Was not familiar with White Mischief but it sounds interesting, definitely going to have to check it out.

My comedy pick is the 2001 David Mamet film State and Main.



I'm surprised this movie is so under the radar, considering the all-star ensemble cast and the fact that it's hilarious. It came and went from the theaters without much fanfare.

State and Main is about a group of big-city Hollywood movie folks who descend on a small Vermont town to film a movie. William H. Macy is absolutely hilarious as the hard-ass director of the fictional film, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is great as the innocent and idealistic screenwriter. Alec Baldwin plays the famous actor who is starring in the film, and who also happens to have a thing for underage girls.

State and Main gets a lot of comic mileage out of the contrast between the cynical big-city movie crew and the locals of the small New England town. It also pokes a lot of fun at the movie biz itself... the fictional movie being filmed ("The Old Mill") , is clearly terrible and seems to be a satire of horrible, Hallmark-channel-type wholesome family films. The self-importance of the cast and crew is hilarious in light of the terrible movie they are making. They act as if they are making the next Citizen Kane.

The main star of this movie is the rapid-fire comic dialogue by David Mamet. The jokes come fast and furious, and the entire movie has the feel of an old-fashioned screwball comedy or farce. Lots of fun.

That's one helluva good writeup.

Round 2. Category: Musical. Bamboozled.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0215545/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamboozled

Spike Lee released this flick in 2000 and it disappeared. One of the reasons I like Spike Lee movies is that I always misunderstand them. I thought a major theme of Bamboozled was that artists just want to artist, but have to avoid politicos and hucksters from stopping them. Apparently that's not any kind of theme. Anyway, this movie has plenty of politicos and hucksters, but it also has Savion Glover, who we get to see dance. A real treat, and it should be even more so for those members of the forum who might be rhythmically impaired.

Just so you know what's coming...







1. Phantom Lady
2. Bamboozled

Really nice picks so far. My Dinner With Andre often makes my top ten of all time. I've never seen Bamboozled for some reason. Probably time to fix that.

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I have never seen My Dinner with Andre although it has long been on my list. Need to check it out. I believe Roger Ebert listed this among his all time favorites.

It's interesting how my frame of reference changes as I get older. At one time I would have assumed that everybody had seen My Dinner With Andre, but it turns out that it's a lesser known movie. At any rate, it absorbed me despite nothing really happening. Great flick, check it out.

I am traveling currently and want to do a proper write up for my two.
Should I name them now and do my write up when I get a chance to keep this movin along, or should I just be skipped?

You can name them now and do write ups later

Funny that I just viewed Mr. Roberts! I also have Raise the Red Lantern on DVD. Great Film. Happy Ending!

My Dinner with Andre has been on my radar for years to see but I never have.

Great thread and interesting picks. I'm learning a lot about films that obviously are low on the radar and don't get much press or hype etc.

The rules of the game (Comedy) - no idea how it has so few ratings but ... yeah! Write up to follow

Lords of Dogtown (Drama)

Pick 3.Category: Comedy. Tapeheads.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapeheads

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096223/

John Cusack and Tib Robbins get fired from their, so decide to become producers of music videos. Lots of helpful protips. Hilarity ensues, but be warned -- I may just be me getting in touch with my inner juvenile.

Cameos a who's who of the 80s: Junior Walker, Sam Moore, Ted Nugent(?), Jello Biafra(??), Don Cornelius, Courtney Love, Bobcat Goldwaithe.

Highlight: the Swanky Modes, fronted by Walker and Sam Moore.

My favorite line: "OK, I'll pay you."

Includes commercials for Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles.







1. Phantom Lady
2. Bamboozled
3. Tapeheads

Tapeheads is the first movie drafted that I've seen

Fun movie

Actually that's not true

I've seen Repo Man too but I didn't like it.

I think that there's a lot there that I might appreciate if I'm in the right mood for a rewatch, but it wasn't for me the first time round.

White Mischief reminds me so much of another movie that I can't mention because it's eligible to be drafted. I didn't like this redacted movie which is slightly off putting for my potential enjoyment of White Mischief.

I'm sure however you can reassure me that is' nothing like [REACTED] and I should give it a go.

Well it seems like all the movies I want to pick are dramas, so I am going to have to use some of IMDB's more dubious categories to keep to the rules. For this one I'll use the romance category.

Anyway, my pick is Breaking Away, from 1979.



It's pretty well known to anyone my age or older (was nominated for Best Picture and won Best Screenplay), but I'm not sure how many younger people have seen it.

It's a coming of age story about 4 friends who are recent high school graduates in Bloomington, Indiana. They are working class and there is conflict with the more affluent students of Indiana University. The lead character is obsessed with bicycle racing and the movie ends with a climactic race (the "little 500") that pits the 4 friends against teams from the University.

Probably one of the most uplifting and best sports films ever made. All the acting is great, and the film perfectly captures the sense of place (was filmed on location in Bloomington). A small-scale gem.

Breaking Away is hardly unknown

Sci-Fi pick:

Coherence, James Ward Byrkit, 2013



Cool, low-budget flick about a dinner party that goes haywire when a comet crosses overhead and splits our the party into an infinite number of dimensions.

Haven't seen or heard anyone in this movie except Buff alum Nicholas Brendon, but the real star is Emily Baldoni, as the main chick who goes further than her party friends in understanding what exactly is going on.



This is a trippy movie -think a more upper-middle-class Primer, with different versions of our dinner party guests sowing up, but no one knowing which version they are...and how they figure out how to test the various theories is ingenious and fun.

This is a fun movie - all in one location!



****

Drama - Fat City
Crime - White Mischief
Sci-Fi - Coherence

i vaguely remember and my twenty somethings among others have never heard it.

Coherence is a great choice, if I remember correctly the script was mostly improv.

Round 3

The Bedford Incident (1965)

category: thriller 3967 IMDB ratings





This is a great cold war thriller about a cat and mouse game between a US destroyer and a Russian submarine. The all-star cast is terrific. Widmark as the no nonsense captain is particularly good. As an old Navy man I tend to gravitate to Navy movies and this one gets a lot of things right. I know lots of people probably haven't seen this one but it is worth a watch.

so far:

Mister Roberts (drama)
Vibes (adventure)
The Bedford Incident (thriller)

Love this one! I also was considering for the romance category too which doesn't seem to fit at all but a terrific movie!

Only 19k imdb ratings though.

Movie is 40 years old, so figured the younger folks might not have seen it, even if they've heard about it.

Given that most old movies in IMDB have a low number of ratings, I should probably title my picks "older movies that are actually pretty well known if you're over 40".

Round 3 - I'll pick in the Drama category Eve's Bayou.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119080/

You mean as opposed to Mister Roberts?

I'm really enjoying this thread, but describing some of these picks as "lesser known" is absolutely ridiculous. Perhaps xander biscuits should add an additional qualifier that movies that have been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture (!) can't be considered lesser known regardless of how many (or how few) imdb ratings it has.