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Overlooked films of the last decade

post #1 of 171
Thread Starter 
What are the most criminally overlooked films of the last ten years? Do you think they will eventually be appreciated for the masterpieces they are? Or are they bound for the dustbins, only to be discovered by true cineastes in the coming decades?

I am forever befuddled by the amount of people who haven't seen or haven't liked:

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Children of Men
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
United 93
A Serious Man

Honorable mention: Moon, The Proposition, Scott Pilgrim (very borderline).

I think these are honest to god great films. Masterpieces even. And yet, I suspect only Children of Men might gain Blade Runner type appreciation years after a lackluster theatrical release. Perhaps when people look back on the Coen Brothers' body of work and recognize them for what they are, as filmmakers to be considered alongside other greats like Scorsese and Kubrick and Wilder, A Serious Man will accrue greater respect.

What say you? Has it always been this way? What greats before this generation were lost and found? I know I'm forgetting some movies here too (or perhaps I overlooked them!).
post #2 of 171
In a just world, we'd be on our 3rd or 4th entry in the 'Master and Commander' series. I think that it's always been well regarded, though.
post #3 of 171
Open Range

One of the ten best westerns ever made IMO.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

A flat-out masterwork.
post #4 of 171
I'd nominate The Brothers Bloom, which I'm convinced would've found its due accolades had the theatrical release not been completely fumbled... on multiple occasions.
post #5 of 171
United 93, I think, will be the most forgotten of that list. It's a film praised by critics but not one that a lot of people wish to rewatch. And there are a lot of people who dismiss it outright as not "being something they care to see". Movies that are hard to stomach usually end up with a notoriety of some kind, but United 93 is not Human Centipede. There's not a hardcore base of followers for films that are tense, harrowing, and upsetting, but not gory.
post #6 of 171
More people need to see In Bruges. Maybe not round here so much, but in general. Farrell's finest work, Feinnes and Gleeson are on fire and every scene seems to balance pathos and hilarity to perfection.

Agreed on Master and Commander, Jesse James and A Serious Man.

The Lives of Others
is an absolute masterpiece too. Really, one of the finest films of the last decade, period.
post #7 of 171
Thread Starter 
I really liked Open Range, it has its moments and maybe I'll have to revisit it but it didn't leave much of an impact on me. I can say the same for In Bruges. That's a movie that should be right up my ally, but in the end left me feeling kind of cold (my gf at the time was legitimately upset that I didn't looove it, bitch).
post #8 of 171
Thread Starter 
The Lives of Others is one I need to see I guess, will netflix queue it now.
post #9 of 171
The Lives of Others is flat-out amazing, Ben.

I came in here to post about The Lives of Others and In Bruges, so screw you, Mr. Sackley.
post #10 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Thomas View Post
More people need to see In Bruges. Maybe not round here so much, but in general. Farrell's finest work, Feinnes and Gleeson are on fire and every scene seems to balance pathos and hilarity to perfection.
I'm still glad that you and Martin talked me into trying that film. It's a gem, and everyone that I've coerced into watching it has absolutely loved it.
post #11 of 171
Zodiac despite being one of Fincher's best works is doomed to be forgotten by all but the hardcore.

Pan's Labyrinth seems to have finally entered the 'canon' of great films but it's still a film I have a hard time selling people on and I've never encountered another person who has seen the film, same with the Fountain.
post #12 of 171
'Zodiac' is another one. I don't think that I've met anyone else who has seen it.

eta: Spike beat me to it by seconds.
post #13 of 171
You guys beated me out to my titles. In Bruges, Pan's Labyrinth, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Open Range and Children of Men are all worthy titles, but the first 3 never got any recognition remotely worthy of their quality.
post #14 of 171
Brian Depalma's Femme Fatale is criminally underrated.
post #15 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Thomas View Post
Farrell's finest work,
Arguable, his performance in Ondine is ever so strong.
post #16 of 171
Synecdoche, New York. It's garnered nowhere near the attention and analysis a film of that depth deserves.
post #17 of 171
The Mist. I'm not a huge horror fan and I loved it. Don't see why more people didn't. Well, yeah, the ending, but still.
post #18 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson View Post
The Mist. I'm not a huge horror fan and I loved it. Don't see why more people didn't. Well, yeah, the ending, but still.
I really don't get why people don't like the ending. The Mist works like gangbusters from beginning to end.
post #19 of 171
Agree on "Zodiac" and "Jesse James", and throwing in a vote for "Before Sunset". So many limitations (two person cast, story that plays out in real time), yet it sucks me in every time I see it. Brilliant manipulation in the best way.
post #20 of 171
I dunno, Jesse James seems at least to be held in proper reverence among film buffs. I was kind of hoping to find obscure gems suggested looking at the title. Lives of Others and Pan's Labyrinth are both on the IMDB 250, which I think invalidates any feeling they might be "overlooked".
post #21 of 171
To varying degrees, aren't most of the movies that CHUD loves overlooked? At least to the extent that their inherent quality earns being seen widely?
post #22 of 171
But the ending for The Mist is perfect. I think people forgot that horror films used to be truly horrific. The hero gets shot in the head at the end of Night Of The Living Dead. Horror movies rarely have real balls anymore.

In regards to this thread...

There is a brilliant Chilean film from 2005 called Machuca. It's a simple story of friendship between school children amidst the turmoil of the 1973 coup d'etat when Pinochet took power from Allende. Director Andrés Wood has a great eye for period detail and the performances from the three lead kids are terrific.

Nice soundtrack too.

It pisses me off that you never heard of Andrés Wood or his great film. And yet, pretentious hacks like Iñárritu get all this attention by making bloated, shitty films that no one should see.
post #23 of 171
Thread Starter 
Ahhhh, Before Sunset! Knew I was missing something. One of my all time favorites, and another film I would list as an unequivocal masterpiece.

A lot of these movies being bandied about are good, or interesting, but not necessarily films that, in a just world, would be rightly regarded as the great films they are. Some of this might just be a matter of taste, but I was going more for movies that I think should be loved more generally but aren't. I loved The Fountain, but it's an odd film and not flawless (I have it on good authority that Arronofsky himself wasn't happy with it). Same with Brother's Bloom and Synecdoche, especially. I thought Synechdoche was an interesting failure, too pretentious and post-modern for its own good.
post #24 of 171
Grindhouse

Sadly, even most geeks didn't seem to get it.

(The Planet Terror rips are especially a puzzler. Like Rodriguez and QT said at the time, it's meant to play as the lost John Carpenter movie he could've made in between Ecape and Big Trouble)
post #25 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ratty View Post
Brian Depalma's Femme Fatale is criminally underrated.
Oh, most definitely!
post #26 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Art Decade View Post
I really don't get why people don't like the ending. The Mist works like gangbusters from beginning to end.
It's a downer. I guess people didn't want that. But I think it works.
post #27 of 171
Observe and Report.
Me and You and Everyone We Know.
Robot Stories.
Good-Bye Lenin!
The Dreamers.
post #28 of 171
Down With Love is a perfect movie*.

*For what it was trying to be, at least.
post #29 of 171
Gonna sound like a wet blanket here, but I would actually put The Lives of Others on the opposite list. It's a fine film, though I wasn't a fan of the ending, but it is routinely mentioned among the best foreign language films of the decade, and I could probably think of a couple dozen I'd put ahead of it. Really, you could list overlooked foreign films until the sun goes down.

Some English language films that I haven't seen mentioned: Gerry, Ghost World, Dogville, Elephant, Primer, Spider, Rescue Dawn, 21 Grams, Morvern Callar, The Squid and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding, Julia, The Constant Gardener, State and Main, The Lookout, Young Adam, The Others, Wendy and Lucy
post #30 of 171
Red Road, goddammit! Loving the Synecdoche, New York mention, Mr. Clark.
post #31 of 171
For the life of me, even with Jesse Eisenberg repeatedly showing he's got all sorts of chops, I dont know why The Squid and The Whale hasnt been seen a hell of a lot more than it has been.

Spider's one of those cases where i've seen that film inspire genuine hatred in film buffs and I havent the slightest idea why. I fucking love that film.
post #32 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
For the life of me, even with Jesse Eisenberg repeatedly showing he's got all sorts of chops, I don't know why Cursed hasn't been seen a hell of a lot more than it has been.
Fixed () Sorry, it was on tv last night, had to get some entertainment out of watching that somehow.
post #33 of 171
Didn't see Splice in here yet. Could have missed it though.
post #34 of 171
I thought BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD was completely awesome. I only know about 3 people outside of the internet that even know what it is.
post #35 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Umami View Post
I thought BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD was completely awesome. I only know about 3 people outside of the internet that even know what it is.
For my money, when I think of the Devil, I think of Phillip Seymour Hoffman in this. Just an amazing portrait of complete and total evil.

Quote:
Me and You and Everyone We Know.
God, fuck this movie.
post #36 of 171
So many great picks in this thread! It's humbling to be part of a community where these films are not overlooked at all

Anyway, IMHO: THE BAXTER is a perfect little movie
post #37 of 171
Philippe Claudel's I've loved you so Long.

Another question would be what films do you think from the last decade will enter the public consciousness as "classic" films in the future. I bet the overall list would be pretty mediocre.
post #38 of 171
Most of 2007.
post #39 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by RathBandu View Post
God, fuck this movie.
Really? C'mon, poop the poop.
post #40 of 171
Herzog's one-two punch of THE WHITE DIAMOND and WHEEL OF TIME, staggering documentaries that were overshadowed by the inferior GRIZZLY MAN.

Plus:

LONESOME JIM
THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS
THE GREAT YOKAI WAR
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE
THE BANK JOB
THE SLAMMIN' SALMON
BUG
A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP
post #41 of 171
I love Bug. One of Friedkin's best films.

Since '07 died down, I've heard less and less about Once, but that's one of my favorite musicals of all time.
post #42 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Clark View Post
For the life of me, even with Jesse Eisenberg repeatedly showing he's got all sorts of chops, I dont know why The Squid and The Whale hasnt been seen a hell of a lot more than it has been.
This was my pick for the film of the decade. It's an amazing movie, and one that I wouldn't have even heard about if not for CHUD.
post #43 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Malmordo View Post
A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP
I didn't even know that was stateside. Need to see it.
post #44 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Umami View Post
I thought BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD was completely awesome. I only know about 3 people outside of the internet that even know what it is.
Everyone that I've gotten to see this film has really dug it. And it's kinda easy to get guys to see it. Just tell them that the costume designer only worked half a day for the first few scenes Ms. Tomei was in.
post #45 of 171
Sadly, I've missed many of the titles listed so far... time to catch up. Shame this thread didn't appear yesterday before I ordered a truck load of blu-rays from the US! (As I do whenever the Aus dollar goes up.)

My recommendation is Cypher (aka "Brainstorm" - but don't be put off by the title).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0284978

Maybe it's not a "great movie", but it's certainly a "great little flick". A quiet sci-fi that manages to be intelligent, interesting and, oddly, romantic.
post #46 of 171
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Umami View Post
I thought BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD was completely awesome. I only know about 3 people outside of the internet that even know what it is.
I'm sorry but that movie was dogshit. Same with Me, You and Everyone We Know. Can't stand them.

This thread is like a game of telephone... what started off as an attempt to discuss overlooked "modern classics" has become a list of good films that may or may not have gotten their due depending on your taste (see: Rescue Dawn).

I'd like to reiterate one of the questions in my original post, which is "Has it always been this way?" and the follow up "Examples?"...
post #47 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Ripoll View Post
Movies that are hard to stomach usually end up with a notoriety of some kind, but United 93 is not Human Centipede. There's not a hardcore base of followers for films that are tense, harrowing, and upsetting, but not gory.
Requiem For a Dream might be an exception.

My overlooked pick would be Terrence Malick's The New World. It was shit all over when released and I just couldn't understand why. Flawed maybe, but beautiful and transcendent just the same.
post #48 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teitr Styrr View Post
Didn't see Splice in here yet. Could have missed it though.
I honestly can't imagine why you would.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Malmordo View Post
THE SLAMMIN' SALMON
The one by Broken Lizard? Under rated?

Quote:
Originally Posted by RathBandu View Post
For my money, when I think of the Devil, I think of Phillip Seymour Hoffman in this. Just an amazing portrait of complete and total evil.
Love this film. I see Hoffman as unintentionally evil. Just so utterly self-absorbed as to suck the life from anyone he's around.
post #49 of 171
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rumpledforeskin View Post
Requiem For a Dream might be an exception.
It's not gory, but it's gruesome. But you're right, Requiem's notoriety is more about the emotional warfare it wages than the gross track mark and ass-to-ass shots.
post #50 of 171
Broken Flowers. The Jaramusch cult following latches onto Coffee & Cigarettes in regards to his output this decade, and while I think that movie's great, something about Flowers hits me right in the soul. I could write a whole paper about the amount of heartbreak on Bill Murray's face in the final moments of the film. Lost in Translation might be the go-to reference for Murray in his Elder Statesman era of roles, but for my money, Broken Flowers is where he turns in an even more career-defining performance.
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