Last night rented “The Majestic” with Jim Carrey and was very pleasantly surprised! This was a great flick with some very solid performances by Carrey, Martin Landau, James Whitmore, and really the entire cast. Also included some nifty voice cameo performances as well.
The story was the main reason I have avoided it for so long…it’s set in the 50’s and takes place in a Mayberry-like town for the majority of the film, so it sounded kinda boring. But some of the themes (such as free speech, the high human costs of war) are very relevant to today. I highly recommend! It’s also great for the family, too, although kids would probably find it boring.
Any other overlooked gems out there that anyone has stumbled across lately?
A few months ago, we stumbled on a charming little film called “Heart and Souls.” It’s a fantasy starring Robert Downey, Jr. (who’s amazing), Charles Grodin, Alfre Woodward (not as badly wasted this time – she is an amazing actress who gets really lousy roles), Kyra Sedgewick, and David Paymer. Downey plays a boy who is born at the same time four others died, so their ghosts haunt him.
It’s very old fashioned, and a big sappy, but generally a charming little film.
There was a movie named “Watch It” that came out about 1993 or 4. Starring Peter Gallagher, John C McGinley, Cynthia Stevenson, and Tom Sizemore (plus a few more).
Set in the Windy City, it’s kinda like an urban post-college dating scene flick but with a lot of humor and a great cast. Definitely worth checking out, and not too many people have seen it. Now and then it will show up cable.
Rancho Deluxe - A laidback western comedy set in 1970s Montana. Starring Jeff Bridges and Sam Waterston as a pair of modern day cattle rustlers trying to scrape by. Written by Thomas McGuane and featuring music by Jimmy Buffett (when he was still worth listening to). Fun and off-kilter, I wanted to watch it again the instant it was over. A perfect movie for a lazy afternoon or unwinding after a long night.
widdershins, Sam Waterston says that *Rancho Deluxe{/i] is his favorite of the work he has done. I agree. I had no idea anyone else even knew about it!
Just recently out on DVD is a movie that I had not heard of while it was in general release – About a Boy. It is wonderfully funny and it makes a point without getting all gushy. It stars Hugh Grant and a terrific kid whose name I can’t recall. Toni Colette plays his mother. Well worth watching.
I have to place a vote for “The Boondock Saints” in this one. For those who don’t know, it was a straight-to-video movie with William Dafoe. It’s gained a large cult following, and they’re coming out with a second one this year sometime. The movie has comedy and action, my two favourite genres :).
My wife (girlfriend at the time) and I were pleasantly surprised by Tender Mercies. Robert Duval did a wonderful job in this minor film about a washed-up rock star starting over…
I remember seeing Rancho Deluxe in the theater and loving it.
Very favorite not-widely-appreciated movie is Local Hero.
Takes place in a little coastal town in Scotland.
Kinda quirky, great acting, incredible scenery, well-told story.
I saw the film Hearts in Atlantis on a plane flight, and found it very moving. I’d been out of the country and didn’t even know this film existed, so I have no idea whether it was popular or not. One of those quirky, kind of hard to identify movies. I’d say a cross between (very mild) sci fi and a children’s film. Sad but hopeful ending. Anthony Hopkins gave a very solid performance in it.
Watched part of this movie last night, 52 Pick-Up, starring Roy Scheider, Anne-Margaret.and John Glover as a really oily nasty villain (surprise). It’s from a book and screenplay by Elmore Leonard and is a good example of his work, IMHO.
Basically decent but flawed people get forced into dealing with scumbags (Scheider cheats on his wife and gets blackmailed by Glover), and has to one-up the bad guys. Lots of doulbe-dealing and backstabbing.
** Time After Time ** where H.G. Wells takes his Time Machine to modern San Francisco to catch Jack the Ripper. Sounds dumb, but it is an excellent movie.
I’ve always enjoyed the movie Brainstorm with Christopher Walken, Louis Fletcher, and what would turn out to be Natalie Wood’s last performance. It’s about a group of scientists that invent a machine that allows a persons experiences to be recorded, which in turn allows another to replay those experiences as if they were really there. Pandemonium ensues!
SPOILER
I loved the scene where that one guy gets a hold of the sex scene, and loops the “film” at the point of orgasm. Next thing you know, they’re taking him away in an ambulance.
Exposure with Peter Coyote and Tcheky Karyo. It’s an odd revenge movie about a photographer who saves the life of a per-sev (expert in the use of the knife “perforate and sever”). A prostitute with whom the photographer had formed a friendship is murdered over possession of a computer disk holding incriminating info. Coyote’s character starts to investigate, the bad guys nearly kill him and rape his girlfriend. After a painful recovery, he calls upon the per-sev to teach him the use of the blade and goes in quest of revenge. The movie was shot in South America and has rather a quirky cast. Very much worth seeking out.