Films - The Lost and Forgotten

I love films. I love sitting down with a load of junk food and watching movies until you fall asleep. Now there are some amazing movies and there are some really crap ones and I know everyone has their favorite genres and actors but I find that people don’t stray out of their movie comfort zones enough and watch the weird films that are lost behind the summer blockbusters. So I made a little list, which I’ll probably add to later because I can never remember all of my weird favorites, of a few weird and forgotten films that I think everyone should watch.

Directed by – Tarsem Singh (Presented by David Fincher and Spike Jonze)

Staring – Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru

The film begins in a hospital in LA in the late 1920’s. Two patients strike up a strange friendship, an injured stuntman begins to tell a little girl with a broken arm a fantastic story about 5 heroes all out for revenge over the same man. Through his fractured mind and her vivid imagination the line between reality and fiction becomes blurred as the tale twists and turns. She listens intently and begs him to continue, not realizing that he is using the story and her trust for his own selfish means.

I love this film, it is the most wonderful and breath taking film I have seen in a while. The Dali-like landscapes used for the story are amazing and each of the characters in the made up world are wonderful in their own right. I’ve always been a fan of Lee Pace, but it is Catinca Untaru who you become enamored with, she is a wonderful little actress (apparently a lot of the scenes of her and Lee Pace were adlibbed, he just went along with wherever she took the scene)

Considering it was presented by David Fincher and Spike Jonze and directed by Tarsem I was very surprised that this film wasn’t better known, but I suppose all of those directors made their livings off more indie, cult films.

It is a magical film that I think everyone should watch.

Directed by – Rachel Talalay

Staring – Lori Petty, Ice-T, Naomi Watts, Jeff Kober

The film is set in the future where an asteroid crashed into the earth and caused a change in tepmeratur drying all of the water up. This future, waterless world is controlled by an evil corporation called Water and Power, a powerful force that controls the remaining water on a dystopian Earth. Tank Girl is determined to undermine Water and Power at every turn and find a young girl named Sam and revenge the deaths of her old family with the help of Jet and the feared gang of mutants The Rippers.

Tank Girl is based on the comic book series (comic strips are cut into the film), one of the first comic to film adaptations. It’s weird, strange film of triumph against the bad guys set to a great soundtrack with a wild and strange bunch of characters. A weird, but brilliant.

Directed by - Rob Reiner

Staring – Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Billy Crystal and Andre the Giant

A classic fairy tale, with swordplay, giants, an evil prince, a beautiful princess, and yes, some kissing. Scaling the Cliffs of Insanity, Battling Rodents of Unusual Size, Facing torture in the Pit of Despair. - True love has never been a snap.

Return to a time when men and swamps were swamps. It is a story of true love, revenge, friendship, kidnapping, loyalty, death, miracles, torture and the Dread Pirate Roberts, everything you want in a story.

The most beautiful girl in the land falls in love with the stable boy, only for him to be killed by pirates when he goes off to find his fortune. Years later the girl is engaged to a prince only to be kidnapped by a band of misfits, a sword smiths son looking for the 6 fingered man to revenge his fathers death and a giant who loves to rhyme, lead by a self confessed genius. The dread pirate Roberts puts a spanner in their plan by kidnapping the soon to be princess back again. Deals, double crosses, miracles and fights lead to a story book ending, the perfect fairy tale.

More and more people have seen this film now, but I still think it’s a must for all, boys and girls alike. A great feel good film and for days after you can’t stop saying “You killed my father. Prepare to die!”

Staring – David Belle, Cyril Raffaelli

In 2010, the dangerous districts in the periphery of Paris are surrounded by walls, and the dwellers do not have school, hospital and even police in the area, which are ruled by drug lords. In the 13th District, Leito is a honest man that lives in a clean building and does not permit drug dealers nearby his neighborhood. When he destroys one million Euros in heroin of Taha Bemamud, the criminal abducts Leito's sister Lola and the corrupt police arrests Leito. Six months later, the tough and honest Capt. Damien Tomaso is assigned to find and deactivate a stolen bomb that might destroy the 13th District and the two million dwellers. Together with Leito, they have to face the gang of Taha and disclose a despicable secret behind the robbery of the bomb

I know lots of people don’t like to watch foreign films, I personally hate watching dubbed foreign film and it’s always annoying to watch subtitled films when you’re tired, but there are some amazing films coming out of countries like France and Russia so think subtitles is just something we are going to have to get over.

B13 is an amazing film of parkour and stunts. David Belle practically invented parkour and Cyril Raffaelli is a stunt coordinator on films like transporter and kiss of the dragon and so to have a film with them as the main characters is a recipe for a great film full of action and tones of brilliant stunts.

B13 Ultimatum came out in February in France, but it won’t get released in England until October, I do hate waiting for so long just because people don’t appreciate foreign films.

Damien and Leito return to District 13 on a mission to bring peace to the troubled sector that is controlled by five different gang bosses, before the city's secret services take drastic measures to solve the problem.

Directed by – Terry Gillam

Staring – John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, Robin Williams (and loads more including Sting!)

The film is based on the origin of the psychiatric disorder “Munchausen Syndrom”, a bizarre form of hypochondria where the sufferer tells fantastical lies about themselves and believe that they are true, derived fromBaron Münchhausen (Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Freiherr von Münchhausen, 1720-1797) who purportedly told many fantastical and impossible adventures about himself, which Rudolf Raspe later published as The Surprising Adventures of Baron Münchausen.

The film documents the stories of Baron Munchausen and his band of talented henchmen and their many adventures including; Being swallowed by a giant sea-monster, a trip to the moon, a dance with Venus and an escape from the Grim Reaper are only some of the improbable adventures

It’s a film I’m always surprised people haven’t watched just because of the amount of people who are in it including Robin William, Uma Thurman, Oliver Reed, Sting, Eric Idle. It is a fantastical mix of wildly outrageous stories, which are based on a kind of truth. I love this film and always try to get new people to watch it.

Staring – Samy Naceri, Frederic Diefenthal, Marion Cotillard

In Marseilles (France), skilled pizza delivery boy Daniel who drives a scooter finally has his dreams come true. He gets a taxi license. Caught by the police for a huge speed infraction, he will help Emilien, a loser inspector who can't drive, on the track of German bank robbers, so he doesn't lose his license and his dream job. In the sequels he rejoins with the entirely useless Marseilles police to help catch an array of criminals.

It’s a bit of a slapstick comedy series, but still very entertaining. Huge police car pile ups, tanks, car chases, great driving stunts, flying cars and Sylvester Stallone (in the 3^rd film) make these great films to watch if you can stand subtitles. Another bonuse for these films is the fact that they were written by Luc Besson. If you don’t know who Luc Besson is; he is the man who wrote and directed Fifth Element (one of my top 5 films), and also wrote the screenplay for Nikita, Leon, The Transporter 1, 2 and 3, Banlieue 13 and Banlieue 13 Ultimatum and loads more, some of my favorite films.The budgets for foreign films are on the rise and more and more great films are coming out of France.

Directed by – Troy Duff

Staring – Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Billy Connolly, William Dafoe

Irish brothers Connor & Murphy McManus live and work in Boston. Feeling that God's will to rid Earth from all human Evil was given to them as a mission, they set out to do their divine deed. A public outcry for their capture is never heard and even FBI agent Paul Smecker, who follows their trace of bloodshed, admits that the boys are doing exactly what he secretly always has wished to happen. Risking their lives for their beliefs of Veritas (truth) and Aequitas (justice), the Boondock Saints are hyped by the public, for they are doing good, which only few dare to admit.

Right, I have only just recently found this film and I love it! After I had watched it I realized that it was a huge cult hit in America, but it didn’t seem to make it over here (England), which is strange because it has Billy Connolly in it (although that is also odd, he’s a Scot playing an Irish) I have always like Sean Patrick Flanery, spent many a weekend watching the Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, and Norman reedus was great in gossip, but this film is awesome! The part comedy, part gangster film riddled with religious undertones is a brilliant mix. I just want to ask all those that have seen it, did everyone else laugh when they killed the cat, or was that just me?

The Boondock Saints All Saints Day come out in November, a ten year anniversary sequel with all of the cast, except William Defoe, and production teams back for another round, which I am hoping will be just as good.