As we've had a few top 10s (mainly for music) recently, I thought the forum might stand another one to keep people thinking over the Easter weekend.

What are you top 5 underrated films - films that you love, but other people either hate or have never even heard of. So no Star wars or Lord of the rings here, please; we're looking for those forgotten masterpieces or works of flawed genius.

To get the ball rolling:

1. Primer - I know I keep banging on about this one, but it's by far the best time-travel film ever.

2. Swimming with sharks - This film suffers a bit from feeling like a filmed play (almost all of the action takes place in one of two locations), but Kevin Spacey is brilliant as the big-time Hollywood producer abusing his assistant, Frank Whaley, only to have the tables turned on him.

3. Hard Candy - The timeless love story of paedophile meets teenage girl, and finds that love can really hurt. This one sits on the border where thriller meets horror, but it's beautifully acted and has something intelligent to say.

4. The last horror movie - Another one I've mentioned before, and one you really should watch without knowing where it's going. For the first two minutes you think you're about to watch a standard American B-movie slasher, but then it goes off somewhere completely different. Find it, watch it, love it.
PS. If you don't like horror films please don't let the title put you off, this isn't a film with sudden scares or buckets of gore.

5. Zoolander - I'll end up with a film that's hardly obscure, but seems to be fairly universally unloved. For me this is a wonderfully silly film, with some great lines, which manages to pull off pretty much every joke it goes for. I think a lot of people decide they don't like it based just on the cast list, but I'm not a big fan of either Stiller or Wilson and I still think this is a greatly under-appreciated film.

So, anybody else with a top 5?

Ooooh, I could do a top 20 or 30 for this probably, but I'll try to stick to 5 or 10.

Have only seen 2 of yours (Primer and Hard Candy) and can't say I was particularly impressed by either but I guess that's the nature of lists like these.

I've seen you mention "The last horror movie" a few times and keep thinking I've seen it but it's actually the 1982 movie "The last horror film" I'm thinking of, so will definitely check out this one soon.

Anyways, 10 movies that I thought were brilliant but don't seem to be all that well known...

1. The Aura - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0420509/

Argentinian crime thriller. Amazed this hasn't been re-made in English yet, the story of "everyday guy thinks he can commit the perfect crime" is just amazing.

2. Buffalo '66 - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118789/

Vincent Gallo kidnaps Christina Ricci and they go on the run together. Not really a comedy but has some really funny moments.

3. In Cold Blood - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061809/

True life crime movie with some scenes filmed on location of the actual murders.

4. The Spirit of the Beehive - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070040/

Difficult to describe this so I'll just copy a bit from IMDB - "Sensitive seven-year-old girl living a small village in 1940 rural Spain is traumatized after viewing James Whale's "Frankenstein" and drifts into her own fantasy world." This is a real love it or hate it movie, it's very slow and has little story, but is beautifully shot and paced.

5. Nokas - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1337366/

True story that recreates the biggest bank robbery in Norway.

6. Frozen Land - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388318/

Finnish drama where one things leads to another.

7. Timecrimes - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480669/

Spanish time travel mystery/thriller.

8. Two-lane Blacktop - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067893/

The classic 70's road movie.

9. The Straight Story - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0166896/

The only David Lynch movie that I'd rate as worth viewing at all, but this is great. True story of an old man driving his tractor across the US to see his brother for the last time.

10. Sling Blade - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117666/

Incredible performance by Billy Bob Thornton, worth seeing the movie for that alone.

Glengarry Glen Ross

Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin, Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris.

Despite such a big-hitting cast the majority of people I talk to have never even heard of this film, let alone heard of it.

It's a lot like my other favourite film of all time 12 Angry Men (which I wouldn't put in this list because it's both well known and critically acclaimed) in that it's adapted from a play and feels very much like a play when you watch it.

All the action happens in just a couple of different rooms but the characters are incredible and the performances match them superbly. If you've never seen it, stop what you're doing, obtain the film by any means possible and watch it right away.

I'll have to think about the other four.

This is on my 'to watch' list. All I've ever seen of it is the brilliant, "You have to close!" scene.

A fantastic scene indeed. They're all excellent in it but Jack Lemmon's portrayal of the struggling, helpless, ageing salesman is just sublime.

Thought of another...

Margin Call

A behind-the-scenes look at a 36 hour period in a major US financial institution (they don't say it, but you can assume it's based loosely on Goldman Sachs) at the dawn of the 2007/8 financial downturn.

I clearly have a thing for films which are or could be plays because again the story is all about the characters and there are very few location changes.

Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore and Zach Quinto (the brilliantly bad guy from Heroes) all give great performances and I'm surprised this film isn't more well known given it's only a couple of years old.

I don't watch a vast number of films, but there are a few I've often thought of as underrated:



1) Son of Rambow - low budget British comedy drama about kids who make a film. Proper British eccentricity.

2) Warriors - Made for TV by Peter Kosminsky, starring Damian Lewis, Ioan Gruffudd and Matthew Macfadyen. If you want to know why the Balkans and the UN's involvement was shit, kids, this'll do it.

3) Wild At Heart - my favourite David Lynch film, though Straight Story was good.

4) Fearless - Jeff Bridges gets over his flying phobia by having a plane crash. Everyone I know who has seen this film hates it and wants to kill me with sticks for making them watch it, but I like it and it has Isabella Rosellini in it, so ha ha, I win.

5) er, that's it.

Leaving Las Vegas - Nicholas Cage. An alcoholic loses his job and moves to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. Even I don't know why I liked this.

Cry Baby - Johnny Depp. Typically odd JD film. Teenage rebel love story musical. And I detest musicals.

I went to try and get a few flicks I've been wanting to watch for a while. I think they are under rated or just one of those films that got missed because of various reasons. Still trying to track down 2 of them.

1. Somewhere in time (Christopher Reeve)
Skipped by people due to his role as Superman at that time

2.The Edge (Anthony Hopkins)
He did this film but most people were too busy waiting out for his other 2 films Meet Joe Black and Mask of Zoro.

3. The Fortress (Christopher Lambert)
Another one missed due to his part as the Highlander

Yes, yes 2 of them are sci-fi but I don't hang out at the annual star-trek convention and speak clingon

I was racking my brains to remember the name of that film the other year

Yes, this is excellent.

Don't be put off by Nicholas Cage sucking all manner of ass in most of his other movies, he is genuinely superb in this.

1. The Big Lebowski - my favourite film ever starring Jeff Bridges, John Goodman and the bloke out of reservoir dogs.

2. Ip Man - great martial arts film about the bloke who taught Bruce Lee.

3. Tombstone starring Kurt Russel.

4. The Last Dragon - cheesy 80s martial arts film, but a good one about a kid called Bruce Leeroy.

5. Southpark The Movie bigger longer and uncut. This is still the funniest film I've ever seen. It's starts off with Stan singing a really sweet innocent song and within minutes they're into the Uncle F#+ker song. Absolute genius.


The worst film I've ever seen has to be a toss up between What Dreams May Come starring Robin Williams and Wild Wild West starring Will Smith. Both were truly awful, the Robin Williams one I felt genuinely cheated out of 2 hours of my life.

I preferred this to the Kevin Costner version. Val Kilmer was awesome as Doc Holliday




I've never been able to watch Wild Wild West all the way through. Total tosh, and I like Will Smith.

"A simple plan"

We saw this years ago. Knew nothing about it, thought it would be crap but was really good. Stars Billy Bob Thornton.

Check it out.

Loved Ip man too

This was a really good film in my opinion. Well acted and not TOO predictable.......

I read the book of this - it was one of those awful, inevitable it's all going to go horribly wrong stories, a bit like Fargo. Still draws you in though...

+1 for Leaving Las Vegas

Another Johnny Depp film that was ace was What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Co-starred a very young Leonardo di Caprio as the titular Gilbert's autistic brother.

Ah leaving Las Vegas, now that's a FILM!!

(Goes off to check if it's on Netflix)

Two to start with...

1. Millions
2. Thunderpants

Son of Rambow and Zoolander are two I also like but I'll try and dig up some more obscure titles. Can't recall any more right now, too tired

Oh just thought of another...

3. Still Crazy

The last two....

4. Equilibrium

5. Blackball

There are other films that I went to see and loved but that were not popular at the time. Years later these films are now highly regarded, Shawshank, V for Vendetta, Equilibrium amongst them.

Here are a couple of recent ones that I have seen and think are worth catching.

Cleanskin Far better than I expected.

Red Lights This is good and could so well have been great. It's like the director fell asleep half way through, still worth catching though.