Don't you hate those movie/film/book nerds who wax annoying about somebody's early work? You know those "Yeah, well I liked David Bowie back when he was Davie Jones" a-holes?
Well, please allow me to be that girl. Yeah, yeah - I liked Zooey Deschanel a long time ago. Not because I'm particularly cool, but because I happened to find All The Real Girls in the $5 bin at Coburns and procede to watch it 25 times during the winter of 2003.
Well, please allow me to be that girl. Yeah, yeah - I liked Zooey Deschanel a long time ago. Not because I'm particularly cool, but because I happened to find All The Real Girls in the $5 bin at Coburns and procede to watch it 25 times during the winter of 2003.
All The Real Girls is a gorgeous, slow, endearingly realistic film. Set in a small, southern mill town, the movie is filled with washed-out light, solar flares and the beat up houses that fill tiny, failing places - but it all somehow looks lovely and oddly familiar. The characters are the people we all know, talking the way we all do - saying stupid things when they're drunk, hitting on waitresses, acting embarrassingly coy in front of new lovers.
The story centers around Paul, Noel and Tip. Paul is the local Lothario, spending his weekends sleeping with local girls from the bar and drag racing his crappy car with his best friend Tip. Noel, Tip's 18-year-old sister, returns home for the Summer from boarding school and Paul takes an interest, much to the displeasure of her brother.
Much like Zooey's 500 Day of Summer, you should know that this is not a love story. A story about finding yourself, who your family is, the mistakes we make and what it feels like to love someone for the first time? Yes. A happy-ending romance? No. The perfect movie for an overcast Sunday afternoon? Absolutely.What's the best movie/book/band that you love and we might not know about?
22 comments:
I've always loved "House of Yes," "Psycho Beach Party," and "Some Girl" for the same reasons--picked them up at the video store for cheap, and proceeded to watch them a million times. I still own them all on VHS D:
And though they gained a bit more notoriety after SXSW last year, Firewater has been fighting Duran Duran for the #1 band spot in my heart.
Hmmm...the BF and I often watch obscure movies as a hobby. Sometimes, they are sweet and good and beautiful like All The Real Girls, and we wonder to ourselves, "Why wasn't this movie more popular?" And then there are the little ones that are so horrible--the acting is so bad, the sets so ridiculous, the effects so sub par--that we giggle ourselves silly over them.
Both types of movies are equally fun, by the way.
Otherwise, the obscure book I'd recommend would be "The Mercy Rule" by Perri Klass which was written by a family practice doctor (oddly) about another doctor who works with families on welfare/government assistance, and really explores what it means to give people second chances...maybe when they are completely undeserving. Anyway, it's beautifully written. I found it one day while I was playing "library roulette". :)
I am one of the few people I know who did see it back when it came out. I loved it then and I loved it now. I couldn't tell you might be a good egg now I KNOW you are.
Hillary - Isn't it *so good*?! I hope it rains this weekend so I can watch it while drinking tea and snuggling!
Once! Although it won an Oscar for best song, that's the only thing I knew about it. Simply fantastic, and also from the $5 bin.
I loved Dirty Pretty Things for it's darkly personal take on immigration. Oh, and A Very Long Engagement. Both have Audrey Tatou, strangely enough....
you are absolutely right about All The Real Girls; yes and yes! it's a weird mix of ridiculous, poetic and heartbreakingly real—and it's full of great one liners! good call!
there are other things to mention, but i'm going to say NOBODY KNOWS is the best movie ever that no one's ever seen. or maybe everyone's seen it, i dunno.
I love this movie! I haven't watched it in a long time. I think I may have to pull it out this weekend...
Ooh, I think you should watch Wristcutters! It's from the last year or two, I think, and is unfortunately named, but it really is a good movie. It's kind of a whimsical take on rather dark subject matter, but it has a happy ending! (and hello, awesome soundtrack: lots of Gogol Bordello!)
I watched 'Harold and Maude' last year, and I completely loved it - I've watched it so many times since. It's a little dark, but it's a wonderful, quirkly love story, and the sound track is entirely Cat Stevens, and since I grew up with that music I was entranced, the whole movie. So good.
Has anyone seen 4 Eyed Monsters? Its sort of a semi-documentary, semi-film. And it's AMAZING.
I love recommendations.
and i see Danny McBride there so I know I could convince my hubby to see this, yay!
I think, and is unfortunately named, but it really is a good movie
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I saw that in the theatre, too . . . it seems I saw quite a lot of movies around the same time I was still getting used to living in a city whose theatres played independent movies . . . and so many of them had Patricia Clarkson in them . . . All the Real Girls, The Station Agent, Pieces of April, The Safety of Objects - all great! and for music that people don't usually know about, I always always recommend Renee Stahl (especially the "Melancholy Pop" album). Books? Montana 1948 (by Larry Watson).
it sounds beautiful! ive been a huge zooey fan for a while now, i must check it out.
fave movies most ppl haven't heard of? ummm... harold & maude. the dreamers. wild hearts can't be broken.
Dear Wendy, which Lars von Trier had something to do with but didn't direct, is a fairly unknown and devastatingly good film. Not as sob-inducing as Dancer in the Dark, but whimsical and strange and wonderful.
Books... Biting the Sun and The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee. She's one of those crazy-prolific sci fi writers whose oeuvre is mostly junk, but those two books have been two of my favorites for many years. Plus they have gorgeous Kinuko Craft covers.
Also, since you like Zooey, have you heard She & Him? It's her musical project with M. Ward, and I have been in love with them all year.
My favourite film is In The Mood For Love. It is in every way sumptuous.
Firstly, Tony Leung is often described as a modern Carey Grant, and the description is apt. His charm in immense, and even though he's speaking Chinese, his voice is beautiful. Likewise, Maggie Cheung is simply stunning.
Maggie Cheung's dresses are themselves a major actor in this film. She wears a different cheosam in every scene. The music is perfect.
As the title implies, it's a love story between a man and a woman, but an unconventional one. It'll melt your heart.
I have seen it at least 12 times, and it is better every time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnFjSHQFVkA&feature=related
I loved Angelina Jolie before everyone loved her. I remember seeing the obscure 1996 movie Foxfire (based on the book by Joyce Carol Oates) and thinking: I am in love with this suave, toughish tomboy named Legs (she also helped me discover I like girls, btw) and I distinctly remember making an Angelina Jolie shrine using the very few photos I could find of her in the net. :)
My favorite film of all time is 'Nobody's Fool' with Paul Newman. It's not necessarily "obscure," but plenty haven't seen it. It was also the lovely Jessica Tandy's last film. 'The Music of Chance' is another fine film starring Mandy Patinkin, based on the dark and beautifully written book by Paul Auster.
Speaking of things to do this fall, reading anything by Paul Auster is a sure winner.
Thanks for the suggestion! My favorite movie that no one seems to have heard of is "Me Without You". I highly recommend it!
thanks for the recommendation. I just watched it and absolutely loved it. Paul Schneider always does such fantastic work. It was the perfect movie for a snowy Saturday. again, thank you.
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