Lesser known or regarded movies you like

What it says on the tin really. Herewith pimp a movie which you really like but which you suspect either the majority of people on here wont have seen, or which isn't generally highly regarded. Give us an idea who is in it, what its about (without spoiling the entire plot), and why you like it.

You never know, this string might inspire other people to watch it.

I'll kick us off

Movie: 3000 Miles to Graceland
Starring: Kevin Costner, Kurt Russell, Courtney Cox, Christian Slater, David Arquette, Kevin Pollak, Thomas Hayden Church

The premise: Kurt Russell plays Michael Zane, a recently released convict, and Elvis Presley fan. Fresh out of the joint, he travels to Las Vegas and checks into a down-at-heel motel, run by Courtney Cox. The reason for Michael's presence in Vegas is to hook up with his old crew, lead by the borderline psychopathic Murphy, played by Kevin Costner. Costner is also an Elvis fan, though his fandom is taken to near fanatical levels due to the fact that he may actually have a legitimate claim to be Elvis' illegitimate son.

Also in the crew are Christian Slater, David Arquette, and another guy who's name escapes me. Their plan is to rob the Rio hotel in Las Vegas during the International Elvis convention.

Things start to go awry after the robbery though when the crooks fall out on how the money is shared, Courtney Cox tries to rob Michael of his share, and Murphy's sociopathic tendencies come to the surface. What follows is a race by Russell to evade the cops, and Costner, and make it the 3000 miles to the boat he has prepared for his getaway.

Why I like it: Its honestly one of Costner's best acting performances. Whereas he can sometimes appear wooden and characterless in movies, in this one he is clearly having a ball and a lot of fun with the character. He lets himself go and is all the better for it. Its got a great mixture of comedy, quirkiness, and darker moments, everyone else plays their characters well, its superbly shot and directed (including a great animated opening sequence involving a fight between robotic scorpions), and on top of that you have some great Elvis music in the soundtrack.

Its not an especially well known movie (though its been shown on both Sky and terrestrial TV here) but its well worth checking out.

Oh man. All the movies I could write about.

Give me time to think of it, I could come up with dozens.

I could too...then DS would heckle them down as poor!

No, no heckling, I promise.

I was kidding anyway. Will give this some thought and give a proper response!

The Butterfly Effect

I watched this over Christmas and really enjoyed it. I haven't seen either of it's apparently rubbish sequels, but this film actually had me by the short 'n' curlies the whole way through.

The film documents the life of a young lad who finds himself caught up in pretty raumatic and stressful situations, not by his own fault, and subsequently has blackouts and doesn't remember anything until it's all over. His mother takes him to the doctors and they suggest keeping a journal to remember stuff, so he keeps a huge diary from a young age.

When he gets to university, after growing out of his blackouts, he discovers that by reading his diaries he can travel back in time to the certain points in his life he blacked out before, changing the outcome and therefore the future. He then attempts to right some wrongs in the past but soon realises the 'butterfly effect' - everything is affected by everything, including how his life pans out following his past altering.



I must say I didn't expect much but I found this film gripping the whole way through and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'd recommend to anyone who likes time travel films and the concept, and those who just like odd films. Also girls who fancy Ashton Kutcher, as he plays the lead.

as stated before, I love Maximum Overdrive.

It is such a remarkably stupid movie, that I have to give it major points just for that.

Now, of course, it was directed (and I believe envisioned) by Stephen King, and for as yes, overrated of an author as he may very well be, he, his stories, his short stories and his films have a decided cult following.

Stephen King is not just a horror writer but also an absurdist who thinks of horror concepts that are just too strange, out-there or silly for other horror authors to take seriously.

I like to think of his style of horror as "Stupid Horror". Where the concepts are just as macabre and interesting as they are completely stupid. And there are many times where stupidity and horror collide wonderfully. (See EC Comics as well)

I always liked Stephen King's sheer balls to present an idea that is the stupidest fucking thing you've ever heard of, and try his damdest to legitimize the concept.

I think Maximum Overdrive, is probably his unintentional crown jewel of mastering that. This movie is just sheer, unadulterated, undistilled, 100% pure stupid, down to a science. And truth be told, for as bad as this movie is, it's that wonderful, enjoyable kind of bad.

The premise of Maximum Overdrive? Everything machinated in any way, comes alive to kill mankind. Yes people... this is seriously attempting to be The Birds or Night Of The Living Dead with cars, toasters, refrigerators, vending machines, ATM's, blenders, microwaves, telephones and everything in between.

This movie is incredible in it's hair-brained logic to the point where it has to be seen to be believed. Made all the funnier that in scenes involving something like an atuomatic meat cutter, the person playing the part has to move the cutter to their own arm in order to make it look "convincing".

Oh, and of course, a big toy truck with the Green Goblin's head on it for no reason, is the rignleader of this dime-store Cyberdyne. What else could it be?


Honestly, this is one of the best bad movies that I may ever have seen.

It is a shame then, that Stephen King has gone to great lengths to remove his smell of involvement from it.

It brings to mind a similar incident involving this wretched (wretched as in just boring) film The Lawnmower Man which had nothing to do with his original story (in which the twist is that a couple's lawnmower services happen to be provided by the naked goatlike greek figure Pan, on all fours eating grass) turned into some blitheringly incoherent movie about virtual reality turning a retarded man into an evil cybergod. (Y'know, kinda like Myron, but less ridiculous)

But unlike that movie, which was a basterdized version of King's equally stupid-ass but virtually (no pun intended) unrecognizable story which wasn't his production, Maximum Overdrive is a silly story on par with most of King's silly stories anyway, and was all him. He directed the fucking thing.

Either way, Maximum Overdrive is a favorite film of mine. Maybe in a mocking way sure, but it's a hoot, a holler and all kinda of a laugh. It's simply just an enjoyably stupid movie, that is undeniably stupid from beginning to end.

There is a part of me that loves stupid, ridiculous movies that are an absolute trainwreck that's fun to watch every minute of, like Mortal Kombat Annihilation, and Maxiumum Overdrive is certainly one of my guiltiest pleasures.

Besides... it was a hell of a lot better than IT.

Dead Snow. It's a comedy-Horror film from Norway that lives up to both those monikers. Helen had seen it a while back and when we were looking fof something to watch on the night we celebrated a year together we spotted that for the princely sum of 99p on the demand channel! I don't want to say too much about the plot only that it's funny, subverts a lot of the usual horror cliches while laughing at most of them and I'd recommend if you like films like The Evil Dead triliogy.

Braindead. It's a comedy horror about a lonely middle-aged man who lives with and looks after his mother. The man falls for a pretty young girl, who the mother becomes jealous with. On a date to the zoo, the mother tries to mess up the man and his love interest's day, but ends up getting bitten by some weird monkey rat thing. Thus begins the sick humour, as the mother slowly dies, rotting to the point where she's falling to pieces but still barely alive. Eventually she dies, and becomes a flesh eating zombie. All Hell breaks loose at this point, and things just get stranger and stranger.

I first saw this film when I picked it up in a bargain bin on VHS about eight years ago. I've watched it a few times since, because it's just hilarous! I recommend it to anyone who likes horror, zombies, or twisted comedy.

Oh god yes.

Braindead (a.k.a Dead Alive) is quite possibly one of the most amazing films ever made. Not a beautiful, dramamtic well acted masterpeice movie, not a bad or boring movie, but certainly amazing in it's own sheer amount of balls.

However, you have absolutely not seen this film until you see the unrated, uncut version. It's often referred to as the goriest movie ever made, and it deserves that title. It's one of the most wonderfully fucked up movies ever.

Lord Of The Rings are fine films and all, but this was Peter Jackson's best. And yes, it is the same director. Jackson made these films for a living before LOTR, and I have to say Braindead is just a vastly more amazing film.