This was an incredible decade for film that saw an indie cinema boom as independent film studios started to get created and actually flourished. The emergence of the Sundance Film Festival (which was very different than it is today) was a shock to the system and turned out to be the portal that would replace the risk taking and inventive nature of the character-driven films of the 1970s. You also had Siskel and Ebert, as influential as they ever were, pushing these smaller movies into the mainstream. As far as critics go, a good blueprint would be the massive critics poll I conducted during the pandemic. None of the films in the ensuing top 40 should really be counted as underrated, they all clearly have massive support. So, how about the underrated gems of the 2000s? The term “underrated,” for me, at least, means a film that slipped under the radar and wasn’t talked about much at the time of its release, or even now. I went through my archives and found these 23 titles that deserved better. If you’re looking for good viewing recommendations this weekend then these should do the trick. Spike Lee’s Summer of Sam, Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan, George Sluizer’s The Vanishing, Charles Burnett’s To Sleep With Anger, George Armitage’s Miami Blues, David Mamet’s Homicide, Carl Franklin’s One False Move, Clint Eastwood’s A Perfect World, Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures, Lee Tamahori’s Once We Were Warriors, John Dahl’s Red Rock West and The Last Seduction, Stephen Frears’ The Grifters, Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days, Terry Zwigoff’s Crumb, Abel Ferrera’s King of New York, John Sayles’ Lone Star, Alexander Payne’s Citizen Ruth, Vondi Curtis Hall’s Gridlock’d, John McNaughtin’s Mad Dog and Glory, Jan Egleson’s A Shock to the System, Joe Dante’s Matinee, Victor Nunez’s Ulee’s Gold Time for some recommendations. What are your undervalued movies of 1990s? Contribute Hire me
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