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Aug 28, 2010

Films You Didn't Know You Needed To See

My main man Kai over at The List put out the call for help - every few months, he asks his fellow awesome blogger friends to write about, well, you can see it in the title. Three flicks each, nothing too long, just shine a light on some movies you think more people need to see. I've written about at least two of the three on here before, but it's been a long time, been a long time, been a long lonely, lonely, lonely time.

The rest of the choices, including Kai's, can be found here.


Code 46 (2004)
I've been ringing the bell for this one for years, with minimal success. Michael Winterbottom paints one of my favorite pictures of the future here with a minimal budget and a lot of imagination. Tim Robbins stars as a fraud investigator who travels to Shanghai on a case, where he meets and eventually falls in love with Samantha Morton. Only...there's something forbidden about their love. Love or hate the story - and the slow pace of it all, which usually throws people off - it's the tiny glimpes into our multi-culti near-future that turn me on, most notably the mashed-up language that everyone speaks.


Box of Moonlight (1996)
Now that everyone in the world (ok, the movie blogosphere, anyway) knows who Sam Rockwell is, it's high time you all go back and check out one of his underseen past performances. Indie director extraordinaire Tom DiCillo directs Rockwell, as well as other 90s-era indie forces John Turturro, Catherine Keener and Dermot Mulroney in this fun little slice of life about a man (Turturro) who's facing a mid-life crisis. Working on an out-of-town contract job (not unlike Code 46, actually), he collides with The Kid (Rockwell), an off-the-grid hippie of sorts who helps him to discover what's really important in his life. Certainly quirky, but pretty charming, too.


The Nines (2007)
Interested in an out-there Drama Mystery Sci-Fi Fantasy (according to IMDb)? John August, longtime collaborator of Tim Burton and writer of one of my favorites, Go, wrote and directed this head-scratcher of a movie that stars Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy, all playing multiple roles. This film will have you discussing its meaning (and plot) long after you've finished watching.


8 people have chosen wisely: on "Films You Didn't Know You Needed To See"

Jess said...

Wow, I'd never heard of any of them. I added Code 46 and The Nines to my queue, they just appealed to me more from the descriptions. Great post - gotta go check out Kai's list.

Anonymous said...

I like this write up a ton for 2 reasons.
1. Great picks!
I've seen the trailer for Code 46 and wasn't sure if it was any good. Tim Robbins has had like a few films lately that almost seem like straight to DVD but all look kinda good.
And I all ready mentioned to you that I bought The Nines so I'll give that a look as well.
2. I BEG PEOPLE to keep their write ups short and not divulge too much everytime I do this so good show, Chap.
And thanks for coming thru in the 11th hour... literally!!!

Castor said...

Code 46 sounds intriguing. Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton should make it at least watchable so I put it on my Netflix :)

The Taxi Driver said...

Good picks. I've always found Code 46 to be one of Winterbottom's admirable failures: it seems to go on and on and not really get anywhere but it would be interesting to see your thoughts in a full review.

Box of Moonlight is a lovely little movie, not really about anything other than being funny and entertaining. You probably could have put just about any Tom DiCillo movie on this list.

Haven't seen The Nines but I have it kicking around somewhere but was kind of resisting it because it went straight to video.

Fletch said...

Well, fair warning, everyone - my track record for recommends on Code 46 isn't all that great. I think Mrs. Fletch and I might be two of its biggest supporters. But if you're into cerebral sci-fi and/or are susceptible to being transfixed by Samantha Morton (as we both are), then I highly, highly recommend it.

Jess - cool! Can't wait to hear whatcha think.

kai - believe it or not, Code 46 was in theaters...just not very long.

And short paragraphs, I can do. :D

Castor - Indeed. If all else fails, they are two great actors, and I love them both here. I really need to see Morvern Callar again, because everyone seemed to have loved that Morton flick, and I thought it only so-so.

Mike - Thanks! Actually (thought it wasn't there a minute ago and I had to fix), if you click on the Code 46 post label, you'll see a couple other times when I wrote about it. Those are meatier, too, so they ought to give you a better idea of it.

Good point about DiCillo. I can't even recall all of his that I saw in the 90s (outside of Living in Oblivion), but man, was he busy with Keener and Mulroney and James LeGros.

I think The Nines was actually in theaters, too, just for a very, very short time.

Colin Biggs said...

I keep seeing The Nines in bargain bins around town. Maybe I should give it a try.

RIPE Creative said...

Yess, another plug for Code 46! I really do love this movie... it's quiet, smart, and probably the most accurate view of "the future" I've seen in a film to-date.

Fletch said...

@Fitz - Yep, I picked up a copy at Big Lots for like $2. Nothing to lose there, really - even if you don't like, that's less than a rental. But it's good! I know Kai got his copy for like 50 cents at a closing Hollywood Video...

@RIPE - Hard to say about accuracy, but it sure seems like it could be, outside of the empathy virus, perhaps.