Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Discussion of programming on TCM.
jdb1

Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by jdb1 »

MissG, this has been such a good thread so far, and a revelation, too.

For all my self-described NYC cinema sophistication, there are quite a few films here I realize I've probably never seen. Please, everyone, tell us more.
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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by MissGoddess »

Hi there, Film Master Dewey!
Dewey1960 wrote:The vastness of possibilities offered by this thread is almost too unbearable to deal with, but I’ll do my best:


Keep them coming; as I said, I was afeard five would be asking for too much.

I like your eclectic choices---very "Dewey".

DOWNSTAIRS (1932) Written by and starring John Gilbert, this Monta Bell-directed pre-code comedy of manners is a marvel to behold. Alternately hilarious and horrifying, it presents the star in the most aggressively unattractive imaginable way: as an egocentric, hedonistic boor determined to destroy everyone in his path, Gilbert delivers the performance of his lifetime and also serves to remind us that the ludicrous assumption that his career was ruined by the advent of sound was pure, unadulterated fabrication. His ultimate comeuppance at the hands of his emotionally ravaged victims rivals the finale of Tod Browning’s FREAKS. TCM has played this MGM film a few times over the past several years but it has yet to find a home on DVD. Which is a shame; this is one incredible film!!


I really was taken with it when I saw it on TCM and I'm glad it seemed to be a hit with the viewers.
John Gilbert getting some love, after all these years. I would like to see it again, because I think
I missed the finale.

THE WHISTLER series (1944 – 1948) Columbia Pictures produced eight or nine of these low-budget B noirs and they’re all outstanding examples of zesty, highly imaginative filmmaking. William Castle directed a number of them and at least two were adapted from stories by Cornell Woolrich; personally I can’t imagine a more impressive cinematic pedigree. My personal favorites from this series are: THE WHISTLER (1944), MARK OF THE WHISTLER (1944), POWER OF THE WHISTLER (1945), VOICE OF THE WHISTLER (1945) and THE MYSTERIOUS INTRUDER (1946). These films would make an outstanding box set; the fact that they’ve never enjoyed a home video release is a staggering omission in the noir universe.


I LOVE the Whistler movies! I would definitely get a box set of them and I think they are a sensational
choice for this thread!

TRY AND GET ME! (aka THE SOUND OF FURY) (1950) Blacklisted director Cy Endfield made what is possibly the most un-American American film ever made, a caustic and almost unbearably toxic denouncement of everything phony and venal about the so-called American Dream. Frank Lovejoy stars as a frustrated World War II veteran, incapable of providing his family with what he mistakenly feels they need. He hooks up with a petty hood (brilliantly played by Lloyd Bridges) and before long his American Dream is transformed into an American Nightmare. A stunning example of what happens when serious content merges with cinematic bravura. Watch it if you dare.


You're scaring me! Do "I dare"??? Because I have a recording of it in my hot little mitts.
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by MissGoddess »

jdb1 wrote:MissG, this has been such a good thread so far, and a revelation, too.

For all my self-described NYC cinema sophistication, there are quite a few films here I realize I've probably never seen. Please, everyone, tell us more.


Hi Judith,
I'm enjoying learning what "new" films there are to discover.

Keep those wagons rolling, folks! Don't stop at five if you have more!
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by movieman1957 »

How about Champagne for Caesar? I mentioned it in the "What Films Have You Seen Recently." Funny film about man trying to bankrupt company by winning their TV quiz show. Wonderful performance by Ronald Colman but great performance by Vincent Price as company boss.
Chris

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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by MissGoddess »

Alright, for what it's worth, this is what I came up with and no, I just
couldn't follow my own rules and stick to only five.

Kings Go Forth (1958)
directed by Delmer Daves

I feel this movie is underappreciated or knocked for
the very things that are it's strengths. People
looking for a very tight, predictable war movie or
love story, who want the cliche responses, have and
still do come away unresponsive---and missing the
point. First for me among its attractions is a warm
and very emotional love story that is told from the
all too unique perspective (in movies) of the man in
love. This love reflects the tenuous, changeful
nature of the combat conditions in which it is set:
the beautiful cote d'azur of France, control for
which the Americans are battling. So you have the
sparkling glitter than is the sunny Riviera, which
reflects the glorious flush and unbearable
lightness of being Frank Sinatra perfectly
displays in his new found love for Natalie
Wood's "Monique". But just as the campaign can turn
savagely dangerous on a dime, so do the increasingly
tangled relationships in this film. I believe the
movie has much more to offer to the more than
casual viewer.

I also think this movie makes a good "gateway" to
appreciating Sinatra's sensitivity as an actor,
particularly for those who normally don't seek out
his work.

Cluny Brown (1949)
directed by Ernst Lubitsch

I'm happy to see it's beginning to find new fans but
Cluny still remains one of Lubitsch's lesser known
comic gems. It's very "off-beat"---the characters
and Lubitsch's approach to their milieu---
delightfully so.

Charles Boyer is nothing less than superb and
Jennifer Jones brings her patented oddity to a
character made for someone who doesn't fit
comfortably "in the mold".

The Journey (1958)
directed by Anatole Litvak

Essentially the same story as de
Maupassant's "Mademoiselle Fifi", and akin to the
movie of the same name starring Simone Simon, this is
one of those films that makes the most out of the
drama when a disparate group of people are thrown
together in close quarters and under duress. That
the story is punched up by a very intense and
conflictive mustual attraction between Russian
officer Yul Brynner and one of his "guests", Deborah
Kerr, is what generates the movie's suspense and
heat. In fact, everything surrounding the two leads
feels cold, damp, miserable and frightened. They
both glow with a kind of sympatico---not to mention
attraction---that they can't seem to find with any of
their own kind. A suitably assorted supporting cast
of several nationalities gives the movie richness,
texture and authenticity, while Litvak's sensitivity
to the milieu extracts the right balance of
frustration and futility so prevalent in post WWII
Europe.

Doctor Bull (1933)
directed by John Ford

Of John Ford's three films with the great Will Rogers,
this is my personal favorite, though admittedly it's the least poetic.
However, it offers one of the most interesting characters for Rogers,
giving him a little more satirical bite (though never to the point of excess)
than usual, as he plays a crusty small town doctor at odds with the narrow
mindedness of his community. Unlike most of the genial wit-master's films,
there is no real resolution between the Rogers character and the mean spirited
populace, giving it possibly the only really ambivalent ending of any film in
Rogers (talkie era) career.

The least sentimental of this classic Americana trio
for some reason appeals to me the most (for a change)
if only by a short margin. finally, I wanted very
much to include a Rogers film, because in a world
gone insanely obsessed with the depraved and sordid
and mediocre (and that's just the news, never mind
movies and TV!), it should be remembered there was
once a man very beloved for his wit and sagacity, but
most of all his genuine regard for his fellow man.
Lots of people try to "act" this in movies, he just
had to show up in front of the camera.

Ten North Frederick (1958)
directed by Philip Dunne

Now this movie is not without its limitations---what
a Wyler, Stevens or a Ford could have done with this
material I can't even bear to think---but
nevertheless it does shine a spotlight on many of the
failings that still get people in hot water while
chasing "the American dream" and is anchored by what
is in my opinion, Gary Cooper's weightiest and
deepest peformance.

Honorable mentions:

Till The End of Time (1946)
directed by Edward Dmytryk

Overshadowed by the grander "homefront" drama, The Best Years of Our
Lives, this film still contains enough emotional drama and some very
underrated performances, quietly delivered by Dorothy MacGuire, Robert Mitchum
and has to be Guy Madison's best work by far. Coming home is no easier than
being left behind.

The Hanging Tree (1959)
directed by Delmer Daves

THE single western movie that is criminally unseen
and unavailable on American DVD. If the rumors come
true, TCM may finally end this travesty next year. A
quietly brooding and delicately balanced western that
is the reverse of a "shoot 'em up". Rather, it takes
its steady pace from the inward circling between
characters learning to grope for their needs of one
another.

The Proud Rebel (1958 --- what a year!)
directed by Michael Curtiz

Here is a wonderful little tale that is beautifully photographed and which showacases
two warmly understated and authentic performances by Alan Ladd and Olivia de
Havilland. Ladd is a Southerner who won't be defeated in his heart, but whose pride
seems to attract all kinds of challenges and may interfere with his goal of caring for
his mute son (played by Ladd's own son, David). Olivia, a strugglinlg farm owner,
sees through the walls he's built up and stretches out a hand when few others will.
Sensitive direction, great storytelling from the man who gave us Casablanca.

Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)
directed by Albert Lewin (and photographed by
Jack Cardiff)

I had to mention the D.P. credit because this
movie is first and foremost a ravishing, dazzling
jewel box of colors, phantasy, sensuality and
myth, depicted with an artist's skill. It simply
would not be without Cardiff's magic. And seldom
did the cinematographer ever have a subject so
worthy as he did in Ava Gardner, at the apex of
her beauty and magnatism, playing, what else? A
woman with charms enough to tempt the eternal
lonely wanderer from his quest: The Flying Dutchman
(James Mason in a role perfect for his brooding
persona).
"There's only one thing that can kill the movies, and that's education."
-- Will Rogers
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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by Dewey1960 »

Lynn said:
Thanks so much for bringing up another one of my favorite but very obscure
70's films, AMERICAN HOT WAX. It's been years since I've seen it but I still
remember pivotal scenes.

Lynn, this is just for you...
[youtube][/youtube]
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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by Lzcutter »

Five Classics I haven't seen (or heard much about) in forty years:

Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie
(1952) directed by Henry King and starring David Wayne and Jean Peters. About a family that has a front row seat to the growth of their small town. Ben (David Wayne) tries to keep his wife from being aware of any financial problems and such. She ultimately rebels against his controlling manner.

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960) directed by Delbert Mann and starring Robert Preston and Dorothy McGuire. An unhappy family who can't communicate bring despair and ruin to their lives.

And some I have but deserve more recognition and love:

The Sundowners
directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr. A family of sheep drovers in Australia deal with changing times and family. A really wonderful film that rarely gets played (even on TCM). Mitchum and Kerr are terrific.

The Light That Failed (1939) directed by William "Wild Bill" Wellman and starring Ronald Coleman. Walter Huston and Ida Lupino. A painter struggles to finish his masterpiece before he looses his sight.

Colorado Territory directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Joel McCrea and Virginia Mayo. Chris has already written a wonderful take on this film and I'm just saying standing behind his idea in support.

Lesson learned, get your homework in before Chris.
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by Lzcutter »

Lynn, this is just for you...
I heart Dewey!
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

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When I'm channel surfing and notice any one of these movies, I have to watch it until the end. It doesn't matter if I come in at the beginning, middle or end. They all have that single indefinable 'thing' that makes them something special to me. I have several more than these five, but these are the lesser known ones.

Until They Sail (1957) Director: Robert Wise
This is one of the few films that feature Joan Fontaine in a role I like. Her quiet, serenity in trying to keep her family together during war is touching, especially when her little town is invaded by strange Yanks who seem to be everywhere. Together with Jean Simmons as the two oldest sisters they have a hard time trying to keep tabs on the younger Piper Laurie who seems determined to cause trouble for herself, and baby sister Sandra Dee is cute, lovable and offers the comedy relief during trying times. Paul Newman as a marriage consultant and investigator, pairs off with Simmons and they have some pretty enlightening conversations about marriages between military and island girls.

The President's Lady (1953) Director: Henry Levin

I believe this is the first time Charleton Heston played Andrew Jackson, and he carries it out from a young man to quite aged. Susan Hayward is his wife but because of an earlier marriage, is never accepted by the people. It's a rousing movie with scenes of war and arguments on the home front. It was probably pretty romanticized by H'wood, but in all it gives a good couple of hours of entertainment.

Joy in the Morning (1965) Director: Alex Segal
Richard Chamberlain - TV's Dr. Kildare, is the star of this story of a young couple in the late 20's, or the 30's, (I never did know for sure), with Yvette Mimieux as his wife. With the fledgling freedom of looser sex on screen, this was kind of surprising for it's day. It covers a rape, a birth, her fear of sex, and other similar events but all the time keeping it on a 'tasteful' plane. Interesting also, to hear phrases like, 'wash your teeth', and need ice for the icebox, in addition to hearing the price of things.

Home from the Hill (1960) Director: Vincent Minelli
My favorite Robert Mitchum film. He's king of the hill in a small southern town, married to Eleanor Parker, with George Hamilton IV as his son, and he's still running around after every skirt in town. George Peppard is also there with a few little secrets of his own. Constance Ford has a good small part as the lady of the night who takes care of Mitchum after one of his weekend shenanigans. Typical movie small town stuff, but I never tire of it.

Valley of Decision (1945) Director: Tay Garnett
I've loved this one since the first time I saw it. If I had had it on tape at the time, I probably would have watched it a second and third time in a weekend. I never tire of Gregory Peck and Greer Garson, her the little Irish maid, and him the young gentleman of the house who fall in love and go through hell before they can come together. Donald Crisp and Lionel Barrymore as the two fathers are perfectly cast, as is Gladys Cooper as Greg's mother. Marsha Hunt (I love her) as the sister and Jessica Tandy who has her rich eye on Greg. I had to check the credits to be sure it was Jessica, I'm so used to her in later life. Dan Duryea as Gregs brother is his usual slimy self as he so often plays, but I guess that's a sign of good acting.

I didn't realize until after re-reading that my movies are relatively new, but I seriously consider almost everything previous to 1945 as classic. Those years were when actors had a training ground and had to be everything. Besides acting, they had to sing and dance as well. After the war many returned and did some of their finest work, but several of the ones who came in with them have turned into our superstars as well.
.



Anne


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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by Lzcutter »

Anne,

I know your taste goes more toward classic era films but based on Until They Sail being on your list, if you get the chance to see Yanks with Richard Gere, Treat Williams and Lisa Eichorn (mentioned on a list here earlier), please check it out.

It's an old fashioned war/love story that I think you might enjoy.

Why didn't Lisa Eichorn have a bigger career?
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by srowley75 »

Here are a few of mine (more than 5, but I wanted to add a few that were in fact available on R1 DVD):

*Private Worlds and She Married Her Boss (1935, Gregory LaCava) - I posted about these two films in another thread. If you're able to locate both, try your best to see them together. Two films, both released within the same year, helmed by the same director and starring actress Claudette Colbert (the first earned her an Oscar nod for Best Actress), yet each film adopts a different perspective toward women maintaining careers. The first is a drama about a mental institution and the conflict between a successful doctor (Colbert) and her misogynistic chief of staff (Charles Boyer). The second concerns a secretary (Colbert) who, after marrying her widowed boss, is expected to quit her job and stay at home raising his young daughter.

*The Queen of Spades (1949, Thorald Dickinson)- a visually stunning adaptation of the Pushkin story starring Anton Walbrook. (Fun fact: Pia Zadora's character in The Lonely Lady was a fan of this movie.)

*Black Christmas (1974, Bob Clark) - often considered a seminal slasher film. Nightmarish Canadian-made horror movie features a rolls royce cast (Margot Kidder, Keir Dullea, Olivia Hussey, Andrea Martin). Story concerns a sorority house being terrorized by a mad killer hiding in the attic.

*Caught (1949, Max Ophuls) - noirish drama starring Barbara Bel Geddes, James Mason and Robert Ryan. Some great feminist food for thought here in this tale of a young woman who wants to marry for money and winds up hitched to an abusive, possessive eccentric.

*The Suspect (1945, Robert Siodmak) - Charles Laughton's at his best in this tale of a meek married man who's caught in a suffocating marriage with a cruel harridan of a wife (Rosalind Ivan, also superb). When he meets and falls in love with a kind young woman (Ella Raines) he begins to plot his wife's death. Also features Henry Daniell in an atypical role as Laughton's brutish neighbor. I can't help but think this one gave censors fits.

*Marked Woman (1937, Lloyd Bacon) - the best Bette Davis film that almost nobody has seen. Good time girl Bette and her friends Mayo Methot, Lola Lane and Isabel Jewell join forces with district attorney Humphrey Bogart to take down mob boss Eduardo Ciannelli after Ciannelli murders Davis's sweet-faced sister (Jane Bryan).

*A Summer Place (1959, Delmer Daves) - If you're looking for some campy fun and have exhausted Sirk's oeuvre, it's time to discover the late 1950s-early 1960s work of Delmer Daves and his frequent star Troy Donahue. In this film, young lovers Donahue and Sandra Dee struggle to keep their raging hormones at bay while their unhappily married parents (Donahue's mom Dorothy McGuire and Dee's dad Richard Egan) succumb to their own passion. Memorable especially for Constance Ford's performance as Dee's puritanical uberbitch mother and the theme, made famous by Percy Faith.

*The Scarlet Empress (1934, Josef von Sternberg) - For some inexplicable reason, this impressively conceived yet extremely risque precode historical drama seems to always be overlooked by critics. Recently omitted from Stephen Jay Schneider's popular 1001 Movies to See Before You Die, its grandeur is such that I can't conceive of any true film fan neglecting it. Marlene Dietrich stars as the young Catherine the Great in this epic tale of intrigue, with scene-stealing work by Sam Jaffe (as the mad grand duke) and Louise Dresser (as a cold-hearted empress).

-Stephen
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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by Lzcutter »

Dewey,

I just remembered another modern (circa 1970s) film starring Tim McIntire that needs to be rediscovered because it is so much better than the film that came after.

I'm talking about The Gumball Rally (1976) directed by Charles Bail and starring Tim McIntire, Michael Sarrazin and Gary Busey. A disparate group of drivers join an illegal cross country car race. Based on a true event. Much better than the better known Cannonball Run.
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by feaito »

Anne and Srowley, I agree with you in relation with Valley of Decision, President's Lady, Home from the Hill, Private Worlds and Marked Woman. She Married her Boss is Colbert film I yearn to watch! And Anne I saw President's Lady some time ago for th first time, and I agree...it captured me from the beginning!

Cluny Brown is another film I need to see! And April, The Journey and The Proud Rebel are excellent choices too!

May add another film to the list? Another underrated and maligned film: the bizarre, decadent, visually dazzling Von Sternberg extravaganza "The Shanghai Gesture" (1941)...I wish I had it on DVD.
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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by movieman1957 »

These are all great lists. Many of these I haven't seen in years. I just hope I live long enough to get through them all.
Chris

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Re: Name Five Films Worthy of Rediscovery

Post by MichiganJ »

As usual, I went overboard. My apologies. (And I didn't even include my favorite international films. Can I just say "Eric Rohmer" and leave it at that?)

Some silents:

The Circus (1928) Chaplin's consistantly funniest feature is, for some reason, generally dismissed, most notably by Chaplin himself.

The Garden of Eden (1928) an absolute delight, Corrine Griffith leaves her family's bakery to become an opera singer in Budapest (!), but is unaware that she actually signed a contract to be a chorus dancer. She escapes to Monte Carlo and a romantic comedy ensues...

The Matinee Idol (1928) I love this film, and generally recommend it for people who have never seen a silent. Early Frank Capra, the basic plot involves a famous Broadway star masquerading as an amateur to woo the small-town theater troop's leading lady, Bessie Love.

The Chaser (1928) Harry Langdon's brilliant final silent film is certainly not for everyone's taste, but his minimalism is unparalleled in comedy. It's a gag-filled gender-changing black comedy, which ends in a Sennett chase. What's not to love?

A Throw of Dice (1929) A gorgeous Indian (as in India) silent, featuring two rival kings who love the same woman. There's gambling, treachery and murder. Oh yea, and plenty of elephants, too.

Talkies:
Tonight or Never (1931) not terrible great, but certainly worth a few looks, An early talkie starring Gloria Swanson as an opera singer who has never been in love, and therefore cannot sing with the proper conviction. Enter Melvyn Douglas...

Blessed Event (1932) Terrific pre-code with Lee Tracy as newspaper gossip columnist.

Lonely Wives (1931) A fun pre-code screwball comedy starring Edward Everett Horton...in two roles!

Strange Love of Molly Louvain (1932) a kitchen sink pre-code where Ann Dvorak, pregnant (by a rich boyfriend who leaves), she gets mixed up with a two-bit gangster and then hides out with an innocent young man, while their neighbor reporter, Lee Tracy, starts snooping around

The Gay Desperado (1936) Robert Mamoulian's terrific romantic comedy (musical?) set near the Mexican border, where bandit Leo Carrillo and his gang imitate American gangsters. Ida Lupino and her fiancé are kidnapped by the gang, mayhem ensues.

Dracula's Daughter (1936) an underrated classic, the film features a terrific haunted performance by Gloria Holden as the vampire who seeks the help of a psychiatrist to cure her. Oozing with creepy atmosphere, this film is much better than the original.

Some more "recent" films:
Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974) Susan George and Peter Fonda in one the classic car chase movies.

Pennies From Heaven (1981) a dark but simultaneously cheerful musical. One of my favorite Steve Martin films, and who can forget Christopher Walken...

Fierce Creatures (1997) cast only sequel to A Fish Called Wanda is not nearly as good (how could it be?), but is still wonderful. About a new zoo director who wants to boost attendance by only displaying "dangerous" animals. Watch out for the meerkats!

Private Parts (1997) even if you hate(d) Howard Stern's radio show, this is a genuinely funny and romantic movie about an ambitious disc-jockey who takes on the network executives. Paul Giamitti steals every scene he's in.

State and Main (2001) David Mamet's great movie about making movies. "Go Huskies!"

Jersey Girl (2004) Even director Kevin Smith dismisses this film, but it's got a lot of charm and George Carlin can really act

The Brothers Grimm (2005) Terry Gilliam's light-hearted update of the Grimm stories. No idea why this movie wasn't a huge hit.

Adventureland (2009) just released on DVD, this coming-of-age comedy/drama is not like the Judd Apatow films the marketers made it out to be. It's a sweet (sometimes bitter-sweet) film, filled with terrific acting (especially by the Squid and the Whale's Kristen Stewart) and has a great soundtrack (despite taking place in the 80s)
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