Top 10 Obscure Movies

 I've moved from doing a lot of these ranking lists on my blog to just doing it in Facebook since I have no real viewership of my blog. But, back in August, my Facebook account was hacked and deleted, so I have several years worth of lists and things that I put some effort into writing about that are just gone now. I probably won't transfer every little list idea into the blog but I like this one a lot so I'm going to transfer it over.

Top Ten Obscure Movies

Obscure movies. Hidden gems. Movies that got lost in the shuffle of pop culture. Movies that it's seems nobody has seen but you. This is a list of 10 obscure movies that have reached you in your own little world and very few or none of the other people in your circle.

Day 1

The Sting

I'm starting with a movie that isn't actually "obscure." It won 7 Oscars. So why has nobody I've come into contact with since leaving home seen it? A lot of people say they may have heard of it or vaguely remember it. But this movie appears to be my own private party. It's such a unique crime adventure. A lower class grifter teams up with a washed out con artist to pull a big con on a well off crime boss. But it's not as dark as it sounds. It's quick, smart, and energetic with a lot great misdirection and feints that leave the audience glued to their seats. I love this movie so much but when you mention Redford and Newman, the first thing people think of is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid which, to me, was uneven and over-hyped. No, this is the superior movie and so worth a watch. 

 

 

Day 2

Watership Down

I'll get this one out of the way early too. It's not well known but it turns up in video articles about cartoon violence so more people may, at least, be aware of it. But if that's the only way many know of it, it's supremely unfair. It was made in the 70s before adult animation was a viable market and it follows as truly to the book as I've seen a movie try. And the book is centered on themes of societal structure and war with an honest portrayal of rabbit behavior in the way they fight each other and the damage done to them by man and other natural predators. The animation is done realistically apart from the opening sequence that depicts the primary story of the rabbits' religion. Even though the author said it was for his daughters and it was marketed to kids, I'd say it's much more suited to adults or at least more mature children (which probably don't exist anymore.) I wasn't damaged by it and it's one of the movies that I loved all through my childhood and continued to get more out of it as an adult and after reading the book. This is a real hidden treasure in my opinion.

 

 

 

Day 3

Near Dark

Ah, now here's an underrated little movie that may have a cult following among horror enthusiasts, but is mostly unknown. Before zombies became all the rage, vampires had a good, long run as the most popular supernatural creatures in cinema and even television. I always liked them better than zombies. What makes this a remarkable movie is that it was useful in molding vampire lore. At this point, the vampire bite had to be lethal to make another person a vampire while a partial bite caused enslavement and madness. This one changed that rule and made an incomplete bite the way a person would be turned into a vampire which makes more sense anyway if you follow the other way out to its natural conclusion. It also examines a gang of modern day vampires and how they interact with normals when not hunting, inventing ways for them to travel in the daytime if necessary, and employing the blood transfusion method of turning someone back into a normal person which had been toyed with since Dark Shadows and is still a standard cure in most stories today. Admittedly it's a B movie with lots of blood and gore, but the strong and charismatic supporting cast of Lance Henrickson, Bill Paxton, and Jenette Goldstein gives it a lot credibility and A movie quality in that respect. Very much a lost gem in my opinion.

 

 

 

Day 4

Midnight Madness

What should I group this comedy with ... College humor? That's pretty accurate. It appeals to the same compartmentalizing that attracts me to classic anime as well as the obstacle course/puzzle solving pacing that I'm naturally drawn to. The set up is that a weirdo genius kind of guy - not really sure what his purpose is on the campus is... prof? student? no idea, and no one likes him - anyway he sets up a game called The Great All Nighter, an all night scavenger hunt following the clues that he's arranged around the town at various locations ending at a final destination. I can't remember what the prize was.. probably money. But mostly bragging rights because he pits groups of college stereotypes against each other. The nice, fair-play kids. The lazy, bullying, cheating types. The meat-headed jocks. The ambitious sorority women. And the nerds. Grouped by color! ... I'm a dork.. It's a fun movie that can employ adult humor without being as bawdy as, say, "Porky's" because of that game element which makes for some damn clever riddling along the way. There's also a heart element with the screen debut of Michael J. Fox as the kid brother of the main good guy character (who was also the Dr Pepper kid in those old commercials that nobody seems to remember but me.) And seeing how the game master keeps track of everyone is also a fascinating tech point for 1980. Naturally the fair-play kids win, but everyone is accepted at the party at the end except the bullies who get their comeuppance. It's a feel good obscure flick.

 

 

Day 5

Runaway

This one is buried so deep I had to look it up because it's been a long time since I've seen it. All I remembered clearly was the robotic spiders. But I discovered why I liked this movie so much as a kid - it's the work of Michael Crichton. I wasn't as aware of him in 1984 but since I've discovered him, I'm not at all surprised that I was drawn to his fantastical style of science fiction. It's a future where robots are a common household tool. If they get loose they become pests and a division of the police is dedicated to dispatching them. They're not taken seriously until a robot commits murder. But it's not about machines coming to life. It's about the bad guy played by Gene Simmons from KISS (which, I confess, is why I first watched) weaponizing the robots which is kind of an obvious consequence in this scenario. But his ambitions aren't just local. He wants to get defence contracts and such. Perhaps the plot was overly complex and it clashed with the aforementioned spider type robots which, admittedly cheesy, would be more suited to suspense/thriller plots rather than governmental arms systems. But State of Fear was the same way so it has my willing suspension of belief. Like I said, it's been years since I've seen it, so there are gaps. Unfortunately, as good as I remember it being and starring the likes of Tom Selleck and Kirstie Alley, it came out in a golden year of box office smashes and ended up being smashed into obscurity itself and it's kind of a shame because it really was a cool little movie.

 

Day 6

The Last Unicorn

Second and final animated entry. Second of the triad of animated movies that I watched with rapt attention growing up. The third, The Secret of NIMH, is a little more well known. But from what I understand it was vastly different from the book it was taken from, which I haven't read yet. The Last Unicorn, on the other hand, was another extremely good adaptation of the book. It's like the less known it is, the harder the filmmakers try. At least back in the day. This is a fairy tale, but not a cutsie, musical Disney type (although there two short songs which were awful because they let the voice actors sing them.) Songs notwithstanding, it's more adult, along the lines of Grimm, though not overly dark. A lone unicorn sets out on a quest to free all the other unicorns from the sea prison of a mad king (my first introduction to the voice of Christopher Lee.) Along the way she's forced to become human to disguise herself and nearly loses her identity as she begins to fall in love with the prince. But in the end she is returned to her true form and saves her kindred. It's definitely a movie for girls with the two female characters being the strongest presence, driving the narrative. I liked the songs that the band America recorded for the theme and background "traveling" music. It enhanced the beautiful sadness that coupled with a happy, but bittersweet ending. I know there are at least a couple of people in my friends list that know this movie, but that doesn't make it well known. It just means I have some kindred spirits with this one.

 

 

 

Day 7

The Cat From Outer Space

First of two family movies. This is a a Disney movie. They cranked out a ton of high budget blockbusters that have enjoyed world wide acclaim. They also turned out a ton of cheaper productions that were put out in the meantime. Kind of like the B sides of records. The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, The Ugly Dachshund, That Darn Cat, etc. Probably enough to fill their own list. But my pick is this wonderful movie I haven't seen in light years. The Cat From Outer Space is about a spaceship making an emergency landing and being taken by the government. Since the alien is a cat, he's not noticed. He finds an employee to help him fix his ship, able to talk to him with a special glowing collar. They need gold to fix the ship. Since the collar makes him telekinetic too, they try manipulating different gambling ventures to raise the money to get the gold. Jake ends up staying and getting American citizenship. And I named my first cat after him. There's lots of conflict and dicey situations and Jake is as helpless as a regular cat without his collar. I wish I could remember more, but it's been a long, long time. And the quality was really great for being on the low end of the scale and not getting much reach. I really need to find this movie and watch it again. It was always one of my very favorite children's movies.

 

 

 Day 8
The Adventures of the Wilderness Family (trilogy)

To quote an online reviwer: "A couple of hippies living in Los Angeles who were forced to grow up and get jobs when they had kids, decide they've had enough of the smoggy city and pack up their family to move to the Rocky Mountains." He was poking fun at it a little because there were a lot of" back to nature" kids films in that era. (1975) But this movie was one of the the very best. They went completely off the grid, as we would now say it, and the movie explores their challenges like building their home from scratch, homeschooling the kids, and teaching survival. But it also adds an element of danger with the large grizzly bear the wife and kids are left to defend their new home against while the daughter is gravely ill and the dad is off getting medicine. Lots of melodrama and some corn, but also so much real heart, good acting, and a memorable soundtrack. I put trilogy in parenthesis because there were two others but they almost aren't necessary. The second is basically the same as the first only it's winter, they're facing wolves, and the mom is sick. In the third one the government is the enemy, trying to get them off the land. I can't remember much about that one because the plot was too heavy for me as a child. Though I'd like to see it again and judge it with adult eyes. But I always loved them, especially the first one and there are a lot worse movies to impress upon young children. 

 

 

Day 9

Blind Fury

I saved the best two for last. A pair of Rutger Hauer movies. I was on a Rutger Hauer bender trying to find everything he ever made and much of it is obscure. This is one of the best, in my opinion. A Vietnam vet, Nick, who was blinded in the war goes to visit an old friend, Frank, who happens to be in trouble, blackmailed into cooking designer drugs for a high level crime boss. It was Frank who had abandoned Nick in the battle that left him blind. However he's is not a helpless disabled person. He mastered the samurai sword from villagers that rescued him and he's not returning for revenge but closure. After Frank's ex-wife is killed Nick promises to take his son to him and so the adventure begins. An American take on a samurai swordsman story as he rescues his friend, kills the bad people he's fallen in with, and reuniting father and son. His friend even gets to redeem himself for his cowardice back in the war. Instead of a mystical ancient Japanese setting, it modern day Reno, Nevada. None of this is legally plausible, of course, but that was the beauty of the 80's. Real life scenarios were optional. It's a fun adventure film and Hauer plays the character Nick as gentle, calm, and charming. A really low-key kind of badassery that makes it unique. It's just good popcorn fun in the same vein as They Live, only it never acquired the same cult status. Probably because it wasn't a typical story with a clearly defined motive like revenge or saving the world. But I enjoy things that are different and if you do too, you should give this one a watch.

 

 

 

 

Day 10

Ladyhawke

I'm not sure how obscure this one is. It has some big names, but it didn't recover its budget at the box office. If not obscure, it's certainly forgotten. And I don't see how.... This is a fine piece of fantasy. It's a fairy tale of sorts, as well. An evil bishop desires the lady Isabeau but her heart belongs to his captain of the guard, Etienne Navarre, so he curses them. She can only exist in the day time as a hawk and he can only exist at night as a wolf, so even though they're always together, they're eternally apart. Ah, my heart! I'm an abject sucker for unrequited love stories! Plot twist: killing the bishop won't break the curse, which complicates things. But with the help of an escape thief they work out the riddle of how to break the curse during a solar eclipse and it comes down to the nail biting final moments. This is a great movie. Rutger Hauer, again, as Navarre and Michelle Pfeifer as Isabeau are so believably, beautifully tragic that the audience's hearts can't help but break for them. It's almost a shame that Hauer's best known work is as the heavy from Blade Runner. I kind of wasn't happy with Matthew Broderick as the thief, but it wasn't enough ruin the vibe of the movie. I know I have some overlap with my list partner on this one. Has anyone else seen this hidden gem of a movie? 

 

 

Book Review

His Dark Materials trilogy: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass, by Phillip Pullman 

If I had a dollar for every time the Christian "establishment" has declared something in pop culture to be of or from the devil, from Elvis Presley to Harry Potter, I'd be rich. And I don't mean that derisively. Anything of mass popularity has the potential to draw people from God so, in a generalized way, almost everything is of the devil. That's why I've never joined in with group-think even within the social communities that I belong to and identify with because more times than not, the group-think messaging ends up being ill informed panic spreading. However, in the case of these books, they actually got it right. They are almost literally of the devil. The atheist's answer to Narnia, God is merely a sentient and malevolent scientific phenomenon and, in a bid to have it both ways, the way to defeat this authority hinges on the writer's misguided idea of original sin as being the virtue that must be repeated in order to save the world(s). (There's so much misguided ignorance and a perpetuation of every depressing notion that caters to people who want to believe in the evils of Christianity.) Yes, it's as weird as it sounds. That's all the detail I'll go into about it though. I'd rather not dive into philosophical discussions unless it's with others who have read the books since there's some denominational specificity to the underlying narrative. 

I'm not even sure of how much popularity it actually had. I'd never heard of it until they adapted the first book, The Golden Compass, and the controversy may have thrown more attention on it than what it generated on its own. It's just such a shame because after reading them, I found that I genuinely couldn't help but like these books. They are so well written with creative scifi/fantasy world building elements that have little or nothing to do with the religious, or rather, anti religious overtones. There's a multiverse and a specially made knife that enables people to travel between alternate worlds. One world is our own, but the main world is Lyra's steampunk world in which people's souls are physically represented by animals that they have to keep safe with them, as well as talking bears and witches when more magic is needed than science. Then there's another that is peopled only with societies of intelligent, non Terran like beasts that have very different skeletal structures and means of mobility. So there's a lot of imaginative variety. The characters are three dimensional and are easy to become fully and quickly invested in. They grow, mature, and even change alignments. Even if the growth seems to be in the wrong direction from a believer's perspective, the point is that they're not written stagnantly as vapid vehicles to push the religion of atheism. The tensions and motivations aren't saturated with the agenda either. Pullman is so blunt and honest about his beliefs that he doesn't need to keep beating away at them with endless hints, allegory, and preachy dialog. 

Of course all of this adds to the temptation to see it as the right way to believe. Devilishly clever? 😂 It's a kid's series but I would absolutely not recommend it be shown to any children unless you're an atheist who wants to hand down your faith to your child. I can't deny though that I recommend it to adult lovers of science fiction and fantasy who are secure enough in whatever their beliefs are to remain disconnected from the sad affront to religion, especially Christianity. Isn't it strange that Christianity is the only religion that offends so deeply that people feel compelled to attack it so vehemently? That only solidifies my belief in it even more strongly.

Book Review

The Desolation of Devil's Acre, Ransom Riggs 

A fitting end to an entertaining sextet of books. The first trilogy ended so well that the second trilogy wasn't even needed, but it ended up enhancing the original idea and then bringing it full circle to where it started. It demonstrated as it unpacked the world that had been built in the first series that there only a limited way in which the characters could realistically exist within. But it's not a let down or a commentary on any lack of talent on the part of the author. It was an exploration of the material, stretching of it slightly, but not breaking it. Not casting aside what works in attempt to improve it. It was a successful exercise in depth and enrichment. I only would have liked to have seen a little follow up at the end. After the reset the two main characters could definitely have lived, at least partially, as normals and there were others that could have too. I think an epilogue of how some of their lives proceeded would have given a better sense of closure since it's clear that no more, or very little more, can be done with this concept. 

It had some flaws. It had a couple of holes left unplugged; teasers that was went nowhere. In particular, the insinuation that those seeking revenge on Jacob's grandfather may have had valid reasons for doing so. But it's a thread that was lost in the creation of tensions between the American and European peculiars. Also, the movement of dissenters in the Acre against the ymbryns didn't cause as many problems as it was positioned to. But that's probably for the best. It could have gotten too complicated. 

On the whole it was a neat little series of books. I don't know if I have a favorite since they all run together so closely. I guess my favorite part will always be the photographs. They give the story an extra dimension and were what I'd always looked forward to when buying the next book. This last book has an abundance of them in it. Probably as many as the first book of the first trilogy, so I was pleased at that since the other books had been slightly lacking. It's not for everyone but I recommend it to anyone who enjoys creative writing because it still feels like a long experiment of creative writing to me. And I enjoyed it.

Book Review

The Conference of the Birds, Ransom Riggs

Such a great little series. I'm always surprised every time I get one that I end up liking it. Riggs really made a creative and unique world in a genre that has seen it all. He's a talented story teller and knows how to keep the reader's attention and the pages turning. All of the books lead into directly into the sequels with no break in the action, even when transitioning from the first to the second trilogy. I'm glad the movie that was made a few years back opted not to follow the book series. It would be hard to keep up the pace that makes them such an interesting read. Also, the old photos within are such a big part of the descriptions and its hard to translate that into film.
There wasn't much to say about the plot of A Map of Days since the transitioning from England to America and a broader examination of how the paculiar world is governed ate up the bulk of the text. But towards the end it began the overarching story in earnest with the mention of a prophecy (and who doesn't love a good prophecy in fantasy?) along with introducing one of the characters that the prophecy is centered around. Jacob wants to follow in his grandfather's footsteps of being a protector of persecuted paculiars and gets to start doing it even sooner than he thinks. Certainly sooner than he's ready to, even with his experience of guiding Miss Peregrine's peculiars around WWII London under his belt. Many mistakes are made along with some progress. Being the middle of the series it has to end on a downer. But even as they're walking into what is obviously a trap at the end, it's not the type of trap I initially expected. Riggs is very masterful at cliffhangers.
It also gives me a greater appreciation for the first person pov. Third person limited is still my favorite, but when the teenage protagonist makes the inevitable bone head mistakes, this story does a better job than most of conveying his reasoning and is more honest about his naivity. After all, these five books all take place over the course of a few months without any time for him to digest all that's happened or to let the lessons learned settle in and become more guarded. Rushing from ond dire circumstance to the next. Even during the lag in action at the beginning of the last book, he was still getting new information about his grandfather's life in America to process. Not getting all of it at once, naturally, it keeps him moving from one stressful thing to think about to another so that the pacing never slowed down even while time was devoted to setting up the new background for this trilogy.
There's still an element of predictability that all the books have. And there's still some sneering at America in this one, but it's very low key and only visible to the trained mind. But it's just a good fun story which I still recommend and I had to buy the final book without waiting until next Christmas. 

Book Review retcon

I got the sequel to this one over Christmas but it's been a couple of years so a re-read was in order. It's the first of a second trilogy in the Peculiar series. I remember being kind of hard on this book when I first read it. I was still reeling from the emotional rollercoaster ride of the series I'd finished prior to reading it, so it just wasn't sitting right with me. It's crazy how books can effect you like that.. 😄. But after reading it again I can see how well planned it was this time around. There are still a couple of tedious moments of America bashing for a plot point. (A plot point with holes because sometimes it's more important to prove you're cool by being lazy than to make sense... so tiresome...) But overall it's not the copy of other hidden world fantasies that I remember it being. It's not over dramatic...  that was my own emotional state, lol. And and all of the elements that built up to the end were not as slow as I recalled either. The world needed to be tweaked, reconstructed and expanded in more detail in order to move forward from the original premise. I'd also completely forgotten the ending so I would've been lost if I'd just started the sequel. 

Lesson here: there's always an advantage to re-reading.

Book Review

The Man In The Iron Mask, Alexander Dumas

Disappointing, but probably not in the way most people would be disappointed. I get it, that this is the swan song of the Musketeers. I wasn't even bothered by Porthos and Athos deaths. Porthos' death was actually pretty magnificent and heroic and just how one would expect it. Athos' was very sad and tragic, but it made sense. But D'Artagnan's death just seemed mean on the part of Dumas. Why do him that way? He's the protagonist and the only one with any sense. I actually expected all of them to die so I was even a little disappointed that Aramis lived.

But what bothers me about this is what bothered me about The Three Musketeers. I don't understand how the respect is won by the characters who were clearly the antagonists throughout the book. Richelieu in the Musketeers, and the king and Colbert in particular in this one. I chalked it up to my ignorance of French history since the narrative is tangled with real historical figures like the royalty. But twice in a row? Maybe it's just that the characters are all too damned honorable for their own good. Especially Fouqet.

Then there's the matter of loose ends. No follow up on Phillipe, who was pushed into the coup to begin with. I felt bad for him and he becomes a throwaway character after the first almost third of the book is devoted to becoming invested in him and his life story. And we never find out Madame de la Valliere's reasons for becoming the royal consort when she loved Raoul. Reasons that would have made her a more sympathic figure presumably. Or maybe I was expecting something that Dumas never intended to give. Rather that she was predicting that she would fall out of favor one day and that's why she'd be pitied. I don't know. 

Anyway, what a bummer. I'll just stick with the first book. At least it was fun even when it didn't make sense. The writing is spectacular though. Hard to put down. Loved the old characters while they lasted.

Book Review

Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë

One of my knee jerk reactions to this one is, Oh my goodness, everyone in this book has serious mental problems...lol. I think on the whole I liked Jane Eyre better, but that's not to say I didn't like this at all. It's a revenge tale after all, and I love revenge. 

I think it would have been a more satisfying revenge if Heathcliff's beloved Catherine was around to see the damage he inflicted on all her remaining family. I think I just didn't see the driving obsession after she was gone. I would've liked to have seen his descent into madness more closely documented but it wasn't possible with the pov used. I did enjoy the pov though. What a creative way to tell the story. Not just second, but third hand. All juicy gossip. Very clever. Ellen Dean was the observer character and the only one with any common sense. If I was her I'd have washed my hands of the whole family after the patriarch died. But if she had we wouldn't have the story. She and all the other characters seemed to suffer from a obstinate kind of tunnel vision that kept them set on their paths for years. It left little room for growth with the exception of Hareton and Catherine the younger. Consequently, Heathcliff's sudden disinterest in torturing everyone around him came as a surprise. It all had to do with his mind deteriorating from his madness and hallucinations of his Catherine and I was very interested in seeing this fleshed out. But from a second hand account all that can be conveyed is a mysterious tease. 

Still I don't have many complaints. The classics are still the best and this should be on everyone's classic reading list. If I had to rate it, I'd do 4 of 5 stars.