Underseen and Overlooked vol. II

I'm one of the very few people that still enjoy a movie so rooted in Twilight Zoniness that I'll forgo logical lapses if it means enjoy and basking in the mystery. Richard Kelly's "The Box" does that for me all day long. It's atmospheric, strange, dream-like and indeed mysterious. Does it all make perfect sense in the end? It's debatable, but it's not idea outta the ass either. Simply a longer, stranger road to get to our conclusion.

But often times when I'm enjoying a full blown mystery I'm rarely concerned with what it amounts to.

So many people wrote this film off due to it's overly kiddie trailers. I was one of those people. Then one afternoon before I opened the theater for the day I decided to sit down and watch it. I was surprised to find that beneath some of the cute kiddie laughs, there was a much more mature and moving story of the characters. Hoffman and Portman make you love these people and care about them.

It's still a tough sell on people due to a lot of it's over the top visuals; but for as much ridiculousness there is, it also has a lot of quite impressive and creative effects used. If you've got kids and want to show them something with a bit more food for thought or someone who just likes a good family picture here and there, I highly recommend this.

A fantastic debut for Duncan Jones (I'm super excited for his next film) and yet another majorly impressive performance by Sam Rockwell. If you've never seen "Moon" then go in as fresh as possible. No trailers or reviews or anything. Just watch it.

Highly panned due to it's dull as shit trailer, but writer-director Billy Ray ('Shattered Glass') is an impressive filmmaker and Universal just didn't know how to really sell the film. Chris Cooper delivers the second best performance of his career as a buttoned up, Christian CIA man that is more than meets the eye. Ryan Phillipe gets the duty of attempting to find his secrets.

The result is a fantastically performed and tense thriller that keeps you fully enthralled the entire time.

A documentary styled UK comedy (you'll see a lot of those on this list) about a wedding magazine contest for the best (and most elaborate) weddings. Thus we get three hilarious and charming (mostly) couples and follow their exploits till the very end and the reveal of their big, dream weddings.

It's a light film with some dark and naughty bits, but is constantly funny and sweet.

Rapper bio-pics are tough. 'Notorious' is among the best that's been made and it's not even perfect. But is does pay testament to a musical icon that was really damn good and presents it all in a stylish, handsome and crisp looking film. Director George Tillman ('Men of Honor' and the upcoming 'Faster') decided to play opposite to the gritty '8 Mile' style that a lot of people tried to emulate and went for a hip, somewhat hyper kinetic style that wasn't distracting from the drama and made much of the concert sequences and tension more lively.

It's like a perfect 80's based kids film about kids that are actually interesting characters, have personality and are funny. The film also has a killer soundtrack and some great love cinema.

God I love this film. I wish it would've gotten a full theatrical release and I hope one day writer-director Michael Dougherty gets his big directorial spotlight he deserves and people find out how dark, original and fucking funny his debut is.

I can honestly say that this is the best horror anthology film since 'Creepshow'. Hands down.

First off I counting this as both Part One and Two; since it's really just one long movie. Soderbergh's "Che" is as stylish as his work on "Traffic" and fully engrossing despite it's length. Benicio Del Toro ought won the best actor award at Cannes for his amazing performance and should have at least got an Oscar nod that year. It provides you with a lot of information and different looks at the influential Latin American figure and "awesome rebel dude" idiots who shop at Spencer Gifts where on t-shirts.

Like dense political humor? Then "In the Loop" is for you. It's like 'Dr. Strangelove' meets 'This is Spinal Tap' meets CNN. It's hilarious and honest, but also dense at times so prepare yourself.

A major favorite of mine. I love crime documentaries of all sorts, but "Cocaine Cowboys" also manages to speak to my interest in the 80's drug and crime culture as well as Miami's dark history. That last thing is of particular interest since I've been a Floridian my whole life and find SOME of our dark history fascinating.

The film itself is stylishly crafted; like watching a 'Miami Vice' with real, grisly images and harder stories. Probably feels like that because it IS 'Miami Vice' for real.

Craig Brewer's southern yarn of redemption, music and sex. You want something completely original? This film is it. Great fucking picture.

David Mamet's silver streaked action thriller that invokes the tone and style of 60's and 70's euro suspense films. Val Kilmer gives a hell of a performance as a lone agent sent to track down the kidnapped daughter of the president. In the hands of several other filmmakers this would've been a mega action spectacle, but Mamet wisely makes a smaller and classier thriller that flows effortlessly.

Sam Riley is a pure revelation. The film is a heartbreaking and powerful bio of the leader of Joy Division and his short, depressing life that lead to his suicide.

Go in fresh! Don't watch any trailers or read anything about it, just watch it. I love that Wayne Kramer followed up his terrific drama 'The Cooler' with a Tony Scott inspired action picture. I love it when filmmakers start playing around with different genres and for someone that was making low to mid radar indie dramas it's good to display the ability for something more as it's very easy to get swallowed up and forgotten in the genre.

Also Paul Walker... Mr. plays himself always, DIDN'T! Walker is in full, believable, badass mode and I can no longer solely see him as the dullard from 'The Fast and the Furious' movies. Now please... go watch this movie. It is over the top, nasty, bloody, brutal and goes to some very dark places story wise. I love this picture.

So many people refuse to see this because of Kristen Stewart. Well... let me say something. I don't like 'Twilight' (book, movie or fan base). I don't care for Stewart's off screen persona. But her, Dakota Fanning and Michael Shannon kill in this movie. Stewart and Fanning fully embody their characters and provide the brooding drama and surprisingly effective sex appeal.

Also is it strange that Stewart's love scene with Fanning is far more convincing than any with Pattinson in the 'Twilight' films?

#452 of why I can never hate Nicolas Cage no matter how bad another one of his movies might be. Cage should've been up for an Oscar last year for this; it's such a full and inspired performance.

Ok I'll say this... it's like the 'Evil Dead 2' of action movies. I really think it is. 'Crank 2' has everything the first film did, plus 150 more things. Nothing is comparable with the absolute lunacy and originality of 'Crank 2'.

Watch as part of a double feature with Christopher Nolan's "Inception". I feel it makes for a real expanded look into the world of dreams or rather the artistic visual cinema of dream making. "Paprika" is a lovely, dark, funny and a disturbed picture on the subject that deserves more recognition than it's gotten.

Maybe one of the darkest dark comedies I've ever seen. Seeing it for the first time was like a roller coaster ride of emotions. Literally it would have me tearfully laughing one second just to turn around and startle the hell out of me the next.

Colin Farrell earned his Golden Globe win here, he is absolutely hilarious and his chemistry with Brenden Gleeson is perfect. Really if you love black comedies, then you cannot go wrong with 'In Bruges'.