Hopper showdown ("Now tell me - am I lying?").

A Late Quartet - A veteran string quartet negotiate art, ego, and the shifting sands of group dynamics in the best Woody Allen Movie that Woody Allen never made. Hoffman heads an A list cast and Walken quietly steals the show.

Down to the Bone - Vera Farmiga owns every frame of Debra ("Winter's Bone") Granik's riveting 2004 low budget debut about the mundanity of addiction.

Testament - Jane Alexander shoulders her family and community into the night in the mundane wake of the apocalypse. A quietly devastating performance.

Topsy-Turvy (1999) - Mike Leigh humanizes Gilbert & Sullivan. Jim Broadbent conducts a pitch perfect ensemble cast.

Deep Cover - Larry Fishburne slowly realizes "I'm not a cop pretending to be a drug dealer. I'm a drug dealer pretending to be a cop". Plus Jeff Goldblum on form and rising star Dr. Dre soundtrack.

Funny People - Adam Sandler defies expectations in Apotow's best. More a drama than a comedy. "The thing about Funny People is it's a real movie. It's ABOUT SOMETHING." - Roger Ebert.


C) UPBEAT/COMEDY/ROMANCE

The Lion in Winter - O'Toole, Hepburn, Hopkins, & Co carve up James Goldman's Oscar winning script (and each other) for Xmas. Why hasn't everyone seen this film?

The American President - "Yes I know what Capra-esque means". Should score 7+.

The Big Easy - Bent cop (Dennis Quaid) and DA prosecutor (Ellen Barkin) are irresistible in Cajun tempoed New Orleans. Warning: Some (insane) TV edits end on a pointless explosion freeze frame and cut out the closing "waltz" scene on the credits wrap.

Tin Cup - Shelton and Costner are the sports movie dream team for non sports fans.

Sullivan's Travels - A director of escapist films goes on the road as a hobo to learn about Life. Preston Sturges, Joel McCrea, and Veronica Lake keep the trip smart, funny, and entertaining. "The best social comment made upon Hollywood since "A Star Is Born"." (New York Times).

Love and Death - Woody Allen does "War and Peace" and Wittgenstein by way of Bergman and the Marx Brothers. One of the funniest films ever made.

On The Town - Groundbreaking Kelly, Sinatra, Munshin musical shot on location in New York but eternally eclipsed by "Singing in the Rain".

Robin and Marian - Hepburn and Connery count the wrinkles. The most affecting Robin Hood film.

The Sure Thing - Slight but charming teen "When Harry met Sally" warm up from Rob Reiner catapults John Cusack into Hollywood.


D) LEFT FIELD

Jacob's Ladder - Tim Robbins much misunderstood metaphysical odyssey ("You look like an angel Louie").

Fearless - Ditto. Peter Weir soars. Jeff Bridges goes Icarus.

American Psycho - Great jet black comedy and (another) great Christian Bale performance.

Unbreakable - Makes Marvel/DC's spandex strutters look like the ****ing smurfs.

Manhunter - Brian Cox makes Hopkin's Hannibal Lector look like Jar Jar Binks.

Dead of Night - 15 years before Psycho, DoN invents the modern horror movie. Redgrave's Ventriloquist foreshadows Norman Bates and the nightmare framing loop defined a template beyond the genre.

Dogma - Smith's best. Hit and miss but still brave, smart, and ambitious.

The Addiction - Existential vampire hip-hop confronts Abel Ferrera's catholic roots. Lili Taylor confirms her indie goddess status as Walken devours another cameo.

The Grey - Existential, plane crash, survivalism round the campfire. Liam Neeson confirms "Taken 1/2/3" are beneath him.

Death Trap - Fun "Sleuth" homage from Ira Levin ("Rosemarys Baby" + "Stepford Wives" + "Boys from Brazil") with Michael Caine and Chris Reeve having a ball.

Triangle - Intricately plotted brain twister disguised as slasher flick (with a nod to "Dead of Night").

Identity - Truly original "Ten Little Indians" set-up that blindsides you all the way.

Unknown - Twisty Hitchcockian amnesia thriller keeps you guessing. Why the hate?

Dance of the Vampires - Polanski ices the slap stick with stunning production ambiance.

The Abyss - James Cameron's "ET" hits Act 3 emotional chords that Titanic only dreamed of. Director's Cut essential, the Studio Cut destroyed the movie.

Assault on Precint 13 (1976) - Carpenter's low budget indie breakthrough channels "Rio Bravo" into a razor sharp late night B movie.

The 13th Warrior - Boy's own Beowolf + D&D + Magnificent Seven + Kurosawa mash up.

What Dreams May Come - So shoot me. Just a shame it has no 2nd Act.

Deep Blue Sea- 2nd best shark film ever keeps left fielding the popcorn.


DOCUMENTARY

Into The Void - Docu/drama re-enactment of infamous Andes Mountaineering disaster spawned the (now) well-worn format but still packs a raw human punch.

Inside Job - Matt Damon narrated expose of the 2008 financial crash sidesteps Michael Moore simplicities to illuminate and educate and bag the 2010 best Doc Oscar. "The result is a masterpiece of investigative nonfiction moviemaking - a scathing, outrageous, depressing, comical, horrifying report on what and who brought on the crisis." - Boston Globe.

The Way West - Haunting Ric Burns elegy for the passing of the old west and the "displacement" of the native Indians. (Not to be confused with "The West" by brother Ken.)

If only you could see what I have seen with your eyes.