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Nobody could possibly argue that Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz is not a wonderful film. Wait, that might be a bit of a hyperbole, so let me rephrase: Nobody with a soul could possibly argue that Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz isn't one of the funniest films of the decade. But could you really make the argument that it was overlooked, considering it made more than $20 million at the US Box Office (not to mention over $50 million in foreign receipts). Yes, it's a great movie, and when somebody tells me they haven't seen it I immediately strap them down A Clockwork Orange style to make them watch it, but I'm not going to make public service announcements about the film because I assume most people who aren't in prison have seen it.

The same cannot be said about many of the best films of 2007, which is why I started writing this series of articles. I think that having an award for great films that got ignored by most audiences is a great idea, but by awarding films that most of the readers of this site have already seen, BOP is doing the Calvin Award for Best Overlooked Film a disservice. The 2008 award was actually pretty solid, mentioning six films that meet my tough criteria (maximum domestic box office of $5 million and no Academy Awards except for Best Documentary or Best Foreign Film), and even mentioned on their list Quiet City, a film that barely broke $15,000. Way to go, BOP staff.

So I'm not going to criticize the BOP staff for their choices or demonize them (although word on the street is that David Mumpower is an actual demon). Instead, I'm just going to explain what I would have voted for at the 2008 Calvin Awards and explain why I'm right and everybody else is wrong for not having seen these wonderful films. Four of these movies would be on my Best Picture Oscar ballot if the Academy ever thought to send me one, and all of them are great.

Number ten on my list is a film that the BOP staff also thought worth recognizing: Kasi Lemmons' delightful and moving Talk to Me. A fairly standard biopic, it tells the story of Petey Greene, a radio DJ who became an activist in the 1960s and fought to support the civil rights movement. Talk to Me is so charming and funny, and it has a message without ever being didactic. Of course, much of the credit has to go to the superb Don Cheadle, who gives what might be his best performance in a role that really lets him show his range. Cheadle is over the top and outrageous without ever being unbelievable, and the moments where we see his weakness and humanity are so powerful. Chiwetel Ejiofor superbly plays the straight man to Cheadle's crazy character, and the two actors have excellent chemistry onscreen.

Things get much less conventional at number nine, with one of the most unique biopics ever made, I'm Not There. Considering that Todd Haynes' first film was a biopic of Karen Carpenter with every character played by Barbie and Ken dolls, nobody would expect his exploration of the life of Bob Dylan to be a conventional film ala Ray and Walk the Line. Six actors play Bob Dylan, representing different aspects of his life and personality, and Haynes did a fantastic job of showing the complexities of the public's perception of Dylan and how that affected his life and his legacy. Cate Blanchett was the scene stealer, giving the best performance of her career, and great performances by Heath Ledger, Marcus Carl Fraklin and Ben Whishaw give this film an incredible amount of depth and power.

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