46 Lesser Known Gems
by Stewball | created - 02 Apr 2022 | updated - 15 Jun 2022 | PublicUndermarketed, lesser known gems that often didn't get the ratings, buzz or number of screens they deserved--for something different and out of the mainstream, but above the bare bones, no-name cast titles.
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1. Destination Wedding (2018)
R | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The story of two miserable and unpleasant wedding guests, Lindsay and Frank, who develop a mutual affection despite themselves.
Director: Victor Levin | Stars: Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, DJ Dallenbach, Ted Dubost
Votes: 33,410
2. Undisputed (2002)
R | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When heavyweight champion George "Iceman" Chambers lands in prison, the resident gangster arranges a boxing match with the reigning prison champ.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Wesley Snipes, Ving Rhames, Peter Falk, Michael Rooker
Votes: 34,408 | Gross: $12.76M
3. Pig (I) (2021)
R | 92 min | Drama, Mystery
A truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregon wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped.
Director: Michael Sarnoski | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin, Cassandra Violet
Votes: 89,571
4. The Only Living Boy in New York (2017)
R | 89 min | Drama
Adrift in New York City, a recent college graduate's life is upended by his father's mistress.
Director: Marc Webb | Stars: Callum Turner, Kate Beckinsale, Pierce Brosnan, Cynthia Nixon
Votes: 17,531 | Gross: $0.62M
5. Like Sunday, Like Rain (2014)
R | 104 min | Drama, Music
Living with abundant resources, 12-year-old cello prodigy Reggie lives a solitary life in Manhattan; estranged from family, jobless, and having boyfriend problems, sometime-musician 23-year-old Eleanor needs a new job and residence.
Director: Frank Whaley | Stars: Julian Shatkin, Olga Merediz, Debra Messing, Wayne Pretlow
Votes: 5,060 | Gross: $0.03M
6. Black Snake Moan (2006)
R | 116 min | Drama, Music
A God-fearing bluesman takes to a wild young woman who, as a victim of childhood sexual abuse, looks everywhere for love, never quite finding it.
Director: Craig Brewer | Stars: Christina Ricci, Samuel L. Jackson, Justin Timberlake, S. Epatha Merkerson
Votes: 66,549 | Gross: $9.40M
7. The Good Catholic (2017)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Drama
Daniel loved his job as a small town priest more than anything. Then he met Jane. God help him.
Director: Paul Shoulberg | Stars: Zachary Spicer, Wrenn Schmidt, Danny Glover, John C. McGinley
Votes: 975
8. Detachment (2011)
Not Rated | 98 min | Drama
A substitute teacher who drifts from classroom to classroom finds a connection to the students and teachers during his latest assignment.
Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks, Marcia Gay Harden, Lucy Liu
Votes: 99,185 | Gross: $0.07M
9. The Counselor (2013)
R | 117 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
A lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Javier Bardem
Votes: 105,921 | Gross: $16.97M
10. Carnage (2011)
R | 80 min | Comedy, Drama
Two pairs of parents hold a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a fight, though as their time together progresses, increasingly childish behavior throws the discussion into chaos.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly
Votes: 133,040 | Gross: $2.55M
11. End of Watch (2012)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Shot 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.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick, America Ferrera
Votes: 269,178 | Gross: $41.00M
12. Get Low (2009)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Mystery
A movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive.
Director: Aaron Schneider | Stars: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black
Votes: 24,032 | Gross: $9.18M
13. Rollerball (1975)
Approved | 125 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Sport
In a corporate-controlled future, an ultra-violent sport known as Rollerball represents the world, and one of its powerful athletes is out to defy those who want him out of the game.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: James Caan, John Houseman, Maud Adams, John Beck
Votes: 29,307 | Gross: $30.00M
14. Shuffle (2011)
PG-13 | 82 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A man begins to experience his life out of order: each time he falls asleep, he wakes up on a different day of his life, at a different age, and he never knows where or when he will be "tomorrow."
Director: Kurt Kuenne | Stars: T.J. Thyne, Paula Rhodes, Chris Stone, Meeghan Holaway
Votes: 1,934
15. Streets of Fire (1984)
PG | 93 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A mercenary is hired to rescue his ex-girlfriend, a singer who has been kidnapped by a motorcycle gang.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Michael Paré, Diane Lane, Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan
Votes: 24,259 | Gross: $8.09M
16. Sucker Punch (2011)
PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A young girl institutionalized by her abusive stepfather retreats to an alternative reality as a coping strategy and envisions a plan to help her escape.
Director: Zack Snyder | Stars: Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone
Votes: 252,850 | Gross: $36.39M
17. Wind River (2017)
R | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A wildlife officer, who is haunted by a tragedy that happened because of him, teams up with an FBI agent in solving a murder of a young woman on a Wyoming Native American reservation and hopes to get redemption from his past regrets.
Director: Taylor Sheridan | Stars: Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Graham Greene, Kelsey Asbille
Votes: 280,681 | Gross: $33.80M
18. The Words (2012)
PG-13 | 102 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A writer at the peak of his literary success discovers the steep price he must pay for stealing another man's work.
Directors: Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal | Stars: Bradley Cooper, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana
Votes: 81,451 | Gross: $11.49M
19. The Burnt Orange Heresy (2019)
R | 99 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Hired to procure a rare painting from one of the most enigmatic painters of all time, an ambitious art scholar becomes consumed by his own greed and insecurity as the operation spins out of control.
Director: Giuseppe Capotondi | Stars: Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger, Donald Sutherland
Votes: 6,133
20. Belle (2013)
PG | 100 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The biracial daughter, Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), of Royal Navy Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode) is raised by aristocratic Great-uncle Lord William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) in 18th century England.
Director: Amma Asante | Stars: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Matthew Goode, Emily Watson, Miranda Richardson
Votes: 33,144 | Gross: $10.73M
21. The Catcher Was a Spy (2018)
R | 94 min | Biography, Drama, War
Former Major League Baseball player Moe Berg goes undercover in World War II Europe for the Office of Strategic Services.
Director: Ben Lewin | Stars: Paul Rudd, Pierfrancesco Favino, Tom Wilkinson, Connie Nielsen
Votes: 11,881 | Gross: $0.71M
22. The Details (2011)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama
When a family of raccoons discover worms living underneath the sod in Jeff and Nealy's backyard, this pest problem begins a darkly comic and wild chain reaction of domestic tension, infidelity and murder.
Director: Jacob Estes | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta
Votes: 9,801 | Gross: $0.06M
23. The Dressmaker (I) (2015)
R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama, Western
A glamorous woman returns to her small town in rural Australia. With her sewing machine and haute couture style, she transforms the women and exacts sweet revenge on those who did her wrong.
Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse | Stars: Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 65,421 | Gross: $2.02M
24. Free State of Jones (2016)
R | 139 min | Action, Biography, Drama
A disillusioned Confederate army deserter returns to Mississippi and leads a militia of fellow deserters and women in an uprising against the corrupt local Confederate government.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mahershala Ali, Keri Russell
Votes: 62,463 | Gross: $20.76M
25. Harriet (I) (2019)
PG-13 | 125 min | Action, Biography, Drama
The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes, whose courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
Director: Kasi Lemmons | Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Janelle Monáe, Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn
Votes: 30,733
26. Hateship Loveship (2013)
R | 104 min | Drama, Romance
A wild teenage girl orchestrates a romance between her nanny and her father, who is a recovering addict.
Director: Liza Johnson | Stars: Kristen Wiig, Guy Pearce, Hailee Steinfeld, Nick Nolte
Votes: 7,237 | Gross: $0.05M
27. The Hunt (II) (2020)
R | 90 min | Action, Horror, Thriller
Twelve strangers wake up in a clearing. They don't know where they are, or how they got there. They don't know they've been chosen - for a very specific purpose - The Hunt.
Director: Craig Zobel | Stars: Betty Gilpin, Hilary Swank, Ike Barinholtz, Wayne Duvall
Votes: 128,885 | Gross: $5.81M
28. It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
PG-13 | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A clinically-depressed teenager gets a new start after he checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward.
Directors: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck | Stars: Keir Gilchrist, Zach Galifianakis, Emma Roberts, Dana DeVestern
Votes: 148,227 | Gross: $6.35M
29. Last Flag Flying (2017)
R | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, War
Thirty years after they served together in Vietnam, a former Navy Corpsman Larry "Doc" Shepherd re-unites with his old buddies, former Marines Sal Nealon and Reverend Richard Mueller, to bury his son, a young Marine killed in the Iraq War.
Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Carell, J. Quinton Johnson
Votes: 28,567 | Gross: $0.97M
30. Leaves of Grass (2009)
R | 105 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
An Ivy League professor is lured back to his Oklahoma hometown, where his twin brother, a small-time pot grower, has concocted a scheme to take down a local drug lord.
Director: Tim Blake Nelson | Stars: Edward Norton, Keri Russell, Henry Max Nelson, Lucy DeVito
Votes: 27,889 | Gross: $0.07M
31. Margin Call (2011)
R | 107 min | Drama, Thriller
Follows the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.
Director: J.C. Chandor | Stars: Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany
Votes: 144,362 | Gross: $5.35M
32. Mother Lode (1982)
PG | 103 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
It's Silas McGee's gold. He just hasn't found it yet, although he's searched for his mother lode for more than 30 years in the remote high country of British Columbia.
Directors: Charlton Heston, Fraser C. Heston | Stars: Charlton Heston, Kim Basinger, Nick Mancuso, John Marley
Votes: 1,668
33. Mr. Holmes (2015)
PG | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Family
An aged, retired Sherlock Holmes deals with dementia, as he tries to remember his final case, and a mysterious woman, whose memory haunts him. He also befriends a fan, the young son of his housekeeper, who wants him to work again.
Director: Bill Condon | Stars: Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hattie Morahan
Votes: 67,900 | Gross: $17.74M
34. Nerve (I) (2016)
PG-13 | 96 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
A high school senior finds herself immersed in an online game of truth or dare, where her every move starts to become manipulated by an anonymous community of "watchers."
Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | Stars: Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Emily Meade, Miles Heizer
Votes: 140,299 | Gross: $38.58M
35. Ratatouille (2007)
G | 111 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A rat who can cook makes an unusual alliance with a young kitchen worker at a famous Paris restaurant.
Directors: Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava | Stars: Brad Garrett, Lou Romano, Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm
Votes: 825,405 | Gross: $206.45M
36. Savages (I) (2012)
R | 131 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Pot growers Ben and Chon face off against the Mexican drug cartel who kidnapped their shared girlfriend.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Benicio Del Toro
Votes: 134,533 | Gross: $47.38M
37. A Soldier's Story (1984)
PG | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An African-American officer investigates a murder in a racially charged situation in World War II.
Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Howard E. Rollins Jr., Adolph Caesar, Art Evans, David Alan Grier
Votes: 11,406 | Gross: $21.82M
38. The Song of Names (2019)
PG-13 | 113 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
Several years after his childhood friend, a violin prodigy, disappears on the eve of his first solo concert, an Englishman travels throughout Europe to find him.
Director: François Girard | Stars: Eddie Izzard, Gerran Howell, Stanley Townsend, Amy Sloan
Votes: 5,304
39. Stranger Than Fiction (2006)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
I.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.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Will Ferrell, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah
Votes: 236,497 | Gross: $40.14M
40. Three Christs (2017)
R | 109 min | Drama
Three Christs follows Dr. Alan Stone who is treating three paranoid schizophrenic patients at the Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan, each of whom believed they were Jesus Christ. What transpires is both comic and deeply moving.
Director: Jon Avnet | Stars: Richard Gere, Peter Dinklage, Bradley Whitford, Walton Goggins
Votes: 3,752
41. The Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2017)
R | 119 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Sidney Hall finds accidental success and unexpected love at an early age, then disappears without a trace.
Director: Shawn Christensen | Stars: Logan Lerman, Elle Fanning, Kyle Chandler, Michelle Monaghan
Votes: 11,751
42. Wild Mountain Thyme (2020)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A pair of star-crossed lovers in Ireland get caught up in their family's land dispute.
Director: John Patrick Shanley | Stars: Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Jon Hamm, Christopher Walken
Votes: 12,094
43. Stuck (IV) (2017)
PG-13 | 90 min | Drama, Musical
An original pop musical film about six strangers who get stuck on a New York City subway together and change each others lives in unexpected ways.
Director: Michael Berry | Stars: Giancarlo Esposito, Amy Madigan, Arden Cho, Ashanti
Votes: 426
44. Interview (I) (2007)
R | 84 min | Drama
After falling out with his editor, a fading political journalist is forced to interview America's most popular soap actress.
Director: Steve Buscemi | Stars: Sienna Miller, Steve Buscemi, Michael Buscemi, Tara Elders
Votes: 13,943 | Gross: $0.42M
45. The Outfit (2022)
R | 105 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
An expert cutter must outwit a dangerous group of mobsters in order to survive a fateful night.
Director: Graham Moore | Stars: Mark Rylance, Zoey Deutch, John Gumley-Mason, Stephen Knox
Votes: 69,408
46. The Duke (2020)
R | 95 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60 year old taxi driver, steals Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London.
Director: Roger Michell | Stars: Jim Broadbent, Heather Craney, Stephen Rashbrook, James Wilby
Votes: 13,196
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