#underrated films

[cann1bal-kitt3n-x]

Here's a challenge for you all; how many of these 1000 films have you seen? (*it's pretty much impossible to get 100% as some are lost media*)

[artfilmfan]

I made a list of films that i felt didn't get as much love,attention and exposure in the last years, some seriously underrated, some simply seen by few people

[kirkypet]

Underrated film of the week #3

Boss Level (2020)

[frnwhcom]

Hidden Gems: Unearthing the Underrated and Overlooked in Horror Cinema

Discovering a great horror movie that few have seen is like finding a treasure in the depths of a dark, forgotten vault. For true aficionados of the genre, there’s a special thrill in uncovering these hidden gems. In this article, we spotlight two such films—”Session 9″ (2001) and “The Orphanage” (2007)—that deserve more attention for their unique contributions to horror cinema. The Overlooked…

[scurviesdisneyblog]

𝙳𝚒𝚜𝚗𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚊𝚛����Ｉᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴏꜱᴛ-ʀᴇɴᴀɪꜱꜱᴀɴᴄᴇ [ᴇxᴘᴇʀɪᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟ] ᴇʀᴀ (2000 - 2008)

[brandonlees]

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN ↳ DAY #15: THE BLACK PHONE (2022) • dir. Scott Derrickson

[bogofcknshipda]

welcome back numérobis and zizou!

[sunhealings]

PAPERMAN (2012) dir. John Kahrs

[hurtspideyparker]

trying to choose a movie to watch: do I miss my pookie (Iron Man trilogy)? My baby girl (CA: Winter Soldier)? My wife (Black Widow)? Do I wanna watch a romance (X-Men: First Class)? A slice of life (Avengers: Age of Ultron)? Comfort film (Spider-Man: Homecoming or FFH)?

[spoonbeams]

Matt Dillon as Matthew in The Saint of Fort Washington, 1993

[videodrme]

So, in a sense, you choose who lives and who dies. No. I, uh... No, I'd say I decide which people have the potential to live long healthy lives.

Peter Outerbridge as William Easton in Saw VI (2009) dir. Kevin Greutert

[arrayed-in-purple]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐲 (𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟐)

𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫: 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧

(OC)

[thexfridax]

D.E.B.S. at 20: a Queer Cult Classic

Bessie Yuill Photo: Sundance/WireImage

There is a secret film hidden within the shadowy sapphic corners of Letterboxd. Some call it escapist trash, some call it an underrated cult classic, fools call it a male fantasy. It calls itself D.E.B.S. As other early-2000s chick flicks like Charlie’s Angels and St. Trinian’s have been reevaluated and embraced for their candy-floss aesthetics and campy wit over the years, the lesbian community was quietly reclaiming its own equivalent with 2004’s D.E.B.S.

The precursor to contemporary high-concept lesbian films like Bottoms, the spy flick is filled with something that queer female moviegoers still often yearn for: fun. That includes Jordana Brewster and her era-defying eyebrows as the impeccably named supervillain Lucy Diamond, John Woo–style fight scenes that parody the action genre in the same way as Charlie’s Angels, and a cheerfully cheap aesthetic where spies run around in plaid schoolgirl skirts.

D.E.B.S. was written, directed, and edited by filmmaker Angela Robinson. While “unapologetically queer” might be an overused phrase, it does apply neatly to Robinson. The Chicago-born director’s first project was a short film called Chickula: Teenage Vampire, calling on the long history of vampiric queer women that began with 1872’s Carmilla.

Her love of playing with genre led her to later put a lesbian spin on the movie musical by writing the underappreciated Girltrash: All Night Long and exploring polyamory in a period biopic about the creators of Wonder Woman, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women. On the small screen, she also burnished her lesbian credentials by working on several episodes of The L Word.

When D.E.B.S. started life as a short film, Robinson described it as “a story about a trio of superspies who are all chicks. I love all the comic-book characters: Charlie’s Angels, Batman, Josie & the Pussycats … But I always wanted them to be gay and they never were, so I wrote my own.” Success at Sundance led to Sony snatching the short up and deciding that D.E.B.S. should be a full-length feature.

Two decades later, the joy of this movie lies in the details. The tone is immediately set by a gravelly voice-over telling us that there is a secret test hidden within the SAT to recruit young female superspies (and establishing that, like Bottoms, this is a film aware of genre archetypes and willing to push believability). Our main character Amy (Sara Foster) is an academic overachiever — like many lesbians overcompensating for their perceived failure to live up to social norms. Her perfect score on the secret SAT test makes it even more scandalous when she falls for the aforementioned supervillain Lucy Diamond.

Queer friend groups may delight over the nostalgic frosty eye shadow and lip gloss worn by the D.E.B.S. (which stands for “discipline, energy, beauty, strength,” naturally) at all times. Flip phones, CGI holographic screens, and Goldfrapp’s appearance on the soundtrack will also remind you that you’re watching a film made in the early 2000s. And many will squeal when they spot Holland Taylor, over a decade before she came out, as the academy’s head.

Admittedly, the special effects are goofy enough to cross over into comedy, especially when our girls are abseiling into a restaurant or climbing walls with plungers, and the lighting could be charitably described as resembling teen soap operas of that era. But the chemistry between Amy and Lucy is crackling enough that YouTube compilations of their scenes have racked up hundreds of thousands of views online. Their fun enemies-to-lovers plotline begins with the pair pointing guns at each other and quickly progresses to a whirlwind romance (the other D.E.B.S. think Amy’s been kidnapped and launch a national manhunt, just as many friend groups have had to organize rescue missions for lesbians on weeklong first dates).

You could argue that espionage serves as a metaphor for the closet and that Amy is such an effective spy because she’s used to lying to herself about her sexuality. But that almost seems like too much weight to put on this meringue confection of a genre spoof: Its campiness liberates the characters to inhabit a fun, exaggerated universe with no serious homophobia or consequences. Guns are used, but the so-called superspies have such consistently terrible aim that there are no real casualties. And Lucy Diamond’s supposedly nefarious crimes are all reversible — the murders pinned on her are revealed to be misunderstandings, and she returns all of her stolen goods in order to win Amy back.

When this live-action Totally Spies with a lesbian twist debuted, it only made $97,000 and was dismissed by critics. But there were enough moviegoing gays impressed by its snappy dialogue, fun romance, and stunning supporting cast (including Meagan Good, Jimmi Simpson, and Devon Aoki with a French accent) for its reputation to grow online over time. In forums and YouTube comment sections, young girls were asking, “Are there any lesbian films where they just fall in love and have fun and don’t die at the end?” Their answer was D.E.B.S.

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

So, in Lion King The Musical, all the characters are, of course, played by humans. Either wearing costumes or operating puppets or, in some cases, a combination of the two. It's very well done and a brilliant way of adapting the musical to the stage.

But!

There is a gag during ‘Just Can't Wait To Be King’ where child!Simba is taunting Zazu, and ends up grabbing hold of the Zazu puppet and throwing it off stage.

The actor playing Zazu, rather than running off stage as well or voicing Zazu's screams as he's thrown into the abyss (seriously, dick move young Simba), instead responds by yelling “wait, where’s my bird? What did you do with my bird?” and looking around for the puppet. Later on, they show him spotting it off stage and running to fetch it.

This isn't really a fourth wall breaking musical in general. Pumbaa and Timon make a few pop culture jokes, and there's a slightly odd scene where Mufasa decides to remove his head while having a serious talk with Simba, but this is the only scene I remember where a character openly acknowledges that they're all just actors playing parts.

Hence my new and completely canon-compliant theory that, while all the other characters in Lion King the Musical are all animals just being played by humans, Zazu specifically actually is a human character— just a human character who chose/was forced to leave human society and started carrying a hornbill around all the time so as to integrate himself into animal politics.

The lions all know but pretend not to notice because it's entertaining, and he's a really good advisor.

[lavadorafangirl]

dead poets society fanart pt2

i actually died i have an empty heart

[addictedantler]

some recent studies from Boy Kills World (2023)

comparisons/references below the cut!