By: Khadija Khan
1. Frequencies
If you’re into movies about sci-fi, mystery and romance neatly wrapped into a compelling storyline, Frequencies is for you. What if it was physics that ruled the laws of human attraction? Is it free will or fate that controls human conditions, relationships and actions? Should we care if we don’t have control over it? This movie explores the mysteries of a parallel world where humans determine love, luck and destiny by their innate “frequency.” This is where love, science and fate collide.
2. Funeral Kings
This isn’t just any coming-of-age film, but a moment-to-moment cleverness about the near-terminal condition known as male adolescence. Centralized on two middle-schoolers who double as altar servers, Funeral Kings is a film about what boys perceive as the meaning of adulthood and friendship. Filled with intriguing ideas but still realistically vulgar.
3. Short Term 12
Before you get cozy with your popcorn, be prepared to cry, smile and feel inspired all within 96 minutes. Short Term 12 is an intensely raw and heartbreaking drama about the affects of childhood abuse and neglect. Unruly with rampant emotions, it’s sure to make your heart swell one moment and leave you in tears the next.
4. Carlos
Relentlessly tense and exciting, Carlos tells the story of one of the planet’s most wanted terrorists. Who was Carlos? How did his pseudonyms weave together through the complexities of international politics? You get absorbed into the story as the thriller unfolds. If you’re interested in political thrillers, be sure to add Carlos to your must-watch list.
5. Electrick Children
A catchy concept and hip indie sensibility, Electrick Children doesn’t demonize the drug, sex and rock-‘n’-roll lifestyle. This film comes with an immaculate concept about religion and an indie/alternative lifestyle without sounding preachy. Check out this film if you’re looking for a tale of teenage rebellion.
6. In Bruges
This film follows the adventures of hit-men in a well-preserved medieval city in Belgium. Tightly scripted and intricately plotted, it manages being profane and engaging simultaneously. If you find yourself drawn to the hit-men genre, this one’s cynically hilarious dialogue will lure you in even further. Let’s just say the word ‘unexpected’ will be a severe understatement.
7. The Kings of Summer
Simply put, this film is the love-child of Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Rebel Without a Cause. The ups and downs of the boys’ friendship ring true as they learn about freedom and independence. This film will surely be the best kind of guilty pleasure and entertainment for you.
8. The Trip
The Trip is a story of two men travelling together who eat, drink and try not to kill each other. Not only is this film hilarious but it also has stunning landscape shots. It explores friendship, food and satire that is never mean-spirited. If that sounds like your cup of crazy, then run, don’t walk, to watch this.
9. Blue is the Warmest Colour
A story of love, loss and self-growth and self-acceptance, this one brings truthfulness and insight. Blue is the Warmest Colour clarifies the confusion of adolescence and the difficulty of coming out. This film allows you to sit back and observe its charm while still being convincing and intimate.
10. Beginners
This film explores the confusion, hilarity and the surprises that come with love. The plot understands death better than it understands life and it understands memories more than it understands what to learn from them. Watching this will compel you to think there’s no age limits for finding happiness.
11. Happy Christmas
With a genuine concept and realistic characters, Happy Christmas is filled with warmth and tension derived from real-life experiences. You’ll find the performances both natural and dynamic, which validates the improvisational approach of this film. The characters are put into situations where they can act in a clichéd way but instead choose to be more empathetic and nuanced.
12. The Hunt
The Hunt is an extremely effective, skillfully put together psychological thriller, whose only tools are human character traits. This film credibly generates suspense and maintains the viewers’ interest. With an original storyline about the power of evil and witch-hunting, The Hunt will leave you feeling unsettled in the best sense.
13. Big Star: Nothing can hurt me
This inspiring musical documentary will make you feel the exhilaration that comes from seeing great artists working at the peak of their powers. Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is surely going to please fans of the cult rock band but it doesn’t make the rest of us feel like outsiders. It’s thorough, affectionate with a feel of melancholy to it—the artists alone will pull you in.
14. Searching for Sugar Man
Searching for Sugar Man tells the story of a highly unusual and fascinating ‘70s rock icon who never was. The enormously satisfying feel-good story hits the mark. At 85 minutes, it moves to a relaxed rhythm. If you’re a fan of part music documentary and part mystery, this inspirational homage is worth a watch.
15. Particle Fever
In this film, physicists are on the verge of the greatest scientific discovery or their worst failure. Particle Fever feeds the imagination. You’ll be entertained, learn something new and just maybe, you’ll have a greater understanding of the universe altered. This film speaks to the idealistic pursuit of knowledge. Watch it and you’ll understand so much more in the most pleasant, enthusiastic and accessible way possible.
16. Somm
These four men will do anything to pass the hardest test you’ve never heard of. This engaging film isn’t just for wine connoisseurs. It will teach you something new about the drink and the people that make up its world. Somm captures the tension and drama of the human spirit while giving you an inside look at wine stewards. It attempts to unveil the secrecy of the Master Sommelier exam.
17. McConkey
This film follows the journey of one of the worlds’ most spectacular thrill-seeking risk-takers. The viewers witness him defying long odds, gravity and death. Revered as a pioneer of free-skiing and ski-base jumping, this tells the story of McConkey in a humorous yet inspiring way.
18. 180° South
If you’re all about wanderlust, this movie is for you. The gentle activism in the film comes with a lovely perspective on life and our orientation on consumption. 180 Degrees South will appeal to your sense of adventure; that tiny impulse in the back of your brain will interject ideas like ‘forget the daily grind, leave it all behind and go explore nature.’
19. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil
Tucker and Dale are mid-vacation in their run-down cabin in the mountains, when they are attacked by a horde of well-to-do college kids, who are under the impression that the protagonists are psychotic bloodthirsty hillbillies. A number of deadly-misunderstandings proliferates a killing spree of epically confusing proportions. This Canadian film combines comedy, gore and mischief to create a twisty-turny spectacle of cinematic glory. Tucker and Dale vs. Evil turns the typical heroes-and-villains convention on its head, earning the film multiple awards from festivals like Sundance, Fantasia and Sitges.
20. Zombieland
After the world is overcome by zombies, a nerdy college-kid teams up with a rough-and-tumble redneck and a duo of conniving sisters to fight for survival. The team makes a crossing of America in search of family, an amusement park and the world’s last Twinkie, leaving a bloody trail of zombie limbs wherever they go. With a stacked cast of Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Abigail Breslin, Zombieland will satisfy the rainy-Sunday blockbuster-cravings of any viewer.