Drum Roll please.....

Okay, here are MY Top 10 movies you didn't know were great. I'll preface this by saying that I will not be including ones like the Godfather(s), Office Spaceses, Star Warses, or Indiana Jonseseses. They're awesome and we all know that. This will be a list that hopefully includes movies you've never heard of and/or seen before. Here we go.


10. Grosse Pointe Blank

To me this movie is a cult classic. It's got so much thrown into it while John Cusack tapdances over it all. The tale is about a professional hitman visiting his 10 year high school reunion, and all the insanity that goes along with it. The dialogue is fantastic throughout. Every actor/actress involved is doing their best, including, I think, every Cusack in the biz. You will like this movie if you like any of the following: John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Romance, Comedy, Action, the 80s, pre-entourage Jeremy Piven, and babies. Oh! I almost forgot. Adam Arkin as the original criminal therapist. Take that Melphi. This one's a charmer.

Notable: MY favorite scene is when Martin Blank(John Cusack), is staring at a baby. Seriously, it makes you want to hug everything.

9. Dancer in the Dark

Now, I've only seen this movie once, and it would take a alot for me to ever see it again. This might be the most depressing movie you will ever see. It wrecked my shit for days. But you must see it. It stars Bjork, the Icelandic songstress as a single mother trying to raise money for her son to get an operation for an eye condition that she herself suffers from. (On a side note she is a favorite of mine. I'll put her in the music section soon.) The condition is causing her to go blind. But to escape the horrible reality of what she's facing she lapses into beautifully choreographed daydreams. This is a musical, but it's not what you'd expect from one.
Without going to much further into it, while I said it was depressing, it is also one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen.

Notable: Bjork won best Actress at Cannes that year for it and she deserved an Oscar.
Notable 2: I was checking out the director. He also directed the overlooked Dogville, the second most depressing movie ever made. He's on a roll.

8. Way of the Gun

No one knows it but this is the movie the guy who did The Usual Suspects did after that. Largely ignored, it's an actioner based on a tale of kidnapping gone horribly wrong. Two fantastic actors, Benicio del Toro and Ryan Phillipe, play the lead roles. Also in this movie are Julianne Lewis, James Caan, and Taye Diggs doing a fantastic job. This is a modern day western.
My favorite part of this movie is the opening scene, and without giving anything away, has my favorite jewish comedienne, Sarah Silverman, using some of the most foul, funny dialogue ever delivered in a movie.

Notable: The names of the main characters, Parker and Longbaugh, are the real last names of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

7. Brick

I've seen this movie a couple of times, and I still miss a ton of dialogue. This movie blends the old forties Bogart detective movie with the backdrop of a modern day high school. No oone real famous starring in this one. There's a menace permeating the entirety of the movie that wont be shaken. If you see it make sure you keep the captions on.

Notable: The director cited Spaghetti Westerns and Cowboy Bebop as influences on his visualization of the movie. Some of you may know that I think Cowboy Bebop is the greatest thing. Ever.

6. Run Lola Run

Franke Potente stars as a girlfriend who has to find 100,000 Deutschmarks for her boyfriend in a half hour to save their life together. Actually told in three parts, each part being the possible outcome of the same half hour. A frenetic pace hauls you through the movie, while snippets of side characters pasts are thrown at us. Excellent direction, interesting execution, and a new actress' breakout role make this one of my favorites to watch over and over.

Notable: The casino scene is one of my favorite scenes of all time.

5. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (original)

So we obviously all seen this one, I hope. But I want to explain the reasons I love it. This is one of the most dark and twisted movies I have ever seen. This is all due to the genius that is Gene Wilder. Let me list.
- Everytime one of the kids is drifting toward calamity, notice how Wonka "pretends" to warn them. Sick bastard! He wants them to get hurt.
- When the kids are taken away we never really learn they're fate after they are taken away. If this was real life, Wonka would be locked up.
- The boat scene. Wilder maniacal singing. Oh and there's a chicken beheading in the background.
- The bubble car, notice how panicked the riders get when they are being SUFFOCATED BY FOAM. They think they are going to die.
- Oompaloompas. Give me the chills. If I saw one in real life I would run screaming.
- The scene where Wonka tells Charlie he has lost. He literally screams in the kids face. YOU GET NOTHING!

Notable: Willy Wonka(from the boat ride): There's no earthly way of knowing / Which direction we are going / There's no knowing where we're rowing / Or which way the river's flowing / Is it raining? / Is it snowing? / Is a hurricane a-blowing? / Not a speck of light is showing / So the danger must be growing / Are the fires of hell a-glowing? / Is the grisly reaper mowing? / Yes, the danger must be growing / 'Cause the rowers keep on rowing / And they're certainly not showing / Any signs that they are slowing.

4. Shaun of the Dead

Shaun of the Dead is another cult movie. A Zombie cult movie. A Zombie/Comedy cult movie. A Romantic/Comedy/Zombie cult movie. I promise you the only one of its kind. There are many out there who shy away from a movie as soon as they hear zombie. I promise you those fears are warranted cuz you probably cant handle zombies you wuss! Anyway, even people who don't like zombie movies(wusses) will enjoy if not love this. As the movie was made as a comedic homage to zombie movies, you might expect that the movie would miss both the zombie and the comedy. What I love about the film, aside form its charismatic lead players, is its ability to walk the line and get the best of both worlds. My favorite scene is when they are beating up a zombie with cue sticks in rhythm to a Queen song. Believe me, its better to see for yourself.
A fantastic movie from across the pond. Worth the purchase.

Notable: These guys(two stars and director) teamed up later to make Hot Fuzz, an homage to their favorite action movies. I hope they've got more.

3. Children of Men

Chilling. Stark. Long takes. Clive Owen. This hasn't been seen by most people, but I feel, other than the extremes, this is the closest vision of the future. Clive Owen plays a man protecting the lone pregnant woman on a planet of infertile people. I don't have a lot to say on this movie because I still need more time for it to all sink in. I love it. Just don't know why yet. You will too.

2. Akira


You knew anime would get on here at one point. Especially since it is overlooked by mainstream media as there is a lot of garbage going around. Know this...it may be animation but it is not for the kids. This is the movie that brought anime into the mainstream and paved the way for Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. This movie has been referenced in so much pop culture, people dont even know its being referenced.
This movie will change the way you see animation. You will begin the realize the scope that can be told and the imagination that can be brought forth through the medium.

Check 6 seconds in.


Notable: At one point in the 1990s, Sony contemplated a live-action version of the film, but scrapped the idea when the projected budget went north of US$300 million.

1. The Big Lebowski

People say its a cult movie. Forget that. This is THE Movie. Celluloid perfection from start to finish. I can quote nearly the entire movie. To myself. While sleeping. Nightly. To many "achievers", this movie is their religion. You know why you might not like this movie. Cuz you havent watched it at least 5 times. After that its transcendental. Ive seen it at least 100 times and I see something new every time I watch it. The Coen brothers masterpiece. You know...the guys who made Fargo. Ever thus a deadbeat.

All The Dude ever wanted, was his rug back.

Notable: The Dude never actually bowls.



Honorable Mention: Pan's Labrinyth, Blade Runner, Spirited Away, Descent, Amelie

'thew