The Conical Glass: 10 movies you missed from the 2000s

Friday, September 04, 2009

10 movies you missed from the 2000s

Most of my pals know that I've been stuck at home in the taking-care-of-an-invalid business for the past couple of weeks, so I haven't had a chance to get out and do exciting things that I can then write about. The only thing I've done outside the home that doesn't involve errands or volunteer work is seeing Meshuggah Beach Party at the local mall's free summer concert series:
MBP

I do love me some Meshuggah Beach Party.

Anyway, for the benefit of shut-ins and bored people everywhere who have nothing better to do over Labor Day weekend, here is a list of the 10 Movies From the 2000s That You've Never Seen, But Should Have. I would be very surprised if even the most ardent cinephiles are familiar with more than a couple of these films, because they are all box office underachievers (two of them weren't even released theatrically in the U.S., but are available on DVD). Add them to your Netflix queue and enjoy!

1. "Murderball" (2005). U.S. gross: $1.5 million. I think people avoided this film because it's about quadriplegics, and that sounds depressing. Trust me, it's not. This is an amazingly entertaining documentary.

2. "The Puffy Chair" (2005). U.S. gross: $192,000. The story of a boy, his girl, his brother... and a La-Z-Boy recliner, this seriocomic road trip film plays a little like a lo-fi version of "Sideways."

3. "The Lookout" (2007). U.S. gross: $4.5 million. Perhaps now that star Joseph Gordon-Levitt is getting raves for his appealing turn as the lovelorn swain in "(500) Days of Summer," this thoughtful and suspenseful heist movie will get a second life on DVD.

4. "He Loves Me... He Loves Me Not" (2002). U.S. gross: $1 million. You loved her in "Amelie," so check out another side of Audrey Tautou in Laetitia Colombani's romantic thriller. This is one of those surprise-filled films where the less you know, the more you'll enjoy it.

5. "Slim Susie" (2003). U.S. gross: not available. Swedes are notoriously critical of their own country's cinematic output, so the fact that this Tarantino-esque action comedy gets raves from Swedish movie fans in online forums tells you that this is a film that can stand toe to toe with American releases.

6. "This Film Is Not Yet Rated" (2006). U.S. gross: $300,000. If you've ever wondered why torture porn movies like "Saw" are rated R while one too many "f" words or a glimpse of a penis means an instant NC-17 (a.k.a. the kiss of death), check out Kirby Dick's documentary, which puts some dogged, hilarious and charismatic female investigators on the case.

7. "Sweet Land" (2005). U.S. gross: $1.7 million. For anyone who ever complained "they don't make 'em like that anymore," check out this sweet and moving romance about a young German woman who travels to Minnesota in the 1920s to marry a Norwegian farmer -- only to find that the townspeople won't accept her because of her ethnic heritage.

8. "The Deal" (2003). U.S. gross: not available. If you thought Michael Sheen was a dead ringer for Tony Blair in "The Queen," don't miss this film (made for British TV and scripted by "Queen" writer Peter Morgan) about the relationship between Blair and Gordon Brown during the 1980s and early '90s.

9. "The King of Kong" (2007). U.S. gross: $675,000. Obviously this riveting doc about two grown men battling for a video game championship never found its audience theatrically, perhaps because a movie about rival Donkey Kong players sounds unappealing. See it and believe it -- you'll be on the edge of your seat.

10. "The Hammer" (2007). U.S. gross: $443,000. This is another tough sell, as it stars and was written by former "Man Show" host and DJ Adam Carolla, and it's about boxing. But it's funny and heartwarming, just the sort of film that begs to be discovered by home viewers.

posted by 125records @ 9:22 PM

2 Comments:

At 10:03 AM, Janet Rudolph said…

Saw two of them..He Loves Me.. He loves me not and Sweet Land. 2 out of 10. Odd collection of films, but I'll give them a look if I can find them on Netflix
At 10:03 PM, yellojkt said…

You're right. I haven't seen any of them. But I would love to see the not-rated film.