Top Ten Movies You May Not Have Seen

[Secretagentnumber6]

I wrote this a while back for a weekly feature I did on a now defunct forum. I thought I would repost it here for some good conversation. As this is a movie forum and the one I previously posted this on was not, I expect more people to have seen these movies. Here is my post as I posted it on the last forum, it is a bit long winded, sorry.

The feature I decided on this week was a very tough one. I have watched very many movies and many of them are ones that generally slip by your average movie viewer. A lot are by no means big budget and some barely saw any theatrical run at all. I do love the following films and feel that they should be give their due as an integral part of the film pantheon. The following is my list of The Top 10 Movies You May Not Have Seen. This was a particularly tough list and this is just my opinion. At the end you will see a list of 18 other movies I thought about listing but just could not because the others seemed more deserving. And without further delay here they are from 10 – 1.

10. Brick
This is an amazing movie. It is very reminiscent of a 40’s era Bogart detective film. The film follows a yound man played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt trying to find his ex-girlfriend who has disappeared. All the characters in the movie are high school students but it plays out more like a film noir detective drama. All the elements are there, the chase and the hero coming into contact with some not so clean people, honestly we do not even know if the hero is a good person. Drug deals and mystery abound in this fantastic thriller by Director Rien Johnson. It has a great cast and is a great movie you may have missed.

9. The Brotherhood of the Wolf
Made in France, this is one of the most successful French films ever, that is not made by Luc Besson. This movie is set in the France that has yet to see revolution. The King is still the main authority. When it is found that a territory of France is being terrorized by an unknown animal which is killing young women. The monarchy sends a scientist Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan) and his native American friend Mani (Marc Dacascos) to investigate. What follows is a fantastic adventure with plenty of action and suspense. This movie is in French so you may want to get a dubbed version if you are not big on subs. However the movie is so action packed the subtitles will seem to disappear. The cast also include, Vincent Cassel and Monica Belucci. Great cast and great action, deserves a viewing for sure.

8. The Limey
This is a surprisingly good film. Despite the name this movie was made in the US by Ocean’s 11 Director Steven Soderbergh before he got big again with the Oceans movies. This movie is a pure revenge flick and the best kind. The Limey is Terrence Stamp, an older British man whose daughter was killed in California while he was off in prison. When he gets out he finds that it more and more does not look like an accident that killed his daughter and he goes on a quest to find the man who killed her and make him pay. Peter Fonda has a very good role as supect number 1. Pay special attention to the scene in the auto shop as it is one of my favorites of all time. This is an awesome movie and you should see it.

7. Sexy Beast
This is a great movie. This follows Gary ‘Gal’ Dove (Ray Winstone), an ex safecracker whose job has paid particularly well in the past it seems. He is living in Spain with a nice house along with his wife, in retirement he has found the easy life much better than his criminal life. Unfortunately he is gone from that life but not forgotten. One day an old “Friend” shows up to recruit him for a new job, Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) is a sociopath who no one really likes but you cannot say no to him. The rest of the movie follows Logan’s path to get Gal to join him for a job and believe me it is not something you wanna miss. Very good movie.

6. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
This is the supposedly true story of Chuck Barris. Barris (Sam Rockwell) was a TV mogul. He created shows like Dating Game and The Gong Show. He also claims he was an undercover operative for the CIA and has killed many people. Barris’ story has never been proved by anyone, all the people he mentions in his story are dead or not on the radar. His story is an entertaining one and is somewhat believable if you know anything about the CIA. The movie is fun and exciting. Rockwell exudes his charm in this movie as Barris. The movie was directed by first time director George Clooney, you may have heard of him. It is a very good movie about a man who is very disturbed, based on his autobiography. Check it out.

5. Dog Soldiers
This is a low budget horror movie from Britain. It is directed by Neil Marshall whom you might have heard of from last years best horror movie The Descent. This movie follows a group of British Soldiers out on war games against a group of commandos. They however run into some trouble when they happen upon the commandos camp and discover blood and guts strewn about as if they were attacked by an animal. The captain of the commandos is alive but drive crazy. They were attacked by werewolves which is what they were after using the soldiers as bait. The rest of the movie focuses on the soldiers quest for survival against an unstoppable band of werewolves. One of my favorite horror films. It is a little campy at times but overall very effective. Blood and guts are everywhere and the cast is good, including Sean Pertwee and Kevin McKidd. Check this one out.

4. From Hell
This is a fictionalization of the search for Jack the Ripper. Johnny Depp plays Inspector Frederick Abberline the best detective in England who happens to like to chase the dragon. His partner Sergeant Peter Godley (Robbie Coltrane) is the only one who can keep him straight to solve the crime. They investigate every aspect of the murders and befriend a prostitute named Mary Kelly (Heather Graham) whose friends seem to be a target of Jack. The rest of the movie is filled with impressive forensics and detailed recreations of Jack’s murders. All the suspects are there and it really is a fantastic movie. The plot is solid as is all the cast. This is a definite must see. The cast is great and so is the movie.

3. The Proposition
As westerns go this is one of the best you will ever find. The Proposition is an Australian film and is set in early colonial Australia. Australia was a wasteland then. The expansive deserts were certain death and the aborigines would finish you off if the heat did now. One band of outlaws however became accustomed to it The Burns gang is the most wanted in Australia. They however are split up over an argument. Charlie Burns (Guy Pearce) is captured by the British Captain Stanley (Ray Winstone) and is give a proposition – Kill your Brother to save your younger Brother Mike Burns. Charlie accepts but with regrets. He hates his older brother but also hates the Brits. He ventures into the desert to hunt down Arthur Burns (Danny Huston). This is not a shootout western though, it is about survival and facing your demons. Plenty of action but a lot to think about too. Watch it you will not be disappointed.

2. Gangster No. 1
Some guys are just plain sociopaths. Ganster (Malcolm McDowell) is one of them. He is a top gangster and is living it easy with his crew. He then hears an old boss is being released from jail. This boss is one he put in jail and he is scared that his power will be tarnished or he will be killed. We flashback to his days as Young Gangster (Paul Bettany) to show his rise to the top and how he wronged Freddie Mays (David Thewlis) who is getting out of jail soon. Bettany plays the part so well. He is a psychopath, just the kind of criminal most seedy organizations want. Just plain evil and not a bit conscience to be found. He is however ambitious and that can be bad for the boss. The movie is a look at organized crime through the eyes of a rising star who happens to want his boss’ job and woman. It is so good. Directed by Paul McGuigan of Lucky Number Slevin. Definitely check this one out.

1.Memento
I still find it hard to believe there are people out there who have not seen this movie. This movie was Directed and written by Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan. You may recognize them from Batman Begins. The story starts with the ending with Leonard shooting someone. Leonard we slowly figure out has no short term memory and does not remember anything for more than a minute or so. He also cannot form new memories, this all stems from the murder of his wife and near murder of him a while back. He is trying to solve his wife’s murder along with a friend ex-police office Teddy (Joe Pantaliano). The problem with no memory is how do you know what you have when investigating. Leonard has gotten a system down. He writes down everything he wants to remember and tattoos the important items on his body. Like I said the movie runs from ending to beginning, however there are innercuts of Leonard speaking to someone on the phone which runs in the right way. It can be very confusing but what you get is one of my all time favorite movies. Leonard is a great character and is played so well. The movie is fantastic and is a must see for everyone, it can get cnfusing so make sure you watch closely.

There they are, all of these are my opinion of course but are all very good. I recommend them all very highly. Here are some more that did not make the top 10 but are just as deserving : Adaptation, Below, The Boondock Saints, Dark Blue, Dirty Pretty Things, Insomnia, Layer Cake, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Princess Mononoke, Nicolas Nickleby, Punch Drunk Love, Ravenous, Returner, The Crimson Rivers, Rushmore, Snatch, Spirited Away,and Wonder Boys. And there it is. Thanks for reading.