Underrated or Ignored Movies That Are Actually Quite Good

[kemcha]

Been sitting here checking out some of the most underrated or ignored movies out there and I have to say that one of my picks would have to be Jason Statham's Homefront:



While his films do get sneers from most movie fans, this one stands out because of the halfway decent character development and the throwback to the action movies from the 1980's. It actually reminds me of films like Chuck Norris' Invasion USA, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Commando and many others from that era.

While not award worthy, the film is one of the better Statham movies that he's appeared in, ditching the unnecessary fight scenes in favor of a more story-driven script. I finally sat down to watch it, after ignoring it for so long because of the bad reviews I heard about the film. It actually turned out to be a pretty good movie for the simple fact that most of his movies sacrificed the story in favor of endless fight scenes. This movie ditches the endless fight scenes in favor of a well thought-out storyline.

[cynatnite]

Bill Paxton hit this one out of the park. The movie stayed with me for days after seeing it.

[Rich65]

This is one of my favorite Rutger Hauer movies, the plot is ok but what makes it work is the action and the performances by the cast. The ending is one of the best in action movie history.
Pity there wasn't a sequel to this, it deserved it.

[NegaScott128]

Nobody seems to even know about this movie, which is a real shame, because it's actually pretty damn good.

[Al_The_Strange]

Been thinking about this one recently, and will probably watch it for the holidays:



Does anybody even remember this? Does anybody even care? It surprises me how many bad reviews I see, because I never thought it was all that bad. It had a lot of trippy optical illusion type effects long before Nolan made it trendy. Robin Williams was funny and his character was lovable. I dug the story, even with the heavy-handed themes (but really, I think there are other movies way more heavy-handed than this). It never struck me as being overly-sappy or sentimental. Quirky, perhaps, but that was the point. Nice music, nice performances, nice production, nice everything. Last time I saw the movie, I thought it held up well (despite any 90s pop culture references).

Now...when can we get this gem on Blu-Ray?

[cynatnite]

Originally Posted by Rich65

This is one of my favorite Rutger Hauer movies, the plot is ok but what makes it work is the action and the performances by the cast. The ending is one of the best in action movie history.
Pity there wasn't a sequel to this, it deserved it.

Rutger Hauer has always been underrated in my book. I love him in Blind Fury. Wonderful actor.

[ThatOneGuy]

Although the people who do talk about this film usually praise it, not enough people talk about this film. The premise of a film might keep people away from it but it is a fantastic film.

[Darth Marcus]

[Buscemi]

Mismarketed as a horror film and given the dreaded F on Cinemascore, Bug never seemed to have a chance during its Memorial Day 2007 release. But personally, I think it's one of William Friedkin's best films (The French Connection is still his masterpiece, though). It's the film that introduced me to how great of an actor Michael Shannon is and Friedkin and Tracy Letts (adapting his own play) create a chilling world inside the small motel room.

Friedkin and Letts' follow-up Killer Joe (also a really good film) is the higher regarded film but Bug is still the better of the two.

[DeanCorso]

Wes Craven's New Nightmare

[UltraMario9]

Babe: Pig in the City - Dark, beautiful and better than first (which is also a great movie)

Cloud Atlas - IMO, the best film of decade so far as well as The Wachowski Sibling's crowning achievement. The poor reception it receives is a mystery to me.

Once Upon A Time In America - Usually gets buried in the conversation with films like The Godfather, Chinatown and Goodfellas, OUATIA towers over all of them.

Apocalypto - Released in a dark period for Mel Gibson's public image, as a result, the reception was mixed. This is a fantastic movie and doesn't deserve to be in or anywhere near the 60's on Rotten Tomatoes.

What Dreams May Come - I've encountered many people who absolutely despise this movie. I don't get it.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by Darth Marcus

Fantastic film!

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Buscemi

[Show spoiler]

Mismarketed as a horror film and given the dreaded F on Cinemascore, Bug never seemed to have a chance during its Memorial Day 2007 release. But personally, I think it's one of William Friedkin's best films (The French Connection is still his masterpiece, though). It's the film that introduced me to how great of an actor Michael Shannon is and Friedkin and Tracy Letts (adapting his own play) create a chilling world inside the small motel room.

Friedkin and Letts' follow-up Killer Joe (also a really good film) is the higher regarded film but Bug is still the better of the two.

I need to watch Bug. It always caught my eye.

Originally Posted by UltraMario9

Babe: Pig in the City - Dark, beautiful and better than first (which is also a great movie)

Cloud Atlas - IMO, the best film of decade so far as well as The Wachowski Sibling's crowning achievement. The poor reception it receives is a mystery to me.

Once Upon A Time In America - Usually gets buried in the conversation with films like The Godfather, Chinatown and Goodfellas, OUATIA towers over all of them.

Apocalypto - Released in a dark period for Mel Gibson's public image, as a result, the reception was mixed. This is a fantastic movie and doesn't deserve to be in or anywhere near the 60's on Rotten Tomatoes.

What Dreams May Come - I've encountered many people who absolutely despise this movie. I don't get it.

Never saw the Babe movies, but I do agree with all of these.

I can understand how Cloud Atlas might lose viewers who aren't familiar with the source material, but I don't think the film could work any other way. It's a good adaptation of the novel, and it looks fabulous. And the way it's cut with the dialogue makes it very cathartic.

OUATIA: almost four hours but never a dull moment. Apocalypto: brutal and wonderful all at once, just the way I like it.

And What Dreams May Come was always a must for me. Some drag perhaps, but definitely visionary, I've always loved the visual effects and style.

[Talleyrand]

Originally Posted by UltraMario9

Once Upon A Time In America - Usually gets buried in the conversation with films like The Godfather, Chinatown and Goodfellas, OUATIA towers over all of them.

Indeed

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Road to Perdition. An overlooked masterpiece. Ranks right up there with the best of the best gangster films ever made.

Dead Presidents. The Hughes Brothers scored huge again after their masterpiece Menace II Society with this excellent period film.

At Close Range. One of the darkest, most brutal films ever made based on a true story and is Christopher Walken's best performance. He has to be one of the top 5 scariest villains in film history in this outstanding drama/thriller.

Let Me In. This fantastic American alternate version to the very good Swedish film Let the Right One In based on the novel never got a fair shake but it's a masterpiece and surpasses the Swedish version in my book. One of my top 20 favorite films.

Matchstick Men. This movie is outstanding. How it slipped into obscurity I'll never know but its a great film. One of Ridley Scott's best.

Running Scared (2006). An excellent top notch thriller for Paul Walker. A very dark and twisted 2 hour ride.

Trespass (1992). One hell of an exciting action packed thriller from Walter Hill that unfortunately got lost in the holiday shuffle in 1992 due to a delayed release because of the L.A. riots.

Toy Soldiers (1991). One of my favorite thrillers ever since I first saw it on VHS when it was a new release about terrorists that take over a school. This movie would never get made today unfortunately which makes it even more of a treasure. I rank this movie with Die Hard.

Bugsy. A great overlooked gangster picture about Bugsy Seigel and how he started Las Vegas. Warren Beatty gives one of his best performances and is one of Barry Levinson's most underrated films.

Matinee. A wonderfully fun period comedy that is very hard to pin down genre wise because it's so original but it's a lot of fun and one of John Goodman's best performances and films along with director Joe Dante.

Night Shift. Ron Howard's first directing gig is one of my top 10 favorite comedies and made Michael Keaton a star over night. Henry Winkler probably gives his best performance and is one of my top favorite New York films that's near the end of the late 70s-early 80s New York.

Judgment Night. An excellent and intense early 90s thriller that deserves more of an audience. Denis Leary is outstanding playing against type as a relentlessly psychotic villain and is a nonstop chase thriller.

Gladiator (1992). A strangely obscure inner city underground boxing thriller that's one of the best. Forget Southpaw. Give Gladiator a watch.

The Hunted (2003). One of William Friedkin's best and unfortunately most underrated thrillers. Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro are pure bad asses. The film is one of the best mano e manos in film history with one of the best final showdowns.

The Hard Way. This movie is a blast and has a very rare energy to it. James Woods gives an electrifying performance as usual and Michael J. Fox is hilarious. Also duly noted due to the recent outstanding thriller Don't Breathe for a fun Stephen Lang performance as a serial killer.

The Last Boy Scout. Possibly my favorite Bruce Willis movie, one of Shane Black's best scripts and one of the late Tony Scott's best films. One of the best cop buddy action thrillers ever made.

With Honors. A great Joe Pesci film. This movie has a great cast with the highly underrated Patrick Dempsey giving a scene stealing performance that makes you wish there had been a film made strictly about his character. Shockingly Brendan Fraser gives a really good performance too.

Into the Night. A seriously underrated comedy/thriller starring Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer (in her only film where she is nude) and directed by John Landis that falls under the "Yuppie Nightmare" subgenre in the mid 80s along with Scorsese's severly underrated After Hours. There's currently a region A compatible France blu ray available if you're into importing. Who knows when this will get a U.S. release.

[Talleyrand]

This is an underrated and largely forgotten little masterpiece that is as good as cinema gets, really.

A brilliant performance from a young Denzel, an outrageous performance from John Lithgow at his most villainous and a virtuoso performance from Ice T anchor this thing. Some of the greatest one liners of all time, and they keep them coming steadily throughout the film:

Ricochet: The Short Version - YouTube

Plus just a brilliant plot, involving multiple levels of cat-and-mouse and revenge (hence the apt title).

1991 was certainly a beastly year, what with JFK, Kafka, The Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2 and Naked Lunch and the list goes on. But this stands with the best of them; perhaps if it came out in 1990 or 1992 it would be better seen.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by Talleyrand

This is an underrated and largely forgotten little masterpiece that is as good as cinema gets, really.

A brilliant performance from a young Denzel, an outrageous performance from John Lithgow at his most villainous and a virtuoso performance from Ice T anchor this thing. Some of the greatest one liners of all time, and they keep them coming steadily throughout the film:

Ricochet: The Short Version - YouTube

Plus just a brilliant plot, involving multiple levels of cat-and-mouse and revenge (hence the apt title).

1991 was certainly a beastly year, what with JFK, Kafka, The Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2 and Naked Lunch and the list goes on. But this stands with the best of them; perhaps if it came out in 1990 or 1992 it would be better seen.

Love this movie! Was just about to add it to my list. No need to now. Your summary was perfect!

[VictoryAtNight]

Movies that I've seen this year that I consider to be underrated.

[mrcellophane]

I've always thought that A Prairie Home Companion, Robert Altman's last film deserves more recognition. It manages to capture both Altman's and the radio show's style and mold them into something funny, melancholy, and poignant.

[UltraMario9]

Originally Posted by Talleyrand

This is an underrated and largely forgotten little masterpiece that is as good as cinema gets, really.

A brilliant performance from a young Denzel, an outrageous performance from John Lithgow at his most villainous and a virtuoso performance from Ice T anchor this thing. Some of the greatest one liners of all time, and they keep them coming steadily throughout the film:

Ricochet: The Short Version - YouTube

Plus just a brilliant plot, involving multiple levels of cat-and-mouse and revenge (hence the apt title).

1991 was certainly a beastly year, what with JFK, Kafka, The Silence of the Lambs, Terminator 2 and Naked Lunch and the list goes on. But this stands with the best of them; perhaps if it came out in 1990 or 1992 it would be better seen.

That looks incredible.