Another forum I am a regular poster on brought up this question. It crept into the back of my head and I've been pondering it ever since.

What do you think are the most underrated movies ever? I mean movies which you thought were brilliant and moving, yet the media was indifferent and video stores often don't carry the video. The kind of movie you tell your friends, "You have to see this movie!" and they say "Never heard of it."

I was reading through the "Movie-a-minute" feature, and I was happy to see that one of my nominees for Most Underrated Movie was given four and one-half stars. "Ever After" was a wonderful movie, I think, and I watch it whenever it comes on TV.

Sam gave a good review, which I won't needlessly add to. But I was relieved that the character was resourceful and intelligent throughout the entire movie, and never ended up needing the prince to save her in the third act (the way it happens in many movies). Angelica Huston was a total Ice Queen, freezing the other characters with a look if they tried to be close to her.

Another wonderful movie is "Rushmore." I thought this movie was very well-acted and well-cast. It was funny and human, and had an excellant soundtrack.

However, both these movies didn't do very well, and are pretty much forgotten ("Rushmore" especially).

Foreign movies are often brushed aside in the US, as well. When "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" came out, Mike and I searched for a theater which was showing it in the Springs area, and when we had no luck here, we looked through the Denver listings. Still nothing.

Six weeks later, the local arthouse one-screen theater premiered it. They remained the only theater showing the movie until the media blitz started. Finally, about two months after the US release of "CT,HD," the chain theaters picked it up. So, that movie came very close to being ignored, at least in this area.

I guess the unpopularity of subtitles made the chain theaters hesitate. And they're justified-- some people who I've tried to engage in a discussion about the movie said, "Oh, I won't see a movie where I have to work." Work meaning reading. They're really missing out, though.