Three Great and Underrated Movies

Yesterday I stumbled into a Game Stop to talk with an old high school buddy of mine who manages the shop. I’m not much of a gamer so Game Stop isn’t one of my normal haunts. My buddy mentioned that the entire company is getting out of the used DVD business and so they have their DVDs on sale, buy two, get two free. How could I pass this up? I searched through the racks for four movies that a.) are worth owning and b.) I don’t already own. In the search I came across 3 films that I would consider “great” in comparison to just about everything else from the last decade, yet are either vastly underrated or have been forgotten. I bought all three (four movies for 17 bucks is a steal) and thought I’d briefly review the greatness of these movies.

“Layer Cake”
This is a low budget British movie, just one step above an independent film. The cast is made up of well respected but ultimately lesser known British actors, with the exception of a pre-Bond Daniel Craig. Craig plays the main character, a drug importer (not to be confused with a drug dealer) on the verge of retirement. Inevitably he is sucked into one last job that turns out to be the worst of his life, causing him to violate several of his own rules that have kept him out of jail for so long while at the same time providing enough money to support him for the rest of his life. Craig is, as always, fantastic and the rest of the cast chimes in perfectly. “Layer Cake” also provides a unique look into the drug industry. Most intriguing, however, is the fact that Craig’s character is never named, a fact that the viewer may only become aware of in the final, shocking scene. This is an absolutely fantastic movie.

“The Usual Suspects”
I’ll admit, the first time I saw this movie I was less than impressed. In fact, I was pretty well pissed off. However, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t paying enough attention to pick up on the complex plots GENIUS twists and turns. After watching “Suspects” again, I felt like a fool for ever doubting it, especially considering what an affinity I have for con movies. The film has a great cast, including Kevin Pollack, Benicio Del Toro, the always overlooked Gabriel Bryne, and Kevin Spacey as Verbal Kint, one of the great roles of the 90’s that virtually put Spacey on the map. The plot is far too complex to try to cover in a short paragraph but when the twist that you KNOW is coming finally comes, you’re still left speechless. The end of this movie has a way of both ticking the viewer off while at the same time bringing a smile to his/her face, making you realize how brilliant the movie really was.

“L.A. Confidential”
By far the most heralded of these movies, “Confidential” has none the less been all but forgotten despite its Oscar pedigree. It was nominated for 9 Oscars in 1998 but has since been relegated to late night TNT fodder. Nevertheless, this is one of the best crime films of the last 20 years. As with “The Usual Suspects,” it would be difficult to truly do the plotline justice by summarizing it here. The movie is slightly and purposefully campy, shot as one would read a 1950’s tabloid. The story twists and turns without ever getting too complex or too ridiculous and delivers an action packed ending. The cast is fantastic and just as “Suspects” essentially launched the career of Kevin Spacey a couple of years before, “Confidential” gave Russell Crowe the boost that would ultimately result in his becoming one of the more sought after actors in Hollywood. I have watched this film several dozen times over the years and never gotten tired of it.

So the next time you drive by your local Game Stop or other used DVD store, take a moment to fight through the racks of crap that will inevitably be displayed, and perhaps you too will be rewarded with a couple of “diamonds in the rough,” so to speak.