5 Films You Probably Haven't Seen But Definitely Should
This list is going to consist of some films you may not have heard of and some you may have and not got round to viewing. If it includes films you have seen then you may be a fellow film nerd and should get yourself checked out at your local hospital/blockbuster/Pirate Bay.
5. Rec
I tend not to get scared by horror films anymore to be honest. They are either filled with so much gore that they're laughable or are operating on such a low budget that they overdo the "oh look it's a handheld camera this is like totally real life" angle and forget to actually put in any true scares or any proper sense of foreboding, I'm looking at you paranormal activity you dull, dull film. Anyway my preconceptions about horror films and especially "real footage" horror films were with me when i entered this film. I almost s*** my pants I was freaking out so much. I mean I watched this film with surround sound cranked up, a little bit drunk and in complete darkness, but I can honestly say this may be one of the best horror films of the century and you probably haven't seen it because you don't like reading subtitles, I know who you are, well read some subtitles and wrap your eyes and ears about this movie gem and prepare to be freaked the f*** out by the most tense and as one reviewer called it "anus-clenching" finales of any film ever. This film may be why I love the Spanish so much. This and Selma Hayek. (Correction, she's Mexican...but seriously Mexicans and most of South America count as Spanish to me)
I tend not to get scared by horror films anymore to be honest. They are either filled with so much gore that they're laughable or are operating on such a low budget that they overdo the "oh look it's a handheld camera this is like totally real life" angle and forget to actually put in any true scares or any proper sense of foreboding, I'm looking at you paranormal activity you dull, dull film. Anyway my preconceptions about horror films and especially "real footage" horror films were with me when i entered this film. I almost s*** my pants I was freaking out so much. I mean I watched this film with surround sound cranked up, a little bit drunk and in complete darkness, but I can honestly say this may be one of the best horror films of the century and you probably haven't seen it because you don't like reading subtitles, I know who you are, well read some subtitles and wrap your eyes and ears about this movie gem and prepare to be freaked the f*** out by the most tense and as one reviewer called it "anus-clenching" finales of any film ever. This film may be why I love the Spanish so much. This and Selma Hayek. (Correction, she's Mexican...but seriously Mexicans and most of South America count as Spanish to me)
4. Frailty
Now this film, I'm pretty sure, has only been watched by about 20 people even though it is actually a brilliant thriller/horror kinda supernatural film. It also has the title of being one of the three properly good Matthew McConaughey films (Dazed and Confused/Tropic Thunder) and the only good one where he has a leading part (although his leading partness in this is shared with a variety of actors). The story revolves around a guy telling a police officer a story of how his brother became a killer through flashbacks where his Dad thought God told him to kill people who were "demons" with an axe. The film is brilliantly acted by Matthew (I can't be bothered to spell his surname), Bill Paxton & the two kids that make up the flashbacks and has a brilliant twisting, emotionally charged plot that makes you think about your own pre-conceptions and also about life itself...well not really but its pretty good.
Now this film, I'm pretty sure, has only been watched by about 20 people even though it is actually a brilliant thriller/horror kinda supernatural film. It also has the title of being one of the three properly good Matthew McConaughey films (Dazed and Confused/Tropic Thunder) and the only good one where he has a leading part (although his leading partness in this is shared with a variety of actors). The story revolves around a guy telling a police officer a story of how his brother became a killer through flashbacks where his Dad thought God told him to kill people who were "demons" with an axe. The film is brilliantly acted by Matthew (I can't be bothered to spell his surname), Bill Paxton & the two kids that make up the flashbacks and has a brilliant twisting, emotionally charged plot that makes you think about your own pre-conceptions and also about life itself...well not really but its pretty good.
3. The Boondock Saints
This film is a bit ridiculous really. I only stumbled onto it because of a quote that was the opening in a Hardcore song that I was listening to (A Day To Remember - 1958) that echoed back to Samuel L Jackson's pulp fiction diatribe although this one is all in, what I think is, Latin. The film follows two Irish brothers in America who kill some mobsters in self-defense and then think "hey, why don't we just kill all the mobsters,k it's what God would have wanted". While I found out that this film isn't necessarily unknown, it garnered a little cult following for its over-the-top action and over-the-top acting (courtesy of the brilliantly eccentric Willem Defoe). So much of a cult following that it actually gave birth to a sequel that some say was essentially just a complete love-letter to this film. The brilliant thing about this film is that the saints tend to actually be bumbling idiots from time to time and their attempts at murder do not go as smoothly as they may have hoped which leads to brilliant physical comedy throughout. All in all this film was always unlikely to break barriers but it's a bloody good time and a brilliantly written script with several iconic moments and with Billy Connolly in a serious role and kicking major ass.
This film is a bit ridiculous really. I only stumbled onto it because of a quote that was the opening in a Hardcore song that I was listening to (A Day To Remember - 1958) that echoed back to Samuel L Jackson's pulp fiction diatribe although this one is all in, what I think is, Latin. The film follows two Irish brothers in America who kill some mobsters in self-defense and then think "hey, why don't we just kill all the mobsters,k it's what God would have wanted". While I found out that this film isn't necessarily unknown, it garnered a little cult following for its over-the-top action and over-the-top acting (courtesy of the brilliantly eccentric Willem Defoe). So much of a cult following that it actually gave birth to a sequel that some say was essentially just a complete love-letter to this film. The brilliant thing about this film is that the saints tend to actually be bumbling idiots from time to time and their attempts at murder do not go as smoothly as they may have hoped which leads to brilliant physical comedy throughout. All in all this film was always unlikely to break barriers but it's a bloody good time and a brilliantly written script with several iconic moments and with Billy Connolly in a serious role and kicking major ass.
2. Brick
A film-noir film...in a high school. This film may be quite a head scratcher to some people due to the contrast between the setting and the concept which sometimes verges on the ridiculous where a drug kingpin has a meeting whilst his mum is in the background making orange juice. If yous tick with this film you get what could essentially be a good old fashioned crime flick but the fresh new angle brings originality and the opportunity for all the actors, especially Gordon-Levitt to shine. The film may take a bit of getting used to and a little time to understand but once you get into it it really rewards you. A true independent classic which unfortunately only led to the propulsion of one star into the mainstream although the director's new film is about a mobster who kills people from the future that get sent back... now that sounds like a mind-fuck. Anyway, see the film and then applaud the stylised visuals, dialogue and acting.
A film-noir film...in a high school. This film may be quite a head scratcher to some people due to the contrast between the setting and the concept which sometimes verges on the ridiculous where a drug kingpin has a meeting whilst his mum is in the background making orange juice. If yous tick with this film you get what could essentially be a good old fashioned crime flick but the fresh new angle brings originality and the opportunity for all the actors, especially Gordon-Levitt to shine. The film may take a bit of getting used to and a little time to understand but once you get into it it really rewards you. A true independent classic which unfortunately only led to the propulsion of one star into the mainstream although the director's new film is about a mobster who kills people from the future that get sent back... now that sounds like a mind-fuck. Anyway, see the film and then applaud the stylised visuals, dialogue and acting.
1. The Room
Now this list has been in no particular order, just an array of unknown films that you should probably/definitely see so that you and me can be friends and talk about films until the sun comes up and then one thing will lead to another and then we'll married in the year 2018 and have a lesser-known films style wedding and all the actors of all the people on the list will attend. When that happens however, I want the lead director, producer and actor of this film to be the person who organises this wedding, who gives me away and who is also the bishop as the man is a multi-tasking genius. Tommy Wiseau. Even the name alone makes me leap for joy as his sheer brilliance has stuck with me since I saw this film. OK time to get serious, this film may well be the absolute worst film ever made, and you have to see it. The dialogue, the nonsensical acting and the inconsistencies make this a ridiculously enjoyable movie experience, especially in a group of people. I may have laughed more in this film than in the funniest of comedies that I have seen and this has led me to hail Tommy Wiseau as an idiotic genius. If you need any proof of just how brilliantly strange this film is watch this clip http://youtu.be/7S9Ew3TIeVQ. Seriously, dude. Watch the hell out of this film and love it as much as I do.
Now this list has been in no particular order, just an array of unknown films that you should probably/definitely see so that you and me can be friends and talk about films until the sun comes up and then one thing will lead to another and then we'll married in the year 2018 and have a lesser-known films style wedding and all the actors of all the people on the list will attend. When that happens however, I want the lead director, producer and actor of this film to be the person who organises this wedding, who gives me away and who is also the bishop as the man is a multi-tasking genius. Tommy Wiseau. Even the name alone makes me leap for joy as his sheer brilliance has stuck with me since I saw this film. OK time to get serious, this film may well be the absolute worst film ever made, and you have to see it. The dialogue, the nonsensical acting and the inconsistencies make this a ridiculously enjoyable movie experience, especially in a group of people. I may have laughed more in this film than in the funniest of comedies that I have seen and this has led me to hail Tommy Wiseau as an idiotic genius. If you need any proof of just how brilliantly strange this film is watch this clip http://youtu.be/7S9Ew3TIeVQ. Seriously, dude. Watch the hell out of this film and love it as much as I do.