Top 10 Best Movies You've Never Seen

Hey guys,

Sorry to the two of you that read my blog last time. Things have been crazy around here. Went to LA for the 168 Film Festival, which is a Christian film festival that gives a team a week to shoot, edit, and finalize a short film based on a bible verse given to them. Our film was called Putting the Ash Behind You, and we managed to win Best Screenplay - Comedy.

You can watch it here:


Putting the Ash Behind You from Mark Blitch on Vimeo.




Anyway, back to the subject at hand. I was thinking about what my next top ten list would be, and I mentioned that it would be the Top Ten Movie/TV Characters that annoyed you and then you ended up loving them. I decided to put it on the back burner.

The inspiration for this list comes from my dad, John Blitch. He came to visit over Easter and I showed him the new Terminator Salvation trailer. He mentioned that how Christian Bale seems to be (and I'm paraphrasing) playing one character in all of his movies. So, this is for you dad, a list of movies that you need to see. Go to Netflix, go to the BBV (Blockbuster Video, ah, you get it) and rent these movies:



10) Return to Paradise (1998)





I remember when I was in high school, I said that this was my favorite movie of all time. While it doesn't remain my favorite movie, I still recall that the last scene of this movie made me realize that Joaquin Phoenix would be a force to reckon with. I remember thinking that he would be huge, possibly more so than his brother River. And while Joaquin has recently lost his way (on purpose I hope) to the world of hip-hop, he still remains a volatile actor capable of any role.





9) Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

Wet Hot American Summer (Theatrical Trailer)
Uploaded by NakedBrotha2007

This is a movie that I discovered while working at Blockbuster one summer, I think it was either 2002 or 2003. Either way, this was a huge movie to watch with my friends while I was in college. If one of my friends hadn't seen it, I would immediately go out and rent it (probably should have bought it, considering how many times I probably rented it; just stimulating the economy I guess). I love this movie for Paul Rudd and Christopher Meloni. This was one of the first absurdity comedies that I absolutely loved. After this, I was pumped to see anything that David Wain did in the future, but I hated "The Ten" but he completely redeemed himself with "Role Models," arguably the funniest comedy of 2008. If you are looking for a good, smart spoof of all of those camp comedies, then this is right up your alley. It also features today's funniest actors before they got famous: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Showalter, Michael Ian Black, Bradley Cooper (Sack from Wedding Crashers), Amy Poehler, and Joe Lo Truglio (practically in every comedy now, he was the creepy guy that gave Michael Cera and Jonah Hill a ride to that party in Superbad).




8) The Descent (2005)





Hands down the best horror movie of 2005. This often gets confused with The Cave, a less superior Screen Gems production starring badass Cole Hauser (seriously, this guy should be huge). But this little ditty of a horror movie had me holding my breath during much of the film. It is wonderfully filmed by Neil Marshall, whose next film Doomsday failed to deliver on the promise of this film. This is the kind of horror film that I would like to make: largely one location, lots of tension-filled scenes, great creatures that don't pop up on a music cue. There are lots of jump scares in this one, but if I may remember correctly, very few cheap-oh-it's-just-the-dog-fake-scares. Highly recommended for any horror fan, but let's face it, if you are a horror fan, you saw this in theaters.




7) Running Scared (2006)





This movie is one or the other for a lot of people. Tons of people hate it, tons of people love it. I happen to be in the latter. To me, this is a twisted adult Grimm fairy tale, full of monsters and colorful characters. It's Tarantino-esque in its story and Ritchie-esque in its pacing. This is the first time I liked Paul Walker as an actor. Gone is the blond leading man. He is a tough SOB anti-hero. The world Kramer created is unrealistic and fantastical. It knows exactly what it is and doesn't apologize when it goes off the deep end in its bizarreness. Watch for the creepy scene with Elizabeth Mitchell (Lost's Juliet) playing one half of the world's creepiest married couple. Just put this on my Netflix queue after writing this segment.





6) The Island (2005)





How did this movie only make 35.8 million in its entire domestic theatrical run? That is a crime. How can Paul Blart: Mall Cop make more than this in its holiday opening weekend?!?!?!?

I just rewatched this movie and I have to say, its still Michael Bay's best film to date. It's the first time that one of his movies hit every emotional note and every action note. Some people say that its failure is due to the fact that Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson weren't big enough to open a movie of this size. Some say it's too smart for its own good. I say hogwash! This is a great movie. Great cast, its Obi Wan vs. Boromir, with an added dose of Djimon Hounsou and Michael Clarke Duncan.

Ugh, still pissed that this movie did so bad at the box office.




5) Frailty (2001)





Best horror film of 2001 (can you tell that I love horror movies?). Bill Paxton's directoral debut. Sleek, simple, and uncompromising. And a fantastic story line! Easily one of McConaughey's best performances (probably right behind A Time To Kill) and no doubt Bill Paxton's best dramatic performance (well, let's face it, he rocked it in True Lies and Aliens, "Game Over man! Game Over!"). Man, I'm putting this on my Netflix too, I keep remember how great this is. There is one scene in this movie that remains one of the most frightening scenes I have ever...uh....seen. It's really quick and unpredictable, but you should know it when it happens. I'm a sucker for a GOOD religious-themed thriller, and this one is up there with The Exorcism of Emily Rose ( I don't care what you think, Jennifer Carpenter brought it to that movie, still have nightmares about her in that) and The Omen for me.



4) Adventureland (2009)







As of April 13, 2009, at 02:40 pm, this is the best movie of 2009. This is the kind of movie that John Hughes would make, if he still made movies. It's less juvenile than Superbad, and there is only one "larger than life" character. Everyone is extremely realistic in this movie. And while Jesse Eisenberg is a better actor than Michael Cera, you could argue that this movie would be doing better if Cera was the lead. This movie had a big heart on its sleeve in the shape of Martin Starr. He has done great work in the past (In Knocked Up he was the bearded roommate, but he is best known in my mind as Bill Haverchuck in Freaks and Geeks), but here he really shines as the lovable co-worker of Eisenberg's character. And from an editing perspective, it was refreshing for this kind of movie to allude to sex, instead of showing it. I could go on for hours on how pointless sex scenes are in movies. Here, they do a great job of saying, ok, this is where THIS happens, then getting out and moving on with the story. Not many Hollywood movies do that, so I was grateful here.




3) Let the Right One In (2008)





This was number 3 on my top ten movies of 2008 right behind The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire. Now, I'm not a foreign film buff in any stretch, but I do appreciate them greatly. This one, however, blew me away. It's what the filmmakers DIDN'T SHOW that really put this one over the top for me. To see what I mean, the pool scene at the end is a great example. Now, I am not excited about the American remake of this film because they will show everything that this one DIDN'T SHOW. This is the best vampire movie of all time in my mind, and if you say Twilight is, I might wish harm upon you. This is the film Twilight should have been, nay, the film Twilight wanted to be, nay nay, this is the film Twilight dreams of one day becoming. In short, Twilight sucks, this movie rocks.




2) The Machinist (2004)





This is the movie that I told my dad to see if he thought that Christian Bale was a one-note actor. You could also argue that American Psycho is another one that shows Bale's range. I would say that American Psycho is a better example of his range, but there is no greater film that shows Bale's commitment to the craft than The Machinist. Now, in a post-Fight Club world, movies like this are criticized for not being original, but its the theme of the movie that I really love. But the story here is Bale. And the only negative thing you can say about this movie is that Bale is SO much better than the material given to him, not to say the material is bad (in fact I think Hitchcock would be proud, and the score is magnificent). The man lost 63 lbs to play Trevor, the movie's insomniac main character. Bale's transformation into Trevor, in my mind, is more impressive than Charlize Theron in Monster and Robert DeNiro in Raging Bull. He should have been nominated for an Oscar. But I think that he'll get his day soon enough.




1) American Movie (1999)





Hands down, one of the funniest films I have ever seen. And I might be a little bias because it is a documentary about filmmaking. But I don't think I've laughed harder during a movie than I have through this. And it is a touching film considering that I want to do the exact same thing that Mark Borchardt wants to do. It's one of those rare hilarious, sad, touching films that I think everyone should watch.






Thanks for reading, I'll try and update more often.

-SOFAB