Man on Wire, a documentary about a daredevil stunt from the 1970s, is our third favorite overlooked film this year. Director James Marsh makes the odd choice to recount the story of how Philippe Petit came to walk a high wire from one side of the Twin Towers to the other using a cinema style generally utilized with bank heists. Flashbacks are used to describe the preparations for this illegal attempt and still photos display the act itself. One of the oddest and most dangerous stunts ever accomplished has the simplest of explanations for why it happened. Petit has famously said, "When I see three oranges, I juggle; when I see two towers, I walk." Under this logic (?), he felt the need to study the terrain by claiming to be a magazine journalist interviewing the construction workers at the top of the tower. Eventually, he learned the hours when the top of the Twin Towers were unmanned, and he picked one such opportunity to make his mark. An officer arrived midway through the performance and so in the moment was Petit that he taunted the man, leading to a rough handcuffing after it was over. Since no footage exists of these sequences and they unfortunately impossible to replicate now due to the madness of terrorists, an actor is used to recreate the actions as best as possible now. Man on Wire is harrowing in its presentation of one of the craziest stunts anyone has ever pulled in the name of celebrity. In the opinion of our staff, it is the most exciting documentary since Murderball.

Frost/Nixon and Let the Right One In round out our top five in the category. As was previously mentioned, Frost/Nixon has tremendous support from those who managed to see the movie prior to the voting deadline. It actually received the most first place votes of any title in the category this year, but did not have anywhere near the overall depth of support that the top three films garnered. By now, you already know the movie tells the story of David Frost's interview with Richard Nixon wherein he trapped the recently reprimanded but pardoned former President into admitting his wrongdoing. It is a powerhouse series of acting performances and a magnificent movie. Let the Right One is a much different sort of film from the expensive Hollywood production directed by Ron Howard. Based on Sweden's answer to the Twilight series of novels, Let the Right One in, it tells the story of a 200-year-old vampire trapped in the body of a 12-year-old. This girl, Eli, meets a child named Oskar who appears to be the same age. Oskar is being tormented by bullies as well as any number of other suburban horrors such as drug dealers and pedophiliacs. Eli and Oskar form an odd friendship that begins to grow as Oskar becomes more and more aware of Eli's pale skin, inability to enter rooms sans invitation and constant thirst for blood. Their relationship is a gripping tale of gothic horror, making Let the Right One In one of the buzz movies of the year. A Hollywood remake is already in pre-production and planned for release in 2010, but why would you wait for that version when the original is out on home video in March?

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