Under the Radar Movies / Hidden Gems
You may not love all of the films I've listed here, but I promise you'll find some undiscovered gems among them!
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- DirectorChloé ZhaoStarsBrady JandreauMooneyTim JandreauAfter suffering a near fatal head injury, a young cowboy undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.
- DirectorJames KentStarsAlicia VikanderKit HaringtonTaron EgertonA British woman recalls coming of age during World War I - a story of young love, the futility of war, and how to make sense of the darkest times.
- DirectorRay LawrenceStarsAnthony LaPagliaGeoffrey RushRachael BlakeThe relationships of four couples unravel after the discovery of a young woman's body in Lantana bush in suburban Sydney.
- DirectorSam Taylor-JohnsonStarsAaron Taylor-JohnsonKristin Scott ThomasAnne-Marie DuffA chronicle of John Lennon's first years, focused mainly in his adolescence and his relationship with his stern aunt Mimi, who raised him, and his absentee mother Julia, who re-entered his life at a crucial moment in his young life.
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsRena OwenTemuera MorrisonMamaengaroa Kerr-BellA family descended from Maori warriors is bedeviled by a violent father and the societal problems of being treated as outcasts.
- DirectorMatt RuskinStarsLaKeith StanfieldNnamdi AsomughaNatalie PaulWhen Colin Warner is wrongfully convicted of murder, his best friend Carl King devotes his life to proving Colin's innocence.
- DirectorJohn CrowleyStarsAndrew GarfieldPeter MullanShaun EvansThe story of a young Jack, newly released from serving a prison sentence for a violent crime he committed as a child.
- DirectorNancy SavocaStarsRiver PhoenixLili TaylorRichard PanebiancoBefore leaving to fight in Vietnam, a group of teenagers play a game where they try to seduce the ugliest girl they can find.
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsSam WaterstonTess HarperGail StricklandA coming of age story set in the south of the U.S. when Elvis was King.
- DirectorAtom EgoyanStarsIan HolmSarah PolleyCaerthan BanksA bus crash in a small town brings a lawyer to defend the families, but he discovers everything isn't what it seems.
- DirectorJay RoachStarsBryan CranstonDiane LaneHelen MirrenIn 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood's top screenwriter, until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.
- DirectorMarshall HerskovitzStarsCatherine McCormackRufus SewellOliver PlattA Venetian courtesan becomes a hero to her city, but later becomes the target of an inquisition by the Church for witchcraft.
- DirectorTrey Edward ShultsStarsTaylor RussellKelvin Harrison Jr.Alexa DemieTraces the journey of a suburban family - led by a well-intentioned but domineering father - as they navigate love, forgiveness, and coming together in the aftermath of a loss.
- DirectorNiav ContyStarsAudrey Grace MarshallKevin LorequeHolter GrahamIt can be brutal enough just growing up a girl. Then add poverty, addiction, and God to the mix. Armed with a gun and a prayer, Emma and her cat bravely go where too many girls have gone before. It's a war, and we gotta win it.
- DirectorColin TrevorrowStarsNaomi WattsJaeden MartellJacob TremblayWith instructions from her genius son's carefully crafted notebook, a single mother sets out to rescue a young girl from the hands of her abusive stepfather.
- DirectorJames SchamusStarsLogan LermanSarah GadonTijuana RicksIn 1951, Marcus, a working-class Jewish student from New Jersey, attends a small Ohio college, where he struggles with sexual repression and cultural disaffection, amid the ongoing Korean War.
- DirectorHong KhaouStarsHenry GoldingWilliam DoDavid TranKit, a British man of Vietnamese heritage, returns to Saigon for the first time in over 30 years after leaving the country with his parents, when he was six years old, at the end of the Vietnam War.
- DirectorRaymond De FelittaStarsAndy GarciaJulianna MarguliesSteven StraitPrison guard Vince tells Molly from acting class, that one inmate is his 24 y.o. love child. Vince takes him home to stay with his family - straight A son with fat girl fetish, college dropout/stripper daughter and cute wife.
- DirectorSarah PolleyStarsJulie ChristieMichael MurphyGordon PinsentA man coping with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's disease faces an epiphany when she transfers her affections to another man, Aubrey, a wheelchair-bound mute who also is a patient at the nursing home.
- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsMichael B. JordanMelonie DiazOctavia SpencerThe story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.
- DirectorJohn StockwellStarsKirsten DunstJay HernandezBruce DavisonAt Pacific Palisades High, a poor Latino falls hard for a troubled girl from an affluent neighborhood.
- DirectorAtsuko HirayanagiStarsShinobu TerajimaSoseki YamatoyaMiyu YagyuA lonely woman living in Tokyo decides to take an English class, where she discovers her alter-ego, Lucy.
- DirectorJon AmielStarsSigourney WeaverHolly HunterDermot MulroneyAn agoraphobic psychologist and a female detective must work together to take down a serial killer who copies serial killers from the past.
- DirectorChristine JeffsStarsAmy AdamsEmily BluntAlan ArkinIn order to raise the tuition to send her young son to private school, a mom starts an unusual business -- a biohazard removal/crime scene clean-up service -- with her unreliable sister.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsPhilip Seymour HoffmanWilliam H. MacyRebecca PidgeonA movie crew invades a small town whose residents are all too ready to give up their values for showbiz glitz.
- DirectorLee Toland KriegerStarsBlake LivelyMichiel HuismanHarrison FordA young woman, born at the turn of the 20th century, is rendered ageless after an accident. After many solitary years, she meets a man who complicates the eternal life she has settled into.
- DirectorJordan Vogt-RobertsStarsNick RobinsonGabriel BassoMoises AriasThree teenage friends, in the ultimate act of independence, decide to spend their summer building a house in the woods and living off the land.
- DirectorJosh BooneStarsGreg KinnearJennifer ConnellyLily CollinsAn acclaimed writer, his ex-wife, and their teenaged children come to terms with the complexities of love in all its forms over the course of one tumultuous year.
- DirectorMarc TurtletaubStarsKelly MacdonaldIrrfan KhanDavid DenmanAgnes, taken for granted as a suburban mother, discovers a passion for solving jigsaw puzzles which unexpectedly draws her into a new world - where her life unfolds in ways she could never have imagined.
- DirectorEd StoneStarsAmanda PeetDermot MulroneySarah PaulsonTwo people face a seemingly-insurmountable obstacle that might stand between them and a last chance at love.
- DirectorMark RomanekStarsKeira KnightleyCarey MulliganAndrew GarfieldThe lives of three friends, from their early school days into young adulthood, when the reality of the world they live in comes knocking.
- DirectorBrad AndersonStarsWoody HarrelsonEmily MortimerBen KingsleyA Transsiberian train journey from China to Moscow becomes a thrilling chase of deception and murder when an American couple encounters a mysterious pair of fellow travelers.
- DirectorAlan RickmanStarsKate WinsletAlan RickmanStanley TucciTwo talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.
- DirectorDavid AyerStarsJake GyllenhaalMichael PeñaAnna KendrickShot documentary-style, this film follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and friends and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.
- DirectorGavin O'ConnorStarsTom HardyNick NolteJoel EdgertonThe youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament - a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsColin FarrellEwan McGregorHayley AtwellThe tale of two brothers with serious financial woes. When a third party proposes they turn to crime, things go badly and the two become enemies.
- DirectorPaul HaggisStarsTommy Lee JonesCharlize TheronJonathan TuckerA retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsRebecca PidgeonJeremy NorthamNigel HawthorneFollowing the theft of a postal order, a 14-year-old cadet is expelled from Naval College. To save the honour of the boy and his family, the pre-eminent barrister of the day is engaged to take on the might of the Admiralty.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsStephen DorffArmin Mueller-StahlMorgan FreemanAn English boy, living in Africa during World War II, through his boxing prowess, becomes a symbol of hope, in a time of war.
- DirectorHong KhaouStarsPei-Pei ChengBen WhishawAndrew LeungA young man of Chinese-Cambodian descent dies, leaving behind his isolated mother and his 4-year male lover, who grieve but don't speak a lick of each other's language.
- DirectorDavid MackenzieStarsJack O'ConnellBen MendelsohnRupert FriendEric Love, 19, is locked up in prison. On his first day, he assaults another inmate and several guards. He's offered group therapy and his dad, an inmate as well, tries to talk sense into him. Can he be rehabilitated?
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsMatt DamonCécile de FranceBryce Dallas HowardAn American construction worker, a French journalist and a London school boy set out on a spiritual journey after death touches their lives in different ways.
- DirectorTim Blake NelsonStarsSam WaterstonKristen StewartCorey StollMultiple lives intersect in the aftermath of the violent mugging of a Columbia University philosophy professor.
- DirectorRebecca MillerStarsRobin WrightAlan ArkinMike BinderAfter her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.
- DirectorJeff NicholsStarsMichael ShannonJessica ChastainShea WhighamPlagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.
- DirectorBrad SilberlingStarsJake GyllenhaalDustin HoffmanSusan SarandonAs he copes with the death of his fiancée, a young man befriends her parents and must figure out what he wants out of life.
- DirectorClaude LelouchStarsJean-Paul BelmondoMichel BoujenahAlessandra MartinesA variation on Victor Hugo's classic novel by means of the story of a man whose life is affected by and somewhat duplicated by the Hugo story of the beleaguered Jean Valjean.A French updated twist on the classic story. One of the better foreign films I've seen!
- DirectorJohn DuiganStarsNoah TaylorThandiwe NewtonNicole KidmanTwo freethinking teenagers - a boy and a girl - confront with authoritarian teachers in their boarding schools. The other students treat this differently.
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsAudrey TautouGaspard UllielJodie FosterTells the story of a young woman's relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.
- DirectorRobert BentonStarsAnthony HopkinsNicole KidmanEd HarrisWhen a disgraced former college dean has a romance with a mysterious younger woman haunted by her dark, twisted past, he is forced to confront a shocking fact about his own life that he has kept secret for fifty years.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsRobert ArkinsMichael AherneAngeline BallJimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.
- DirectorPatricia RozemaStarsFrances O'ConnorJonny Lee MillerAlessandro NivolaFanny, born into a poor family, is sent away to live with wealthy uncle Sir Thomas, his wife and their four children, where she'll be brought up for a proper introduction to society.
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsKate MaberlyMaggie SmithHeydon ProwseA young, recently-orphaned girl is sent to England after living in India all of her life. Once there, she begins to explore her new, seemingly-isolated surroundings, and its secrets.
- DirectorTom McCarthyStarsPaul GiamattiAmy RyanJeffrey TamborA struggling lawyer and volunteer wrestling coach's chicanery comes back to haunt him when the teenage grandson of the client he has double-crossed comes into his life.
- DirectorSteven KnightStarsTom HardyOlivia ColmanRuth WilsonIvan Locke, a dedicated family man and successful construction manager, receives a phone call on the eve of the biggest challenge of his career that sets in motion a series of events that threaten his carefully cultivated existence.
- DirectorDrake DoremusStarsFelicity JonesGuy PearceMackenzie DavisWhen a foreign exchange student arrives in a small upstate New York town, she challenges the dynamics of her host family's relationships and alters their lives forever.
- DirectorAkiva GoldsmanStarsColin FarrellJessica Brown FindlayRussell CroweA burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsAnjelica HustonJohn CusackAnnette BeningA small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
- DirectorRitesh BatraStarsJim BroadbentCharlotte RamplingHarriet WalterA man becomes haunted by his past and is presented with a mysterious legacy that causes him to re-think his current situation in life.
- DirectorGlenn FicarraJohn RequaStarsTina FeyMargot RobbieMartin FreemanA journalist recounts her wartime coverage in Afghanistan.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsJeff BridgesIsabella RosselliniRosie PerezA man's personality is dramatically changed after surviving a major airline crash.
- DirectorNeil LaButeStarsGwyneth PaltrowAaron EckhartJeremy NorthamA pair of literary sleuths unearth the amorous secret of two Victorian poets only to find themselves falling under a passionate spell.
- DirectorJack PlotnickStarsPatrick WilsonLiv TylerMarisa CoughlanA 1970s version of the future, where personalities and asteroids collide.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsDanny GloverKevin KlineSteve MartinThe fates of several people are randomly intertwining. Their sympathy of each other faces multiple differences in their lifestyles.
- DirectorJ.A. BayonaStarsLewis MacDougallSigourney WeaverFelicity JonesConor, a twelve-year-old boy, encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.
- DirectorJon PollStarsAnton YelchinRobert Downey Jr.Hope DavisA rich kid becomes the self-appointed psychiatrist to the student body of his new high school.
- DirectorPaul WeitzStarsLily TomlinJulia GarnerMarcia Gay HardenA teenager facing an unplanned pregnancy seeks help from her acerbic grandmother, a woman who is long estranged from her daughter.
- DirectorMadeleine SamiJackie van BeekStarsMadeleine SamiJackie van BeekJames RollestonFor the right price, BFFs Jen and Mel will ruthlessly end any romance. But when one grows a conscience, it threatens to derail their relationship.Taika Waititi Exec Produced this fun and ridiculous film. New Zealand's answer to a Tina Fey/Kristen Wiig mashup. Currently on NETFLIX.
- DirectorDylan KiddStarsCampbell ScottJesse EisenbergIsabella RosselliniAfter breaking up with his lover and boss, a smooth-talking man takes his teenaged nephew out on the town in search of sex.
- DirectorJohn G. AvildsenStarsJack LemmonJack GilfordLaurie HeinemanA disillusioned war veteran has two days to let go of his shaken morals if he wants his small fashion company to survive.
- DirectorJesse PeretzStarsChris O'DowdRose ByrneEthan HawkeAnnie (the long-suffering girlfriend of Duncan) has an unlikely transatlantic romance with once revered, now faded, singer-songwriter, Tucker Crowe, who also happens to be the subject of Duncan's musical obsession.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsTim RobbinsPaul NewmanJennifer Jason LeighA naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam.
- DirectorDavid MametStarsSteve MartinBen GazzaraCampbell ScottAn employee who develops a lucrative secret process for his corporation is tempted to betray the company when higher ups attempt to take the process from him. Dastardly intrigue ensues.
- DirectorRon UnderwoodStarsRobert Downey Jr.Charles GrodinAlfre WoodardAn unhappy businessman finds a new sense of purpose after he's tasked with helping a quartet of ghosts fulfill their last wishes before moving on to the afterlife.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsCarey MulliganMatthias SchoenaertsMichael SheenIn Victorian England, the independent and headstrong Bathsheba Everdene attracts three very different suitors: Gabriel Oak, a sheep farmer; Frank Troy, a reckless Sergeant; and William Boldwood, a prosperous and mature bachelor.
- DirectorKelly ReichardtStarsMichelle WilliamsLucyDavid KoppellOver the summer, a series of unfortunate happenings triggers a financial crisis for a young woman and she soon finds her life falling apart.