Excellent Odd Movies
by elizdere | created - 01 Dec 2013 | updated - 3 months ago | PublicMovies that don't follow the traditional pattern. This can mean unusual humor, original characters, mind-bending plots, or just a general "off the beaten path" sensibility. These are less mainstream, but all interesting.
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1. Upstream Color (2013)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.
Director: Shane Carruth | Stars: Amy Seimetz, Frank Mosley, Shane Carruth, Andrew Sensenig
Votes: 34,957 | Gross: $0.44M
2. Primer (2004)
PG-13 | 77 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Four friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.
Director: Shane Carruth | Stars: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Casey Gooden, Anand Upadhyaya
Votes: 114,113 | Gross: $0.42M
3. Micmacs (2009)
R | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A man and his friends come up with an intricate and original plan to destroy two big weapons manufacturers.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Dany Boon, André Dussollier, Nicolas Marié, Yolande Moreau
Votes: 31,266 | Gross: $1.26M
4. The City of Lost Children (1995)
R | 112 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.
Directors: Marc Caro, Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Ron Perlman, Daniel Emilfork, Judith Vittet, Dominique Pinon
Votes: 71,644 | Gross: $1.51M
5. Cosi (1996)
R | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Lewis is a young Sydney amateur theater director at his first experience: he is offered a job with a Governmental program for the rehabilitation of mentally ill patients in a Sydney ... See full summary »
Director: Mark Joffe | Stars: Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Otto, Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths
Votes: 2,241
6. The Dark Crystal (1982)
PG | 93 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and to restore order to his world.
Directors: Jim Henson, Frank Oz | Stars: Jim Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz
Votes: 71,426 | Gross: $40.58M
7. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
Votes: 702,764 | Gross: $37.63M
8. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Music
Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
Director: Stephan Elliott | Stars: Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp, Rebel Penfold-Russell
Votes: 54,997 | Gross: $11.22M
9. Heavenly Creatures (1994)
R | 99 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Two teenage girls share a unique bond; their parents, concerned that the friendship is too intense, separate them, and the girls take revenge.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Melanie Lynskey, Kate Winslet, Sarah Peirse, Diana Kent
Votes: 67,391 | Gross: $3.05M
10. Angel-A (2005)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A beautiful woman helps an inept scam artist get his game together.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Rie Rasmussen, Jamel Debbouze, Gilbert Melki, Serge Riaboukine
Votes: 35,651 | Gross: $0.20M
11. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
PG-13 | 93 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.
Director: Benh Zeitlin | Stars: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Lowell Landes
Votes: 85,049 | Gross: $12.80M
12. District 9 (2009)
R | 112 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.
Director: Neill Blomkamp | Stars: Sharlto Copley, David James, Jason Cope, Vanessa Haywood
Votes: 716,594 | Gross: $115.65M
13. The Crying Game (1992)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A British soldier kidnapped by the IRA soon befriends one of his captors, who then becomes drawn into the soldier's world.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Stephen Rea, Jaye Davidson, Forest Whitaker, Miranda Richardson
Votes: 60,044 | Gross: $62.55M
14. Kikujiro (1999)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, Comedy
A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.
Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Yusuke Sekiguchi, Kayoko Kishimoto, The Great Gidayû
Votes: 22,161 | Gross: $0.20M
15. Everything Is Illuminated (2005)
PG-13 | 106 min | Comedy, Drama
A young Jewish American man, with the help of an eccentric local, endeavors to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II in a Ukrainian village that was ultimately razed by the Nazis.
Director: Liev Schreiber | Stars: Elijah Wood, Eugene Hutz, Boris Lyoskin, Jonathan Safran Foer
Votes: 59,916 | Gross: $1.71M
16. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A gender-queer punk-rock singer from East Berlin tours the U.S. with her band as she tells her life story and follows the former lover/band-mate who stole her songs.
Director: John Cameron Mitchell | Stars: John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Stephen Trask, Theodore Liscinski
Votes: 37,335 | Gross: $3.03M
17. Being John Malkovich (1999)
R | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich.
Director: Spike Jonze | Stars: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich
Votes: 353,268 | Gross: $22.86M
18. Another Earth (2011)
PG-13 | 92 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
On the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.
Director: Mike Cahill | Stars: Brit Marling, William Mapother, Matthew-Lee Erlbach, DJ Flava
Votes: 99,987 | Gross: $1.32M
19. Sound of My Voice (2011)
R | 85 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Two documentary filmmakers attempt to penetrate a cult who worships a woman who claims to be from the future.
Director: Zal Batmanglij | Stars: Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius, Brit Marling, Davenia McFadden
Votes: 22,960 | Gross: $0.41M
20. Magnolia (1999)
R | 188 min | Drama
An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 328,368 | Gross: $22.46M
21. Breakfast on Pluto (2005)
R | 128 min | Comedy, Drama
In the 1970s, a young trans woman, Patrick "Kitten" Braden, comes of age by leaving her Irish town for London, in part to look for her mother and in part because her gender identity is beyond the town's understanding.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Morgan Jones, Eva Birthistle, Liam Neeson
Votes: 24,517 | Gross: $0.83M
22. Sunshine (2007)
R | 107 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller
A team of international astronauts is sent on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun with a nuclear fission bomb in 2057.
Director: Danny Boyle | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Rose Byrne, Chris Evans, Cliff Curtis
Votes: 267,320 | Gross: $3.68M
23. Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
R | 102 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Haunted by painful memories and increasing paranoia, a damaged woman struggles to re-assimilate with her family after fleeing an abusive cult.
Director: Sean Durkin | Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Paulson, John Hawkes, Christopher Abbott
Votes: 55,809 | Gross: $2.98M
24. Dogtooth (2009)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Thriller
A controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offsprings in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Christos Stergioglou, Michele Valley, Angeliki Papoulia, Christos Passalis
Votes: 110,339 | Gross: $0.11M
25. The Future (2011)
R | 91 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
When a couple decides to adopt a stray cat their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves.
Director: Miranda July | Stars: Miranda July, Hamish Linklater, David Warshofsky, Isabella Acres
Votes: 9,122 | Gross: $0.57M
26. Talk to Her (2002)
R | 112 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Rosario Flores, Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling
Votes: 117,468 | Gross: $9.36M
27. Slim Susie (2003)
Not Rated | 97 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
A young man returns to his hometown to look for his missing sister.
Director: Ulf Malmros | Stars: Tuva Novotny, Jonas Rimeika, Björn A. Ling, Kjell Bergqvist
Votes: 10,447
28. Her (2013)
R | 126 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
In a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.
Director: Spike Jonze | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara
Votes: 669,114 | Gross: $25.57M
29. Son of Rambow (2007)
PG-13 | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
During a long English summer in the early 1980s, two schoolboys from differing backgrounds set out to make a film inspired by First Blood (1982).
Director: Garth Jennings | Stars: Bill Milner, Will Poulter, Jessica Hynes, Anna Wing
Votes: 32,966 | Gross: $1.78M
30. The One I Love (2014)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A troubled couple vacate to a beautiful getaway, but bizarre circumstances further complicate their situation.
Director: Charlie McDowell | Stars: Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, Ted Danson, Kiana Cason
Votes: 43,506 | Gross: $0.51M
31. Nightcrawler (2014)
R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.
Director: Dan Gilroy | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed
Votes: 604,283 | Gross: $32.38M
32. Border (2018)
R | 110 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
A customs officer who can smell fear develops an unusual attraction to a strange traveler while aiding a police investigation which will call into question her entire existence.
Director: Ali Abbasi | Stars: Eva Melander, Eero Milonoff, Jörgen Thorsson, Ann Petrén
Votes: 34,233 | Gross: $0.77M
33. Brigsby Bear (2017)
PG-13 | 97 min | Comedy, Drama
After being freed from his life in an underground bunker, a man sets out to make a movie of the only TV show he has ever known.
Director: Dave McCary | Stars: Kyle Mooney, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Matt Walsh, Michaela Watkins
Votes: 17,772 | Gross: $0.53M
34. Frank (II) (2014)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Jon, a young wanna-be musician, discovers he's bitten off more than he can chew when he joins an eccentric pop band led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank.
Director: Lenny Abrahamson | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Domhnall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Moira Brooker
Votes: 82,362 | Gross: $0.64M
35. I Lost My Body (2019)
16+ | 81 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
A story of Naoufel, a young man who is in love with Gabrielle. In another part of town, a severed hand escapes from a dissection lab, determined to find its body again.
Director: Jérémy Clapin | Stars: Hakim Faris, Victoire Du Bois, Patrick d'Assumçao, Alfonso Arfi
Votes: 36,594
36. Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021)
PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Fantasy
Lifelong friends Barb and Star embark on the adventure of a lifetime when they decide to leave their small Midwestern town for the first time - ever.
Director: Josh Greenbaum | Stars: Kristen Wiig, Annie Mumolo, Jamie Dornan, Damon Wayans Jr.
Votes: 20,018
37. Kajillionaire (2020)
R | 104 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A woman's life is turned upside down when her criminal parents invite an outsider to join them on a major heist they're planning.
Director: Miranda July | Stars: Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger, Evan Rachel Wood, Patricia Belcher
Votes: 22,093
38. Snowpiercer (2013)
R | 126 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In a future where a failed climate change experiment has killed all life except for the survivors who boarded the Snowpiercer (a train that travels around the globe), a new class system emerges.
Director: Bong Joon Ho | Stars: Chris Evans, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton, Ed Harris
Votes: 388,859 | Gross: $4.56M
39. Vice (I) (2018)
R | 132 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that are still felt today.
Director: Adam McKay | Stars: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Steve Carell, Sam Rockwell
Votes: 162,355 | Gross: $47.84M
40. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A father's wish magically brings a wooden boy to life in Italy, giving him a chance to care for the child.
Directors: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson | Stars: Ewan McGregor, David Bradley, Gregory Mann, Burn Gorman
Votes: 112,970
41. The Favourite (2018)
R | 119 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
In early 18th-century England, the status quo at the court is upset when a new servant arrives and endears herself to a frail Queen Anne.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult
Votes: 233,199 | Gross: $34.37M
42. The Shape of Water (2017)
R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
At a top secret research facility in the 1960s, a lonely janitor forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature that is being held in captivity.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Doug Jones
Votes: 447,499 | Gross: $63.86M
43. Poor Things (2023)
R | 141 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef
Votes: 246,925
44. Midsommar (2019)
R | 148 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A couple travels to Northern Europe to visit a rural hometown's fabled Swedish mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.
Director: Ari Aster | Stars: Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren, William Jackson Harper
Votes: 402,530 | Gross: $27.33M
45. The Lobster (2015)
R | 119 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
In a dystopian near future, according to the laws of The City, single people are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in 45 days or they're transformed into beasts and sent off into The Woods.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jessica Barden, Olivia Colman
Votes: 296,067 | Gross: $8.70M
46. The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Drama
Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.
Director: Martin McDonagh | Stars: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Pat Shortt
Votes: 252,743
47. Triangle of Sadness (2022)
R | 147 min | Comedy, Drama
A fashion model celebrity couple join an eventful cruise for the super-rich.
Director: Ruben Östlund | Stars: Thobias Thorwid, Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Jiannis Moustos
Votes: 177,533
48. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
R | 139 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A middle-aged Chinese immigrant is swept up into an insane adventure in which she alone can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.
Directors: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert | Stars: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Quan
Votes: 532,371 | Gross: $72.86M
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