If you want an interesting bit of box office trivia, our second place selection, Adventureland, actually earned more during its initial domestic release than The Hurt Locker. That certainly doesn't feel like an accurate evaluation of the awareness level of each film, does it? Nonetheless, the Kristen Stewart/Jesse Eisenberg semi-romantic comedy about 1980s teens working a summer job at a low budget amusement park is exactly the sort of unheralded movie this category seeks to highlight. Having recently watched the film for the first time, I was blown away by director Greg Mottola's ability to take a cast comprised of people I am not inclined to like (save for Ryan Reynolds) and make them into a group of individuals in whom I fostered a deep emotional investment. Most surprisingly, all of the cartoon-ish character behavior that is a staple of the disaffected teen rom-com genre is thrown out the window here. All of the cast members behave believably and are given logical character development, even for the times when they fail. It's a blueprint example of drama created logically and within the confines of realism for each core character. Between Superbad and this film, Greg Mottola has proven himself as one of the finest directors of organically funny comedy. Don't let the fact that Superbad made exponentially more money fool you into believe it's the better film, either. It's not. Adventureland is the deeper, more introspective movie while still bringing the funny on a frequent basis.

Even if you don't like Wes Anderson films as a rule, BOP believes that Fantastic Mr. Fox is a title you will love anyway. The stop-motion comedy about an accomplished thief whose wife asks him to go straight is a worthy adaptation of the Roald Dahl story and on a par with his much more recognizable Willy Wonka films. No, the film doesn't have Gene Wilder or Johnny Depp, but it does have the voices of George Clooney and Meryl Streep, which is impressive enough in its own right. What Fantastic Mr. Fox manages to do that is most impressive, however, is translate the mannerisms of most Wes Anderson films into a children's story without overwhelming the proceedings with his odd neurosis and character details. Whereas The Darjeeling Limited was overwhelmed by personal tics, this animated format lends itself well to the depths of detail for which Anderson is known. The end result is a strikingly deep connection with the animal characters, even the ones who find our heroic fox less than fantastic.

Away We Go and Moon are other top five selections. The former film is written by BOP Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, a married couple who produce the highly recommended magazine, The Believer. Their tale of a roadtrip featuring soon to be parents is a celebration of quirky behavior that would make even the afore-mentioned Wes Anderson jealous. Moon, on the other hand, is a magnum opus for actor Sam Rockwell. The actor portrays an employee of a tech company whose current position requires him to live in isolation on the Moon. His only companion during this contract period is a robot named GERTY as voiced by Kevin Spacey. None of this describes what the actual story of Moon, however, and I refuse to spoil further details of the plot. Suffice it to say that Rockwell portrays multiple iterations of the same character at certain points in the film. Also, if one of the best acting performances of the 2000s isn't enough to sell you on the film, you should also be made aware of the fact that it's directed by Duncan Jones, whose father once wrote an album that celebrated Martian spiders. Yes, he's David Bowie's son, but based on the quality of Moon, we may have to start describing Bowie as Duncan Jones' father.

Continued:       1       2       3