Top Ten Sleepers

If you know me then you know I didn't have to think twice about signing up for this blogfest, because I LOVE movies. But, because there are so many great movies in so many genres, I'm going to offer up a few movies you may not have heard of, or if you did you wrote them off.

Kick Ass directed by Matthew Vaughn, starring Nicholas Cage, Chloe Moretz, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. I remember seeing the previews and thinking, yeah, right, another horrible Nicholas Cage movie (and don't get me wrong, I actually like Nicholas Cage; I just think he makes poor choices). But guess what? This is a kick-ass movie. 
Memento directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Guy Pierce, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Joe Pantoliano (interesting pairing, eh?). This is the kind of movie you have to pay attention to. Blink and you'll miss something important. It's also the kind of movie you can watch again because you probably did miss something even if you were paying attention.
Punch Drunk Love directed by Paul Tomas Anderson, starring Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. One of my favorite love stories and the only Adam Sandler movie I like. Best line: "Take that Mattress Man!"
Shallow Grave, directed by Danny Boyle (we do Like Danny Boyle, btw), starring Kerry Fox, Christopher Eccleston, and Ewan McGregor. The premise is this: Three people living together in a four bedroom flat are looking for a house mate. The interviews they conduct are very unorthodox and very funny. Eventually the three agree on one prospective tenant. He moves in, locks his door, and is not seen again. (from IMDb)
District 9 directed by Neill Blomkamp, starring Sharlto Copley and David James. With the help of Peter Jackson I heard. Regardless. I own this movie now. And I don't purchase movies lightly.
Primer directed by Shane Carruth, starring Shane Carruth and David Sullivan. If you like moves that mess with time like I do, then you may like this. I wish this was in my collection.
Payback directed by Brian Helgeland, starring Mel Gibson, Lucy Liu, Maria Bello, and Gregg Henry. This is one of my favorite Mel Gibson movies, and based on the simplest of plots: a man is betrayed by his wife and partner, and survives to take revenge. Gibson is ruthless as Porter, and Lucy Liu is fabulous alongside Gregg Henry. I own this movie, too.
Donnie Darko directed by Richard Kelly, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled teenager who narrowly escapes death and what happens after. It's also got the saddest song ever. I wish I owned this movie.
Leon: The Professional directed by Luc Besson, starring Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, and 12-year-old Natalie Portman in her first movie ever. Reno plays an assassin who  takes in the orphaned Portman whose parents are killed in a Police Raid.
The Grudge directed by Takashi Shimizu, starring Sarah Michelle Geller and Jason Behr (from Roswell, one of my most fave shows ever). This was my kind of scary movie, the kind that makes you shudder thinking about it after.

Seen any of these movies? Do tell...