10 Movies You Might Have Never Heard Of

(Inspired by my many posts of random movies...I'll compile some great movies that don't get as much recognition as they should).

Most of these are rated R, so heads up on that, but they really are great stories and are beautifully written.

(Also, emphasis on the 'might', but I feel that it's impossible for them to be that rare)

12

(Just talked about this in my last post)

Rated: R

Summary (not from me):
A loose remake of 12 Angry Men, set in a Russian school. 12 jurors are struggling to decide the fate of a Chechen teenager who allegedly killed his Russian stepfather who took the teenager to live with him in Moscow during the Chechen War in which teenager lost his parents. The jurors: a racist taxi-driver, a suspicious doctor, a vacillating TV producer, a Holocaust survivor, a flamboyant musician, a cemetery manager, and others represent the fragmented society of modern day Russia. A stray bird (a touch of New Age cinema) is flying above the jurors' heads, alluding to tolerance.

My Opinion:

For me, it was sorta boring at first, but then it got more exciting as the movie went on. It's a really long movie, too. Afterwards it will leave you thinking about what you just watched and all the pieces will slowly fall together. It's a movie with one plot and another hidden underneath.

Incendies

Rated: R

Summary (not from me):

When notary Lebel sits down with siblings Jeanne and Simon Marwan to read them their mother Nawal's will, the twins are stunned to receive a pair of envelopes -- one for the father they thought was dead and another for a brother they didn't know existed. In this enigmatic inheritance, Jeanne sees the key to Nawal's retreat into unexplained silence during the final weeks of her life. She immediately decides to go to the Middle East to dig into a family history of which she knows next to nothing. Simon is unmoved by their mother's posthumous mind games. However, the love he has for his sister is strong, and he soon joins her in combing their ancestral homeland in search of a Nawal who is very different from the mother they knew. With Lebel's help, the twins piece together the story of the woman who brought them into the world, discovering a tragic fate as well as the courage of an exceptional woman. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Academy Awards, INCENDIES is a masterful cinematic achievement, delivering a powerful and poetic testament to the uncanny power of the will to survive.

My Opinion:

This movie is filled with terrors and constantly depressing events, however it's hard not to stop watching it because you really want to know who Jeanne and Simon's father is. Very good mystery with a great twist at the end.

City of Life and Death

Rated: R

Summary (not from me): In December 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army laid siege to the Chinese capital of Nanking, killing as many as 300,000 citizens during a six-week reign of terror, the details of which Japan and China dispute to this day. Shot in dazzling black-and-white Cinemascope, City of Life and Death is a visionary re-telling of one of the most horrific chapters in modern Asian history, and an unforgettable masterpiece of contemporary world cinema.

My Opinion:

Exactly what it says at the end of that summary. This movie, from beginning to end, was a masterpiece. Probably one of my favourites now. Since it is about the Raping of Nanking, of course it's very depressingly violent, but the directing, acting, over cinematic quality of the movie is perfection.

Never Let Me Go

Rated: R (Not sure why....maybe for sex...?)

Summary (not from me): Kathy, Tommy and Ruth live in a world and a time that feel familiar to us, but are not quite like anything we know. They spend their childhood at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. When they leave the shelter of the school and the terrible truth of their fate is revealed to them, they must also confront the deep feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to pull them apart.

My Opinion:

The story is excellent, the acting is excellent, and the overall feel of the movie is quiet and nice. The end made me cry so hard. I almost completely missed this movie, but when I was looking stuff up about Andrew Garfield and Kiera Knightley and Carey Mulligan...all my favourite actors and actresses, and I realized 'WHY ARE ALL THESE GREAT PEOPLE IN THE SAME MOVIE?! HOW HAVE I NEVER HEARD OF THIS?!' so I had to watch it, and I loved it.

The White Ribbon

Rated: R

Summary (Not from me): A village in Protestant northern Germany. 1913-1914. On the eve of World War I. The story of the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all? The village schoolteacher observes, investigates and little by little discovers the incredible truth. Are we being asked to consider whether these events heralded something that would explode years later with the rise of Nazi Germany? Did these events contain the germs of the tragedies that followed?

My Opinion:

I thought this was the most boring movie until the end. But looking back, it was a rather enjoyable movie. It was rather beautiful at times, and depressing, but the main thing of this movie is 'Why did it'. That's what makes this movie so interesting. It's as if you're given a crime scene and you have to solve it.

Mother

Rated: R

Summary (not from me): The latest film from award-winning Korean director Bong Joon-ho (The Host) is a unique murder mystery about a mother's primal love for her son. Mother is a devoted single parent to her simple-minded twenty-seven-year-old son, Do-joon. Often a source of anxiety to his mother, Do-joon behaves in foolish or simply dangerous ways. One night, while walking home drunk, he encounters a school girl who he follows for a while before she disappears into a dark alley. The next morning, she is found dead in an abandoned building and Do-joon is accused of her murder. An inefficient lawyer and an apathetic police force result in a speedy conviction. His mother refuses to believe her beloved son is guilty and immediately undertakes her own investigation to find the girl’s killer. In her obsessive quest to clear her son’s name, Mother steps into a world of unimaginable chaos and shocking revelations.

My Opinion:

Very clever movie. I never foresaw the conclusion of the murder case. It was very well done and kept you guessing. Something about this movie makes me really love it even though it's also rather despicable...Very memorable

In a Better World

Rated: R

Summary (not from me): Anton is a doctor who commutes between his home in an idyllic town in Denmark, and his work at an African refugee camp. In these two very different worlds, he and his family are faced with conflicts that lead them to difficult choices between revenge and forgiveness. Anton and his wife Marianne, who have two young sons, are separated and struggling with the possibility of divorce. Their older, ten-year-old son Elias is being bullied at school, until he is defended by Christian, a new boy who has just moved from London with his father, Claus. Christian's mother recently lost her battle with cancer, and Christian is greatly troubled by her death. Elias and Christian quickly form a strong bond, but when Christian involves Elias in a dangerous act of revenge with potentially tragic consequences, their friendship is tested and lives are put in danger. Ultimately, it is their parents who are left to help them come to terms with the complexity of human emotions, pain and empathy.

My Opinion:

It is a really good movie and an example of a movie that does't shove morals in your face. It does so subtly. The plot is genius and there are just SO MANY tear jerking moments. Very great movie.

Curse of the Golden Flower

Rated: R

Summary (not from me): Set in 10th century China, the film portrays the imperial Chinese family rapidly losing internal strength due to a power struggle between the emperor (Yun-Fat), the empress (Li), and the couple's three sons.

My Opinion:

Pretty sure any Jay Chou fans would know of this movie. The plot for me was something that I really love watching in movies (sounds sorta creepy, but these kinds of movies are very interesting). Probably the most beautiful movie I've ever seen. The trailer delivers it as an action movie, but I never really thought about it as an action movie. Also, the trailer doesn't do it any justice...>3>

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Rated: PG-13

Summary (not from me): The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is the remarkable true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle, who believes he is living his life to its absolute fullest when a sudden stroke leaves him in a life-altered state. While the physical challenges of Bauby's fate leave him with little hope for the future, he begins to discover how his life's passions, his rich memories and his newfound imagination can help him achieve a life without boundaries.

My Opinion:

Whoever made this movie is a pure genius. The movie gave me the feeling of being disabled, having a stroke...two things that sound very uncomfortable, but it's exciting because you know it's a movie and that never really happened (to you, it did to the real guy...). It's all about the experience for this movie.

A Better Life

Rated: PG-13

Summary (not from me): From the director of About a Boy comes A Better Life – a touching, poignant, multi-generational story about a father’s love and the lengths a parent will go to give his child the opportunities he never had.

My Opinion:

Most of these movies on my list haven't been American....this one is~! Okay, so this probably has been heard of by many 'cause of Bashir, but I feel it didn't get enough recognition. If only it hadn't been the same year as The Artist, I think Bashir should have won best actor. The movie itself is just a perfect movie. Sometimes funny, thrilling, exciting, depressing, action-y, everything, and it all gives you a good message. A very moving movie, and is a total success as a movie (hits all the important points). It's not entirely deep, but it shouldn't be.

Sin Nombre

Rated: R

Summary (not from me): Seeking the promise of America, a beautiful young Honduran woman, Sayra, joins her father and uncle on an odyssey to cross the gauntlet of the Latin American countryside en route to the United States. Along the way she crosses paths with a teenage Mexican gang member, El Casper, who is maneuvering to outrun his violent past and elude his unforgiving former associates. Together they must rely on faith, trust and street smarts if they are to survive their increasingly perilous journey towards the hope of new lives.

My Opinion:

This movie was so uncomfortable, it gave me the feeling of cutting your hands and rubbing it in the dirt. So I guess that means this movie is very successful. It has a nice plot, it's actually rather action-y and thrilling, and it also sends a great message just like A Better Life. This movie also has several despicable things that, compared to the other movies on this list, shocked me the most. Watch out for those, but it really is a great movie!

(I think that's 10....I dunno, I can't count...'orz)

(Most of these aren't America...why? Umm...most good American movies area already made a big deal of, so I didn't think they would fit. There are a few that most people haven't heard of that ARE good, but I don't really like most of them....O.o; I mean, they're good movies, just nothing I'm very fond of)

End