Monday, January 19, 2009

Movies You Probably Didn't See But Should

Here are a few little known gems that are perfectly entertaining - for the sheer joy of movie watching - with a twist (maybe).


The Big Nothing The only David Schwimmer movie that is watchable. A crime caper gone bad type of flick but done very well. 6.5/10




Weirdsville This one is weird; herione addicts, midevil dwarf knights, and a devil worshipping cult, makes this a must see. 7/10




Millions - The UK is about to switch its currency from Pounds to Euros, giving a gang a chance to rob the poorly-secured train loaded with money on its way to incineration. But, during the robbery, one of the big bags falls literally from the sky on Damian's playhouse, a 5-year old given to talking to saints.


Teacher: Now we are talking, today about people we admire. (Other children mention sports hero, and the teacher calls on the main character, I'd say he's in 3rd grade)
Damian: Saint Roch, sir.
Teacher: Who's he play for?
Damian: No one sir, he's a Saint.
Teacher: Oh that's better, go on.
Damian: He was so worried that he might say something bad. That he said nothing at all for twenty years.
Teacher: We could do with a couple like him in this class. Thank you, Damian.
Damian: I like a lot of virgin martyrs too. Like Saint Agatha. She ripped her own eyes out, so she wouldn't have to marry this man. Or Saint Katherine of Alexandria, they tried to kill her by crushing her to death on a wheel but she made the wheel explode and all the splinters killed people in the crowd. The patron Saint of fireworks. That's where we get the Catherine wheel from.
Teacher: I did say thank you, Damian.
7/10


Jesus' Son - a different styled movie with an eccelectic cast.

Billy Crudup, Samantha Morton, Ben Shenkman, Denis Leary, Jack Black, Greg Germann, Dennis Hopper and Holly Hunter 6.5/10


Save the Green Planet - another great out of Korea. It's a thriller, no it's horror movie, no wait it's a comedy, no it's a satire, noooooooooooo it's a sci-fi flick. Yeah, it's all of those and it's hits top marks in all, but please do not take this one seriously. I guess that didn't really need to be said - just sit back and enjoy this entertaining film. 8/10




Stuck - this movie may cause you to look at your neighbors a bit more closely. This is based on a true story. You won't forget about this movie easily. 7.5/10 I added points because of the gruesomely painful scenes. Some scenes had me sqirming around. You will seriously want to punch Mena Suvari's character in the face. HARD. 7/10




Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - This is NOT A HORROR MOVIE. I don't believe there is a drop of blood. A very strange movie with a unique premise. If you are looking for something completely different (beside Monty Python) then this is a good pick. 7.5/10




The Ten - don't judge this film - there is a lot to judge but if you let yourself just sit back and watch - you will laugh. You will laugh often. 6.5/10




Sublime - The low ratings on imdb, well what can I say - this is not a horror film. The movie is filled with symbolism and sometimes difficult to understand. With all that said I really liked this movie. It is unique and thought-provoking. Plus it has a great seen of father/daughter love, something I wish I wrote to my girlys:


Setting the scene: Prior to this conversation a man is in the hospital, suffering badly, he is resting. The man awakes to see his daughter standing in front of him kissing another girl. He is not happy about it, he suspected as much, but now he has to accept it.

daughter - when I was little, like 5, we went to the bakery on sunday morning to get like bagels or something, and it was raining remember
dad - yeah I remember
daughter - you parked in front of the bakery, and you turned to me and you said, "yes" {dad says ' yes ' at exactly the same time - as if he knows exactly where she is going with this}
daughter continues - and I said like, what, and you just said yes, and I said yes what. Why did you say that and you said that one day you would tell me. I wanna know, I want you to tell me what that meant.
dad - why now.
daughter - I'm 16, and I wanna know ....blah blah ... more here but unimportant
dad - you were 5, and you were sitting there in the seat next to me and I was just so filled with love for you and I knew that one day you would come to me and you would ask me for something; something that you needed and only I could give you and that morning I decided to give you the answer so that when the day had come I could remind you of that moment and you would know then I've been waiting my whole life to give you whatever you need. YES. The answer is yes.


The Secret - With one scene this movie could have been very bad indeed, but in fact it didn't go there and I'm so very glad. The plot has been done before but not from this angle. Well done and enjoyable.




You Kill Me - Tea Leoni used to grate on my nerves, like scratching nails on a chalk board - ewwwwwww - teeth hurt just thinking about it. But she has aged well, and I kinda like these older more mature roles for her. Here she is unbelievable and so is Ben. Oh, I laughed, many times, sometimes LOUDLY. 7.5/10




Blindness - Just a wee-bit shy of being the most awesome movie ever. It's very good. It's BLEAK. It's Powerful. It's Disturbing. 7.5/10




13 Tzameti - DO not read about this one - just watch it. You can easily ruin the movie if you know the how the plot unfolds too early. Similar to someone telling you Bruce Willis' secret in The Sixth Sense. Wait for it and it will blow your mind. 7/10




Cashback - interesting, inspiring, artistic and fun. 6.5/10




A Tale of Two Sisters - Almost crapped my pants watching this one. You won't be able to look under your kitchen sink for a year and never ever ever look in a very large canvas bag. Another great Korean flick. 7.5/10




Dirty Pretty Things - Okwe, a Nigerian doctor played by Chiwetel Ejiofor and Senay, a Turkish chambermaid played by the lovely Audrey Tautou, work at the same West London hotel. The hotel is run by Senor Sneaky and is the sort of place where dirty business like drug dealing and prostitution takes place. However, when Okwe finds a human heart in one of the toilets, he uncovers something far more sinister than just a common crime. 7/10


Guo Yi (to Okwe): You know, Okwe, good at chess usually means bad at life. You do realize that she's (Senay) in love with you, don't you? I've been with her 20 minutes, and I know it. But then, I'm bad at chess...
A doctor: How come I've never seen you people before?
Okwe: Because we are the people you do not see; we are the ones who drive your cabs (Okwe is a cab driver), we clean your rooms (Senay is a maid) and suck your cocks (Juliette is a prostitute)
. 7/10


Spiral - without giving away the plot, the name suits the movie. The ending WILL surprise you. 7/10




All of these gems won't suit all of you, but hopefully something will appeal to you that you never even heard of.


If you have additional questions and do not want to check imdb for fear of spoilers, just ask.


...May all your movie nights be wonderful.

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