Category: Underappreciated Movies

Mar 02 2015

This Week’s Underappreciated Movies

Every Monday, each of us will suggest a film that we feel too few people have seen.

ongbak

Windy’s Pick of the Week: Ong-bak

The plot synopsis doesn’t sound like much. From the IMDB: “When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.” But you’re not watching this movie for the plot. You’re watching it for Tony Jaa, who will be your favorite martial artist by the time the movie is done. If you have a lingering home improvement project, perhaps something involving demolition, watch this movie first and use the pure adrenaline to jump start your wrecking ball. It’s either that, or be prepared for the fact that you’re going to find yourself running and jumping at things – which is bound to scare a few neighbors. Grab some friends and enjoy how many times you all yell in glee at the amazing physical feats that Tony Jaa delivers – and how lovingly they are filmed and displayed. (Seriously, the movie shows a few of them several times from different angles, at different film speeds, as if even the director said, “What the hell? Show me that again! Slow it down! How is that POSSIBLE??”)

punisher_war_zone

Melissa’s Pick of the Week: Punisher: War Zone

Let me just preface this by saying this isn’t a movie for everyone. This is a ridiculously violent movie, and it fully embraces the tone of The Punisher from the comics. However, this movie was given to a female German kickboxer to direct, and she did her homework and made a film that may be the perfect Punisher movie. I don’t even like The Punisher of the comics, but the tongue-in-cheek verve and completely unabashed violent energy of this movie won me over. If an over-the-top, meat-pulping, ridiculous-in-all-the-right-ways tsunami of cinematic bullets sounds appealing, this is the movie for you. In addition, you might want to hear Lexi Alexander talk about her experiences making this movie, because she is a force of nature and has great stories.

Feb 23 2015

This Week’s Underappreciated Movies

Every Monday, each of us will suggest a film that we feel too few people have seen.

wearethebest

Melissa’s Pick of the Week: We Are the Best!

Sweden has been churning out some great movies lately, and We Are the Best! is one of their gems. In 1980s Stockholm, two pre-teen girls decide to form their own punk band, despite being told that punk is dead and despite not knowing how to play any instruments. They persevere only on enthusiasm until they find one more band member, a straight-laced peer with some serious acoustic guitar skills. The trio soon find themselves with something like an actual garage band and an invite to play at a local holiday party. The movie is less about the music than it is about these three girls being expectation-defying kids, and that is where the film shines. The characters are real and vivid and engaging and the definition of punk rock.

raiders

Windy’s Pick of the Week: Raiders: the Adaptation

Way back in the early days of Butt-Numb-a-Thon, during our breakfast break, Tim League put on a film to play in the background. But that film quickly got everybody’s attention, and soon had the whole theater engrossed, engaged, and enraptured. That film? Raiders: the Adaptation. The greatest fan film ever made – and proof that no matter how geeky and cool your friends were, Eric Zala and Chris Strompolous had them all outclassed. You already know the plot – one of the most beloved geek adventure stories ever put to film. But the STORY is that two young teenagers decide to do a shot-for-shot remake of their favorite film, all by themselves, and convince their friends and family to help them. If you love Raiders of the Lost Ark, this is the perfect companion piece – love letter, tribute, and DIY masterpiece.

Feb 16 2015

This Week’s Underappreciated Movies

Every Monday, each of us will suggest a film that we feel too few people have seen.

pitchblack

Windy’s Pick of the Week: Pitch Black

Space monsters, psycho killers, rag-tag band trying to survive, plus the Worst Eclipse Ever. Pitch Black is a movie that keeps delivering the entertainment by taking so many turns that you happily give up the navigation and sit back to enjoy the ride. The movie starts with an intense crash sequence, and then ramps things up for the handful of survivors by revealing the escape of psycho killer Vin Diesel. The cop who was guarding him hides his own secrets, and the survivors are simply trying to figure out a path off the desert planet when things go from bad to Monsters-in-the-Dark worse. But what makes this a stand-out is that the characters are never the cookie-cutter trope you think you’re dealing with. Paired with a surprising redemptive story, this is an action film that satisfies on so many levels.

spring

Melissa’s Pick of the Week: Spring

It’s rare these days for me to find a romance film that doesn’t make me want to claw my eyes out, and it’s even rarer to find a modern monster movie that can come up with a critter that is entirely new. Spring is both. When I first saw the film at Fantastic Fest, someone else described it as, “If Richard Linklater made a monster movie,” and that’s about right. At its heart, the film is about a young man who goes abroad and finds love in Italy, but there are… complications. The young leads have extraordinary chemistry together, and the script is sharp. Great stuff!

Feb 09 2015

This Week’s Underappreciated Movies

Every Monday, each of us will suggest a film that we feel too few people have seen.

guest

Melissa’s Pick of the Week: The Guest

After a family loses a son to wartime, a fellow soldier shows up at the door, saying he was a friend of the dead son. The mother quickly ascertains that the friend has nowhere to stay and offers him lodging for a few days, during which he ingratiates himself to the family. However, something isn’t quite right, and the family’s teen daughter sets out to figure out what is going on.

The Guest is the latest film from Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett, the director/writer team who brought us the fantastic You’re Next. The Guest combines 1980s-flavor mystery-action with some sly comedy and a cast that is clearly enjoying what they do. Plus, the film stars Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey, being all steely-gazed. Enjoy!

Fosse

Windy’s Pick of the Week: Fosse

We just did an episode on Bob Fosse, so it seems appropriate to recommend to you the DVD recording of the stage production of the dance revue show Fosse. Ann Reinking, Fosse’s longtime lover and collaborator, was the creative force behind recreating Fosse’s best, most memorable choreography. Featured are his most well-known numbers like the Cell Lock Tango and Big Spender, but you’ll also be treated to rare recreations of pieces from Fosse’s dance revue Dancin’. If you love Fosse, you need to see this. And if you don’t love Fosse, this will jump-start your newest obsession. (Personal Favorites: Crunchy Granola Suite and Dancin’ Man.)

Feb 02 2015

This Week’s Underappreciated Movies

Every Monday, each of us will suggest a film that we feel too few people have seen.

crippledavengers

Windy’s Pick of the Week: Crippled Avengers (aka Return of the 5 Deadly Venoms)

It’s a 1978 Shaw Brothers martial arts flick. If you know what that means, then you’re probably already watching it. If you don’t know what that means, here’s your chance to have a whole new world opened unto you!

A town is being terrorized by a wealthy kung fu expert and his son who delight in mutilating others. It’s up to several of those who have been crippled by them to band together and save the town! It’s an “unlikely heroes” storyline, with entertaining and clever martial arts.

pina

Melissa’s Pick of the Week: Pina

I almost hesitate to recommend this one, because this film is so beautiful to look at, it’s almost a shame to watch it on anything but a giant movie screen. However, to see it is better than not seeing it at all, right?

Pina is a… documentary? art film? …about German modern dance choreographer Pina Bausch. The film is less about her life than about her work itself. After Pina Bausch passed away, director Wim Wenders (aka the guy who made Wings of Desire) assembled her frequent collaborators, who re-enact Bausch’s greatest works in front of Wenders’ camera. Only part of the wonder of this film is due to the incredible skill of the dancers and choreographer. This movie is filmed so beautifully that even if you aren’t much into dance, it is hard to tear your eyes from the screen.

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