Underrated Movies #1 | Zafira

Hello!

I'm a big movie person. Especially recently since I've had a lot of work to do and it seems like my favorite procrastinating activity is watching a good movie (or 2).

January is gloomy and literally, the most boring month I have ever come into contact with. I wish I felt overwhelmingly motivated but there's just something about the atmosphere of this month that makes me want to melt into my Ikea rug.

So, this month, me and procrastination have become extremely good friends. Better than we need to be but it's given me a chance to really explore the movie world. I'm not someone who loves a generic movie. I like the weird stuff, the stuff that really makes you rethink your life and everything you've ever done. That's when you know it's a pretty amazing movie.

This led to the birth of this post. I've been binge watching movies left, right and center and I'm so surprised that some of the stuff I've watched isn't more widely talked about.

Here's a list of some the best-underrated movies:

I want this music box more than I want a degree from uni.

Maybe one day I'll have to do an entire list of neglected children's movies because they are so so so many of them. I remember one day my dad bought me one of those double-sided CDs that had a movie on either side. I put it into our portable movie players (I'm sure this was actually from the 90s it had the tiniest screen) and discovered Anastasia. One of the best Disney princess (but not really) movies to date.

It's very loosely based on the story and legend of the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. There was a big theory about how she escaped the tragic execution of her family and thus began this incredible movie. The animation is beautiful, the songs are beautiful and so is the character of Anastasia. I always wanted to be her, there was just something very relatable and quirky about the character that made her so much better than your typical Disney princess.

As I've gotten older, this movie is more of tragedy, turns out Anastasia didn't escape the execution of her family. It just took a lot longer to find not only her body.

I had seen a few movie stills and quotes from this movie on Instagram and it was enough to compel me to watch this.

This has the basic gist of the classic novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens but has a more modern twist. The movie is about the pursuit of a childhood love which sounds cute but this movie goes in so many different directions. It's not straightforward which I like but sometimes it was very frustrating. Estella (played by Gwenyth Paltrow) is probably a pretty good example of this.

She is the most annoying but amazing character in the entire thing (alongside her erratic aunt).

ALSO, a very big big big also, the settings of the movie are so outstanding. Every scene filmed in 'Paradiso Perduto' had my creative juices flowing like crazy. The most beautifully decorated home I've ever seen in my life. A sort of forgotten, hidden gem of a house. It's just somewhere I can totally imagine myself shooting some stunning pictures.

I can't tell if this is a happy or sad movie. I know that I learned a lot from it. It's a pretty good watch for a lazy Sunday.

This is one of those Amazon movies and I was not expecting it to be anywhere near as good as it was. If you loved Her starring Joaquin Phoenix then you will also adore this.

I'd say this is a good mix of I Robot (without the violence) mixed with Her (2013) and Lars and the Real Girl (2007) and maybe like a splash of I Origins (2014). It's about a company that makes synthetic humans and all about the way that a synthetic human interacts with humans and the way that they feel. It stars Ewan McGregor which was kind of a weird cast in my view because the only movies I've seen him in are Trainspotting 1&2. It's strange to watch him go from a crazy druggie to a somewhat crazy scientist falling in love with his creations.

It also stars Lea Seydoux who I haven't really heard of but she was really good at her role in this. This has really pushed me to watch more Amazon Studio movies. 

I'm not going to lie. The only thing that drew me to watch this movie were all the movie stills I saw floating around Instagram where Meena has like crazy beautiful hair. The hair was enough for me to be sold into watching this tbh.

The movie is all about an Indian family that is forced to leave Uganda due to Idi Amin being in power (the entire history of the expulsion of Asians in Uganda in the 70s is actually really interesting to read about you should look it up). The family then move to Mississippi where the daughter, Meena, falls in love with a young black man named Demetrius. 

It's heartbreaking to watch a cycle of racism and prejudice repeated over and over again especially when so many of us face it. You'd think that you'd try and better yourself than the people that hurt you.

One night, I was searching for something similar to the Virgin Suicides and fell upon this masterpiece. The Virgin Suicides (book & movie) had a massive impact on my life, it changed the way I looked at so many things.

Mustang is kind of like the Turkish equivalent to the Virgin Suicides. It has a lot more to do with a culture which I think personally resonated a lot with me since my family is very culture and tradition based. Unlike the girls in this movie, I am fortunate to say that my family is a lot more open and modern about things which is great.

It's all about 5 sisters that are caught innocently playing with boys on their way home from school. Everyone in their little village/town sees the event as immoral and takes it the wrong which eventually leads the family of the girls basically imprisoning them in their home. It's sad seeing them forced into such a shitty life. They're trained to be housewives and eventually married off one by one.

This is definitely more of an eye-opening watch. Sometimes, culture and tradition really do suck.

Out of all the movies I've mentioned in this post, I have to admit that this is more of a popular one but not popular enough.

I love period movies. It's my biggest guilty pleasures. Something about a fancy frock in the 1800s just really excites me so when I found Marie Antoinette, I was more than overjoyed. Marie Antoinette is more of quirky take on your usual period movie. A lot more vibrant and kind of more 'Wes Anderson-y'. It's filmed beautifully and all the scenes set in Versailles are just stunning. The outfits and shopping scenes are also just impeccable. A fashionista's dream come true.

It's the perfect watch for when you feel like watching a typical chick flick but with a bit more maturity.

Also, Kirsten Dunst is amazing in this.

If you want to see more posts like this please let me know, this was a really fun post to do!

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO STAY UPDATED: