19. The Brother (The Brother From Another Planet)
The Brother is an alien with superhuman abilities who crash-lands in New York City while trying to escape another group of aliens. He settles in Harlem, and learns much about humanity just by listening to them. This character brings many themes to the movie with him, both through the usual themes common in alien movies as well as new ones such as social justice in the microcosm of Harlem. In terms of the movies social themes, The Brother actively deals with the complexities of the crime tearing the community apart. It is a theme that the story is very much concerned about, but it doesnt define The Brother as a characterthe characters of the movie come first. The Brother himself is interesting because of how in-depth the character pays attention to the little things around him, and because of how he truly travels the heros journey believably through good drama and comedy in 108 minutes. Like any good story, he can be interesting to anyone willing to sit down and watch, and he doesnt make you work for your interest. Hollywood is certainly a part of, if not creating, then expanding the interest factor. The right ad campaign can do wonders for awareness. Even without large scale ad campaigns, The Brother from Another Planet made much more than its incredibly small budget. Alien movies are always popular, and Hollywood would do well to re-evaluate this underrated movie; not necessarily by starting a franchise from it (or a reboot), but by considering how it tells its story and what it explores. It doesnt only have to concern a niche market. The mainstream world has been ready for this kind of movie for a very long time.