You can define the term however you wish: undervalued by critics, undervalued (or ignored) by general audiences, etc. My choices are a blend, though I tended to disqualify a film if it did particularly well in one area (either critical or financial). For example, I wish more mainstream moviegoers paid to see In America, but it did receive several Oscar nominations and is, I believe, warmly regarded in general, so I hesitate to call it undervalued to any significant degree. It is a similar situation for, say, Children of Men and In Bruges; neither found its deserving maximum audience in theatres, but both were Oscar nominated in a top category and are very popular now.

My list:



1. Never Let Me Go

The Kazuo Ishiguro novel is my favorite ever published, so I saw this film adaptation with an intense mix of extreme anticipation and trepidation, and I was pleased to find it a note-perfect adaptation of a challenging and subtle text. Every character is well realized. The photography of the beautiful, yet often dour and rain swept rural locations is a precise visual match for Ishiguro's elegant and guarded writing. And just as in the novel, the recognizable science-fiction conceit of brainwashed clones created for organ donation and the shortened lives they lead proves a perfect vehicle with which to examine the transience of existence and the fragility of friendship.



2. Vanilla Sky

I am tempted to say this is the most unfairly derided film (at least by critics) in history. Ha. I believe it an absolute top achievement for both writer/director Cameron Crowe, who infuses the mind-bending suspense structure of the original Open Your Eyes with his distinct brand of pop culture influenced romantic melancholy, and star Tom Cruise, who toys with and examines his image as a beautiful, powerful, and wealthy egotist (as he also did in Eyes Wide Shut and Magnolia, but with the most powerful result here). The last 20 minutes, as every thread of mystery and regret comes together and builds to a climactic choice as to whether or not it is time to let go, almost always reduce me to tears.



3. A.I. Artificial Intelligence

The focused, icy intelligence of the late Stanley Kubrick and the sentimental and spectacle centric style of Steven Spielberg blend perfectly in what I consider the best and without a doubt the most ambitious and unusual film of Spielberg's career. And people underestimate the complexity and nuance (and indeed the pain) of the ending in which David, the robot Pinocchio, receives the tender embrace to which he has devoted his centuries-long existence from a faded artificial projection of his long dead "mother," rashly deciding a tender, yet provocative denouement conceived as it were by Kubrick must be an audience pandering cop out on Spielberg's part, revealing at once how they underestimate both the director they claim to worship and the one they claim represents much of what is wrong with Hollywood.

Runners-up:

4. Miami Vice
5. Domino
6. The Way Back
7. Anna Karenina
8. The Weather Man
9. Lawless
10. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

So you mean of this century so far? Because the 2000s are over and then there is no "so far"...or is it meant in expectation that some of these films might not be undervalued any longer at some point in future?

Yes, of the -century- so far (January 1, 2000 to the moment you are reading this), which sounds a bit haughty, but there you go.

I'd like to have Closer near the top of my list. Yes, it got two Oscar noms for acting, but overall I feel the reception was much colder than it deserved and it never turned into a film beloved by cinephiles worldwide. I mean no one is really talking about it anymore and I think it is one of the best films of the last decade. So I guess it is a fair pick, no?

Stardust, also. It has some fans, but it is no worse than The Princess Bride (I'd argue even better).

I guess this will remain "so far" for the rest of each of our lives then.

I love Closer, too. I am not sure if I would call it underrated. Maybe.

Dead End. It is a great, smart, tight little horror film and barely anyone has ever heard of it.

Maybe you can do a similar thread for the most overrated films...those come easier to my mind.

Get Carter (2000)

I have a hard time with it because I love the original so much, etc., etc., but I can definitely see a case being made for the American Get Carter. It is a distinctive movie on a stylistic level, and it has a very neat, eclectic cast supporting Stallone (Mickey Rourke when it wasn't cool to cast Mickey Rourke, Miranda Richardson, Alan Cumming, Michael Caine).

The director's subsequent career is pure, pure shit, sadly, which slightly deflates the fun of mounting a defense for his Get Carter.

[quote

Trick question: How many of those underrated movies by David feature either Knightley, Law or Farrell?

Didn't see that it was a "Ten most underrated.." so here goes:

1. Get Carter (2000)
As David already said, stylisticly it's full of atmosphere, unusual film-making techniques (watch the director's commentary to see how - it's a good watch), and a soundtrack to die for. Some great cool shots and a Stallone character that will never be forgotten.

2. Apocalypto
Full of suspense and no-holds-barred gore and violence on a barbaric, animalistic level. Love it Mel!

3. American Psycho
While not underrated in terms of critical reception, it didn't win any awards and it didn't make much money either. It is such a modern classic and I absolutely adore it. It doesn't get enough praise.

4. Miami Vice
5. Dog Soldiers
6. The Way of the Gun
7. Intolerable Cruelty
8. Enemy at the Gates
9. Män Som Hatar Kvinnor
10. Shade

Seven. Give me a hard one.

Good list, Algren, though I am not sure American Psycho is a realistic inclusion. In my eyes, it has nearly reached a Fight Club of cult popularity, particularly since Christian Bale's career has only risen further since.

Dog Soldiers is definitely a very, very solid movie. I was on board with Neil Marshall as a new master of horror until he made the awful Doomsday.

déjà vu
miami vice
running scared
solaris
speed racer
sunshine
unbreakable
undertow
valhalla rising
we own the night

Speed Racer
Episode II Atack of the Clones
Guardians: Owls of Ga'Hoole
Matrix Reloaded
Matrix Revolutions
King Kong
Cars
John Carter
Deja Vu
I, Robot

Oh, I forgot Out of Time. That's a cracking movie! Very underrated. Would probably rank #11 for me.

Running Scared, yes. Unbreakable, yes. Miami Vice, yes.

I need to see Speed Racer and We Own the Night. Lots of people say that Speed Racer is excellent and we ahead of its time, and I even have We Own the Night on my pps queue so I will watch it at the weekend. I want to see Solaris too.

But Valhalla Rising, nah, not for me. Didn't like it.

The 2002 Solaris is definitely a runner-up for me, alongside The Good Shepherd, Lord of War, The New World, The Road, Stay, Superman Returns, and The Village.

Yes, Lord of War is great. As is The Weather Man.

I also like The Village very much. Man, at this rate I'm going to have a top 20. Stay was also good, but I wouldn't put it in my Top 30 underrated movies. It didn't leave a lasting impression.

Probably featuring in my Top 15 would be Solitary Man. I thought it was great. Sorely underrated.

I wouldn't go to the end of the earths to defend it, but I believe Ridley Scott's A Good Year is a very undervalued film. The photography (Ridley Scott in the south of France) is obviously beautiful, and Russell Crowe, stepping well outside of his comfort zone for a breath of fresh air, and Marion Cotillard both give charming performances. It is one of the recent romantic comedies I have no problem revisiting every now and then.

I am not sure if Bright Star is underrated or not. I was tempted to include it. I obviously love the film (one of my all-time favorites, honestly) and wish it were an enormous hit, but it did not completely flop, and the reviews were through-the-roof glowing. Another Year is also an example in this vein.

Sleuth. Amazing film. Top-class homo-eroticism with A-calibre British actors.