Like any other industry, Hollywood is filled with under-appreciated masterpieces. This compilation of mine attempts to throw light on a bunch of such beast of movies that have their heart and originality in the right place, but don’t seem to have found many takers – at least outside of Hollywood. Here are the movies that remain concealed when someone doles out a “best films ever” list::
The Place Beyond the Pines
The Place Beyond the Pines was not even a starter in the award circle, but that takes nothing away from the classic that it is.
Spanning two generations, it was a poignant tale that didn’t take shelter behind the contrived emotions – something which Academy doesn’t have the highest regards for. Agreed the movie fizzles out just a bit in last 20 mins, but that doesn’t take anything away from atmosphere it creates after its running time of 140 minutes.
Short Term 12
This one stabbed right through my heart, but like a breeze. An elegiac work of art, Short Term 12 brings to screen a view that’s unspeakably distressing and impossible to shrug off. The film is filled with haunting moments, only to impress none from the Academy though.
Gosford Park
Gosford Park takes some time getting used to. But once it does, it plugs you right into the old fashioned English country house, and introduces you to the green-eyed monsters of the elite class who seemingly are drenched in snob.
Rush
Exhilaration doesn’t come in more sweeping packages.
The Man From Earth
Holy crap! I watched The Man From Earth the nth time last night, and it blew my mind way. The caveman holds in his chest the greatest secret of the mankind.
In Bruges
Zesty and endlessly surprising, In Bruges is a steady state thriller that keeps the punches flowing in. Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell, and Brendan Gleeson leave you gasping with their loopy performances. It was syncretism in Bruges. Teeming with vital juices of unforced humor, In Bruges runs on a fun-filled fuel of undiluted originality.
Prisoners
Just play this one to watch a bunch of gifted actors follow rabbit trails to find kids before they get killed.
Looper
That’s how you make a time travel motion picture. Nearly no CGI, no flying human beings and gadgets, so you’re spared of the inevitable malarkey that bog down the best of time travel movies. Instead, this one focusses on the barn-burner of a story at hand.
I haven’t been a fan of Coen Brothers, but this one not only injects life into some of the Bob Dylan’s masterpieces, but gives you a far more honest insight into the commercialization of the folk music of the 60’s.
Revolutionary Road
Revolutionary Road brings the best out of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It’s a rare occasion in cinema when two leading actors keep outclassing each other, and that’s a reason enough to keep at at the top of your to-watch list.
Get Low
There aren’t many who haven’t heard of this gem, but of the ones who have seen it, very few haven’t felt moved by it. With its beautiful gravitas, the movie strikes exactly where it’s supposed to. But all discussions on Get Low must begin and end with Robert Duvall. The legend induces a pulled-back pleasure and an escalated indulgence in every frame he’s in, at times subverting even the brilliant story.
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