PK's Most Underrated Films of All Time
This is a list of the most underrated films of all time in my opinion, ranked by the largest differences between my rating and the IMDb rating. As you can see, only a handful are underrated by 1.0 or more. This is, however, largely explained by my choice to be very restrictive with the highest rating (10), which shifts all my ratings downward. To compensate for this, I have included all movies for which my rating exceeds the IMDb rating by 0.5 or more.
The list includes my favorite movies of all time (rated 10), which was to be expected. Two other things really struck me, however, in compiling this list.
First and foremost, there is a surprising number of Swedish and Nordic films on the list. While I am Swedish, I have never considered myself to be a greater fan of Swedish movies than other people. In fact, I would have guessed the opposite. This list certainly gives me pause.
Second, there are a few comedies on the list, including one, Intolerable Cruelty, at the very top. I found that noteworthy since I choose to watch fewer comedies than a lot of people.
The list includes my favorite movies of all time (rated 10), which was to be expected. Two other things really struck me, however, in compiling this list.
First and foremost, there is a surprising number of Swedish and Nordic films on the list. While I am Swedish, I have never considered myself to be a greater fan of Swedish movies than other people. In fact, I would have guessed the opposite. This list certainly gives me pause.
Second, there are a few comedies on the list, including one, Intolerable Cruelty, at the very top. I found that noteworthy since I choose to watch fewer comedies than a lot of people.
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- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGeorge ClooneyCatherine Zeta-JonesBilly Bob ThorntonMiles, a high-profile divorce lawyer, wins a case for his rich but adulterous client Rex Rexroth. But Rex's ex-wife, Marylin, who is no saint and is a gold-digger, plots to take revenge on Miles.Underrated by 1.7 (8-6.3).
- DirectorWalter HillStarsBruce WillisBruce DernWilliam SandersonA drifting gunslinger-for-hire finds himself in the middle of an ongoing war between the Irish and Italian mafia in a Prohibition era ghost town.Underrated by 1.6 (8-6.4).
- DirectorIsabella CarbonellStarsSilvana ImamPhilip OrosEmma LuHomeless and invisible - the Twins are constantly struggling to survive. Sister is a ticking time bomb; her screams are loud. Brother, on the other hand, doesn't speak, but rather screams inward.Underrated by 1.3 (7-5.7). Swedish.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJoseph Gordon-LevittElliot PageA thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.Underrated by 1.2 (10-8.8).
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.Underrated by 1.2 (10-8.8).
- DirectorPeter DalleStarsLena EndreSuzanne ReuterPeter DalleMarie and David are always arguing while their friends Sara and Samuel always seem to be happy together. Or are they? This year they decide to spend Christmas in the mountains together.Underrated by 1.2 (7-5.8). Swedish.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsBrad PittMargot RobbieJean SmartA tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.Underrated by 0.9 (8-7.1).
- DirectorJ.C. ChandorStarsZachary QuintoStanley TucciKevin SpaceyFollows the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.Underrated by 0.9 (8-7.1).
- DirectorMike NewellStarsHugh GrantAndie MacDowellJames FleetOver the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love.Underrated by 0.9 (8-7.1).
- DirectorAndreas ÖhmanStarsKarin Franz KörlofArvin KananianElvis Ral LustigSuccessful cartoonist Lisa and her siblings gather at their parents' farm for the first time in over ten years. The parents want only one of them to inherit the forest, which has been in the family's possessions for generations.Underrated by 0.9 (7-6.1). Swedish.
- DirectorMikael MarcimainStarsDavid DencikSverrir GudnasonDavid Fukamachi RegnforsBeaten up, bruised, and scared, a young writer hides in a Stockholm apartment, writing the story of its disappeared inhabitants: the flamboyant and charismatic Morgan brothers.Underrated by 0.9 (7-6.1). Swedish.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsRobert De NiroJean RenoNatascha McElhoneA freelancing former U.S. Intelligence Agent tries to track down a mysterious package that is wanted by the Irish and the Russians.Underrated by 0.8 (8-7.2).
- DirectorPaul SchraderStarsOscar IsaacTiffany HaddishTye SheridanWilliam Tell is an ex-military interrogator living under the radar as a low-stakes gambler. When he encounters a young man looking to commit revenge against a mutual enemy, he takes him on the casino circuit to set him on a new path.Underrated by 0.8 (7-6.2).
- DirectorRonnie SandahlStarsBianca KronlöfHenrik RafaelsenMona Kristiansen23-year-old "Dino" (Bianca Kronlöf) dreams of a different life. Like an abundance of Swedes her age, she has fled the mass unemployment of her home country in search of a more worthwhile existence in a nouveau-riche Oslo. But her new life is caught in deadlock - Dino finds herself stuck in a destructive loop of temporary jobs, financial trouble and hard partying. A broken arm incidentally leads to a position as a housekeeper in a Norwegian middle-class home. Dino is thrown into a reality very far from her own. During a few sultry summer weeks she ends up the centre of an odd love triangle, an unpredictable struggle for affection as well as dominance. "Underdog" is a tender and raw story of privilege and longing, yet at the same time a humorous and unmerciful observation of the shifted power balance between Sweden and Norway - an actuality where Swedes have become the Norwegians' servants.Underrated by 0.8 (7-6.2). Swedish/Norwegian.
- DirectorFelix HerngrenFredrik LindströmStarsFelix HerngrenKarin BjurströmCecilia LjungFrank leads a respectable yuppie life working at a noted Stockholm law firm. He has also been married for eight years to his beautiful wife Nenne, who runs an upscale boutique. Yet Frank is deeply bored with his life and is supremely randy. He even fantasizes about the marriage counselor that he and Nenne visit weekly. Eventually, Frank shacks up with a young fetching art student named Sofia, though the experience wracks Frank with guilt. Meanwhile, Nenne's friend and co-worker Rosie suspects that Frank is having an affair, though she does not have the nerve to tell her. Little does Rosie suspect, however, that her friend is sleeping with her lover Georg, an uptight journalist with an ego the size of Finland. Soon wires get crossed, and all hell breaks loose.Underrated by 0.8 (7-6.2). Swedish.
- DirectorErika WassermanHaley VeresStarsKatia WinterJesper ZuschlagHenrik DorsinGoal-oriented Hanna wants another child before it is too late, but unexpectedly her boyfriend breaks up with her, and Hanna's world collapses. Hanna begins to realize that she may be chasing the wrong things in life.Underrated by 0.8 (6-5.2). Swedish.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsMichael FassbenderRebecca FergusonCharlotte GainsbourgDetective Harry Hole investigates the disappearance of a woman whose scarf is found wrapped around an ominous-looking snowman.Underrated by 0.8 (6-5.2). International/Swedish/Norwegian.
- DirectorAli AbbasiStarsAlice RahimiDiana Al HussenSoraya HelliA journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.Underrated by 0.7 (8-7.3). International/Danish.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsJohn David WashingtonRobert PattinsonElizabeth DebickiArmed with only the word "Tenet," and fighting for the survival of the entire world, CIA operative, The Protagonist, journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a global mission that unfolds beyond real time.Underrated by 0.7 (8-7.3).
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsAnne ParillaudMarc DuretPatrick FontanaConvicted felon Nikita isn't going to jail; she's given a new identity and trained, stylishly, as a top secret spy/assassin.Underrated by 0.7 (8-7.3).
- DirectorShaka KingStarsLaKeith StanfieldDaniel KaluuyaJesse PlemonsOffered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.Underrated by 0.6 (8-7.4).
- DirectorKathryn BigelowStarsJessica ChastainJoel EdgertonChris PrattA chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.Underrated by 0.6 (8-7.4).
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsRobert GustafssonJohan RheborgUlf BrunnbergUnderrated by 0.6 (8-7.4). Swedish.
- DirectorNinja ThybergStarsSofia KappelZelda MorrisonEvelyn ClaireBella Cherry arrives in Los Angeles with dreams of becoming an adult film star, but she soon learns that fame won't come easy as she harnesses her ambition and cunning to rise to the top of this mesmerizing and singular world.Underrated by 0.6 (7-6.4). Swedish.
- DirectorAnders RefnStarsJesper ChristensenBodil JørgensenMads ReutherDenmark, April 9th 1940. A Danish industrialist cooperates with the Germans and profits from the occupation of Denmark while his family finds themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.Underrated by 0.6 (7-6.4). Danish.