Top Ten Underrated Movies

10. Australia

What really gets you in this story is the genuine investment you have in each of the characters, who are all tragically flawed (save maybe Nullah ), and yet find their best selves within each other.  I really cared what happened to every single one of them and that’s a rare thing to feel at the movies anymore.  If someone wants an action oriented typical movie, Australia is not going to deliver.  It builds on character tension, realism, fantasy, and standing in the moment.  I can see that this film wouldn’t appeal to everyone for many reasons, but it sang to me.

9. The Brave Little Toaster

Before there was Pixar and Toy Story for me, there was The Brave Little Toaster.  A group of dated appliances that find themselves stranded in a summer home that their family had just sold, decide to, á la “The Incredible Journey”, seek their young 8 year old “master”. Children’s film which on the surface is a frivolous fantasy, but with a dark subtext of abandonment, obsolescence, and loneliness.

8. Ten Things I Hate About You

This is one of the few William Shakespeare adaptations that has been done really well and contemporized over the years.  Adapted from “The Taming of the Shrew,” 10 Things I Hate About You starts off with Cameron, new student at Padua High, sitting in the office of the quirky guidance counselor Ms. Perky.  Bianca Stratford is dying to go out with Joey Donner the babe of their school. Kat Stratford would rather die than go out with a boy. Mr. Stratford has this rule where Bianca can date… when Kat does. Bianca begs her sister to have a night of “teenage normalcy”.  The back and forth and performances make this movie more than just a memorable “teen” flick.

7. Equilibrium

In a futuristic world, a strict regime has eliminated war by suppressing emotions: books, art and music are strictly forbidden and feeling is a crime punishable by death. Cleric John Preston (Bale) is a top ranking government agent responsible for destroying those who resist the rules. When he misses a dose of Prozium, a mind-altering drug that hinders emotion, Preston, who has been trained to enforce the strict laws of the new regime, suddenly becomes the only person capable of overthrowing it.

6. Troy

Troy is not Oscar quality nor does it pretend to be.  It’s better than most movies in it’s genre and offers an epic adventure of breath taking battles, romance, betrayal, and the hunger for power.  The imminent price each character pays for their fortunes are not comparable to pain and sorrow each of those paths lead.  What Troy does best is focus on it’s individual character’s and lets them shine.  The violence of this film is brutal and earns it’s “R” rating.  For anyone who enjoys a great epic movie, Troy should be on your list to rent, it’s on my shelf as property.

5. Labyrinth

Labyrinth is one of the most exciting movies of the 80’s stylistically and with an exciting and tangible story about a girl trying to save her young half-brother in a world of magic and goblins.  Jim Henson hit every mark on this dark adventure in a fantastical world you’ve never seen before.  The suspense and mystery of the Labyrinth is coupled with a light humor and joy that shows in most of Henson’s work and makes the tale that much more complex and compelling.  This story will forever be a warning to prove the old saying: “Be careful what you wish for, it may come true.”

4. Reign Of Fire

This is a powerhouse film that really emotes the instinct for human survival but also the desire for something beyond just existing.  It’s subtle way of justifying this concept with an effortless plot that ignites a response from the viewer while simultaneously being entertained.  That’s just plain good fantasy and Sci-Fi.  Reign of Fire certainly rose above and beyond my expectations and goes down as one of my favorite post-apocalyptic tales of all time with the unchallenged balance of entertainment, suspense, driven and compelling characters and a depth that went beyond superficial fun.  Reign of Fire is a pure and simple joyride of suspense and pleasure.

3. From Dusk Till Dawn

From Dusk Till Dawn is an odd film in it’s structure.  It’s almost like two different movies thrown together with the same characters.  When Seth Gecko and his younger brother Richard are on the lam after a bloody bank robbery in Texas they head for the border and escape into Mexico.  Using a family and their RV as a shield they head to pay off the local kingpin. They stop at a local strip joint to pass the hours until dawn, but what they find is a dark and frightening place non of them could have anticipated.  Somehow there is the odd mix of graphic violence, humor, sensuality, and male bravado all mixed into this film directed by Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Once Upon A Time In Mexico, Sin City).  The screenplay was written by Quentin Tarantino which is where a lot of the great dialogue and character transitions actually work.  It is a bizarre unorthodox film that probably shouldn’t work at all, but absolutely rules anyway.

2. Hero

This is visually the most beautiful film I have ever set eyes on.  The cinematography of this Hero will leave you breathless.  Christopher Doyle had a beautiful vision of this majestic world and made a creation that even most dreams lack the power and imagination to create.  As far as martial arts films go this could very well be considered my favorite.  The complex story of many different individuals and how their lives play into one another engages you into the stories overall feeling of despair, but it’s the magical feel of the film and it’s amazing scenery make this epic tale a piece of mastery.

1. American Psycho

This is a movie that has on occasion be greatly misunderstood.  It’s not an exploitation of violence, but an exploration of the power of delusions in the human psyche.  A satire against 80’s style Wall Street and the dementia that this lifestyle and stress of holding up it’s exterior could create.  American Psycho is far more witty and darkly humorous than it is usually given credit for.  The writing, some of which is directly copied from it’s novel creation, is violently delectable, while visually intoxicating as well.  Whether you end up loving or hating this movie, there is no turning away from it while you are watching it.

READERS CHOICE!

American Psycho (4 votes) 15% and From Dusk Till Dawn (4 votes) 15%

Labyrinth (3 votes)

12%

Troy (3 votes)