10. The Usual Suspects
This film is absolutlely amazing and it will keep you guessing til the very end."The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," says con man Kint (played by Kevin Spacey), drawing a comparison to the most enigmatic criminal of all time, Keyser Soze. Kint attempts to convince the feds that the mythic crime lord not only exists, but is also responsible for drawing Kint and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro Harbor - leaving few survivors. The Usual Suspects was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay while winning both and it has a rating of 88% on rottentomatoes.com.
9. Little Miss Sunshine
This film is absolutely hilarious and it has a great ensemble cast.The Hoover family puts the fun back in dysfunctional by piling into a VW bus and heading to California to support a daughter (played by Abigail Breslin) in her bid to win a children's beauty pageant. Accompanying her to the Little Miss Sunshine contest are dad (played by Greg Kinnear)-- a foundering motivational speaker -- exasperated mom (played by Toni Collette), a suicidal uncle (played by Steve Carell), a silently seething brother (played by Paul Dano) and a junkie grandfather (played by Alan Arkin). Little Miss Sunshine was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Screenplay while winning 2 (Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay) and it has a rating of 91% on rottentomatoes.com.
8. Memento
Christopher Nolan is one of my favorite directors and I absolutely love the film structure of telling the story in reverse as well as chronologically. Leonard (paled by Guy Pearce) is tracking down the man who raped and murdered his wife (played by Carrie-Anne Moss. The difficulty, however, of locating his wife's killer is compounded by the fact that he suffers from a rare, untreatable form of memory loss. Although he can recall details of life before his accident, Leonard cannot remember what happened fifteen minutes ago, where he's going, or why. Memento was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
7. Being John Malkovich
This film is amazing and it gives us an interesting look at what it would be like to step inside someone's mind mind. Unemployed New York City puppeteer Craig Schwartz (played by John Cusack) reluctantly takes a temp job as a filing clerk for the eccentric Dr. Lester (played by Orson Bean). While at work, Craig discovers a portal that leads into the mind of renowned actor John Malkovich played by John Malkovich). When he lets his attractive co-worker Maxine (played by Catherine Keener) in on the secret, they begin both an unusual business scheme and an odd relationship that involves Craig's restless wife, Lotte (played by Cameron Diaz). Being John Malkovich was nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress and it has a rating of 93% on rottentomatoes.com.
6. Easy Rider
This film is great and is memorable for having only 3 main actors during the film doing all of the acting. Wyatt (played by Peter Fonda) and Billy (played by Dennis Hopper), two Harley-riding hippies, complete a drug deal in Southern California and decide to travel cross-country in search of spiritual truth. On their journey, they experience bigotry and hatred from the inhabitants of small-town America and also meet with other travelers one of which is lawyer/local drunk George Hanson (played by Jack Nicholson) seeking alternative lifestyles. After a terrifying drug experience in New Orleans, the two travelers wonder if they will ever find a way to live peacefully in America. Easy Rider was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay and it has a rating of 86% on rottentomatoes.com.
5. Winter's Bone
This film is amazing and the debut of young, talented and beautiful actress Jennifer Lawrence. Facing the loss of her home and siblings if she fails, a gutsy teenager Ree (played by Jennifer Lawrence) sets out on a dangerous quest to learn the fate of her missing father. Winter's Bone was nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor and it has a rating of 94% on rottentomatoes.com.
4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
My scariest horror film of all-time literally scares me every single time and it is considered as the film that started the slasher-horror genre. When a trip goes bad wrong, five stranded friends must ban together to survive the night from the gruesome Leatherface who makes furniture out of people's skin. At first the film was banned in several countries for its graphic content.The Texas Chainsaw Massacre has a rating of 90% on rottentomatoes.com.
3. Reservoir Dogs
As I have stated before, I am a huge Quentin Tarantino fan and this movie is the main reason why I am. A group of thieves (played by Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Micheal Madsen Steve Buscemi and Chris Penn) assemble to pull of the perfect diamond heist. It turns into a bloody ambush when one of the men turns out to be a police informer. As the group begins to question each others guilt, the heightening tensions threaten to explode the situation before the police step in. Reservoir Dogs has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.
2. The Wrestler
I came across this movie a couple of years ago and I absolutely love this movie and what it means for so many people in the wrestling industry. This movie is about fictional professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson (played by Mickey Rourke) and his struggles in the wrestling world. Once a star in the 1980's Randy now wrestles for a small time company in New Jersey and works at a deli mart. He has fallen on to hard times and resorts to drugs and strip clubs on a nightly basis. Randy befriends a stripper named Cassidy (played by Marisa Tomei) who tries to help him in restoring his old life back to normal again. I can honestly say that this movie brought me to tears especially at the end. It was nominated for 2 Academy Awards including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress and it has a rating of 98% on rottentomatoes.com.
1. Pulp Fiction
This film comes from one of the greatest directors in the modern era Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction connects the intersecting storylines of Los Angeles mobsters, fringe players, small-time criminals, and a mysterious briefcase. Considerable screen time is devoted to conversations and monologues that reveal the characters senses of humor and perspectives on life. I love this film and Tarantino is one of my favorite directors of all-time and I love his non-linear storytelling by presenting the story in non-chronological order. Pulp Fiction was nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing while winning only 1 (Best Original Screenplay) and it has a rating of 95% on rottentomatoes.com.
So ladies and gentlemen what are some of your favorite independent films and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section and let your voice be heard.
Jonah Sparks
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