Underrated Movies

[amber]

Originally Posted by dissention

Aside from Spacey, that guy was what ruined the movie for me. Not the actor, Chris Cooper is always good, but the character and the twist of him being gay was just ridiculous. I must say, though, that the scene at the end with Benning going berserk and smelling her husband's clothes after he's murdered was incredibly well done. That's the one scene that has stuck with me.

Hmmm, i thought it was perfect that he was gay, a compelling plot point and the way Chris played it, totally illumating the family dynamic. I don't remember the smelling her husband's clothes part....guess it didn't stick with me...

[dissention]

Originally Posted by amber

Hmmm, i thought it was perfect that he was gay, a compelling plot point and the way Chris played it, totally illumating the family dynamic. I don't remember the smelling her husband's clothes part....guess it didn't stick with me...

That's too bad, it was quite a disturbing scene.

I could handle his being gay, but I thought they really went overboard when he killed Spacey. It was just absurd to the point where I couldn't help but laugh. It was so out of left field and just didn't gel for me, it needed more to it than his simply being rejected by Spacey. I guess it just rang hollow for me.

[amber]

Originally Posted by dissention

That's too bad, it was quite a disturbing scene.

I could handle his being gay, but I thought they really went overboard when he killed Spacey. It was just absurd to the point where I couldn't help but laugh. It was so out of left field and just didn't gel for me, it needed more to it than his simply being rejected by Spacey. I guess it just rang hollow for me.

I thought the "more" it needed was the fact that he obviously had so much self loathing, anger, and pain, at being gay. And I thought Chris really showed that. And, he had spent years acting violently towards his family...

[dissention]

I think all of Cronenberg's movies could be considered underrated, too. Especially Videodrome (The Ring is a total rip-off), Dead Ringers, Spider, and eXistenZ (Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law are fantastic in it). Even when he's atrocious (Crash, etc.), there's always something intriguing about him.

[amber]

Originally Posted by dissention

I think all of Cronenberg's movies could be considered underrated, too. Especially Videodrome (The Ring is a total rip-off), Dead Ringers, Spider, and eXistenZ (Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law are fantastic in it). Even when he's atrocious (Crash, etc.), there's always something intriguing about him.

Twue, very Twue.

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by dissention

Good one. Hopkins was woefully miscast

So was Nicole Kidman! After reading the book you realize how miscast she was. It's like the director slapped some brown dye on her in an attempt to "ugly" her up. There is no uglying up Nicole Kidman no matter how hard you try! And her "tough" act did not convince me. Her vulnerability showed through too many times and the character was not supposed to be that vulnerable, at least not from the book's perspective. The director took a few too many liberties with the material. Sorry! I read the book first!

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by Lux

A film I thought was particularly underrated was The Ice Storm. American Beauty was a poor man's/shallow person's unoriginal version of The Ice Storm.

Agreed on both counts!

I HATED American Beauty.

[cliffdweller]

Originally Posted by dissention

Speaking of The Ice Storm, Sigourney Weaver's new movie Imaginary Heroes is pretty good, too.

You just reminded me. Speaking of underrated movies, I think Map of the World is up there. For some reason I really liked that flick AND Dissention, Julianne Moore is in it! I love her, she's quite possibly my favorite actress alive today.

Other Underrated Movies:
The Big Lebowski---pure (overlooked) comedic genius

The River's Edge---disturbing portrait of human ambivalence and alienation and noone can argue the genius of Crispin Glover.

And speaking of Crisping Glover, add Ruben and Ed to the list. I'm a sucker for buddy/roadtrip movies and especially when they are that quirky.

White Oleander---I really liked that kid in it, I think her name is Allison Loehman? Anyway, I think she and Michelle Pfeiffer stole the show.

American Psycho--- Great piece of social satire that one. And I LOVE Christian Bale with every fiber of my being. Can't wait for the new Batman.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

So was Nicole Kidman! After reading the book you realize how miscast she was. It's like the director slapped some brown dye on her in an attempt to "ugly" her up. There is no uglying up Nicole Kidman no matter how hard you try! And her "tough" act did not convince me. Her vulnerability showed through too many times and the character was not supposed to be that vulnerable, at least not from the book's perspective. The director took a few too many liberties with the material. Sorry! I read the book first!

I *loved* her in The Human Stain, dear. The book is one of my favorites (it is, truly, the great American novel) and I knew going in that they'd never be able to do it justice on film, but I thought she was spellbinding. That scene between her and Hopkins right before Ed Harris showed up outside her house is pure movie magic; I couldn't take my eyes off her. I liked her interpretation of Faunia, however different it may have been from the book; I certianly bought her as white trash.

Hopkins, on the other hand, seemed to be going through the motions and he simply was not believable in the least. There was nothing to that performance.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

You just reminded me. Speaking of underrated movies, I think Map of the World is up there. For some reason I really liked that flick AND Dissention, Julianne Moore is in it! I love her, she's quite possibly my favorite actress alive today.

Sigourney Weaver is *amazing* in that movie! The book is completely pretentious chick lit garbage, but the movie was quite good. I have so many favorite actors and actresses, but Moore and Kidman are right up there. See Vanya On 42nd Street if you haven't seen it, Moore's great in that one.

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

Other Underrated Movies:
The Big Lebowski---pure (overlooked) comedic genius

DUDE! That is my mother's favorite movie. It is hilarious.

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

The River's Edge---disturbing portrait of human ambivalence and alienation and noone can argue the genius of Crispin Glover.

And speaking of Crisping Glover, add Ruben and Ed to the list. I'm a sucker for buddy/roadtrip movies and especially when they are that quirky.

That one's good, but River's Edge grates on me like you wouldn't believe.

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

American Psycho--- Great piece of social satire that one. And I LOVE Christian Bale with every fiber of my being. Can't wait for the new Batman.

I tried to read the book years and years ago, but it was too disgusting for moi. It? Was sick.

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by cliffdweller

You just reminded me. Speaking of underrated movies, I think Map of the World is up there. For some reason I really liked that flick AND Dissention, Julianne Moore is in it! I love her, she's quite possibly my favorite actress alive today.

Other Underrated Movies:
The Big Lebowski---pure (overlooked) comedic genius

The River's Edge---disturbing portrait of human ambivalence and alienation and noone can argue the genius of Crispin Glover.

And speaking of Crisping Glover, add Ruben and Ed to the list. I'm a sucker for buddy/roadtrip movies and especially when they are that quirky.

White Oleander---I really liked that kid in it, I think her name is Allison Loehman? Anyway, I think she and Michelle Pfeiffer stole the show.

American Psycho--- Great piece of social satire that one. And I LOVE Christian Bale with every fiber of my being. Can't wait for the new Batman.

I love River's Edge and find that movie endlessly fascinating. Those idiots were like my friends and I was horrified to think that anyone could keep such a secret. Crispin Glover was friggin awesome in that film.

Ooh, yes I loved that actress in White Oleander but I really didn't like the film. Not as a whole anyway, I did really love parts of it, however.

Legend with Mia Sara and Tom Cruise. Simplistic in its dealings with good/evil but I thought it was a gorgeous piece.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Legend with Mia Sara and Tom Cruise. Simplistic in its dealings with good/evil but I thought it was a gorgeous piece.

That and Labyrinth are my favorite fantasy movies, I grew up watching them. You should get Legend on DVD, it has the extended director's cut and it's far superior to the original version. The only drawback is...NO TANGERINE DREAM!

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by dissention

That and Labyrinth are my favorite fantasy movies, I grew up watching them. You should get Legend on DVD, it has the extended director's cut and it's far superior to the original version. The only drawback is...NO TANGERINE DREAM!

Holy sh*t, you like that movie! I'll never forget, I was home sick in high school and it was on and I was enthralled. I LOVE fantasy movies and that one is wonderful. I wanted to marry Tom Cruise (of course I was only 15). LOVED him with that long hair. Although Mia was so gorgeous I thought I may want to marry her (actually, I wanted to look just like her). I've got to get this film, I nearly forgot about it, but when the name "Sloan" came up it came to me.

[dissention]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Holy sh*t, you like that movie! I'll never forget, I was home sick in high school and it was on and I was enthralled. I LOVE fantasy movies and that one is wonderful. I wanted to marry Tom Cruise (of course I was only 15). LOVED him with that long hair. Although Mia was so gorgeous I thought I may want to marry her (actually, I wanted to look just like her). I've got to get this film, I nearly forgot about it, but when the name "Sloan" came up it came to me.

Mia Sara was gorgeous in that one, she's so classically beautiful.

The DVD set is awesome, I just grabbed it off my shelf just now. On the first disc is the director's cut (it's extended by about half an hour), and on the second disc is the theatrical cut, plus lots of extras like deleted scenes. The second disc also has the isolated Tangerine Dream score, so you can pop it into your DVD player and just listen to it. And it's in this neat plastic see-through case that folds out and comes with a gorgeous little booklet.

[Serrart]

Originally Posted by Lux

A film I thought was particularly underrated was The Ice Storm. American Beauty was a poor man's/shallow person's unoriginal version of The Ice Storm. There's brilliance in so many elements of it but I couldn't be arsed boring people with it.

I totally agree, The Ice storm is a gem. I love it and Ang Lee is one of my personal favourites. He's able to fill a scene with so many elements without an hint of arrogance.

I also agree on The Human Stain (Anthony Hopkins can't do wrong for me... well almost never ) and Eyes Wide Shut.

Then:
Spotswood: an Australian movie with Hopkins, Russell Crowe and Toni Collette that's not very known
What?: By Roman Polanski, a movie without the trace of a plot that looks like the director's personal Helzapoppin
Bonfire of Vanities: By De Palma, it's a brilliant satire with some moments of astounding filmaking, I don't know why American critics can't stand it.
The Associate: a very funny comedy with Goldberg and Wiest particularly inspired and a great supporting cast.
Brassed Off: one of the most brilliant mixture of comedy and drama I've seen in the last ten years
El Abrazo Partido: Daniel Burman can speak of feelings with such a grace
Judy Berlin: Great performances and beautifully shot
Fresh: is an unsung masterpiece for me. Hope Yakin would be able to make consistent movies again.
Where The Money Is: Newman and Fiorentino made a wonderful couple.
In The Mood For Love: I don't know if it's underrated in US, but just in case, I put it here, because is a truly magnificent film with two of the best living actors around and an incredible director like Wong Kar-wai.

Just some...

Romy