A Reel Opinion: The Top 5 Underrated Movies

Last week, this Blogger posted his Top 5 Overrated Movies, which you can read HERE. The blog was a look at the films that I find to be over-praised during their release and over time. The posting sparked some great discussion, and one loyal reader of Reel Speak suggested that I travel to the opposite end of the Earth and write about my Top 5 Underrated Movies. Never one to back down from a dare, here they are.

Compiling the list, I had to be careful to not make a list of Guilty Pleasures. What’s the difference between a Guilty Pleasure and Underrated? A Guilty Pleasure would be a film that we feel guilty about watching and never admit to anyone. Underrated is a movie that we show no shame in watching or praising, and feel that the world has mis-judged. This is a list of films that I find to be excellent and perhaps sadly forgotten as time has passed. These are the films which not only speak to me below the cockles, but deserve a lot more credit than they do now.

So here we go (again)…

5. THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) – In 1982, horror director John Carpenter (of

HALLOWEEN fame), remade this film into a freaky gore-fest with Kurt Russell, which is now considered to be a classic in its genre. I like the remake fine, but I adore the original more. Directed by Christian Nyby and produced by the great Howard Hawks, it was adapted from a novella and told the tale of a scientific encampment and a U.S. Army flight crew which is terrorized by a brutish alien. It’s a survival tale at its simplest, and today the acting and style may seem dated, but it is still a creepy flick with plenty of surprises, scares, and characters we don’t mind liking or hating. One of Howard Hawks’ favorite types of characters, the good ol’ American boys who use their skills and bravery to overcome all odds, is all over the film, and it’s a comfort to watch. The black-and-white photography adds to the creepiness, and the film has many beats which not only Carpenter used in his remake, but James Cameron would copy in his classic horror film, ALIENS (1986). When classic black-and-white horror creatures are mentioned, everyone gravitates towards Bela Lugosi’s Dracula or Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein monster, and it drives me nuts that James Arness as the Thing is sadly left out of that list of towering horror creatures.

4. THE MUMMY (1999) – Speaking of horror remakes, Stephen Sommers’ shot at the 1931 classic

is probably my favorite on this list, and one of my top films of the 1990’s. It didn’t attempt to re-capture the vibe of a straight-up horror film (although it has some creepy and jump-scare moments), and instead embraced fun and high-adventure in the spirit of INDIANA JONES. It was also made as a love-letter to the Golden Age of Hollywood; with high-energy, fun characters, thrilling set-pieces, and vast desert scenes reminiscent of what David Lean once did in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962). The cast of Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, and Kevin J. O’Connor always look like they’re having a blast, and Arnold Vosloo has a screen presence worthy of any top 10 cinematic villain list. And the score by the late great Jerry Goldsmith is one of his very best. When Universal Studios began transferring their back-catalog to the glorious Blu-ray format, they took great care in THE MUMMY release, and it really shows. It’s a stunning presentation which this film deserves.

3. THE RIGHT STUFF (1983) – Philip Kaufman’s epic historical drama about the early days of America’s space program was a box office failure in 1983, and also suffered from a political

shitstorm when John Glenn was running for President (Glenn is prominently featured in the film, and the speculation was that the film would give Glenn an unfair advantage). Despite being a box office bomb, THE RIGHT STUFF still earned praise from critics and would win four of its 10 Oscar nominations. Today, it is often overlooked when the discussion moves to the great historical dramas; either because of its hefty three-hour running time, dated special effects, leftover political bull, or overshadowed by APOLLO 13 (1995). But as a movie it deserves high praise; the cast is an all-star lineup, the direction has classical sensibilities, Bill Conti’s score is wonderful, the drama and tension is there, and it has many triumphant moments to earn applause. It is a vastly quotable film, and one of the greatest that no one remembers.

2. THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES (2012) – Derek Cianfrance’s epic family drama, which goes through three generations of fathers and sons, took it on the chin upon release simply because audiences felt duped. The film’s two major stars, Bradley Cooper and Ryan

Gosling, were not in the film very much despite their faces being prominently displayed on posters; Gosling’s character checks out in the first act, and Cooper doesn’t show until then…and then vanishes from the film for stretches in favor of the younger cast. Looking beyond that, Cianfrance has crafted one great film here, one that serves as a grand statement on the Sins of the Father, along with serving as a crime drama; good cops, bad cops, lawyers, and good old fashioned bank robberies. And speaking of bank robberies, the long, unbroken tracking shot of police cars chasing a motorcycle through a cemetery is white-knuckle thrilling. And Mike Patton’s music is hauntingly beautiful. I’ve always been a sucker for father-and-son stories, as I believe they are the most powerful in film, (even more so now), and PINES is one of the best of them.

1. THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU (2004) – Speaking of father-and-son stories, Wes Anderson’s loving homage to real-life ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau boldly sails into that territory and beyond. Anderson’s work often gets dismissed as serious film because of his unique style that he

is locked into; quirky characters and music, bold uses of color, and absolute deadpan writing, acting, and camerawork. AQUATIC does have all that, but the storytelling beneath the style is one of his best. The script is remarkable as it fleshes out characters and situations with the simplest lines in the lightest effort, and each character gets his or her own arc and important moment in the large cast. Bill Murray plays the part of Steve Zissou, the aging ocean explorer/filmmaker who believes his best days are behind him, perfectly with the right amount of vulnerability, and his chemistry with is maybe-son Ned (Owen Wilson), reporter Jane (Cate Blanchett), and wife Eleanor (Anjelica Huston) leaps off the screen. The filmmaking is ambitious with filming taking place underwater (the cast had to learn how to scuba dive), and at sea (an old ship was purchased and re-purposed), and the action scenes (a pirate raid and rescue mission) are better than what many shaky-cam directors are trying to do today. Seu Jorge’s soundtrack of David Bowie songs in Portuguese on acoustic guitar is wonderful, and overall the film has a familiar, classic feel with elements from Moby Dick and The Great Gatsby present. The ending is an emotional wallop that comes in twos and is not easily predicted, and it serves as a sweet, comforting film that does not age at all…and longevity is the best test of any film.

REEL SPEAK'S TOP 4 UNDERRATED MOVIES

1. THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU
2. THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES
3. THE RIGHT STUFF
4. THE MUMMY
5. THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD