7 Great Films You Likely Didn't Know Existed

Discovery was the main reason we started Rankography.  We thought that if lots of knowledgeable movie fans started ranking their favorite movies in different categories, then we could find great unknown movies.  Well, for me at least, that has been true in spades.  Since we launched in May, my Netflix queue has tripled in size and I have watched many outstanding movies that I found on others' rankings.

I thought I would highlight 7 of the best "unknown" movies that I found during the last several months.

Sin Nombre (2009 - Mexico)
Stark drama about two Honduran teenagers, strangers brought together on the epic journey to the United States through Mexico.  It is a graphic depiction of gang life in Honduras and the utter desperation to get to a better life in the US.  If you can handle stark gangland dramas, in the vein of City of God, this is a very good film.



The Thin Man (1934)
I have garv to thank for highlighting this Classic on several of his ranked lists.  This is a murder mystery comedy starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.  This pair had such great comedic onstage presence together that there were several sequels to this movie.  In total, the pair went on to partner for 14 films.  They are naturally funny together.  You will also enjoy the different attitudes toward drinking.  This movie came out right after the end of Prohibition and you can tell by this timely film that the country was ready for a party!




Eastern Promises (2007)
Many of you may have heard of this Russian mafia movie, but given that it only cleared $16 million at the box office it is probably new to most folks. I found it on the rankings of the best Gangster Movies and I was not disappointed. This is an unraveling story about a young girl that dies in child birth after a brutal beating from an unknown abuser. The cast is excellent, including Viggo Mortenson and Naomi Watts, but Armin Mueller-Stahl really steals the show as the cold-blooded family patriarch.




Meet John Doe (1941)
Talk about bad timing, Meet John Doe is a Frank Capra/Gary Cooper meeting that was released in 1941, the same year as Citizen Kane, The Maltese Falcon, Hitchcock's Suspicion and How Green was My Valley. As a result, it has not survived in classic lore as well as many other movies, however this is one of my favorite Gary Cooper movies. The story is a bit of a feel good Depression-era film about how an unknown guy can change the world if given the chance.  If you like Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, I think you will also like this one.




Darkon (2006)
Okay, I am going a little off the beaten path for this one.  Darkon is a documentary about LARPers (Live Action Role Playing gamers).  I have never played these games and frankly watched this film because I wanted to understand what they people were thinking.  However, the film-making in this low budget documentary is so good, that I felt myself hanging on the outcome of a major fake battle between to opposing sides.  The camera angles, musical score and editing are very cool.  It creates an illusion of watching a real Fantasy Adventure movie.  You can watch this one on Netflix and its a fun watch.  I highly recommend you check out this hidden gem.




Runaway Jury (2003)
Runaway Jury is the biggest box office success in this list.  It grossed about $40 million at the box office, but that is still a paltry sum and means very few people have seen this excellent courtroom drama.  The cast is outstanding Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz and John Cusack.  It is a look into the backroom drama in jury selection and jury management in the big class action personal injury lawsuits.  Gene Hackman is excellent as a ruthless jury consultant for the defense.  As if the acting and drama were not enough, the plot takes some interesting twists and turns that is very entertaining.  This movie is right up there in my Top 5 courtroom drama films.




And God Spoke... (1993)
And finally we end with a comedy way, way off the beaten path.  And God Spoke...is a hilarious mockumentary in the tradition of This is Spinal Tap.  It follows the drama of a film-making team as they try to produce their latest film with the same title.  There is a lot of the normal behind the scenes mockumentary comedy, but the characters carry the day.  Stephen Rappaport really stole the show for me.  His character is so over the top that you actually feel like he believes what he is saying at time.  It is amazing to me that he has not been cast in other comedic movie roles since this movie.  Andy Dick also has a very funny cameo appearance as Abel to Lou Ferrigno's Cain -- you can imagine where that is going.  I was laughing out loud by myself watching it on my computer through Netflix!  Unfortunately, there is not an embeddable trailer, but there are a couple of clips available on youtube.

Congratulations to Our Contest Winners

Well November has ended and so has our rankings contest.  Congratulations to garv who ran away with First Place in both the Total Ranked Categories and Incremental Ranked Categories contests for a total of $80 ($40 in each contest) in Amazon gift cards. Garv started the month with only 3 ranked categories and ended with a whopping 269 ranked categories.  WOW!  Here is a link to all of Garv's rankings

David_mikec pushed garv the entire month and ended in a fairly close second place in both categories with a total of 208 categories ranked. David joined Rankography during November so all his rankings were Incremental.  David won Second Place in both contests for a total win of $50 ($25 in each contest).  Here is a link to all of david_mikec's rankings

TheHollywoodRevue made a very respectable run at the contest and finished third with a total of 48 categories ranked.  Although she finished just outside the money, we have decided to give her a $20 Amazon gift card for her stellar effort.  Here is a link to all of TheHollywoodRevue's rankings

In total, we gave away $150 for contest winners.  Congrats to all three and thanks for the excellent effort.  We plan to run similar contests again sometime in the New Year, so stay tuned.

The best thing about the contest is the vast and deep knowledge that these three excellent film fans passed along to the community.  They added over 800 movies to the database and created almost 200 new categories during the month, such as:

Cary Grant Movies
Best Revenge Films
It Should have Won Best Picture
Most Deserving Best Picture Winners
Movies that Survived Keanu Reeves
Movies based on TV Shows

And many, many more.

They put a lot of thought into new categories and all their rankings and we will all benefit by browsing through their ranked categories.

The Rankography Team

November Ranking Promotion for Rankography Members

EXCITING NEWS!

We are giving away four (4) Amazon gift cards to certain members in a Rankings promotion during November. We know that increasing the total number of rankings per category increases the discovery value of the site for all users. We also know that our members' time is valuable so we are creating an incentive for you to rank more categories.

Specifically, we have created two member challenges. The first challenge is called The Total Challenge and we are giving two (2) Amazon gift cards to the two members with the most total categories ranked (with at least 5 entries per category) at the end of November. The first place winner of The Total Challenge will receive a $40 Amazon gift card and second place will get a $25 Amazon gift card.

The second challenge is called The Incremental Challenge and we are giving away two (2) Amazon gift cards to the two members that rank the most additional categories (with at least 5 entries per category) during the month of November (from and including 10-31-10 to 11-30-10). The first place winner of The Incremental Challenge will receive a $40 Amazon gift card and second place will get a $25 Amazon gift card.

Now there are a couple of rules you need to be aware of in these Challenges.
1. Only category rankings with at least 5 movies will be counted as a ranked category. We prefer that members fully rank a category with all of the movies they like that applies to a category, but you must have at least 5 valid movies in a ranking to be counted.
2. Your rankings will not count if it is clear that you are just randomly inputting movies or using the same movies on all your rankings just to increase the number of ranked categories. We understand rankings are subjective and we will allow latitude if it is clear you are making an effort to create actual rankings for each category, but we reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to disqualify any member that we believe is trying to thwart the spirit of the contest to create bulk rankings with bogus rankings.
3. Rankings that are clearly copies of another member just to increase rankings will also be disqualified. That is not to say that you can't have the same rankings as another member because we know that will happen. But if all of your rankings appear to be simply copied from one or more members in order to quickly increase your total rankings, you run the risk of disqualification, again at our sole discretion. Bottom line, just make an honest and valid effort and you shouldn't run into trouble.
4. You do not need to be an existing member to participate, but you do need to sign up and start ranking categories if you are not yet a member because several members have a head start on you.
5. You still need to adhere to the normal Terms of Service of the site. So, please take a read through those Terms to avoid running the risk of disqualification or losing your account.
6. Several members that are affiliated with the site are not participating in the promotion and they include Tonto, brooklyn77, CallingDrBombay, brewster, Roundersbuzz and Keysersoze.
7. Winners may not request substitutions of prize winnings. All winners are solely responsible for any and all taxes and/or fees as well as all additional costs that may be incurred.
8. In the event of a tie for any of potential prizes, the member with the most total movies included on all of their ranked categories will be deemed the winner. In the event there is still a tie after all the movies are tallied, then the member that has been a member of Rankography the longest will be deemed the winner of said award.
9. See below for some additional contest terms.

Note:  Please do a keyword search of the existing categories (on the Categories page) before adding a new category because often times there is a similar category already.  We want to avoid duplicate categories so that we can calculate true Composite Rankings.

Below we have included a benchmark of rankings as of October 30th for calculating the results of the Incremental Challenge. October 31st will be considered the first day of the Challenge and any rankings today will count toward the Incremental Challenge. This also gives you an idea of current Leaderboard for the Total Challenge. MDotMovieMan has set the ranking bar at 22 categories, but that is a very reachable goal with a concerted effort during the month.

So here are the number of ranked categories for members (with at least 5 ranked entries) as of the end of October 30th. All members not listed below or in Rule 6 above does not currently have any qualified rankings (with at least 5 movies) as of the end of October 30th:

Categories Ranked as of 10-30-2010
MDotMovieMan 22
filmforager 12
john49 8
MosaicMan 7
Pokernutz 7
BigThoughtsFromASmallMind 5
blogcabins 5
Evil Dead Junkie 5
LolitasClassics 5
TheHollywoodRevue 5
DEMayo2 4
DVDSpinDoctor 4
goodoldparanoia 4
hal0000 4
rebzombie 4
Red 4
AaronIMTV 3
filmgeek 3
garv 3
Izzy 3
mugison 3
nicola-t 3
bitchinfilms 2
Clarabela 2
Dancinghotdogs 2
eangevine 2
GloriaOliver 2
J_Jammer 2
Joeeholman 2
MyFilmHabit 2
TheOpinionatedB 2
utsav 2
amiableamy 1
anfieldreds09 1
Chase Kahn 1
daphnelaura 1
IHateFilmDotCom 1
Jack 1
jejozi 1
Joel Gunz 1
June Zach 1
jw1023 1
Katie 1
KidReviewer 1
Lady Horror 1
littlemisszombie 1
loisgrl 1
Mattsuzaka 1
Movie Muse 1
moviesatmidnight 1
mylastoscar 1
Taliesin_ttlg 1
TheMike31 1
TotalBurke 1

Best of luck everyone and get ranking!!

Additional contest/promotion terms and conditions:
10. Rankings after 11/30/2010 will not count toward the promotion.
11. JT Webmedia Inc. and its site, Rankography.com are not responsible to any interruptions of internet service either for the Rankography.com website or any of its members access to the internet. In the event of such an outage of service for Rankography.com, such time will be lost from the promotion and NO additional time will added to the promotion.
12. All winners will be notified via the email address provided during site registration. If the winner does not respond within five (5) business days, another winner will be selected. Failure to respond to the notification email within five (5) business days shall mean that the winner forfeits the prize.
13. You acknowledge and agree that JT Webmedia Inc and Rankography.com have the right to publicize the winners of the promotion awards using the Usernames registered on the Rankography.com website.
14. The contest is null and void in any jurisdiction where prohibited by law.
15. JT Webmedia Inc. and Rankography.com reserve the right in their sole and absolute discretion to terminate any contest at any time without prior notice.
16. JT Webmedia Inc. and Rankography.com reserve the right in their sole and absolute discretion to alter any contest rules at any time.
17. By entering a contest, you conclusively are deemed to have agreed to be bound by these contest rules and terms and conditions as well as by any rules specific to such contest. This is an irrevocable condition of entry.
18. No purchase or payment of any consideration is necessary to enter the contest.
19. JT Webmedia Inc. and Rankography.com reserve the right to require the winner to execute an affidavit of eligibility as a sworn document and provide other proof of eligibility as a condition of receipt of the prize or award.

Six Classic Halloween Favorites

Happy Halloween, Rankography! I'm sure you've read plenty of lists about horror films this year, but what's the harm in one more?

1. Nosferatu (1922): This is one of the most genuinely creepy movies I've ever seen. If the Maltese Falcon is the stuff dreams are made of, Nosferatu is the stuff nightmares are made of. The scene where Nosferatu is coming up the stairs and all we see is his shadow is just so incredibly eerie, I just love it.

2. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931): Fredric March was simply brilliant as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! Miriam Hopkins was fantastic as well. Not only does it have great performances, it's got great special effects. Gotta love the scenes of Dr. Jekyll turning into Mr. Hyde. And if you like pre-codes, there are some incredibly pre-code moments worth watching for here.

3. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962): Because let's face it, few things are more disturbing than watching an aging Bette Davis singing "I've Written a Letter to Daddy" while wearing little girl dresses and hairstyles.

4. I Walked With a Zombie (1943): This is a pretty unique horror movie. You expect a horror movie to be full of screaming, violence, and blood, but you never actually see any blood, the only violence happens off-screen, and there's only one scream in the whole movie. And even though it's a movie about a zombie, this isn't a zombie like you'd see in Night of the Living Dead. But despite all this, it remains wonderfully atmospheric and eerie.

5. Freaks (1932): Even though I don't think I'll ever fully understand why this was such a controversial movie, I do know that all the freaks banding together to take down Cleopatra is quite scary. It's the classic "outer beauty doesn't always equal inner beauty" message with a horrifying twist.

6. Halloween (1978): Like I Walked With a Zombie, the original Halloween was made on a pretty small budget. These two movies are proof that you don't need a big budget to become a Halloween classic.

Want to rank your favorite classic horror movies or want to see what other people had to say? Head on over here and go to town!

Shocktober: 5 Horror Films Worth a Watch

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Growing up, October was always Shock-tober - a time when the whole family gathered around to watch classic (and not-so-classic) Horror films. Instead of blogging about the best Horror movies of all time that we all know - Halloween, The Exorcist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Shining, Psycho, Nightmare on Elm Street, The Omen, Friday the 13th, etc. - I thought I would cover five 'modern'/post 2000 Horror films worth checking out.

The House of the Devil (2009): I was a bit skeptical upon learning of this homage to kitchsy '80s horror movies, but this is surprisingly well done -- it is respectful to the genre without being overly tongue in cheek...it is fun to look at, supported by a terrific soundtrack (putting to excellent use "One thing leads to another" by the Fixx), and is well cast with unknowns to support the illusion of a straight-to-video horror flick. "House of the Devil" does boast one well-known face: character actor Tom Noonan, best known for his portrayal of Francis Dollarhyde in Michael Mann's "Manhunter." There are some genuine scares in this one, but it is particularly memorable because it is one of those rare examples of a "tribute" movie that is actually better than what it is setting out to honor.

The Strangers (2008): Yikes. I do believe that this will become a horror classic. This startlingly simplistic, yet original, scarefest does not leap out at you with ghosts, creatures from the beyond, aliens, or the demonically possessed. Instead, it unmercilessly attacks you with your worst fears -- psychopaths without a motive, assaulting you at their own pace in the middle of nowhere. If you have no patience for a feature length horror flick, but still want to be frightened, just watch the two-minute trailer and you will leave your lights on...indefinitely. Unfortunately, this chiller ultimately derails with the unnecessarily brutal and unredeeming ending...which keeps it from being perfect.

Vacancy (2007): Much like "The Strangers," Nimrod Antal's "Vacancy" relies on our worst fears, our fellow man, to scare the bejeezus out of us...this time, the setting is in one of those ramshackle flea fests of a motel that one often passes on a road trip... and then makes a mental note to never run out of gas. Ever. This was Antal's first English language film and I expect bigger things to come. Unlike "The Strangers," the ending makes for a very satisfying revenge flick. Starring Luke Wilson (surprisingly effective in a non-comedic role) and Kate Beckinsale.


Joy Ride (2001): Joy Ride - directed by John Dahl ("Unforgettable", "Rounders") - is a taut thriller about 3 twenty-somethings on a roadtrip who mess with the wrong truck driver. This highly entertaining film crisscrosses several genres and, at the end of the day, works well as a straight up thriller (with elements of a psycho slasher on the loose). Much better than similar road trips from hell (e.g., "The Hitcher"...both original and remake), this is one of those films that plays with our psyche because the events that transpire are not entire implausible and there is enough comic relief (delivered by Steve Zahn) to lighten the load. Also stars Paul Walker and Leelee Sobieski.

From Hell (2001): Detroit-brethren the Hughes Brothers ("Menace II Society," "The Book of Eli") deliver with a creepy thriller investigating the Jack the Ripper murders in 19th century London. Not surprisingly, Johnny Depp puts on his best period face and acting chops and helps carry the trite Heather Graham. Moody, suspensful, atmospheric, and terse. For an evening of films in the same vein -- I also recommend Tim Burton's "Sleepy Hollow."
Finally, I have a bit of a soft spot for Rob Zombie films - his remake of Halloween is definitely worthy of a watch as is The Devil's Rejects (as we all know how white trash can make me shiver in my boots). Just stay away from Rob Zombie's Halloween 2...terrible.

To rank your favorite Horror films or check out other user rankings, go to Rankography.com.

The 7 Best Baseball Movies

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In tribute to the baseball playoffs which are in full swing, I thought I would highlight my favorite seven movies about baseball and the fall classic.  If you want to add your own two cents, you can rank the category here.  And also check out our member rankings for other great Sports Movies.

Before I get started, lets talk a little bit about criteria.  I was looking for the baseball movies that gave me the best appreciation of the players that played the game and/or made me feel good about the game.  These are not necessarily the most technically accurate or most humorous, but rather these are Movies that embody the spirit of the game.


7.  Eight Men Out - We start with a downer film, but yet a very good movie that honestly portrays the early days professional baseball.  Eight Men Out follows the story of the infamous 1919 Chicago White Sox, nicknamed the "Black Sox", who threw the World Series for a big payday from gamblers.  Feeling spurned by a miserly owner, most of the players on the team conspired to lose the Series that they were heavily favored to win.  The film also follows the brilliant play of Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was part of the conspiring group but who chose not to cooperate and actually had a brilliant series.  It is a very good period piece on the early years of professional baseball.


6.  Bull Durham - This hilarious romp follows the players at the Durham Bulls minor league ball team, in particular an up and coming Pitcher (Tim Robbins) and a washed up Catcher (Kevin Costner).   Then you throw in sexy Susan Sarandon trying to woo both players and it makes for a fun filled romp around the bases.  


5.  A League of their Own - Following the All American Girls Professional Baseball league which was formed during World War II, this poignant film is both funny and touching.  Tom Hanks is brilliant as a "has been" alcoholic Manager that inherits a girls team, the Rockford Peaches, near Chicago.  It follows his transformation from reluctantly accepting the "insulting" job to gaining respect and admiration for his team of female players.  Geena Davis plays the teams star and Lori Petty is outstanding as her "overshadowed" younger sister.  The cast includes Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell and Jon Lovitz, who all give their career best performances in this one of a kind classic.


4.  Bang the Drum Slowly - One could call this tear-jerker a Brian's Song for baseball.  The movie includes a young and unknown Robert DeNiro as a rookie catcher who has been diagnosed with Hodgkins disease and is playing in his last season and Michael Moriarty as a veteran pitcher who befriends him during this sad but beautiful movie.


3.  Pride of the Yankees - I don't know what it is about Gary Cooper but I just love watching his movies.  There is a comfortableness in his roles that is just a joy to watch.  Of course, then you give Gary Cooper the role of Lou Gehrig, one of the greatest stories in baseball history, and it is a combination that is tough to beat.  The film follows Lou Gehrig's rise from a shy rookie to the baseball legend that he became.  Cooper delivers Gehrig's famous farewell speech, after learning he has an incurable degenerative disease later named Lou Gehrig's Disease, with such grace that you really feel as if you were there.


2.  Field of Dreams - I am not a huge Kevin Costner fan, per se, but this is Costner's seminal work -- in Field of Dreams he paints his masterpiece.  I love this movie and frankly it was really hard to pick a number 1 and a number 2 between my two favorites.  The movie follows the life of a couple in Iowa struggling to save their family farm but it is really much more.  The film is an exploration of four "unfulfilled lives" seeking one last shot at redemption, the tragedy of Shoeless Joe's brilliant career tainted by the Black Sox cheating scandal and of course America's love of the game of baseball.  The final scene in which James Earl Jones delivers his oration on America and baseball is also one of my favorite movie scenes ever.  The richness of his phenomenal voice, the cadence of his voice...I can listen to it over and over.  "If you build it, they will come Ray...they will come, Ray...they will come to Iowa for reasons they cannot even fathom..."   You can listen to this beautiful speech on Youtube.


1.  The Natural - From a baseball perspective, this movie has it all; a young star, scandal, an amazing comeback and all the while great baseball.  Ultimately, I chose it over Field of Dreams because it was more fully a baseball movie than Field of Dreams.  What an intriguing story, Roy Hobbs, once a great young prospect that only plays briefly in the majors because of a shadowy scandal with a woman (Kim Basinger) ending in his being shot.  Then Hobbs attempts a comeback 14 years later to try to save a franchise from an "evil" owner.  All the story elements are there and then a brilliant cast including Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close and Wilford Brimley carry it home.  I can still call up the song every time I think of Hobbs climatic home run...Da Na Na...Da da duuuu.  It is a must see for any baseball fan.


Enjoy the playoffs and the World Series.

Take the DiCaprio Quiz

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Take the quiz to see how well you know Leo and come see member rankings if you are looking to find the Best Leonardo DiCaprio Films.

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