There are some crackers here. Any more that you want to add?
The summer blockbuster season is quickly approaching and while the majority of these big-budget films will make a bang at the box-office, it’s highly likely that they won’t be winning any Oscars come award season.
While the majority of summer releases will find an audience, there are always some films that seem like they just fall between the cracks.
Why? Well, maybe they weren’t marketed right. Perhaps they were ‘too niche’ for a broader audience. Who knows?
This being said, everyone has a few films that they really feel deserve to be universally adored. You know, those films you love so much that you would almost physically force someone to sit down and watch them, just because you know they’re so good.
Here are some of our favourite films that might have been critically lauded, but deserve a bit more love from the public at large.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Plot: A murder mystery brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 85%
Needs more love because: Forget Iron Man, this is Downey Jr’s best role in recent memory.
A Simple Plan
Plot: Two brothers stumble across a downed airplane that contains millions of dollars. They plot to keep the money- but greed causes distrust amongst them.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 90%
Needs more love because: It’s a very straightforward story that’s brilliantly told by Sam Raimi. It also features some really great performances from Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton and Bridget Fonda.
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Plot: America loves Dewey Cox! But behind the music is the up-and-down-and-up-again story of a musician whose songs would change a nation. On his rock ‘n roll spiral, Cox sleeps with 411 women, marries three times, has 22 kids and 14 stepkids, stars in his own ’70s TV show, collects friends ranging from Elvis to the Beatles to a chimp, and gets addicted to–and then kicks–every drug known to man. But despite it all, Cox grows into a national icon and eventually earns the love of a good woman–longtime backup singer Darlene.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 74%
Needs more love because: While we don’t have the numbers at hand, we’re confident in saying that films like The Break-Up and Couples Retreat made more money than this. Why? Like The Naked Gun and Airplane, this spoof has some genuine stoooopidly hilarious moments.
The Way, Way Back
Plot: Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, manager of the Water Wizz water park.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 85%
Needs more love because: While Little Miss Sunshine won two Oscars and became beloved by most, this is arguably a better film. Why? Well, it has Sam Rockwell and much like Moon, Choke and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, he has a knack for starring in really good films that don’t find a larger audience.
Sneakers
Plot: A group of maverick computer and espionage experts become involved in a government scheme to steal a piece of advanced code-breaking technology in this lighthearted spy drama. When the device’s creator turns up murdered, they become the chief suspects and must discover the truth to clear their name.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 81%
Needs more love because: Truth be told, you could pick almost any dark-comedy from the ’90s and make a case for it. Case in point, Very Bad Things, Pushing Tin, Feeling Minnesota, A Life Less Ordinary, Go…all deserving of more recognition. Still though, it’s nice to see films like Swingers deservedly becoming cult-classics.
You really don’t get black comedies like those anymore, well, In Bruges has managed to become a beloved crossover hit.
Still though, what about the cast in Sneakers? Kingsley, Redford, Phoenix, Aykroyd and Poitier to name but a few.
Stander
Plot: The life and career of Andre Stander, a South African police officer turned bank robber.
Rotten tomatoes rating: 73%
Needs more love because: It’s the very definition of a hidden gem for anyone that loves gangster films and police dramas.
Clip via – AMBI Distribution
Reign of Fire
Plot: In present-day London, twelve-year-old Quinn watches as his mother, a construction engineer inadvertently wakes an enormous fire-breathing dragon from its centuries-long slumber. Twenty years later, much of the world has been scarred by the beast and its offspring.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 40%
Needs more love because: When it’s shit, it’s really shit. When it’s good, it has gigantic f**king dragons.
Judgement Night
Plot: Four friends on their way to a boxing match get caught in heavy traffic, so they take a shortcut in order to get there faster, unfortunately it leads to them witnessing a murder which leaves them running for their lives.
IMDB rating: 6.6%
Needs more love because: It’s like a mix of The Warriors and the films of John Carpenter. It’s as predictable as it is gripping.
Still though, if this was released now it would be better than 90% of the thrillers out there.
Clip via – Video Detective
Zodiac
Plot: Based on the true story of the notorious serial killer and the intense manhunt he inspired, Zodiac is a superbly crafted thriller form the director of Se7en and Panic Room. Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast led by Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Chloë Sevigny, Zodiac is a searing and singularly haunting examination of twin obsessions: one man’s desire to kill and another’s quest for the truth.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 89%
Needs more love because: The ending divided people – well, it’s the same as real life – but this is probably the most authentic representation of police work on screen in recent memory. It’s not flash, stylistic or showy, it’s mechanical and methodical, just like real police work.
A Monster Calls
Plot: A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mother’s terminal illness.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 87%
Needs more love because: After watching this, we defy anyone not to be moved. Bayona’s wonderful film really seemed to get lost in the busy Christmas period among Rogue One, Harry potter and more.
Don’t miss it on DVD/streaming.
Clip via – Movieclips Trailers
Stir of Echoes
Plot: After being hypnotized by his sister in law, a man begins seeing haunting visions of a girl’s ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around him.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 67%
Needs more love because: Character-driven horror films are incredibly rare.
FYI, we were very tempted to include Tremors but that film has plenty of love…and sequels!
Brick
Plot: A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 80%
Needs more love because: Smart, sharp and stylish from the Star Wars: Episode VIII director. If Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler were writing modern noir mysteries, this would be it.
50 Dead Men Walking
Plot: Based on Martin McGartland’s shocking real life story. Martin is a young lad from west Belfast in the late 1980s who is recruited by the British Police to spy on the IRA. He works his way up the ranks as a volunteer for the IRA whilst feeding information to his British handler and saving lives in the process.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 86%
Needs more love because: More films need to be morally complex and the chemistry between Sturgess and Kingsley is superb.
Clip via – LonnyManCanAdventure
Welcome to the Jungle
Plot: A tough aspiring chef is hired to bring home a mobster’s son from the Amazon but becomes involved in the fight against an oppressive town operator and the search for a legendary treasure.
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 70%
Needs more love because: The Rock can spend the rest of his career making mindless action films, it’s just a shame that he already excelled in the genre but nobody saw it.
A Prophet
Plot: A young Arab man is sent to a French prison.
Rotten Tomatoes rating:97%
Needs more love because: In our opinion, it’s the greatest gangster film of the last decade. Seen it yet?
State of Grace
Plot: Terry Noonan returns home to New York’s Hells Kitchen after a ten year absence. He soon hooks up with childhood pal Jackie who is involved in the Irish mob run by his brother Frankie. Terry also rekindles an old flame with Jackie’s sister Kathleen. Soon, however, Terry is torn between his loyalty to his friends and his loyalties to others.
Rotten tomatoes rating: 84%
Needs more love because: It’s the best Gary Oldman performance that nobody has seen. Still though, it’s rarely mentioned in the same company as Goodfellas, The Godfather or Once Upon a Time in America in terms of the greatest gangster films ever.
’71
Plot: A young British soldier (Jack O’Connell) is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, and increasingly wary of his own comrades, he must survive the night alone and find his way to safety through a disorientating, alien and deadly landscape.
Rotten tomatoes rating: 96%
Needs more love because: It’s tense, gritty and unflinching. The film really could be set in a dozen different warzones and still have the same impact.
