Surprisingly good movies you've never seen

[popeyejones]

oh yeah, and if you still haven't seen Casablanca or Citizen Kane, stop whatever you are doing and put it at the top of your Netflix cue right now

See...  I love classics, but I am firmly of the opinion that Citizen Kane is, by far, the most overrated film of all time.  It's amazing, from a *technical* standpoint.  In terms of story, though?  I just didn't find it all that compelling.  I could literally think of 500+ movies I like better.

Casablanca is a great flick, if just for the coolness factor.

Roy, do you have any football picks or lottery numbers?  Cause, you are always hitting it right on the nose. 

I have watched Citizen Kane twice, both times expecting genius.  Although there is all sorts of cool camera work and lighting, the story is boring.  As somebody looking for a movie to give me a good story first and foremost, I have a hard time actually liking Citizen Kane. 

Two of my favorites that most haven't seen.

The Sting.  Paul Newman and Robert Redford, George Roy Hill director, probably the best grifter/heist film made. 

Once Upon a Time in America.  Robert DiNiro and James Woods at their best.  Cameos by Pesci and Danny Aiello.  Genius director Sergio Leone and a score by Ennio Morricone.  Make sure to see the full version and not the hacked up 2 hour one.  A fabulous gangster movie that is much more than a gangster movie.  Makes The Godfather look like a comic book. 

[Big Ticket]

Never seen The Godfather.

[Simey1055]

Big fan of "Almost Famous" and I don't think most people have seen it.  Also enjoy "Dirty Work" with Norm MacDanold.

[celticmaestro]

Never seen The Godfather.

[incoherent]

Fido is hilarious.

[Redz]

One of the ways I like to judge a movie is based on my inability to pull myself away from it if I happen to catch it on TV (even if I've seen it a bunch of times).  In that list:

Glory
Braveheart
The Ref (funny how that one fits on this list, but I definitely get sucked into that movie)
Shawshank Redemption
Jaws

[Roy Hobbs]

For all the Bostonians looking for a local flavor:

* Mystic River

* Gone Baby Gone

Both are excellent movies, I thought, and both seem "authentic" from a New England perspective.  Obviously, Good Will Hunting belongs in that same category, but I'm assuming everyone has seen it.

[celticmaestro]

For all the Bostonians looking for a local flavor:

* Mystic River

* Gone Baby Gone

Both are excellent movies, I thought, and both seem "authentic" from a New England perspective.  Obviously, Good Will Hunting belongs in that same category, but I'm assuming everyone has seen it.

I was considering adding those two to my list, but 11 movies was enough.

Another Boston film that's up there is The Boondock Saints.

[liam]

Here's a couple of my favorites:

Bringing up Baby- Very funny
Rosemary's Baby- Creepy/scary
Vanishing Point- Great 60s movie
Memento- mind messing
The Minus Man- weird/funny
Raising Arizona- Very funny
Cool hand luke- very cool
Touch of Evil- Film Noir
The Wild Bunch-Peckinpah
Ripley's Game-Thriller
Ronin- Action
Le Mans - Race Movie
Sullivan's Travels- Comedy
Thursday- No holds barred
Billy Elliot - Great/Funny
Boondock Saints- Funny weird

[KCattheStripe]

Bringing up Baby- Very funny

My second favorite romantic comedy behind Tootsie.

[KCattheStripe]

Never saw any of the recent Star Wars movies

You didn't miss much, except for Ewan MacGreggor proving that he's one of the top 10 actors alive.

[LB3533]

I will recommend some:

1. A Good Year starring Russell Crowe and Abbie Cornish (hell yea!)

2. The Machinist starring Christian Bale.

3. Equilibrium starring Christian Bale.

[StartOrien]

I went to school for media productions so I've seen Citizen Kane about a dozen times now, and I've always thought that Citizen Kane was unquestionably the most overrated film I've ever seen. Just not all that interesting to me.

As far as underrated, i'd take Brazil. Just be wary that you're going to have the song "Brazil" stuck in your head for about 5 years after seeing it.

[celticmaestro]

I will recommend some:

1. A Good Year starring Russell Crowe and Abbie Cornish (hell yea!)

2. The Machinist starring Christian Bale.

3. Equilibrium starring Christian Bale.

I have to agree with these, I'm a huge Christian Bale fan and also love Russell Crowe and these are all great films. The Prestige and A Beautiful Mind are also superb films from Bale and Crowe respectively.

[CelticsWhat35]

One of the ways I like to judge a movie is based on my inability to pull myself away from it if I happen to catch it on TV (even if I've seen it a bunch of times).  In that list:

Glory
Braveheart
The Ref (funny how that one fits on this list, but I definitely get sucked into that movie)
Shawshank Redemption
Jaws

That's a good point.  I'm that way with some movies too.  A few that come to mind are A Few Good Men, My Cousin Vinny, Suicide Kings and The Butterfly Effect.  They're not necessarily my favorite movies, but they're on tv a lot, and I'll always stop to watch if I'm flipping through the channels.