This is always one of my favorite threads. It provides some great recommendations and it proves that I'm not even close to scraping the bottom of the barrel. Many believe that I watch too many movies, while enjoying few. Also, I've already seen all the Great ones. There's nothing left to Discover. Here are experiences that say otherwise.
American Madness (1932)
Frank Capra already has
6 films on my list of Essentials, but this was the one I didn't see coming. I selected it for Walter Huston and Pat O'Brien, but Capra makes them just two parts in a mosaic about the banking industry 70 years ago that still speaks to today's fragile economy. Capra has always been a master of taking important subjects and making them about great people and this is right up there. Huston also proves to be a perfect fit for the idealistic Capra hero.
Home From the Hill (1960)
Selected for Robert Mitchum, he's perfectly cast as an uber-macho, neglectful father who returns to find his son has become a "mama's boy". Mitchum aims to set the boy straight in this melodrama from Vincente Minnelli. I'm not a fan of Minnelli, but putting him at the helm of a masculine vs. feminine deathmatch is perfect. Mitchum gets to be ultra-Mitchum while every action he takes is reframed for us as questionable.
Blues in the Night (1941)
This is 1SO in a single film. It's a great musical, a great noir, with great dialogue and some great performances from personal favorite Llloyd Nolan to the dependable Jack Carson to Betty Field, who is the year's femme fatale discovery.
Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)
I put this one off for years because it sounded so sad and from Lasse Hallström I expected more mawkish heart pulling. This is not a typical tearjerker. The dog isn't abused or injured and if it dies it's going to be of old age. Instead the dog becomes a symbol for all of us who ever had to deal with something bad happening that we can never quite wrap our heads around. We may never understand it, while we keep to our routine day after day, waiting for things to get right.
Three by Basil Dearden (1959/1960/1962)
A great night at the movie. What began as one planned viewing turned into a triple feature from a director I was largely unfamiliar with. The Eclipse Set Basil Dearden’s London Underground covers three popular Noir sub-genres, a racially charged murder mystery, a heist film and a jazzed up version of Shakespeare's Othello. All 3 are different enough from each other while capturing a particular feel for Britain during this time period.
The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
1SOAD
One of my favorite inexplicable trends this year was the time when I seemed to be perfect in sync with oneaprilday. Sometimes we were in the minority together - Boyhood - and sometimes it was this. I am not a fan of director Elaine May, but I really liked The Heartbreak Kid for all the reasons why people like May's type of awkward comedy. "The Office" created a lot of great uncomfortable comedy, but nothing is as hilariously, uncomfortably awkward as some of the highlights here.
A Walk In The Sun (1945)
From Pixote and The Top 100 Club, this was my first Discovery of 2015. A war picture that emphasizes the waiting but isn't tedious because there's a lot of conversation (provided by the great Robert Rossen). A great ensemble, but the standout is Richard Conte who jumped from outlier to major star in my mind. I watched a lot of his films during Noir-vember because this had me wanting to see more.
The Overnighters (2014)
Staying with the Top 100 Club, oldkid let me inside a world that's sadly a portrait of America and a window into oldkid's own life. (This film connects with Steve's Facebook posts.) It left me amazed by how many people are struggling to get by and how there are people who want to help their fellow man.
Cashback (2006)
Bondo gave me this discovery, a look at relationships that's more sexually honest while being fantastical. It's the way we can ask questions of ourselves while viewing things in an environment only cinema can provide. I can forgive flaws if a film makes me think, and Cashback posed some questions no other film has given me.
Detachment (2011)
My final Top 100 Discovery is from the late, great smirnoff. This school drama tackles a major social issue head-on, like The Overnighters. It does it with a mixture of frankness and the fantastic, like Cashback. It just about goes off the rails every 5-10 minutes, but manages to claw and shout its way back into some powerful points.
Okay... how about some genre Discoverines.
Ghostwatch (1992)
A proto-Paranormal Activity from Britain is like a modern War of the Worlds. Builds nicely to some creepy and scary moments that are hard to shake off.
Burn Witch Burn (1962)
Like Village of the Damned, this British chiller takes a new turn every few minutes so you're never quite sure what's coming, though you're certain that damned eagle statue is going to be a part of it.
Orphan (2009)
Something wrong with Esther, alright. From a pulpy premise, the script and director go classy. Good performances keep the screws tightening for almost two hours. A horror film that plays the long game rather than trying to jolt you with scares every 5 minutes. That's what makes it such a find.
Mistaken For Strangers (2013)
Initially funny, ultimately emotional documentary of two brothers. One is a confident rock star, while the other continually screws up to avoid facing his constant doubt in himself. This says more about family than any fictional tale of family dysfunction.
One Hundred Men and a Girl (1937)
I was curious about Deanna Durbin, and this had the safety net of some familiar character actors. They do their usual fine work, but it wasn't needed. Durbin is great, and I hope to watch the rest of her collection this year. The film also contains one of the year's best scenes, an orchestra of unemployed musicians playing along the staircases of conductor Leopold Stokowski (playing himself).
You and Me (1938)
The House Across The Bay (1940)
I always saw George Raft as the tough guy for when you can't get Bogart. This year I discovered he has a great soft side, brought out by Silvia Sidney in You and Me and Joan Bennett in The House Across the Bay. You and Me is also a sort of musical, with some unusual numbers put to Fritz Lang's powerful imagery and silent film sense of editing. House is a prison Noir, focusing on the woman outside who waits and worries for her man in jail.
The Tall Target (1951)
Station West (1948)
Two Western Noir starring Dick Powell. Tall Target is a Presidential assassination thriller set aboard a train and directed by Anthony Mann. Station West is the most perfect blend I've seen on the two genres, with great dialogue and a supporting cast that includes Jane Greer, Agnes Moorehead and Raymond Burr.