Welcome to Koob's Korner

Welcome to Koob's Korner.  My new blog dedicated to film.  Most people who know me know that I am a huge movie buff and I love watching films whether it be a new release in the theater or discovering a classic American or foreign film for the first time on DVD.  I love talking about my favorite movies and encouraging other people to watch them.  So, with a little encouragement from a certain special someone, (no Nate, I'm not talking about you) I decided to start up a blog.  With awards season in full swing, this seemed like the perfect time to start up a film blog.  Over the next few weeks, I will be commenting on the various award show results as well as adding a few lists of my own inclduing my Top Ten List for 2009.  I'm a huge fan of lists because they are never perfect, but they always make for great discussion and debate.  To kick things off I thought I would post an update to a list I wrote in 2004 of 25 underrated films of the past 25 years.  Since another five years have passed, I'll add five more films and make it 30 underrated films from the past 30 years (1979-2009).  This list consists of some films which I consider to be the most underrated movies of my generation. They were all largely ignored by the Academy Awards and were not particularly successful at the box office, yet they all are great films and are worth checking out. Of course, as with any list such as this, there is a personal bias. These films just happen to be ones that I have seen and they definitely lean more towards certain genres of film and certain actors. I also practically skip right over the 1980’s. I’m sure that there are tons of other overlooked films out there that I have not seen, but I think the films on this list are a good start for anyone looking to watch something a little different than the typical Hollywood fare.  Here they are in chronological order:

1. The Warriors (1979) – d. Walter Hill – A surrealistic look at gangs in NYC and in particular, the title gang trying to get home to Coney Island after being wrongly accused of a murder. Great appearances by such gangs as the Baseball Furies (guys who where baseball uniforms and fight with bats) and of course, the Gramercy Riffs, perhaps the baddest film gang of all time. “Can You Dig It?!!”

2. The Wanderers (1979) – d. Philip Kaufman – Another great gang movie about NYC, but this one takes place in the early ‘60’s and is more of a coming of age story as well. Great gangs such as The Baldies and The Wongs. The title gang is a group of Italian friends who are just trying to survive in the rapidly changing times. Great soundtrack featuring Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and of course “Wanderer” by Dion.

3. First Blood (1982) - d. Ted Kotcheff - I know what you're thinking.  Really? A Rambo movie?  Trust me, go back and watch it again.  First Blood tells the story of the now iconic Rambo character, but in this first installment, he was just a scarred (both mentally and physically) Vietnam veteran trying to find a place in the world who gets harrassed and eventually arrested by a small town police chief.  The abuse that he receives at the police station causes him to have flashbacks to when he was a prisoner of war and eventually, he snaps.  A massive manhunt ensues but the townies have no idea what they're up against.  Great turn by Richard Crenna as Colonel Trautman.  Look for a young David Caruso as Deputy Mitch. 

4. The Thin Blue Line (1988) – d. Errol Morris – This documentary by Academy Award winning director Errol Morris blew me away when I saw it and although I only saw it once, it definitely left a lasting impression on me. The film reenacts the murder of a Dallas police officer and through interviews and investigation of the evidence, begins to present a case that perhaps the wrong man is sitting on death row for this murder. 

5. Drugstore Cowboy (1989) – d. Gus Van Sant – Matt Dillon plays Bob, the very superstitious leader of a small band of drug addicted friends who rob drugstores in order to support their habits. The film follows them through their ups and downs as they have run-ins with the law and talk about “going clean”. Truly a great look at a fascinating subculture. Look for a very young Heather Graham in one of her first film roles. “No hats on the bed!”

6. Falling Down (1993) – d. Joel Schumacher – Michael Douglas plays a disgruntled former defense industry engineer who snaps while sitting in a traffic jam and proceeds to go on a rampage throughout LA doing some things that we all wish we could do sometimes. Some great, darkly humorous scenes such as when he “marks down” the prices in a Korean grocery store and when he gets denied breakfast in a fast food restaurant. Good performance by Robert Duvall as the LA cop working his last day before retirement who begins to track the case.

7. A Bronx Tale (1993) – d. Robert DeNiro – DeNiro’s directorial debut has him directing himself in a supporting role as a hard-working bus driver who is worried because his son starts hanging around with the local mob boss. We follow his son Colagero, or “C”, from his time as a young boy who witnesses a murder to his teenage years where he has to make some tough decisions about the type of life he is going to lead.

8. Carlito’s Way (1993) – d. Brian DePalma – Al Pacino plays Carlito Brigante, a Puerto Rican ex-con who is trying to escape his old lifestyle and go legit, but his past associates, including his lawyer/best friend played brilliantly by Sean Penn, keep dragging him back down into situations that spiral completely out of control.

9. Dazed and Confused (1993) - d. Richard Linklater - This is definitely my favorite high school movie of all time.  The great thing about this film is while being very specific to a time and place (the suburbs of Austin, TX in 1976) it also captures the universal feeling of what it was like to be in high school.  This film is full of great quotes and while the funniest and most memorable of them belong to Matthew McConaughey's Wooderson, I think my favorite quote comes from Cynthia, the girl with the big red afro played by Marissa Ribisi in her exchange with her two friends, Mike and Tony. 

Cynthia: God, don't you ever feel like everything we do and everything we've been taught is just to service the future?

Tony: Yeah I know, like it's all preparation.

Cynthia: Right. But what are we preparing ourselves for?

Mike: Death.

Tony: Life of the party.

Mike: It's true.

Cynthia: You know, but that's valid because if we are all gonna die anyway shouldn't we be enjoying ourselves now? You know, I'd like to quit thinking of the present, like right now, as some minor insignificant preamble to something else.
 
Amen sister!

10. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993) – d. Lasse Hallstrom – Johnny Depp plays the title character, a small town teen with dreams of escaping his small town life, but who has to put his own ambitions on the back burner in order to take care of his mentally challenged brother (played to perfection by Leo DiCaprio) and his enormously obese mother. Gilbert sees his chance at escape in the form of Becky (Juliette Lewis), a young girl whose trailer breaks down in Gilbert’s town

11. Hoop Dreams (1994) – d. Steve James – Absolutely riveting documentary about two up and coming high school basketball players growing up in the projects of Chicago and the different paths that they take in order to reach the next level and play basketball in college.

12. Natural Born Killers (1994) – d. Oliver Stone – This very misunderstood film by Oliver Stone received exactly zero Academy Award nominations. A brilliant social commentary about our media saturated culture and its love of violence and scandal. Stone takes us on a fast-paced roller coaster ride of a movie as we follow the exploits of Mickey and Mallory Knox and the media frenzy that they create.

13. Crumb (1994) – d. Terry Zwigoff – A cinematic portrait of the controversial comic book artist R. Crumb, who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. We gain some insight into the strange mind of a man who many consider to be a genius through interviews with his very bizarre family, his wife and his ex-girlfriends.

14. Heat (1995) – d. Michael Mann – How can a movie featuring both Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro be underrated? Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Heat (can we all just pretend that Righteous Kill never happened). An absolutely epic crime saga about two men –one a cop and one a criminal – who are not so different from one another as they might think. Both are completely obsessed with their respective professions and this obsession leads to troubles for both of them. Also some very intriguing subplots with a great supporting cast that includes Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd and John Voight.

15. The Cable Guy (1996) – d. Ben Stiller – A dark comedic gem directed by Ben Stiller (yes that Ben Stiller) and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. Perhaps, this comedy was a little darker than what people were used to from Jim Carrey at the time as he plays a desperate loner who works as a cable guy and tries to get Matthew Broderick to be his best friend. When Broderick doesn’t comply, the cable guy makes his life a living hell.

16. Donnie Brasco (1997) – d. Mike Newell – The third and final Pacino movie to make the list has Al playing against his usual character type as small time mobster “Lefty” Ruggiero who befriends Joe Pistone, an undercover FBI agent calling himself Donnie Brasco and played by Johnny Depp. As he goes deeper and deeper into the crime underworld, Pistone begins to unravel and he is ultimately faced with the prospect of bringing down Lefty, who has become his good friend.

17. Cop Land (1997) – d. James Mangold – Sylvester Stallone gives what I believe to be his best screen performance (yes, even better than Rocky) as Freddy Heflin, the sheriff of a small New Jersey town just across the river from NYC and largely inhabited by members of the NYPD. Freddy was struck deaf when he was a teen while rescuing his high-school crush and he could never pass the physical exam to become a city cop. However, when Freddy is approached by an Internal Affairs officer, played by Robert DeNiro, he begins to realize that the cops in his town, who he looks up to, may not be exactly what they seem and Freddy must decide whether or not to stand up to them. Oustanding supporting turns by Ray Liotta and Harvey Kietel, as well as De Niro.

18. The Game (1997) – d. David Fincher – Absolutely gripping from start to finish, “The Game” follows Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas), a wealthy but lonely San Francisco banker who receives a birthday present from his brother Conrad (Sean Penn). The present is an enrollment into a live-action game which begins to completely absorb Nicholas’ life until he can no longer tell the game from reality. Full of twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

19.  The Big Lebowski (1998) - d. Joel and Ethan Coen - I know this film has developed a pretty substantial cult following over the past decade but it was criminally overlooked at the time of its release and I have to admit, I was one of the guilty.  This film, perhaps better than any other, lives up to the idiom "it gets better every time you watch it".  The first time I saw it, I just didn't "get it".  Now, it is one my top five favorite movies of all time and I consider it to be the best written script since Casablanca.  It is endelessly quotable and the way different snippets of dialogue keep resurfacing is absolutely brilliant.  I still catch something new every time I watch it and it has even caused me to go to Louisville, KY and drink White Russians while dressed up like Walter Sobchak.  Now that's the power of film!

20. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) – d. Terry Gilliam – Based on the fascinating book by Hunter S. Thompson about his assignment to cover a road race in Las Vegas and the drug-fueled escapades that he and his “attorney” get into and get out of. Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro give pitch-perfect performances as the gonzo journalist and his partner in crime. Look for Tobey Maguire as the hitchhiker who picks the wrong car to get into.

21. Rounders (1998) – d. John Dahl – This film has developed a pretty large following in recent years due to the explosion of the World Series of Poker on ESPN. Rounders follows the story of Mike McD, a reformed gambler turned law student who is trying to get out of the poker life, but his best friend “Worm”, played by Edward Norton, keeps getting him involved in more and more trouble with loan sharks and the Russian mob. Great cast of supporting characters including John Tuturro, Martin Landau and especially John Malkovich as Teddy “KGB”.

22. Ronin (1998) – d. John Frankenheimer – The fourth and final DeNiro movie to make the list has our man Bobby D as one of a group of expert criminals hired by an Irish lass to track down a mysterious package that is sought after by several different groups. Has some of the best car chase scenes ever captured on film. A great international cast, including Jean Reno and Stellan Skarsgard, make up the supporting characters.

23. American History X (1998) – Tony Kaye – Edward Norton plays a reformed neo-Nazi skinhead who has just returned from prison to find that his brother (Edward Furlong) is heading down the same path that he once was on. Through extensive use of flashbacks, we learn how Norton’s character became so fueled with hatred and now he must try to help his brother see the light before it is too late.

24. Dark Days (2000) – d.Marc Singer – A fascinating look at a subculture that I had no idea even existed. Dark Days takes us inside the surprisingly thriving community of homeless people who have chosen to live underground in the train tunnels of New York City. The resourcefulness and humor that these people have despite their situation is absolutely inspiring.

25. Ghost World (2000) – d. Terry Zwigoff – This touching film by Zwigoff (the only repeat director on the list) tells the story of two best friends, Enid and Becky (played by Thora Birch and Scarlett Johannson) who have just graduated high school and are trying to make there way through the “real world”. They play a cruel prank on a geeky loner named Seymour (played brilliantly by Steve Buscemi) but Enid realizes that she has a lot in common with Seymour and begins to form a special bond with him while the two girls begin to drift apart.

26. The Believer (2001) – d. Henry Bean – A breakthrough performance by Ryan Gosling who plays Danny Balint, a young Jewish man who has developed a deeply anti-Semitic worldview and has joined up with a band of neo-Nazi skinheads. Danny struggles with the contradictions between his beliefs and his heritage while trying to hide his true identity from the people he hangs out with. As he climbs the ranks of his organization, he must make a final decision of whether to continue on his current path or accept his true identity. Based on a true story about an American Nazi Party leader who was revealed to be Jewish.

27. Donnie Darko (2001) – d. Richard Kelly – This film has developed a pretty big cult following in the last several years. It can’t really be classified into one genre. It is basically the story of a troubled teen named Donnie Darko who takes medication and follows the instructions of a giant demonic looking bunny rabbit named Frank who saved Donnie from being killed by a jet engine that fell into his bedroom and tells him that the world is going to end. ‘Nuff said.

28. Punch Drunk Love (2002) – d. P.T. Anderson – Adam Sandler (in an atypical role for him) plays Barry Egan a small business man who is dominated by his seven overbearing sisters. One day he finds a harmonium that was abandoned on the street, meets a girl and comes up with a great way to get frequent flyer miles. A truly off-the-wall love story as only P.T. Anderson could tell it. Some of his usual character actors, such as Philip Seymour Hoffman and Luis Guzman play hilarious supporting roles.

29. - Idiocracy (2006) - d. Mike Judge - Luke Wilson is just your average Joe working as an Army librarian, but when a top-secret military experiment goes awry, he wakes up 500 years in the future and is now the smartest man alive.  While filled with Judge's typically goofy and immature Beavis and Butthead type humor (which I find pretty hilarious) it is also a subversive commentary on the consumer-driven culture in which our society has become immersed.  My favorite quote of the movie is delivered by Justin Long as a doctor who gives quite a unique diagnosis.

30. The Lives of Others (2006) - d. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - Yes this film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2007 Oscars, but I still feel as if not many people have seen it, so I am including it anyway.  Ulrich Muhe (who died not long after the film was released) was absolutely brilliant as Captain Gerd Weisler, the meticulous agent of the East Berlin secret police who is assigned to listen in to the goings-on in the apartment of Georg Dreyman, a successful dramatist who spends much of his time with his girlfriend, a popular actress who catches the eye of a Stasi officer.  As Weisler listens in, he gets wrapped up more and more in the lives of the people he is spying on and must ultimately make some life-altering decisons for both himself and his charges.

I would love to hear what other people think of this list as well as any other films that you would include, so please post some comments.