5 Movies You Haven't Seen But Should

Okay, so you may have seen some of these, especially if you're my dad and watch all the same stuff I do.  But the rest of you probably haven't even heard of most of these, and they're all great.  If you're looking for something new to see, check this list over and see if anything catches your fancy.

The Hudsucker Proxy

I'm a sucker for everything Coen Brothers.  They've got a pretty standard forumula that about half their movies follow.  It involves various groups getting involved with some sort of illegal activity, then due to either people being stupid or just bad luck everything goes to hell.  People die, the heist / murder / what-have-you goes fowl, etc.  I like that formula.  They've done it adapted from a book with No Country For Old Men, they've done it as a comedy in The Big Lebowski, they've done it straight in Blood Simple, and they've gotten it nominated for best picture with Fargo.  This movie, The Hudsucker Proxy, is one of their movies that does not follow this formula.

So you've got a hyper-stylized version of the "newsies" era.  What is that, the 20s maybe?  Whatever.  It's New York City, people are all walking around in gray suits with briefcases not turning their heads.  The sky is white rather than blue.  All the buildings all super tall.  Tim Robins is a young guy fresh out of school looking for a job, and he finds one in the hectic mail room of Hudsucker Industries.

Meanwhile, Mr. Hudsucker jumps out the top floor of a skyscraper.  That sucks.  The board of directors, being evil and such, tries to decide how to deal with the fact that they will no longer have control of the company.  They devise a plan to put an idiot in charge, drive the company into the ground, buy up all the cheap stock, then get back in charge and make millions.

And just after this, who should walk into the office of the Head Evil Guy with a BLUE LETTER

but Tim Robins.  He gets the job, and it goes from there.  And yes, before you ask, there is a fast-talking, hard-working, woman-in-a-man's-world reporter with too much sass and not enough patience.

The brilliant red pops so well against the otherwise gray pallet of this movie.  If I ever get disheartened as an artist, I'm just going to watch this movie again.  Ideas can come from anyone, guys.  Everyone has a beautiful idea inside of them waiting to blossom, and everyone has a different take on everyone else's ideas.  Remember that.

Metropolis

Not the modern animated one.  I haven't seen that one, but I hear it's good.  No, I'm talking about the old school black and white masterpiece that's never been fully recovered and has substantial sequences missing because they've been lost to time.  Metropolis is one of those old movies you see the poster of in classrooms inhabited by old people or cinema profs with movie posters on the walls.  I know what I think when I consider watching old movies:  no way.  Times have changed, stuff that was funny even just 15 years ago is stupid now.  Action has gotten better, drama has gotten more dramatic, and everything has gotten more colorful.  Seriously, though.  This movie is a masterpiece.  It's arguably the first sci-fi movie ever made, and certainly a very early story in that genre in any medium.  On top of that, the plot is good.  It's just a good movie.  I only watched it because I was forced to for a high school film class, but it was great.  I stopped looking for techniques like I was supposed to super early on and just watched it because I wanted to know what happened next.

I'd give you a quick plot synopsis, but I honestly don't remember what happens.  Something about a girl and some serious class divisions.  Heaven and Hell imagery frickin' everywhere, man.  I think there's robots involved.

The Weatherman

I know what you're thinking:  first he wants me to watch a "classic" piece of cinema for entertainment rather than to be able to say that I've seen a "classic" piece of cinema, and now he wants me to endure Nicholas Cage.  Yes, that is what I'm telling you, but keep reading.  I swear.  He's actually tolerable in this one.

Tolerable... that's an apt word to describe The Weatherman with.  This is the bleakest of comedies I have ever seen.  It's black as a black bear wrestling Malcolm X at midnight on a moonless night, all covered in black paint.  If you take me up on this suggestion, be prepared to be depressed.

Nicholas Cage is this guy.  He's got a dad who's a famous writer who he's always stood in the shadow of.  His ex-wife has custody of the kids, and she's got a new boyfriend.  Cage only gets to see the kids from time to time, and both of them have some pretty serious problems.  His job is as the weatherman for a medium level network.  Basically, his life is going down the toilet and he doesn't know what to do about it.  The movie is about it circling the drain, and the slight glimmer of hope that comes to him in the form of the chance to interview to be the weatherman for a really big network, maybe make 6 figures...

It's as bleak as it sounds, but it's also heartwarming in some sense.  It has a few of my favorite bits of all time in it; the discussion of people throwing stuff at Cage, the tarter sauce bit, and the brilliant ending thing with Cage narrating and walking through the streets as people dissipate around him... It's all so depressingly beautiful.

Plus it has Michael Cain in it.  Everything with him in it is at least watchable.  Oh!  And the kid from About A Boy.  Yeah.

Man On Wire

You see that movie poster?  That is a guy slacklining between the towers of world trade center.  Need I say more?

...

I don't think I should have to, but I know you won't be motivated to actually go watch the movie unless I do.  Also I want to.  So there.

Man On Wire is a documentary about this French dude in the 70s who slacklined between the twin towers.  No joke, this actually happened.  It's an awesome idea to begin with, but the telling of the tale just gets better.  Watching it felt like watching Ocean's 11.  There's a good script, there's a love interest, there's all this great history, and then there's the way they tell the story.

It comes in two parts that jump back and forth throughout the movie.  The first is the story of actually getting into the twin towers with all the necessary equipment, which feels like a crime movie.  This was by no means legal, remember, so they had to sneak past guards and such.  Some guys dress up as business men, some as construction workers, there's an inside man, security guards... it's exhilarating.  The other story thread is all the history behind Philippe (the guy you see in the poster there).  This wasn't the first giant structure he'd slacklined on / around / between...

It's a beautiful movie.  Gymnopedies is probably my favorite piece of music ever, and I've never seen it better used.

Hoodwinked

It's one of those movies where they tell the same story from lots of different perspectives, except that going into it we already know the story:  it's Little Red Riding Hood.  It's like we were already given one perspective, and now we get 3-5 more (I don't remember how many).  I love this movie because I love all point of view movies, but also because it's a great animated movie done at a tiny fraction of the cost that Pixar works at.  I'm always happy to see someone come close to matching a giant in any field, even if the giant is lovable like in this case.  But yeah, it's funny, it's clever, it's unique, and it has Joe / Brock / Patrick Warburton in it.  I love his voice acting.

Trust me on this one, though.  You don't need an excuse like babysitting your cousin to go watch this one.  You may have to pretend you're 14 again to not feel awkward while watching it, but if you can get around that feeling that you're too old, this is a kick.  High squirrels, British frogs, snowboarding grandmas, everything you could want from an early teen movie.


There you have it, people.  5 movie suggestions that you probably haven't heard from me before.  I recommend them all, even though I doubt any of you will take that too far to heart.  Even if you don't like one of these, go watch a movie sometime soon!  I know any readers here do a lot anyway, but seriously.  Pick up something new next time you've got the opportunity.  Who knows, you may be pleasantly surprised.  Branch out!  Try new things!  ENJOY THE CINEMA!

Edit:  I discovered after writing this that Hoodwinked actually has a sequel coming out called Hoodwinked Too!  Hood Vs Evil.  Title aside, it looks as good as the first.  Apparently it's got a Hansel and Gretel thing going on.  Go check out the first one before that gets here so that if you're interested you can grab some friends and all go to the second together so it's less awkward.