Shouldn’t this be titled the “Independent Movie Geeks Unite!” thread?
Of those listed so far, I’ve seen Gattaca (liked it), Waking Life (loved it), and The Red Violin (very good).
To the list I will add Time Code. I think it may be another Dogme 95 film, but I’m sure on that. Technically, it’s a piece of brilliance. It’s a movie of a two hour period of time, involving a number of different people and their interactions with each other. The brilliant part comes in the way it was filmed. There are four main characters, and they are each followed by a camera man with a digital video camera. The filming was done by all four groups at the same time, in one single two hour take, non-stop. When you watch the movie, you see all four “scenes” at the same time, each taking up one quarter of the screen. Even when two of the characters interact the filming is continuous, and you see the same scene from two different angle.
Admittedly, it’s a lot of work just to watch, but it’s well done, and I highly recommend it to anyone with a taste for indie films.
The one movie, at least in my little world, that no one ever seems to acknowledge or talk about is Return to Paradise starring Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche and Joaquin Phoenix.
This one really makes you think and it really challenges your ethics. It’s one of those “What would YOU do in this situation” type of movies.
Great performance by Joaquin Phoenix and a very powerful ending.
It was released in 1998, but seemed to be in the theaters for just a short time. I don’t think it really made a lot of money.
**High Spirits ** Peter O’toole is the star in this fluff ghost movie. It is one of Liam Neeson’s first flicks. Own it for laughs.
Amen to that! Don’t forget Steve Guttenberg, owner of one of the best chests in Hollywood! It’s also one of Neil Jordan’s early movies; strange to think High Spirits came from the same mind as The Crying Game or one of my favorite nobody’s-seen-it, In Dreams.
Two of my votes have to go to Cannibal! The Musical and Baseketball; I want to have Trey Parker’s children.
And then, in the cannibal vein, there’s always Ravenous.
Hmmm…seems like I have enjoyed many of the movies mentioned here: “Gattaca”, “Still Breathing”, “Iron Giant”, “East is East”, “Defending Your Life”.
My favorite has to be “Strictly Ballroom” – it was a fun movie…and the dancing–WOW!
Lenny & Carl-I loved return to paradise!! What a sad movie!
Incidently I like your screen name! Go pet those rabbits.
Anywho I would like to give the nod to Sinbad and the Seven Seas, written by Edgar Allen Poe and starring the multi-talented Lou Ferrigno. It’s a tradgic period peace that sums up man’s quest for meaning in life.
Truly one of the best…
Well, my nominee for these “favorite obscure movie” threads is always The Year My Voice Broke. Funny, sad, coming-of-age movie set in a small town in the Australian outback in 1962. Bruce Spence (the gyro pilot from The Road Warrior) has a small but interesting part.
The sequel, Flirting, is also very good, and features a young Nicole Kidman.
Some good stuff mentioned so far (I’ve added several to my netflix queue), but I’m surprised at some of the mentions.[ul]
[li]The Conversation, The Lion in Winter? Those are classics. TLiW received Oscar nominations for every major category and won one for Hepburn (and screrenplay). TC earned a best picture nomination, but got steamrolled by the other Coppola pic (part II).[/li][li]Gattaca, High Spirits I have to disagree with . Of teh pictures mentioned these are the only ones that I have seen and thought were simply not good (despite an excellent performance by Jude Law in the former). Sorry.[/li][/ul]
For my own nominations, I think I’ll mention a few imports from recent years that I thought deserved a wider US distribution: [ul]
[li]The Dish, a lovely little Aussie film that captures just the right emotions from the days preceding the Apollo 11 moonwalk.[/li][li]The Castle, a quirkly Aussie comedy about a man with a very positive outlook on life. (like The Dish, it was directed by Rob Sitch.)[/li][li]The Hairdresser’s Husband, a quirky, romantic, and sadly cheerful French film. [/li][li]The War Zone, not at all amusing, Aussie, or quirky. A dark and unflinching look at incestuous molestation directed by Tim Roth. Powerful and deeply disturbing.[/li][/ul]
I’ll second that one. Any time I start talking about the scene where he tries to steal the lawnmower, my friends just don’t understand. It’s a hilarious movie, though. All of you should run out and rent it, its just that fantastic.
To throw in my 2 cents- I suggest The Dinner Game . Its a French film about friends who have a contest every week to see who can bring the biggest idiot to dinner. The guests can’t be told why they are there. I highly recommend it.
i wish to mention that ‘nobody’s fool’ is a wonderful, funny, vivid novel. its one of my favorites. richard russo wrote it. glad to hear its a good movie; i’ll check it out.
Ive seen most of these most of these movies quite frequently on cable and most are quite good
But wiht some of them being shown 6 times a week someone has to be seeing them
and yes im a movie geek
Btw metroploition and barcelona had the same director and some of the same cast
Dammit! I read through the whole thread hoping to nominate The Dish, but Spiritus pipped me. Delightfully understated Aussie film. Very nice use of ‘Classical Gas’ in one scene.
I also liked Gattaca and Strictly Ballroom. The former was very well-known in Australia though (as is The Castle). Loved the rooftop dancing scene in front of the Coca Cola scene. (BTW, Strictly Ballroom was directed by Baz Luhrmann. I think he went on to do a flick called Moulin Rouge, or something.)
Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer is the best serial killer movie ever. It is in fact a very disturbing and scary film. It is based on the the “experiences” of two killers whose names I of course do not recall. I recommend it to everyone, just be prepared for some cold-blooded evilness.
I have to agree with Gattaca and The Iron Giant (GREAT underappreciated animated flick). I saw Deathwatch, and agree it’s unusual and well-done, but it didn’t work for me.
I’d recommend The Hidden. Very well done SF film. Kyle Maclachlin plays a weird detective (pre-Twin Peaks!), but here he’s given a reason to be weird. Sure, it rips off Hal Clement’s classic novel “Needle”, but it is a well-made action flick, which a strict adaptation of Needle wouldn’t be. Ignore the awful sequels that were made for the Sci-Fi network.
I also loved Creator. SF with no special effects, but a very witty script and an all-star cast (Peter O’Toole, Mariel Hemingway, David Ogden Stiers, Virginia Madsen, Vincent Spano). The only movie I’ve seen where science grad school looked and felt like grad school. Screenplay by Jeremy Leven, based on his novel. Leven went on to give us Don Juan deMarco and Bagger Vance (which I haven’t seen).
having reviewed the list again, here’s a couple more I thought of:
Since I first suggested Nate and Hayes, this shook loose in my mind another movie with Micheal O’Keefe that I don’t think anyone else has mentioned, which I enjoyed very much: Finders Keepers .
This movie is total cheeze and has a bunch of groaner lines but I liked it all the same. Besides, any movie with Brian Dennehy (The World’s Greatest Character Actor TM ) can’t be all bad. Watch also for Lou Gossett Jr. and Beverly D’Angelo. Anyone else seen that one?
Also all these Aussie flicks made me think of Hotel de Love , a “quirky romantic comedy” except it must not have been, since I found it quite watchable and funny. Oh YEAH, it wasn’t an American quirky romantic comedy…
(interesting that a lot of my choices show up on IMDB as 5’s and 6’s, hmmmmm…)
