2013 Calvin Awards: Best Overlooked Film
By David Mumpower
February 20, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Our 2013 selections represent one of the deepest groups of quality cinema in our 12-year history of voting. To wit, a dozen movies finished in first place on at least one ballot, meaning that a few voters’ number one choices for Best Overlooked Film failed to make the list. This turn of events is unprecedented. Ordinarily, three or four titles stand above the rest. For 2013, we did settle upon one title as our favorite. The difference between our second place and tenth place selections, however, is the narrowest ever in our staff vote.
Safety Not Guaranteed is such a mysterious movie about time travel that we do not even know if it is about time travel until the end. Even then, there is still no total resolution on the subject. And that is what we love about it. Safety Not Guaranteed sells the premise that a classified ad about time travel could provide an entertaining story for a Seattle magazine. While that story premise simmers in the background, an altogether different tale is told.
The writer who pitched the story, Jeff, has no interest in discovering the specific details of the listing. This is odd because a wording of the write-up should pique anyone’s curiosity. It begins, “Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke.” Any decent investigative journalist would want to know more. Jeff only cares about re-introducing himself to a former girlfriend.
With no one else to step up, co-worker Darius Britt is assigned the task. She quickly determines that a stockboy named Kenneth wrote the ad. What follows next is an awkward combination of her attempting to bust him on his delusions of grandeur and her flirting with him because she is attracted to his brand of crazy.
Safety Not Guaranteed is at its core a romantic tale of outcasts falling in love, but it also diverges into an exploration of bitterness and regret over unfortunate choices. All of this is set against the backdrop of a search for the science non-fiction discovery of a lifetime. The movie balances several juxtaposed ideas in a loose but engaging manner, and it provides a shocking but satisfying denouement. Safety Not Guaranteed is an elegant example of small scale cinema, and it is our choice for Best Overlooked Film of the year.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower features unusually dark subject matter for a film based in a high school. Perhaps this is why it failed to achieve any real box office success despite the presence of global celebrity Emma Watson. Our staff has complete confidence that it will become a beloved film as more people discover it. The adaptation of Stephen Chbosky’s novel displays the sort of tender reminiscence about high school that makes all of us melancholy about growing older.
The story centers around a high school freshman named Charlie who is still suffering from the tragic suicide of his best friend. The lonely boy eventually befriends a group of outsiders including Sam and Patrick, step-siblings who look after Charlie. Charlie falls for Sam, who is a senior attempting to get into Penn State. Over the course of the film, a special relationship between Charlie and his aunt is revealed, as is Charlie’s confusion about muddled memories he has about his childhood.
By the end of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Charlie’s issue is revealed as his friends and family gently nurture him. Charlie’s ability to overcome the stunning amount of trauma he has experienced in his young life makes him a compelling protagonist. It is his cadre of friends, however, who steal the movie. Watson’s nuanced portrayal of an unsure girl being rushed into adulthood is impeccable. Ezra Miller’s portrayal of her gay step-brother is even more remarkable. His relationship with a member of the football creates issues for both boys. Obviously, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is notably complex in comparison to regular teen fare, and that is what identifies it as an instant teen classic.
Our third selection is Seven Psychopaths. The Colin Farell dark comedy is director Martin McDonagh’s messy follow-up to a previous winner in this category, In Bruges. Just as was the case with In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths features a vast amount of violence combined with some genteel moments of quiet introspection from the various characters involved. Farell portrays a writer who is attempting to create a screenplay celebrating some homicidal maniacs. Helping him in his quest is Billy Bickle, whose vocation of record is kidnapping dogs then returning them in exchange for finder’s fee rewards. Yes, it’s that kind of movie.
The appeal of Seven Psychopaths is not the reveal of each of the seven members, although that aspect is definitely enjoyable. Instead, it is watching Farell play the straight man to an escalating series of violent killers, all of whom are philosophical about their lot in life. The violence in the movie is off-putting to some. Those who are not dissuaded by such over the top murdering will be entertained and challenged by the notions of the film. By the time the writer debates the necessity of a final shoot-out, our staff recognized the novelty of this movie. It is self-aware without being Wes Craven/Scream showy. We relish its creativity and laud it as third Best Overlooked Film of the year.
The naming conventions of our fourth and fifth selections are in stark contrast to one another. On the one hand, we have Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. The affectionate Steve Carell romantic comedy presents an understated examination of the importance of companionship. Gracelessly dumped at the start of the movie, Carell’s character undertakes any number of odd tasks in order to win and sustain the attention of an erratic woman who looks a lot like Keira Knightley. The two actors have unexpectedly great chemistry together, and their love story soothes the soul. For a film with such famous leads, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World deserved a much better box office fate.
On the other hand, we have Goon. The four-letter film is also a semi-romantic comedy about a hockey thug who falls for a puck bunny. In the moments between their awkward dalliances, the titular Goon, Doug Glatt, winds up battling his former hero, a recently deposed NHL player who has a tendency to accidentally-intentionally cripple opponents. Goon is already considered a Canadian treasure, but the primary reason that non-hockey fans will enjoy it is that the movie was won in the casting department. Seann William Scott, Alison Pill and Liev Schreiber offer the three performances already described while Jay Baruchel and Eugene Levy provide comedic support. Goon is a hilarious celebration of the most Canadian of sports.
Our sixth and seventh place selections are documentary about an obscure musician and a martial arts movie about a siege of a single building. Searching for Sugar Man chronicles the struggles of a 1960s Detroit musician known only as Rodriguez. In the days before Google News, a rumor persisted that Rodriguez had committed suicide. Somewhere between then and now, Rodriguez became the voice of a generation…in South Africa. The documentary involves a few loyal fans trying to discover what happened to their icon.
Raid: The Redemption is a brutally violent moment about a misguided attempt by police officers to capture a wanted drug dealer. The claustrophobic setting of the story exemplifies the difficulties of law enforcement in third world countries. Loyal, well trained guards infiltrate the building and fight hundreds of well-armed residents who are effectively a local militia. One of the thugs in this militia, Mad Dog as portrayed by Yayan Ruhian, delivers one of the best martial arts villainous performances I have ever seen. Raid: The Redemption is a novel viewing experience, and one that will be re-made by Hollywood soon. They should consider bringing Yayan Ruhian to recreate his performance. He is a star waiting to happen, just as was the case with Tony Jaa in Ong Bak. Raid: The Redemption is not for everyone but people who love action films with a kung fu bent will agree that this is one of the Best Overlooked Films of the year.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Bernie and Compliance comprise the rest of our top ten. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a good-natured romantic comedy featuring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt. Bernie is a scarily based on true events tale of a well-liked man who murders a rich woman. Since nobody in town likes her and they all love him, Bernie avoids prosecution for way too long. Compliance is also based on a real event. A prank caller pretends to be a police officer. He demands that the employees of a fast-food restaurant be strip-searched. In a strange variation of sociological experiments, the workers are humiliated simply because their bosses are too weak-willed to question the source. All three movies are worthwhile investments of your time, albeit for very different reasons.
Just missing selection this year are several movies we still consider great. These include The Queen of Versailles, Arbitrage, Your Sister’s Sister, Take This Waltz, Holy Motors, The Secret World of Arrietty and Friends with Kids. Everyone reading this would be well advised to give all 17 of these titles a viewing. Our staff enjoyed them all so much that we were almost paralyzed with indecision in choosing the best of them.
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Calvins Intro
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture