Forget The Godfather. What we've got here are the overlooked greats, the hidden gems. From Jake Gyllenhaal in a bubble to a murderous Kate Winslet to a pair of violent, avenging Irish "angels" … these are the box-office left-behinds
By Joal Ryan
1. Falling Down
Michael Douglas is a mild-mannered guy with a screwed-on-tight haircut who's had it with everybody — Latino gang members, an Asian shop owner, mighty-white golfers, even a surplus-store-owning Nazi. Crash would go on to win Oscar and Oprah acclaim for exploring the meaning of race, alienation and L.A. traffic, but remember: This 1993 movie, badly marketed as a mere serial-killer flick, expended its bullets first — and with better accuracy.
2. Igby Goes Down
Hey, here's an original idea: An out-of-sorts teen comes of age in New York with the "help" of his dysfunctional family. Well, this 2002 comedy-drama feels anything but done to death. Kieran Culkin's a find as the titular lost boy who finds his way with the ladies. Jeff Goldblum's even better, and smarmier, as his godfather. Ryan Phillippe proved he actually could act as Culkin's snot brother. Privileged white people have never been so pitiable.
3. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai
A 23-year-old cult cannot be wrong. Forget that the score to this 1984 sci-fi-something-or-other sounds like bad video-game music. Forget that star Peter Weller dresses suspiciously like Pee-Wee Herman. Forget that bad-guy John Lithgow deserves to go to acting jail on scenery-chewing charges. Just remember that people love this film, quote this film — and get Team Banzai references that you don't. So, just give in, and watch the thing already. Weller is actually pretty cool. Even if his choice in neckwear sucks.
4. Bubble Boy
John Travolta may have played a Bubble Boy first, in a sappy TV movie about a kid who needs to be wrapped in plastic and protected from the elements. But Jake's haircut tells the whole story here; there's something a bit "off" about this surprisingly funny 2001 big-screen version, in which Jimmy builds himself a portable bubble to go after the gal he loves. Oh, sure, there are moments that challenge our dear boy. (Ever try to steal a can of beer while waddling around in a homemade germ-free sphere?) But nothing can keep Gyllenhaal's love-struck Jimmy down for long. His heart — and the film's heart — is that big.
5. Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane
The backstory on writer-director Joe Carnahan's debut is worth the price of admission alone: 13 shooting days, $8,000 budget and one passport to a Hollywood career working with the likes of Ray Liotta, Tom Cruise (Narc, which Liotta starred in and Cruise produced), Jeremy Piven and Ben Affleck (Smokin' Aces stars). As an actual movie, Blood, Guts is a high-energy romp about two used-car salesmen and one very special Pontiac LeMans convertible. It's so heavily Tarantino influenced you fully expect John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson to turn up at the car lot, but all you get is the scrappy Carnahan and the equally unfamous Dan Leis — and, trust us, it's better that way.
6. The Hidden
Hollywood used to make sci-fi/buddy/cop/action flicks all the time, more or less. Then Spielberg and Lucas ruined everything with epic landscapes, big budgets and supercool special effects. By the time this popcorn throwback opened in 1987, the era of the sci-fi/buddy/cop/action flick was over — but not the genre's charm. Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Nouri play two lawmen with nothing in common except a shared belief that an outer-space creature who sucks the life out of innocent civilians in order to further its own sick existence must be stopped. Take that, E.T.
7. Bully
Even if Columbine hadn't made teen violence an uncomfortable subject for Hollywood and audiences, this lurid 2001 look at teen violence wouldn't have packed multiplexes. Never to be confused with the Disney version, we get youth as a sweaty, icky, frequently shirtless thing. The real-life tale of a group of kids who decide to kill their alleged tormentor, the drama is hard to watch — but foolish to ignore. Brad Renfro and Nick Stahl (especially Nick Stahl) are great as the dysfunctional friends at the center of their screwed-up world. The best part of sticking with the movie to the end? You get to take a shower after.8. Grace of My Heart
Reel life is so much better than real life. In real life, for instance, Phil Spector is an alleged homicidal menace. In reel life, however, he's John Turturro, and so he's merely lovably strange. There are all sorts of nifty real-life upgrades in this little-size, but big-feeling 1996 biopic about singer-songwriter Carole King … oops, we mean, in this completely made-up story about singer-songwriter Denise Waverly (a winning Illeana Douglas). Watch Carole, oops, Denise lose her heart to tragic Brian Wilson, oops, Jay Phillips (a sweet Matt Dillon). Listen to Carole, oops, Denise find her voice by singing her own songs (written by ringers like Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach and Gerry Goffin, King's real-life ex). Oh, it's too confusing to explain — just watch it.
9. The Black Cat
If you see only one Universal horror classic, you're probably going to watch Dracula. Or Frankenstein. But what you should watch, in the spirit of adventure, is this creepy, kinky 1934 tale with both those films' stars, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. And yes, we said kinky. See, this was made after Hollywood's self-imposed no-fun rule, the Hayes Code, was adopted but released just before it was strictly enforced. So, when a young couple (David Manners and Julie Bishop) seek refuge in Karloff's house of horrors, they're in store for an eyeful of S&M imagery and — woo-hoo! — devil worshipping!
10. Breakdown
It's not Kurt Russell's fault that he's the king of the underrated movie. It's not his fault that they don't give Oscars to stuff like Big Trouble in Little China. And it's not his fault that screen-wife Kathleen Quinlan takes a ride with an ill-advised stranger in this 1997 thriller. Well, actually, all right, that last one is his fault. If you can forgive that one lapse in judgment, this cautionary tale about the dangers of heading onto the highway minus an OnStar-equipped vehicle demands viewing. Think of it as Deliverance with trucks, instead of canoes.
There's your top ten -- check out the rest of the top 25.
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