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Movies you should see but probably haven’t


rough cut

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...or "Horror/action movies that are relatively unkown but actually good..." or "Movies I like that nobody else does..."

 

There's no shortage of movies. I guess we all try to catch the blockbusters, and we come across the odd "limited theatrical release" every once in a while. Naturally, there's plenty of discussion regarding the blockbusters. For some of the big releases there will be endless discussions weather they are good or bad. Preference is subjective, and that's fine.

 

But there are plenty of movies out there that are considered bad that are actually good. I'd like to make a case for the lesser known movies here. Still Hollywood produktions (or not), but a discussion about movies found off the beaten path. Forgotten and underrated. Maybe movies where the entertainment value is higher than the production value. It'd be fun to avoid the mainstream in the discussion. No Marvel, no Alien, no Star Wars... you get the idea.

 

So how far down the rabbit hole does one go? Not too far, I guess, just far enough to dig up some movies you’ve enjoyed that others might've missed (or dissed, because it plain looked bad).

Here's a few to kick things off:

 

Nightwatch (1997) IMDB

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Stigmata (1999) IMDB

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Whiteout (2009) IMDB

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Devil (2010) IMDB

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The 15:17 To Paris (2018) IMDB

15-17-to-paris_500.jpg

 

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Well, I'd say you're sticking pretty closely to the 'mainstream' here in these genre films.

 

The remake of NIGHTWATCH you list isn't bad, but the Danish original is much better. THE 15:17 TO PARIS, I found largely disappointing; squeezing drama out of an event that didn't really have that much before and after. DEVIL has a cool idea, but walks into some trite predictability eventually. STIGMATA, I haven't seen in ages -- I seem to remember it as pretty good. I know I've seen WHITEOUT, but I have no memory of it. Doesn't bode well. But it has a great premise. I'm a sucker for arctic-themed films; I'd be willing to give it another shot to refresh my memory.

 

As for suggesting something myself, I would need more specific parameters. There are so many films I see each year that are "off the beaten path", whether they're indie/art films or indie genre films like the ones you listed. I'd probably also need to limit it to a period, for example such films I've seen (and can recommend) in 2019, to narrow it down a bit.

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@Thekthithm You should watch it. If not perfect, it’s good and enjoyable.

 

1 hour ago, Thor said:

Well, I'd say you're sticking pretty closely to the 'mainstream' here in these genre films.

 

Yeah, I know, I guess I gave it a generous interpretation, but I also thought that this actually might inspire some to see a movie they’ve missed, and I think that that is more likely if you know some actor in the movie or the director.

 

Thanks by the way for the mini reviews : )

 

No, Whiteout is not a “good” movie by any standard... But it is enjoyable! Kind of like Deep Blue Sea in a way.

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Haha I saw Nightwatch in a theater in Boston near BU in 1997.  Been meaning to catch it again some time, I liked it at the time

 

None of the other movies listed seem important to see at all unless you have some specific reason to

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OK, I'll see if I can add some. I've seen 266 movies so far this year (also includes movies I'm seeing again).

 

Among the lesser known indie/genre films I could recommend, are FAULTLESS, SCHOOL'S OUT, ANIARA, INTO THE FOREST, EUROPA REPORT, BLAME!, THE DOMESTICS, IO.

 

Among the indie/arthouse/streaming/festival films I could recommend, are HOLIDAY, BEATS, THE NAKED ISLAND, A WOMAN IS A WOMAN, MARWENCOL, THE WORLD OF US, CONVERSATIONS WITH A KILLER: THE TED BUNDY TAPES, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COUPLE, TOO LATE TO DIE YOUNG, HAPPY AS LAZARRO, HARAJUKU.

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Into The Forest, the Ellen Page / Evan Rachel Wood movie?  That was terrible!

 

Europa Report was cool, though!

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Quote

 

Into The Forest, the Ellen Page / Evan Rachel Wood movie?  That was terrible!

 

Europa Report was cool, though!

 

 

I liked it. Love the kind of "post-apocalyptic" film where the mayhem is all around, but where it isn't necessarily visualized. It's just there, as a mysterious force in the background while we follow, quite intimately and realistically, the fate of a few people. A bit like Haneke's TIME OF THE WOLF (another underrated film). It's not great or anything, but a solid recommendation.

 

EUROPA REPORT, I watched for the third time this year. Great film.

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6 minutes ago, Richard said:

THE ISLAND

 

The Bay movie? I love that too, very underrated. Or are you talking about the one with a Morricone score?

 

I've been meaning to see DEMON SEED for quite some time, but never got around to it.

 

3 minutes ago, Richard said:

You've seen that three times? Thor, you have waaaaaaaay too much time, on your hands :lol:

 

Thankfully, it's my profession! I love to see films I like, or am curious to re-explore, multiple times. Of course, it's a bit of a way up to a JURASSIC PARK, ALIEN or ALIENS which I've seen 60-70 times. :)

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Spectre was one I didn't even bother seeing and then watched years later on TV despite being a 007 fan. I know it's mainstream but when I read the title, it's what instantly came to mind.

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Well, as I've pointed out, I have a software that recommends amazing movies to me. That's the brilliance of having a computer perform a simple math equation (rate ÷ popularity) on thousands of IMDb lists that include your favorite movies.

 

You don't want just 'rate' of each film occurrence. This just adds up the best lists and totals each movie. This is common YouTube algorithm-type nonsense that glances over anything truly relevant. You must divide also by film popularity (number of votes) as that will yield the pure value of relation, all the publicly forgotten movies you're dying to see.

 

If you don't have a software, you can copy a few-hundred lists into excel and perform the simple math. If you go this simple route, using the google searchtag ' site:https://www.imdb.com/list "Movie 1" "Movie 2" ', it's better if you input underrated movies you really like instead of popular ones. This makes the final results much more fitting, because you're re-equating the original inversion onto your fav movie (rate ÷ popularity) which results in a higher value than a popular movie would.

 

This is pretty much everything you need to totally own all knowledge in the world. Works just as well with Goodreads or YouTube music playlists.

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THE HOMESMAN was terrible. Speculative nonsense. But SLOW WEST was one of my favourite movies that year; wish more westerns were made this way. I'm familiar with THE INVITATION, but not sure I've seen it. Hopefully, it's better than Kusama's highly overrated DESTROYER (or the godawful anthology film XX).

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1 hour ago, Thor said:

MATEWAN is wonderful! I recently found my film grading book from my teenage years, and it got a very high mark. Although my memory of it now is fussy. LONE STAR is pretty cool too.

 

 

It's about a mining town, in West Virginia. LONE STAR is good, also.

 

 

Here's some more overlooked "gems":

SLIPSTREAM

COLOSSUS (aka THE FORBIN PROJECT)

INSERTS

SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY

("Dark and grey; an English film...")

 

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So I saw WHITEOUT again tonight, pr. rough cut's reminder.

 

It's a pretty good film, I can understand why it's a recommendation. I can also understand why I didn't remember much of it. My main issue is the tempo; it becomes fairly confusing in its high tempo eventually, and it fails to nurture the MOOD of the place (like, say, THE THING, does). That's pretty crucial in this type of film, and the things that tend to stick with you. 

 

But I'll say one thing that pleased me. There are no main titles, and I could not remember the composer, so after a couple of minutes, I started to speculate: "This sounds kinda like James Newton Howard. No, wait. It sounds like John Frizzell, actually (who used to work for JNH). Could it be Frizzell?". I then checked IMDB on my cell phone, and discovered that it was, indeed, Frizzell. I patted myself on the back after that. I guess almost 30 years of film music fandom and exposure sometimes pay off.

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53 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

I guess the score wasn't very good since that's the only thing you've got to say about it. :)

 

It's OK.

 

24 minutes ago, Quintus said:

The People Under the Stairs

 

Oooh. Nostalgic memories from the past there. We rented this on VHS. No memories of it now, other than that it was pretty creepy.

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18 hours ago, Thor said:

So I saw WHITEOUT again tonight, pr. rough cut's reminder.

 

It's a pretty good film, I can understand why it's a recommendation.

 

I am glad you enjoyed it. : ) I hope nobody interpret these recommendations as life changing movies. The aim is more to put the spotlight on a few enjoyable films that might’ve gone under the radar for one reason or another. ; )

 

18 hours ago, Thor said:

I can also understand why I didn't remember much of it.

 

I know, me too actually! 😂😂😂

 

I saw Whiteout a couple of years ago. To be honest, I don’t think I could give a recap of the plot even if you paid me, but I remember enjoying it in a “it’s not a B-movie, it’s not that bad, but I certainly had fun with it” kind of way.

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I Dare You To See.....

 

The Devil's Rain is certainly a movie to watch late at night and as Halloween is creeping up upon us that is

a great time to watch it.

An impressive cast list including Ernest Borgnine, William Shatner, Eddie Albert, Ida Lupino and John Tavolta -

a true cult classic in the same vein as Race With the Devil which was also made in 1975!

 

Heaven Help Us All & don't get Nightmares!

 

:eh:

 

 

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8 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Didn't he go under the name of John Travolta in this film?

 

Yes this was his first starring role - blink & ya might miss him!

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2 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford 

 

A film that looked really good on paper, but alas turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment. At least for me.

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The title is just too pretentious. I've never seen anything involved with Casey Affleck. I remember that stupid publicity stunt Joaquin Phoenix pulled years ago for that mockumentary movie no one saw.

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6 hours ago, Gruesome Son of a Bitch said:

The title is just too pretentious. I've never seen anything involved with Casey Affleck.

 

You should see MANCHESTER BY THE SEA. Probably the best film starring Casey Affleck.

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18 hours ago, Koray Savas said:

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford 

 

True, nobody saw it, and yet it's just as impressive as There Will Be Blood, a movie everyone dwells with.

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