J'eux D'enfants / Love Me If You Dare - Without a doubt one of the best LOOKING films as far as cinematography, effects, and the rest goes... A kind of offbeat story with a neat way of looking at romance, some of the funniest/most memorable scenes, and great acting (obviously). The story does have a few jumps in it that are strange, but it's forgivable.

Watch it with your loved one, or alone. A great experience either way.

Hansel

Germany311 Posts

June 07 2010 23:24 GMT

#302

^ will watch this one this week if i got time, Guillaume Canet is a very talented actor & moviemaker imho.

CursOr

United States6335 Posts

June 07 2010 23:35 GMT

#303

On June 05 2010 18:38 ColorsOfRainbow wrote:
@ cursor well perhaps you didnt have the "mind" to understand the movie in complete

its just one of the greatest movies i ever saw

but can be that people who normaly watch action movies and such things not understand the whole movie (thats not a flame its total understandable its rly not everybodys movie mind ^^)

Your movie mind must indeed be powerful. Especially if you were awake! I'm still working with that whole thing.
I don't really watch too many movies, (3-5 a year) especially action ones, mainly because of all the "bad ones" out there. This my explain my lack of movie mind.

sleeepy

Canada777 Posts

June 07 2010 23:38 GMT

#304

Eastern Promises

polgas

Canada1786 Posts

June 08 2010 00:11 GMT

#305

These movies kept me entertained throughout, yet did not perform well on the box office. So yeah, "surprising". Oh yeah, thing about me is I can't stand the pace of most of the old movies (pre-80s).

Sunshine - End-of-the-world-type story. Interesting plot.

Serenity - Sci-fi action. I like the humor and the future it describes.

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Stop-motion animation. I like the humor here.

mmp

United States2130 Posts

June 08 2010 00:47 GMT

#306

nihlon

Sweden5581 Posts

June 08 2010 01:03 GMT

#307

On June 07 2010 23:18 meathook wrote:
LOL.. gotta love how most of the ppl here completely misunderstood what OP was looking for. Most of the movies recommended are neither hidden nor gems. And some trog even mentioned an Adam Sandler movie.. wtf.

Lets analyse the op's post then. I have bolded the parts that you and several other people seem to have completely missed.

Surprisingly good films/Hidden Gems

Have you ever sat down to watch a film, and been surprised at how good it is? I don't mean you watch a film you thought would be good, and it was great. Rather a film you thought would be just alright, but it turned out to be a good film. Or any hidden gems you know of? Films that are good but not many people have even heard of?

I recently watched Welcome to the Jungle (The Rundown) staring the Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and a film with him just sounds lame. But it was a good film, not just good for the Rock, but a good film! Very surprised by that, and I really enjoyed it. I also watched Big Nothing staring Simon Pegg, and I had never heard of it before and it sounded a bit lame, but again it was a really good film.

By hidden gem I mean films that are hidden from the audience that will enjoy them. The film could be hidden because it was relatively low budget, and had little to no advertising. Or because it's own advertising/promotion/actors/synopsis shrouded what the film truly was. I don't mean simply hidden from main stream.

So what about you? Any surprisingly good hidden films you know of?

Badjas

Netherlands2038 Posts

June 08 2010 01:06 GMT

#308

Honestly I have no idea how hidden this movie is to the average TL-er. Saw it by coincidence on television sometime. Somewhat a parody on star trek, but remains intelligent.

Lysteria

France2280 Posts

June 08 2010 01:11 GMT

#309

On June 07 2010 11:21 buickskylark wrote:
[image loading]

Buckaroo Banzai-Don't remember the movie too much to be honest, but the end credits is the best thing about this movie.

This film is absolutely awesome.

Buckaroo Banzai is a sort of super hero, doctor, singer, guitarist, racing driver, best friend of the US president, scientist, and with his friends, he saves the world against almost everything (including communism and aliens).

The evil guy is a drug man who is totally in love with... Electricity.
Yeah, that's that kind of film.

Strongly recommended, if you have one or two buddies with you. :p

Raisauce

Canada864 Posts

June 08 2010 01:23 GMT

#310

On June 08 2010 00:30 Boundz(DarKo) wrote:
+1 Wes Anderson & Let The Right One In.

Contributing;
[image loading]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1022603/

I was just about to post this. I'm surprised it wasn't on this list earlier! Really good movie.

Vile Animus

United States34 Posts

June 08 2010 01:47 GMT

#311

I think this qualifies; "Ink"

Has some fairytale type elements and is loosely about dreams.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1071804/

A lot of decent suggestions in this thread I'll check out. I'd like to second the following (maybe you can figure out if you would like Ink)
Pi, Moon, Pandorum, Pan's Labyrinth, Machinist, Serenity, Requiem for a dream, Clockwork Orange, Existenz, Gattaca, Shallow Grave, Buckaroo Bonzai, Lola Rennt

ZapRoffo

United States5544 Posts

June 08 2010 04:27 GMT

#312

Some more (after reading the quoted OP):

Bridge to Terabithia
Why it's hidden: It looks like a stupid kids movie, esp. from the trailers and marketing.
Why it's good: It's anything but stupid, elegantly telling the situations that we might associate with "a simpler time" with surprisingly complex feeling. The child actors are brilliant. This is one of my favorite movies, I've watched it quite a few times and I'll watch it more.

He Got Game
Why it's hidden: It defies the expectations of the sports movie genre.
Why it's good: See above. The depths that it reveals, especially regarding the role sports can play in how we relate to others, both people close to us and the outside world, is striking. It makes sports mean something, and I don't mean the standard "our town is in a depression/we are from the wrong side of the tracks, but we really pull together as a team and this win/championship means something".

SubUrbia
Why it's hidden: It's hard to find/see, I only caught it once on Encore or something. It's not on DVD (supposedly in the works, but has been for a while).
Why it's good: Strikes right at the heart of the late-teenage to adulthood transition in life, the seeking of purpose. The characters are amazing, the conversations remind me of the kinds of things real people I know would have. I have never seen anything come close to capturing it the way this did. I am dying to see this again.

Edit: Oh wow, found it on youtube:

Renaissance
Why it's hidden: Experimental-ish, foreign, not much acclaim.
Why it's good: The visual style is unique and is the main draw. It fits perfectly with the straight-forward but exciting sci-fi noir story, creating a memorable experience. Recommended if you liked things like Avatar or Hero. If you didn't you might not see anything in this.

{CC}StealthBlue

United States41117 Posts

June 08 2010 04:32 GMT

#313

mmp

United States2130 Posts

June 08 2010 04:38 GMT

#314

On June 08 2010 13:32 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
[image loading]

I really hated this when it came out - felt like just another crime flick (I did like The Departed). Can you explain why I should give it a second chance?

red_b

United States1267 Posts

June 08 2010 04:48 GMT

#315

Well after 16 pages Im really quite surprised. So many good catches; I was shocked to see movies like Ink and The Thirteenth Floor on people's lists. Despite some people posting movies that made money hand over fist as well as awards, this thread does have a good collection of classics. In fact, I feel like my thunder was stolen slightly on some of them lol.

Here are some films that you guys may not know about that I think are solid films:

[image loading]

maybe dark city isnt that hidden? I dont know. good film though, and not one that many people I know have seen.

p.s. oshii > anno >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> miyazaki k thx?

{CC}StealthBlue

United States41117 Posts

June 08 2010 04:55 GMT

#316

On June 08 2010 13:38 mmp wrote:

Show nested quote +

I really hated this when it came out - felt like just another crime flick (I did like The Departed). Can you explain why I should give it a second chance?

Paul Newman. The story. Paul Newman.

mmp

United States2130 Posts

June 08 2010 05:08 GMT

#317

Castle in the Sky

Aether

Canada123 Posts

June 08 2010 05:09 GMT

#318

oh yeah the guy 3 posts above me posted "Samurai 3: Duel at Ganryuu Island". The Samurai series is awesome, and based on an actual historical figure. Read up on this dude and tell me you don't want to see that shit in movie form:

Musashi Miyamoto

Totally epic person and an epic 3 part series is what such a person deserves. This it my favourite Samurai movie of all time. It's really more like 1 long movie split into 3 parts, lord of the rings style than 3 separate movies. Definitely a must see, I'm considering re-watching it now.

architekt

Germany64 Posts

June 08 2010 16:50 GMT

#319

red_b since you picked dark city which is brilliant, i will try and look up those who are supposedly better than miyazaki. they are both new to me. any particular one i have to watch?

edit: ok oshii for ghost in the shell. ez win. now i will check out the other guy.

Salteador Neo

Andorra5591 Posts

June 08 2010 16:53 GMT

#320