Something Different
These are recent movies (2000-until) that weren't cut out of your typical hollywood cookie cutter. Movies that may or may not be good, but at the end you will most likely at least say, "Well that was different."
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- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMatt DamonKate WinsletJude LawHealthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a pandemic as the CDC works to find a cure.Not your typical "virus" movie where it turns everyone into zombies or monsters.
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsRyan GoslingCarey MulliganBryan CranstonA mysterious Hollywood action film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he tries to help his neighbor's husband rob a pawn shop while serving as his getaway driver.It has a little different characters than what we usually see in movies.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsBrad PittRobin WrightJonah HillOakland A's general manager Billy Beane's successful attempt to assemble a baseball team on a lean budget by employing computer-generated analysis to acquire new players.Not your typical sports movie.
- DirectorGonzalo López-GallegoStarsWarren ChristieLloyd OwenRyan RobbinsDecades-old found footage from NASA's abandoned Apollo 18 mission, where three American astronauts were sent on a secret expedition, reveals the reason the U.S. has never returned to the moon.It is presented as if it's true, which for me was a bad thing (camera angles), but I'm sure others may enjoy it.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsBrad PittSean PennJessica ChastainThe story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.It's Terrence Mallick.
- DirectorRodrigo CortésStarsRyan ReynoldsJosé Luis García-PérezRobert PatersonPaul is a U.S. truck driver working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of Iraqis he wakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. With only a lighter and a cell phone it's a race against time to escape this claustrophobic death trap.Only movie I've seen with only one on screen character, other than a few seconds towards the end and definitely the smallest set ever.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsMatt DamonCécile de FranceBryce Dallas HowardAn American factory worker, a French journalist and a London school boy set out on a spiritual journey after death touches their lives in different ways.Just different, can't really say that it's good or bad.
- DirectorDavid O. RussellStarsMark WahlbergChristian BaleAmy AdamsBased on the story of Micky Ward, a fledgling boxer who tries to escape the shadow of his more famous but troubled older boxing brother and get his own shot at greatness.It just has a different feel than most movies in the way it's shot and the colors. Plus the story and characters are pretty unique.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.This movie just has a very real feel to it that a lot of movies can't seem to create.
- DirectorAnton CorbijnStarsGeorge ClooneyPaolo BonacelliViolante PlacidoAn assassin hides out in Italy for one last assignment.If anything this movie is good for scenery. It's shot in a very unique city and the story has some cliches, but it still unique.
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsSam RockwellKevin SpaceyDominique McElligottAstronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.It just holds a special place for me for the whole way it was done.
- DirectorNeill BlomkampStarsSharlto CopleyDavid JamesJason CopeThirty years ago, aliens arrive on Earth to find refuge. Separated from humans in a District 9, they are managed by Multi-National United. When a field agent contracts a virus that begins to alter his DNA, there is only one place to hide.From the mocumentary style to the way the aliens are "stuck" instead of predators this one stands out to me.
- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsGeorge ClooneyVera FarmigaAnna KendrickRyan's job is to travel around the country firing off people. When his boss hires Natalie, who proposes firing people via video conference, he tries to convince her that her method is a mistake.Not a typical movie at all to me.
- DirectorKen KwapisStarsGinnifer GoodwinJennifer AnistonJennifer ConnellyThis Baltimore-set movie of interconnecting story arcs deals with the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior.A romantic comedy that doesn't follow the typical story line.
- DirectorLone ScherfigStarsCarey MulliganPeter SarsgaardAlfred MolinaA coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.Very good acting along with a pretty unique story.
- DirectorMarc WebbStarsZooey DeschanelJoseph Gordon-LevittGeoffrey ArendAfter being dumped by the girl he believes to be his soulmate, hopeless romantic Tom Hansen reflects on their relationship to try and figure out where things went wrong and how he can win her back.Again, not your typical romantic comedy.
- DirectorAlejandro MonteverdeStarsEduardo VerásteguiTammy BlanchardManny PerezA chef with a mysterious past spends the day with a waitress who needs a friend.Probably because it wasn't made in hollywood, but I found it to be unique.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsDaniel Day-LewisPaul DanoCiarán HindsA story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.You won't see many movies like this. Could be good or bad.
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsBrad PittCasey AffleckSam ShepardRobert Ford, who has idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the resurgent gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader.Not your "typical" western.
- DirectorSean PennStarsEmile HirschVince VaughnCatherine KeenerAfter graduating from Emory University, top student and athlete Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions, gives his entire $24,000 savings account to charity and hitchhikes to Alaska to live in the wilderness.
- DirectorDavid Von AnckenStarsPierce BrosnanLiam NeesonAnjelica HustonAfter the end of the American Civil War, a former Confederate colonel hunts down a former Yankee officer with whom he has a grudge.Just different.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsGerardo TaracenaRaoul Max TrujilloDalia HernándezAs the Mayan kingdom faces its decline, a young man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression.Not much is known about these people, but this is a good story about them.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsWill FerrellEmma ThompsonDustin HoffmanI.R.S. auditor Harold Crick suddenly finds his mundane Chicago life to be the subject of narration only he can hear: narration that begins to affect his entire existence, from his work to his love life to his death.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsAnthony HopkinsDiane LaddIain ReaThe story of New Zealander Burt Munro, who spent years rebuilding a 1920 Indian motorcycle, which helped him set the land speed world record at Utah's Bonneville Salt Flats in 1967.