JAJT
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I'm a huge movie buff. In fact, I bought the house I live in today specifically because the basement dimensions suited the movie theater I ultimately built inside of it.
I'm in a bit of a movie rut these days, so I can't recommend anything SUPER recent, except perhaps Joker which I thoroughly and completely enjoyed (I didn't look at it as a Batman film, I looked at it more like a self contained "what if" story and I thought it was damned fantastic).
Here are some of my favorites from over the past few years that I don't think got the mainstream attention they deserved (except perhaps from other movie buffs):
Sci Fi
Moon - Some damn proper psychological sci-fi about a guy on a 3-year mission mining helium from the moon who encounters a bit of a... uhh... personal crisis. The less you know the better before watching.
Arrival - Again, just some damn good sci-fi, also not an action movie. All about communication with aliens. Fascinating.
Ex Machina - Noticing a trend? Such a good movie. Genius creates an AI woman and brings in a tester to see if the creation passes the turing test. So, so damn good.
Annihilation - You've probably heard this one crop up in just about any movie discussion about sci fi since it came out (and for good reason). Has a bit of everything and it's done really, really well.
A Monster Calls - This one is goddamn touching. Like, I'm basically dead inside and I almost cried a few times throughout this film. A monster visits a boy to help him cope with some serious shit.
Colossal - A monster movie, that is only barely about the monsters, and more about a relationship between two people in a small town, and it's super weird, and uhh... yeah.... Do you like saying "what the F*ck?" but in a good way that makes you want to keep watching? This is that movie.
Horror
(Worth noting that I'm a HUGE horror fan and can't stand generic torture porn bullshit, so these suggestions are good damn movies)
A Quiet Place - A great and unique idea about "don't make a noise" done SUPERBLY. It's beyond rare that I have literally no complaints about any part of a horror movie. This one nailed everything.
Overlord - I'm almost hesitant to put this on the list because it's not nearly as "technically good" as the rest from a pure filmmaking standpoint. But it's so fun I just HAD to. It's a "war horror" film about soldiers dropped behind enemy lines the day before D-Dday who discover a secret nazi lab. In short - if you like "B movie" horror from the 80's, but want to re-visit it in a less-cheesy and more modern way, this is that film. If you hate B-movies, hate the idea of secret nazi labs, etc... skip it. I think you'll be missing out but I wouldn't exactly hold it against you.
The Thing (1982) - My favorite film, so I put it on the list, so sue me. If you haven't seen it - you need to. Done. End of story. Goodday, sir.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil - Such a fun, hilarious take on the horror genre. Two hillbillies get 'attacked' by kids who think the hillbillies are the ones attacking them... it's absurd and lovable and hilarious and even my horror-hating mother in law couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole film.
Cabin in the Woods - you've probably heard of it. You should have, anyway. Easily some of the best horror to come out in a decade. Lots of meta / inside jokes for horror lovers wrapped in one of the best and most interesting stories to come out in forever. I could argue it may very well be the best horror flick ever made.
Action
Baby Driver - Likely will end up being looked back on as one of the best action films of the last 10 years. Great music, great acting, fun story. Must see IMHO.
Upgrade - Like Overlord I'm hesitant to put it on the list because it's pretty "standard" action as far as action films go. That being said - the premise is so fun and unique and enjoyable that I just had to. I was smiling through the entire film in pure delight at every little thing this movie did. Watch it with a friend you can laugh and yell "ohhhh shit!" with.
Logan - You said you hated superhero movies. I get that. I'm tired of them as well. However - this is the ONLY superhero movie that comes ANYWHERE close to being a masterpiece. It's not "perfect" but it's so close that I'm willing to forgive the flaws and see this as a damn fine entry into my "favorite films" list. For reference - no other superhero films come close. The rest are 100% popcorn hollywood garbage (maybe fun garbage, but garbage) while this one actually makes solid attempts at stupid things like "plot" "emotion" "character development" and other silly movie elements that make a movie good.
Snowpiercer - I didn't know whether to put this here or under sci fi. It's dystopian sci fi action... Takes place on a train barrelling around earth, carrying the last remnants of humanity. Absolutely fantastic film.
Drama
Swiss Army Man - Stars Daniel Radcliffe as a corpse. The plot... well... if harry potter were a corpse and all his magic involved using his dead body to help a castaway, this would be the resulting film. Super weird. Super fun. Watch it with someone you can laugh at how F*cking weird everything about this movie is. That being said - I thought it was really, really good for such an absurd plot.
Comedy
Game Night - I did not expect to like this movie. I watched it reluctantly on someone else's recommendation and now think it's one of the best comedies to come out in the last 10 years. If you've ever seen "The Game" from 1997 with Michael Douglas, this is very similar, but absolutely hilarious. I happen to really like Jason Bateman as an actor so that's icing on the cake for me.
Western
3:10 to Yuma - I'm not huge into Westerns but this one was fantastic. Starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe... I mean.. come on! Give it a watch for the acting alone (the story is also good though).
Historic War ? Is that a genre?
Master and Commander - Russell Crowe (again, so sue me). Takes place during the Napoleonic wars. Bit of a cat and mouse game on the high seas between two ships. Just a fantastic film shot beautifully with an incredible audio track - if you have good speakers, this is a great movie to use them on.
I could probably think of a dozen more but this is probably a good start.
I'm in a bit of a movie rut these days, so I can't recommend anything SUPER recent, except perhaps Joker which I thoroughly and completely enjoyed (I didn't look at it as a Batman film, I looked at it more like a self contained "what if" story and I thought it was damned fantastic).
Here are some of my favorites from over the past few years that I don't think got the mainstream attention they deserved (except perhaps from other movie buffs):
Sci Fi
Moon - Some damn proper psychological sci-fi about a guy on a 3-year mission mining helium from the moon who encounters a bit of a... uhh... personal crisis. The less you know the better before watching.
Arrival - Again, just some damn good sci-fi, also not an action movie. All about communication with aliens. Fascinating.
Ex Machina - Noticing a trend? Such a good movie. Genius creates an AI woman and brings in a tester to see if the creation passes the turing test. So, so damn good.
Annihilation - You've probably heard this one crop up in just about any movie discussion about sci fi since it came out (and for good reason). Has a bit of everything and it's done really, really well.
A Monster Calls - This one is goddamn touching. Like, I'm basically dead inside and I almost cried a few times throughout this film. A monster visits a boy to help him cope with some serious shit.
Colossal - A monster movie, that is only barely about the monsters, and more about a relationship between two people in a small town, and it's super weird, and uhh... yeah.... Do you like saying "what the F*ck?" but in a good way that makes you want to keep watching? This is that movie.
Horror
(Worth noting that I'm a HUGE horror fan and can't stand generic torture porn bullshit, so these suggestions are good damn movies)
A Quiet Place - A great and unique idea about "don't make a noise" done SUPERBLY. It's beyond rare that I have literally no complaints about any part of a horror movie. This one nailed everything.
Overlord - I'm almost hesitant to put this on the list because it's not nearly as "technically good" as the rest from a pure filmmaking standpoint. But it's so fun I just HAD to. It's a "war horror" film about soldiers dropped behind enemy lines the day before D-Dday who discover a secret nazi lab. In short - if you like "B movie" horror from the 80's, but want to re-visit it in a less-cheesy and more modern way, this is that film. If you hate B-movies, hate the idea of secret nazi labs, etc... skip it. I think you'll be missing out but I wouldn't exactly hold it against you.
The Thing (1982) - My favorite film, so I put it on the list, so sue me. If you haven't seen it - you need to. Done. End of story. Goodday, sir.
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil - Such a fun, hilarious take on the horror genre. Two hillbillies get 'attacked' by kids who think the hillbillies are the ones attacking them... it's absurd and lovable and hilarious and even my horror-hating mother in law couldn't stop laughing throughout the whole film.
Cabin in the Woods - you've probably heard of it. You should have, anyway. Easily some of the best horror to come out in a decade. Lots of meta / inside jokes for horror lovers wrapped in one of the best and most interesting stories to come out in forever. I could argue it may very well be the best horror flick ever made.
Action
Baby Driver - Likely will end up being looked back on as one of the best action films of the last 10 years. Great music, great acting, fun story. Must see IMHO.
Upgrade - Like Overlord I'm hesitant to put it on the list because it's pretty "standard" action as far as action films go. That being said - the premise is so fun and unique and enjoyable that I just had to. I was smiling through the entire film in pure delight at every little thing this movie did. Watch it with a friend you can laugh and yell "ohhhh shit!" with.
Logan - You said you hated superhero movies. I get that. I'm tired of them as well. However - this is the ONLY superhero movie that comes ANYWHERE close to being a masterpiece. It's not "perfect" but it's so close that I'm willing to forgive the flaws and see this as a damn fine entry into my "favorite films" list. For reference - no other superhero films come close. The rest are 100% popcorn hollywood garbage (maybe fun garbage, but garbage) while this one actually makes solid attempts at stupid things like "plot" "emotion" "character development" and other silly movie elements that make a movie good.
Snowpiercer - I didn't know whether to put this here or under sci fi. It's dystopian sci fi action... Takes place on a train barrelling around earth, carrying the last remnants of humanity. Absolutely fantastic film.
Drama
Swiss Army Man - Stars Daniel Radcliffe as a corpse. The plot... well... if harry potter were a corpse and all his magic involved using his dead body to help a castaway, this would be the resulting film. Super weird. Super fun. Watch it with someone you can laugh at how F*cking weird everything about this movie is. That being said - I thought it was really, really good for such an absurd plot.
Comedy
Game Night - I did not expect to like this movie. I watched it reluctantly on someone else's recommendation and now think it's one of the best comedies to come out in the last 10 years. If you've ever seen "The Game" from 1997 with Michael Douglas, this is very similar, but absolutely hilarious. I happen to really like Jason Bateman as an actor so that's icing on the cake for me.
Western
3:10 to Yuma - I'm not huge into Westerns but this one was fantastic. Starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe... I mean.. come on! Give it a watch for the acting alone (the story is also good though).
Historic War ? Is that a genre?
Master and Commander - Russell Crowe (again, so sue me). Takes place during the Napoleonic wars. Bit of a cat and mouse game on the high seas between two ships. Just a fantastic film shot beautifully with an incredible audio track - if you have good speakers, this is a great movie to use them on.
I could probably think of a dozen more but this is probably a good start.
