Well you may have. But this is a browse through my collection looking at the best of the 'not obvious'. Even if you haven't seen just one of the titles here my work is done!
The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension - Totally insane, almost senseless but in a strange way genius sci fi mess starring Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd and Jeff Goldblum. You could watch it 8 times and it still would make no sense but you'd still love it (Pictured)
The Adventures of Ford Fairlane: Rock And Roll Detective - Foul mouthed comedian Andrew Dice Clay stars as the titular Private Detective who investigates a death of a singer (Vince Neil) and a missing groupie. Wayne Newton plays the bad guy, Robert Englund plays an insane henchman and Al Bundy himself Ed O' Neill plays a cop who can't stand Fairlane.
At Close Range - Superb family drama with Sean Penn going against his estranged father Christopher Walken. Also look out for a very young Kiefer Sutherland.
Better Off Dead - Totally off the wall 80's teen comedy starring John Cusack. Not your traditional John Hughes stuff...
The Big Hit - Mark Wahlberg as a hitman in a film that also stars Lou Diamond Phillips? Sounds shit, but in reality a right laugh.
Black Rain - Sometimes forgotten Ridley Scott thriller starring Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia as 2 cops caught up in a Yakuza gang war.
Bubba Ho-Tep - Bruce Campbell plays an elderly Elvis in a nursing home who must battle an ancient Egyptian mummy.
Cobra - Sylvester Stallone is a take no prisoners cop who has to protect Bridgette Nielsen from a gang. That's all the plot there is, but still brilliant.
Creepshow - A great selection of horror shorts from George A. Romero and Stephen King, the latter who stars in one of them! Also starring Leslie Nielsen in a sinister role. The sequel is also worth a go.
Day Of The Dead - In my opinion superior to Romero's Night Of The Living Dead and Dawn Of The Dead, making it THE zombie film.
Forced Vengeance - Chuck Norris works for a casino owner, he gets killed by some competitors...Chuck goes after them. Sounds quite generic but it's HILARIOUS. Get a load of mates around and get quoting... "If I was a tree, I'd hide in a forest. But where am I going to hide in Hong Kong with 2 beautiful women?"
Fright Night - A teenager learns his neighbour is a vampire but no one believes him, so he enlists the help of a faded horror star. Brilliant 80s horror.
Ghoulies - And Ghoulies II and Ghoulies III - Ghoulies Go To College. Gremlins has a lot to answer for- such as this cheesetastic trilogy!
Glengarry Glen Ross - Big screen adaptation of David Mamet's play. An amazing cast, with amazing dialogue. Standing out being Alec Baldwin's small role near the start, and Al Pacino's tirade in the films final act.
Heathers - The anti-teen movie teen movie.
The Hitcher - The original not the sacrilegious Sean Bean remake. Rutger Hauer chilling in the title role.
Invasion U.S.A. - The U.S.A. is invaded by vaguely described Eastern Europeans, and only Chuck Norris can stop them.
JCVD - A bit of a slow goer, but Jean Claude Van Damme is amazing playing a fictional version of himself who gets caught up in a bank robbery. Should have relaunched his career. Didn't.
Less Than Zero - More 80s teen trouble as a student (Andrew McCarthy) returns home for the holidays to find his girlfriend a mess and his best friend (Robert Downey Jr.) strung out on drugs. Downey is superb. Not the happiest 80s teen movie though (its based on a Bret Easton Ellis book)
Lone Wolf McQuade - Chuck Norris vs. David Carradine. 'Nuff said.
Manhunter - It may be quite dated by this point, but it is still the best Hannibal Lecter (or Lektor) film. You may want to whisper it but Brian Cox makes a better Hannibal than Hopkins.
The Matador - Pierce Brosnan is brilliant as the fading hitman whose path crosses with a weary businessman (Greg Kinnear).
Midnight Run - Fantastic action comedy with Robert De Niro the bounty hunter sent after mob accountant Charles Grodin.
The Mist - The greatest Stephen King adaptor Frank Darrabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) tries his hand at a King horror and continues the run. Best seen in black and white.
My Name Is Bruce - Bruce Campbell plays a horrific version of himself who is called upon by a small town who mistake him for the actual character out of the Evil Dead films to battle a monster who is plaguing the town. And loves bean curd.
Near Dark - Directed by recent Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow this vampire (although that word is never mentioned in the film) classic was released the same time as The Lost Boys and vanished without a trace. But guess what? It's better than The Lost Boys.
Office Space - Cult comedy from Mike Judge about the mundaneness of office work. Extremely quotable.
Over The Top - Sylvester Stallone must battle for his sons love whilst driving a big rig and competing in an arm wrestling tournament. Yes.
The Pope Of Greenwich Village - An impossibly young looking Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts lark around in this mob light drama. Not much happens really, its just stunning how young they look!
Raising Cain - John Lithgow plays multiple roles in this totally bonkers Brian De Palma thriller. Sadly Lithgow is the only one who brings any acting to the table, the rest are of soap opera standard.
Re-Animator - Utterly brilliant but totally disgusting horror film about a mad scientist who discovers how to reanimate corpses.
Red Dawn - Russia has invaded America. A group of teens including Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell and Charlie Sheen must battle them. Soon to be remade/ruined.
Ricochet - Former cop turned attorney Denzel Washington is terrorized by the criminal (A superb John Lithgow) who he put behind bars years ago.
St. Elmo's Fire - Often derided and mocked. Ignore that. This is one of the best 80s teen drama's out there and a cast to match (Estevez! Lowe! Nelson! Moore! McCarthy! Sheedy!)
She's Having A Baby - John Hughes looks at what happens after high school in this underrated comedy. Tissues out for the finale though, and stay tuned for the star-studded end credits.
The Sleepaway Camp Trilogy - The first is a straight laced Friday the 13th style horror with a killer ending, the second and third pre-date Scream in it's satirical look at the genre. All 3 an absolute riot.
State Of Grace - Irish Mob Drama starring Gary Oldman, Sean Penn and Ed Harris. Released the same time as Goodfellas got trampled. Its almost as good too!
The Sure Thing - Up there with The Breakfast Club as the greatest teen movie ever. John Cusack goes on a road trip to get laid with a girl he hates...guess what happens next? Rob Reiner (Spinal Tap, Princess Bride) directs.
Tango & Cash - Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell together! As cops who are framed for a crime they didn't commit.
They Live - Roddy Piper plays a drifter who finds a pair of special sunglasses that when you put them on shows you the world has been taken over by aliens. No wait, come back! It's awesome. John Carpenter directs!
To Live And Die In L.A. - Horrifically dated but still brilliant thriller about a secret service agent (William Petersen) after the counterfeiter (Willem Dafoe) who killed his partner.
Trick R' Treat - Almost a modern day Creepshow but with interwoven stories, this was released straight to DVD recently after years on the shelf. The opinion being the Saw films would trounce it at the box office. Its better than all the Saw films combined.
Troll 2 - The worst film ever? Judge for yourself. Bring beer.
Truth Or Consequences, N.M. - Kiefer Sutherland directs and stars in this action thriller about a drug deal gone awry. Some top notch action and Tarantino - esque dialogue.
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End - Didn't like the first one? Same here. This continues with the inbred hillbilly monster theme but is actually hilarious as Henry Rollins leads a reality TV show into the forest.
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