PICK THREE: Underappreciated Movies

[Cachoo]

PICK THREE! Tell us what you liked/loved about your favorite overlooked films. My picks:

1. Copland: Sylvester Stallone---normally I do NOT like him in films. But in this one he is a shy, sensitive sheriff fighting off crooked NYC cops who live in his town. It was a fantastic story with lots of star power with an incredible cast list from the leads to the smallest parts.

2. Enchanted April: Four 1920's era British women, strangers to one another, decide to pool their money and rent a small villa in Italy together one April. The setting is to die for and the story is heart-warming because it focuses on friendship between women even as it tackles romance.

3. Pleasantville: What happens when two teenagers (Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon) get stuck in a 1950's sitcom? This film was so much better than I anticipated because it was both funny and serious. What happens when part of the town welcomes newness and discovery while others resist change?

 

[Vash01]

Somewhere in time- It was criticized for being overly romantic but I loved it, particularly Christopher Reeve in a romantic role.

The light between oceans - IMO this movie received unfair criticism. Based on a book that I liked, I thought the movie had very good screenplay, great acting, musical score and cinematography. The story was complex and emotional.

The Aftermath - I really liked this movie and Keira Knightly gave an excellent performance as the wife of a British Colonel. It was interesting to see Post WW II Germany, how the people there suffered. We feel compassion toward them.

I would also add The Book thief which was another war time movie about a teenage girl, her even younger friend, and her adopted parents. I really liked it.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Loved THE BOOK THIEF.

my 6 yo gradson and I love THE MONUMENTS MEN

And THE LADY IN GOLD Outstanding performance and a beautiful use of past and present.

SAVING SARAH CAIN Well told story of a woman whose sister became Amish. Sister dies and Sarah is guardian of 6 Amish kids

And new favorite SIX. FEET OF APART. The woman who plays the lead is fascinating. It is about teens with cystic fibrosis. Two fall in love. If she catches his strain she will die.

Oh and one more...horses of course. ROCK MY HEART. About a teen with a debilitating heart condition and a horse she finds who will not let anyone near him but her. I was 30 some minutes into the movie before I noticed it was dubbed

 

[Simone411]

I can only think of one movie at the moment, but this particular movie was compelling and Jena Malone was brilliant in this movie.

Ellen Foster : It was a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie released in 1997 starring Jena Malone and Julie Harris. After her mother's death (suicide), Ellen fled from her abusive father to live with her grandmother, and then other various households. The title of the film is in reference to her misunderstanding the phrase "foster family".

 

[taf2002]

If the movie is on this list it really isn't underappreciated. Despite that I'll play:

Creator - Peter O'Toole as a professor/scientist, Mariel Hemmingway as the love interest, David Ogden Stiers as the adversary.

Return to Me - David Ducovny as the widower, Minnie Driver as new love, Carroll O'Connor (his last film) as the grandfather, Robert Loggia, Bonnie Hunt & Jim Balushi as family - great cast!

My Favorite Year - again Peter O'Toole as a drunk swashbuckling actor.

 

[gkelly]

Creator - Peter O'Toole as a professor/scientist, Mariel Hemmingway as the love interest, David Ogden Stiers as the adversary.
...
My Favorite Year - again Peter O'Toole as a drunk swashbuckling actor.

Not really on topic for this thread, but this post reminds me...

In high school English class we had to watch the movie of Lord Jim starring Peter O'Toole. A few days later I happened to notice that O'Toole was a guest on the Tonight Show so I tuned in to watch. He was so drunk that Johnny Carson had to take his cigarette away to prevent him setting fire to the chair.

 

[Cachoo]

Not really on topic for this thread, but this post reminds me...

In high school English class we had to watch the movie of Lord Jim starring Peter O'Toole. A few days later I happened to notice that O'Toole was a guest on the Tonight Show so I tuned in to watch. He was so drunk that Johnny Carson had to take his cigarette away to prevent him setting fire to the chair.

I wonder how close he was to the character in My Favorite Year. He was delightful in that.

 

[PRlady]

Baby It's You -- I swear my sister and I were the only ones to see this movie, with a very young Rosanna Arquette, the story of a nice Jewish girl and her starcrossed romance with the sexy Italian guy from high school. It's hilarious and sad and very well done.

Grace of My Heart -- long before Beautiful, a wonderful film a clef about Carole King starring Illeana Douglas, from 1996. Just so well-done and you spend half the movie thinking, so that's what Brian Wilson/other rock stars were like. Original score is terrific, too.

Babes in Toyland -- yes, i know, what a weird pick. An early '60s musical based on a turn-of-the-century operetta, with Tommy Sands and Annette Funicellos who were the Justin/Britney of the time. For small children it's a great treat and you have to watch the battle of the (shrunken) hero leading an army of toys against the bad guy, in the days before CGI.

 

[canbelto]

1. Brave - for whatever reason it didn't become the runaway hit of other Pixar movies but I thought it was a very movie story and one of my favorite Pixar movies.

2. Show Boat (1936) - it was overshadowed by the later MGM version but the earlier version is grittier, truer to Kern and Hammerstein's original musical, and has some great performances by Irene Dunne, Paul Robeson, and Helen Morgan.

3. Daughter from Danang - this little-seen documentary chronicles the unhappy reunion between an Amerasian woman and her birth mother in Vietnam. It's heartbreaking to see that mother and daughter both want a happy reunion but neither have it in their toolbox to rebuild that bond.

 

[eusebius]

PICK THREE! Tell us what you liked/loved about your favorite overlooked films. My picks:

1. Copland: Sylvester Stallone---normally I do NOT like him in films. But in this one he is a shy, sensitive sheriff fighting off crooked NYC cops who live in his town. It was a fantastic story with lots of star power with an incredible cast list from the leads to the smallest parts.

I am perpetually disappointed that this film is neither about, nor has a score by, Aaron Copland. (Though Howard Shore is pretty good!)

 

[Cachoo]

1. Brave - for whatever reason it didn't become the runaway hit of other Pixar movies but I thought it was a very movie story and one of my favorite Pixar movies.

2. Show Boat (1936) - it was overshadowed by the later MGM version but the earlier version is grittier, truer to Kern and Hammerstein's original musical, and has some great performances by Irene Dunne, Paul Robeson, and Helen Morgan.

3. Daughter from Danang - this little-seen documentary chronicles the unhappy reunion between an Amerasian woman and her birth mother in Vietnam. It's heartbreaking to see that mother and daughter both want a happy reunion but neither have it in their toolbox to rebuild that bond.

Do you know if Daughter from Danang aired on public television? There is something so familiar about that title.

 

[canbelto]

Daughter from Danang was shown on PBS.

 

[Wyliefan]

Not really on topic for this thread, but this post reminds me...

In high school English class we had to watch the movie of Lord Jim starring Peter O'Toole. A few days later I happened to notice that O'Toole was a guest on the Tonight Show so I tuned in to watch. He was so drunk that Johnny Carson had to take his cigarette away to prevent him setting fire to the chair.

Sorry, I probably shouldn't laugh at that. It's just so very Peter O'Toole.

 

[quartz]

Napoleon Dynamite. So weird and quirky and random.

 

[snoopy]

Most Eddie Murphy comedies. So many of these are classics IMO but they don't get recognized as such. Nice Eddie visit on SNL recently.

 

[CassAgain]

The Painted Veil--remarkable performances and cinematography. Tragic romance--the best (fictional) kind.

Barbara--A look at East German society in 1980 through the eyes of a doctor from West Germany. Nice romantic subplot, too.

Head-On--another German film, this one about Turkish immigrants, and another complicated , rather sad romance.

Please keep the suggestions coming--I need a movie binge.

 

[skategal]

Napoleon Dynamite. So weird and quirky and random.

One of my favorites. I could watch it over and over and over.

 

[Winnipeg]

Trans Siberian!!! Excellent film with a lot of twists.

 

[AxelAnnie]

A couple of others: THE RED VIOLIN. Yep that is where Michelle got the music.

One I love with Tyne Daley is THE WEDDING DRESS. I cry every time. It follows a wedding dress from Europe to America and through many iterations.

 

[canbelto]

Other underrated films:

1)The Awful Truth with Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. Very funny sexy screwball comedy.

2) Catch Me If You Can. Entertaining caper. One of Spielberg's most charming films.

3) Sisters of the Gion by Kenji Mizoguchi.

 

[taf2002]

Most Eddie Murphy comedies. So many of these are classics IMO but they don't get recognized as such. Nice Eddie visit on SNL recently.

Coming to America is my favorite. So many cameos.

One I love with Tyne Daley is THE WEDDING DRESS. I cry every time. It follows a wedding dress from Europe to America and through many iterations.

I read & loved the book. I didn't know they made a movie of it.

 

[mjb52]

1) Storyville - I feel like the only person who ever saw this film but I used to be obsessed with it, owned a copy (something I never do), and watched it tons of times. I may even have bought the soundtrack or found mp3's of it online somehow. A New Orleans noir with James Spader, Jason Robards, and Piper Laurie. I don't know how well it has aged (some movies I liked in the nineties have definitely not totally stood the test of time) but I did love it then. Spader at his most louche and handsome.

2) When Night Is Falling - an interesting story about a woman who ends up exploring her sexuality with a female circus artist and the fall-out for her (she is a professor at I think some kind of Christian college and engaged to a man). I will never forget how much Roger Ebert HATED this movie, which I thought was really unfair, even though I generally like him. He seemed to be holding it to a special indie movie standard which he felt it fell short of - I thought it was well-acted and unique (for the time), even though it did have one tiny thing involving the main character's dog that I agree was cheesy.

3) Waterland - I think I watched this because I was really into Jeremy Irons at the time. Parallel storylines between the present and the younger version of the characters, which I know some people are sick of, but which wasn't as common back then. Lena Headey in her very first movie role. Good soundtrack. I tried to read the Graham Swift it was adapted from and couldn't get into it at all.

I think all three of these are sort of B-tier indie movies and that's actually what I like about them.

bonus choice: After Life - Japanese movie (also uncoincidentally from the nineties, when I was young and fun and had time to watch literally every acclaimed indie and international movie you could find in the local indie movie rental store). The main characters are in this sort of purgatory-like place where they have to pick one memory from their life to keep for eternity. It's melancholy but so good. One thing I miss about teaching is getting to have students watch movies like this and then have them write a little essay on what memory they would pick!

eta: I see now that After Life is by the same director who did the more recent acclaimed film Shoplifters! I wasn't aware of that.

 

[quartz]

Best in Show with Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy. Hilarious mockumentary (is that the proper term?) about dog shows and the wacky dog owners.

 

[gk_891]

Return to Oz
This bombed at the theatres because both audiences and critics were expecting something similar to The Wizard of Oz and they got something very dark instead. But I honestly think this movie is amazing. Especially the scenes in the hospital where Dorothy is staying to receive electro-shock treatment.

Yi Yi
That year in terms of foreign films that came out in 2000, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon got the most attention because of its commercial appeal. But I honestly think Yi Yi (also from Taiwan) is a far superior movie even though it got completely overshadowed by CTHD. I would rank Yi Yi as one of the greatest films of the 21st century (so far anyways).

Jackie Brown
I actually hate Tarantino with a passion but I thought this movie was amazingly well done and is his best film. I also thought Pam Grier gave the performance of her career here. But out of all of his films, I think this one was the least successful. I haven't really followed his career though so maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Japanfan]

Wonder Boys with Michael Douglas (pot smoking university English professor), Francis McDormant (his married lover), Robert Downey Jr. (a literary agent) and Toby Maguire (young writer). Brilliant black humor.

 

[gk_891]

1) Storyville - I feel like the only person who ever saw this film but I used to be obsessed with it, owned a copy (something I never do), and watched it tons of times. I may even have bought the soundtrack or found mp3's of it online somehow. A New Orleans noir with James Spader, Jason Robards, and Piper Laurie. I don't know how well it has aged (some movies I liked in the nineties have definitely not totally stood the test of time) but I did love it then. Spader at his most louche and handsome.

2) When Night Is Falling - an interesting story about a woman who ends up exploring her sexuality with a female circus artist and the fall-out for her (she is a professor at I think some kind of Christian college and engaged to a man). I will never forget how much Roger Ebert HATED this movie, which I thought was really unfair, even though I generally like him. He seemed to be holding it to a special indie movie standard which he felt it fell short of - I thought it was well-acted and unique (for the time), even though it did have one tiny thing involving the main character's dog that I agree was cheesy.

3) Waterland - I think I watched this because I was really into Jeremy Irons at the time. Parallel storylines between the present and the younger version of the characters, which I know some people are sick of, but which wasn't as common back then. Lena Headey in her very first movie role. Good soundtrack. I tried to read the Graham Swift it was adapted from and couldn't get into it at all.

I think all three of these are sort of B-tier indie movies and that's actually what I like about them.

bonus choice: After Life - Japanese movie (also uncoincidentally from the nineties, when I was young and fun and had time to watch literally every acclaimed indie and international movie you could find in the local indie movie rental store). The main characters are in this sort of purgatory-like place where they have to pick one memory from their life to keep for eternity. It's melancholy but so good. One thing I miss about teaching is getting to have students watch movies like this and then have them write a little essay on what memory they would pick!

eta: I see now that After Life is by the same director who did the more recent acclaimed film Shoplifters! I wasn't aware of that.

After Life was an amazing movie. The director has a good body of work.

 

[manhn]

80s: Mr. and Mrs. Bridge
90s: October Sky
00s: Pride & Prejudice
10s: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

 

[paskatefan]

99s: October Sky

Oh, yeah!

I also have a very soft spot for Mr. Holland's Opus, The American President, & Hans Christian Andersen. I don't know if they are necessarily underappreciated or not.

 

[quartz]

I like Mr. Holland’s Opus too - Richard Dreyfus is my favourite unappreciated actor.

 

[PRlady]

I like Mr. Holland’s Opus too - Richard Dreyfus is my favourite unappreciated actor.

He reminds of every guy I didn’t want to date in high school.

Another under-appreciated movie, Waltzing with Bashir, an animated movie about war crimes in The Lebanon war.(!) It should have won Best Foreign Film that year but it was both Israeli and anti-Israel-government so, politics.