The Five Best Movies You ‘Probably’ Haven’t Seen (Dan’s version)

Maybe you have seen a few of these movies. Maybe you haven’t. But I’m going to guess that you haven’t because when I bring them up people often have never heard of them, or they’re like, “Oh yeah. That was a great movie.”

So here you go. My top-5 movies that I think you probably haven’t watched.

Yet!

 

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005)

You know who Robert Downey Jr. is.

You know who Val Kilmer is.

Directed by Shane Black.

But maybe you don’t know who Shane Black is. (Those who do know who Shane Black is are thinking, “How could anyone who likes movies not know who Shane Black is? I’m with you my brother/sister.) Anyway, maybe you’ve heard of a movie called Lethal Weapon, or Lethal Weapon 2, 3, 4… And there was a movie called The Last Boy Scout, with Bruce Willis and Damon Wayans, and one of my favorites is The Long Kiss Goodnight. And what else??? Ummmm, oh yeah, Ironman 3.

Suffice to say, Shane Black is an amazing script writer and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is, I believe, his very best work. It has two fantastic lead characters, brilliantly played by Ironman, I mean Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer. By the way, KKBB came out in 2005, so this is pre-Ironman RDJ. The plot is entertaining in a Hollywood meta sort of way, and oh my gawd is it funny. There will be some scenes that will leave you searching for the remote so you can pause the movie while you roll on the floor laughing.

I’m going to share a clip from the movie and you’ll be hooked. Don’t worry, this doesn’t give anything away. This scene happens in the first five minutes.

Why are you still here? Go watch this movie! 🙂

 

Finding Forrester (2000)

It is intimidating to write anything about this movie because the movie is about great writing. And if that doesn’t make you want to bump this movie to the top of your must watch list then I don’t know what to say. Except that this is also the best role Sean Connery ever had. Yeah, no joke. Of course, Connery is a legend. He was, he is, his own unit of measurement: the Bond by which all other Bonds are measured. He was fantastic in The Untouchables—”He puts one of yours in the hospital. You put one of his in the morgue.” And there was Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade, Highlander, The Hunt for Red October, The Rock (In which he basically plays a version of James Bond that was captured and imprisoned for a few decades.) I could go on and on, but I’m not kidding when I say that every role he took only prepared him for this masterpiece. When I see Connery, I will always think Bond but I’ll remember Forrester.

But Finding Forrester is far more than a great role for one man. It is a beautifully constructed story that inspires. I know this is going to sound like an exaggeration, but think of Shawshank Redemption. Not the story, but the tone of the story. It’s that good and satisfying even after the credits start to roll.

 

The Core (2003)

I’m going to be honest with you: disaster movies are my guilty pleasure. I love them. I love them all. But The Core has a special place in my heart. It is fantastically ridiculous. They create a ship that can melt through the earth and travel like a submarine, only much faster. I get it if you’re a purist and you think that’s just too unrealistic. But let me ask you this: which is more likely, a ship that can drill through to the core of the earth, or traveling faster than light? One of these is an engineering challenge; the other violates the laws of physics. Yet I don’t hear people complaining about warp drive, or hyperspace travel in Star Trek Wars. That’s because they are essential to the reality of their fictional universe. There’s nothing different here. The Core does a great job of admitting the seeming impossibilities and then engineering around them. They create the limits to their machines and that works into the plot. I think the movie is brilliant.

If there is one thing that makes this disaster movie stand above all other disasters it’s the script and the acting. Forgetting the engineering difficulties of the plot, the characters, their situations, and their interactions are all well-written. Many disaster movies try to land one well-known lead actor. The Core lands a half-dozen: Aaron Eckhart, Delroy Lindo, Stanley Tucci, Hilary Swank, Bruce Greenwood, and Tchéky Karyo. With many complementary minor characters.

Here’s another clip that happens early in the movie that doesn’t give anything of the plot away.

 

The Sea of Trees (2015)

Emotional, insightful, and inspiring.

Philosophical, psychological, and spiritual.

McConaughey, Watanabe, and Watts.

This is one of those movies that will stick with you for a long while. You will get something new from it every time you watch it, because you will be a different person each time.

 

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Safety Not Guaranteed is great for two reasons. One, it’s a well-written character exploration that leaves you guessing until the very end. Two, it’s the movie that introduced me to the wonderful acting of Aubrey Plaza. I had actually seen her before in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, but she really stood out in this movie. I’ve been a fan ever since.

This script could have been filmed by high school students and it would have been a hit.

 

Honorable Mention

American Fiction. I’m putting this here because it was only released a few months ago, but I don’t think it’s gotten the attention it deserves. The script is masterful and employs one of my favorite tropes of adding a layer of meta over the entire story. Plus, it stars Jeffrey Write, one of my favorite actors.

If you’re inspired to watch any of these movies I’d love it if you came back and give me your thoughts. And feel free to drop your own list in the comments below.