Some films I have thuroughly enjoyed and hopfully will lead to some suggestions
Greetings IMDb community. I have a bit of a challenge for those of you that read this list. Like many of us, I am looking for new movies, possibly even movies I would have never picked on my own. This list contains forty films that I both really enjoy and recommend. My challenge to you readers is to look over the list and post some more movies that share similarities. For some added context, I do enjoy all kinds of movies and have seen quite a few. Therefore, I am not looking for Hollywood blockbusters, as I probably saw them. I am looking for those films that you consider hidden or unappreciated gems which stand out as really wonderful stories/films. Thank you all in advance. I really cannot wait to hear your suggestions. Please note: these movies are in no particular order.
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- DirectorNimród AntalStarsSándor CsányiEszter BallaZoltán MucsiA tale about a strange young man, Bulcsú, the fellow inspectors on his team, all without exception likable characters, a rival ticket inspection team and racing along the tracks - and a tale about love.This film has such an ethereal mood. The story is somewhat reminiscent of Fight Club.
- DirectorAndré ØvredalStarsOtto JespersenRobert StoltenbergKnut NærumA group of students investigates a series of mysterious bear killings, but learns that there are much more dangerous things going on. They start to follow a mysterious hunter, learning that he is actually a troll hunter.In my opinion, this is a near perfect adventure mocumentary.
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsAtsushi ItôKiyohiko ShibukawaNoriko EguchiSeveral seemingly unrelated but surprisingly intertwined tales reveal how a Japanese band that independently invented punk rock in 1975 is, 37 years later, connected to a comet that is about to destroy the world.While a bit long, this is to be expected. It is a fish story after all.
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsYûko TakeuchiNao ÔmoriTeruyuki KagawaAoyagi meets an old friend and ends up framed for the murder of the prime minister.A completely fun romp through modern Japan.
- DirectorYoshihiro NakamuraStarsGaku HamadaEita NagayamaMegumi SekiA university student finds himself wrapped up in the bizarre world of his next door neighbor, learning about his history and relationship with a girl who changed his life.A twist in the most mundane of settings. This film is sad yet hopeful.
- DirectorGoran DukicStarsPatrick FugitShea WhighamTom WaitsA film set in a strange afterlife way station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide.A strange world beautifully portrayed.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsFederico LuppiRon PerlmanClaudio BrookA mysterious device designed to provide its owner with eternal life resurfaces after four hundred years, leaving a trail of destruction in its path.Zombie vampires who have alchemical day jobs.
- DirectorSatoshi KonStarsMegumi HayashibaraTôru EmoriKatsunosuke HoriWhen a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it.The connections to Inception are rife.
- CreatorShin'ichirô WatanabeHajime YatateStarsKôichi YamaderaUnshô IshizukaMegumi HayashibaraThe futuristic misadventures and tragedies of an easygoing bounty hunter and his partners.cool characters, mood and world.
- DirectorSatoshi MikiStarsKumiko AsôMorio KazamaRyô KaseA quirky young woman who loves antiques embarks on risky adventures and business endeavors with her eccentric friends, trying to score a unique item that will finally be worth a huge profit after her sacrificed savings to open her own shop.A woman's adventure with family and life. Quirky fun.
- DirectorJosef von BákyStarsHans AlbersWilhelm BendowMichael BohnenThis lavish, impudent, adult fairy tale takes the viewer from 18th-century Braunschweig to St. Petersburg, Constantinople, Venice, and then to the moon using ingenious special effects, stunning location shooting.Yes, it was produced by nazis, but wow is it a real spectacle.
- DirectorJeremy SimsStarsBrendan CowellHarrison GilbertsonSteve Le MarquandIn 1916, the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company is tunneling beneath German fortifications and bunkers to detonate massive explosive charges.This is by no means the best war film but it is one of the more original.
- DirectorJohn HillcoatStarsRay WinstoneGuy PearceEmily WatsonA lawman apprehends a notorious outlaw and gives him nine days to kill his older brother, or else they'll execute his younger brother.A solid story told very well.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsJim CaviezelSean PennNick NolteAdaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.More visual poetry than anything else. My favorite war film.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsSteve CooganJeremy NorthamRob BrydonDirector Michael Winterbottom (Northam) attempts to shoot the adaptation of Laurence Sterne's essentially unfilmable novel, "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman."An elegantly done shaggy dog tale.
- DirectorJames GunnStarsNathan FillionElizabeth BanksMichael RookerA small town is taken over by an alien plague, turning residents into zombies and all forms of mutant monsters.Not ground breaking but very well done genre bender.
- DirectorJee-woon KimStarsSong Kang-hoLee Byung-hunJung Woo-sungThe story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.A rousing adventure story told very well.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.The birth of the man with no name bringing sweet sweet justice.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsBruce WillisBruce DernWilliam SandersonA drifting gunslinger-for-hire finds himself in the middle of an ongoing war between the Irish and Italian mafia in a Prohibition era ghost town.The officially approved remake of the film above. A wonderful mood.
- DirectorPaul McGuiganStarsJosh HartnettBen KingsleyMorgan FreemanA case of mistaken identity lands Slevin into the middle of a war being plotted by two of the city's most rival crime bosses. Under constant surveillance by Detective Brikowski and assassin Goodkat, he must get them before they get him.Another relative of Yojimbo that maintains great story telling.
- DirectorJûzô ItamiStarsKen WatanabeTsutomu YamazakiNobuko MiyamotoA truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.An intimate glimpse into real Japanese people leading Japanese lives.
- DirectorPierre MorelStarsCyril RaffaelliDavid BelleTony D'AmarioIn the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and an ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.Gorgeous action sequences.
- DirectorTommy WirkolaStarsJeppe Beck LaursenCharlotte FrognerJenny SkavlanA ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies.Funny, gore, dead nazis. Mindless fun.
- DirectorSteve BarkerStarsRay StevensonJulian WadhamRichard BrakeIn war-torn Eastern Europe, a mysterious businessman hires a group of mercenaries on a routine mission to protect him not knowing of the long-hidden secret that lies there.Serious, less gore and dead nazis. Actually rather tense.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsBruce WillisMilla JovovichGary OldmanIn the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr. Zorg at bay.fascinating story, interesting characters, an outstandingly visual world.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodEli WallachLee Van CleefA bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.The ultimate in the treasure hunt movie genre, for me at least.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsKåre HedebrantLina LeanderssonPer RagnarOskar, an overlooked and bullied boy, finds love and revenge through Eli, a beautiful but peculiar girl.A beautiful and melancholy tale of childhood and vapirism.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.A brilliantly crafted story and introduction into self-referential film.
- DirectorAnthony MinghellaStarsRalph FiennesJuliette BinocheWillem DafoeAt the close of World War II, a young nurse tends to a badly burned plane crash victim. His past is shown in flashbacks, revealing an involvement in a fateful love affair.Stunning on all levels. A real work of art.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsHugh JackmanRachel WeiszSean Patrick ThomasAs a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi.While a bit obtuse, a beautiful film addressing some philosophically valuable issues.
- DirectorPhilippe de BrocaStarsDaniel AuteuilFabrice LuchiniVincent PerezThe Comte de Gonzague schemes against his cousin, the Duc de Nevers, even though he is the Duke's heir and will inherit his estates. The Count has kept secret the existence of the Duke's bastard, recently born. When the Duke learns of his child, he journeys to wed the mother, a baron's daughter, in her father's isolated chateau. The occupants of the castle are surprised and murdered by the Count and his men. The only ones to escape are the Duke's friend, the skilled swordsman Lagardère, and the infant, a girl, now the rightful heiress to the Duke's vast fortune. The Count believes the pair to have drowned, when in fact they have been concealed by a travelling troupe of Italian players. Twenty years pass. The Count has discovered that the two survive and seeks to have them slain. But Lagardère gains the confidence of the Count, and employment as his bookkeeper, through his clever disguise as a hunch-back...A superb swashbuckler.
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsMads MikkelsenMaarten StevensonAlexander MortonForced for some time to be a fighting slave, a pagan warrior escapes his captors with a boy and joins a group of Crusaders on their quest to the Holy Land.A dark and haunting film. More visual than anything else.
- DirectorJoaquín OristrellStarsLeonor WatlingLuis TosarAlex BrendemühlIn 1931 Barcelona, Alma is perhaps the most modern woman of her time. Her father is the most prestigious brain surgeon in the country. Her husband is also her psychiatrist, and a disciple of a certain revolutionary doctor called Freud.A topsy-turvy romp through early twentieth century Spanish psychology.
- DirectorStuart GordonStarsEzra GoddenFrancisco RabalRaquel MeroñoA boating accident runs a young man and woman ashore in a decrepit Spanish fishing town which they discover is in the grips of an ancient sea god and its monstrous half human offspring.While a slow starter, this film develops into a wonderfully dark horror.
- DirectorPrachya PinkaewStarsTony JaaPhetthai VongkumlaoPumwaree YodkamolWhen the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.Pure eye candy.
- DirectorSongyos SugmakananStarsSora AoiSirachuch ChienthawornChantavit DhanaseviA four-part comedy about high school and college love.An outstanding coming of age film.
- DirectorPrachya PinkaewStarsJeeJa YaninHiroshi AbePongpat WachirabunjongAn autistic girl with powerful martial art skills looks to settle her ailing mother's debts by seeking out the ruthless gangs that owe her family money.One of the most original heroines in action cinema. In addition, the fight choreography is top notch.
- DirectorMichele SoaviStarsRupert EverettFrançois Hadji-LazaroAnna FalchiA cemetery man must kill the dead a second time when they become zombies.unpretentious artsy zombie film, yes, yes it is.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsJean-Claude BrialyAdolfo CeliMichel PiccoliA series of surreal sequences that critique morality and society in a stream of consciousness style.Worth it for the "dinner" scene alone.
- StarsMaria KawamuraCrispin FreemanVeronica TaylorThe adventures of a space navy captain who is either an incredibly lucky idiot, or an unorthodox genius in tactics.Even after multiple viewings, I am not sure if Tylor is a genius or a dolt.
- DirectorNeil MarshallStarsSean PertweeKevin McKiddEmma CleasbyA routine military exercise turns into a nightmare in the Scottish wilderness.A wonderfully amusing werewolf film.
- DirectorMiguel MartíStarsMacarena GómezAlejo SaurasCésar CaminoA femme fatale fashionista at a trendy design school embarks on a brutal and bloody killing spree, while gleefully evading the hapless cops assigned to the murder cases.This film marks some of the greatest fun I have had watching a movie in at least a year. Pure sensual candy.
- DirectorBanksyStarsBanksyMr. BrainwashSpace InvaderFollowing the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.A very accessible film that ponders what "art" actually is. This is a very helpful film for those of us that are skeptical of self-proclaimed artists and the "modern art" they create.