Author Topic: #723: Top 5 Overlooked Films of the 2000s / Madness Final / Assassination of JJ  (Read 2605 times)

saltine

  • Administrator
  • Godfather
  • ******
  • Posts: 9800
As the 2019 edition of Filmspotting Madness comes to a close, Adam and Josh share some favorite titles that didn't make the 64-film bracket. Their Top 5 Overlooked Movies of the 2000s features some under-seen comedies starring Jack Black, Seann William Scott and Mark Duplass; docs and "docu-fantasias" from Steve James and Guy Maddin; and less familiar titles from A-list directors like Ridley Scott and Robert Zemeckis. Plus, the Madness championship matchup is revealed, and a Sacred Cow review of Andrew Dominik's 2007 meditative western THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD.
Texan Down Under

don s.

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2025
  • You had me at "Hello, here's $50."
    • my movie collection
The notion of "overlooked" or "underrated" always seems kind of fuzzy to me, so I was glad when the hosts occasionally cited Letterboxd stats as a reference point. It game me the idea of using my "favorited" titles on ICheckMovies.com and sorting that list by the least number of checks. So, herewith, in response to no clamor whatsoever, are the least-seen movies among the users of ICheckMovies.com that appear on my "favorited" list.

[For context…
Most seen among my “favorites”: The Shining = 92,487 checks
Most seen on the site overall: The Dark Knight = 135,474 checks]

Battle in Heaven (Carlos Reygadas; 2005)
Checks: 731

Los Angeles Plays Itself (Thom Andersen; 2003)
Checks: 742

What Time Is It There? (Tsai Ming-liang; 2001)
Checks: 1,105

Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul; 2006
Checks: 1,185

Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul; 2004)
Checks: 1,307

About Elly (Asghar Farhadi; 2009)
Checks: 1,483

Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan; 2002)
Checks: 1,772

Away from Her (Sarah Polley; 2006)
Checks: 1,850

Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (Sergei Bodrov; 2007)
Checks: 2,206

Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson; 2000)
Checks: 2,876

Russian Ark (Aleksandr Sokurov; 2002)
Checks: 3,808

The Return (Andrey Zvyagintsev; 2003)
Checks: 3,859

My TV ain't HD / that's too real

Teal | Green | Lime Green | Orange | Red

MartinTeller

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 17864
  • martinteller.wordpress.com
    • my movie blog
Intriguing! The least checked films from my top 250:

Rat-Trap - 118
Who's Camus Anyway - 118
The Adversary a.k.a. Pratidwandi - 116
Female on the Beach - 87
Jana Aranya - 52
Storm Fear - 50
Peacock a.k.a. Kong que - 38
Chinese Eye a.k.a. Sepet - 30
The Beautiful Washing Machine - 28
Cocorico monsieur Poulet - 11

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36129
  • Marathon Man
Applying that to the 2000s, my Top 5 Overlooked would be...

Live From Baghdad (#1 on both Letterboxd and ICM)
Dying at Grace (#2 on Both)
Noriko's Dinner Table (3 on ICM, 6 on Letterboxd)
Open Hearts (4 on Both)
Time Out (5 on ICM, 3 on Letterboxd)

Corndog

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 17025
  • Oo-da-lolly, Oo-da-lolly, golly what a day!
    • Corndog Chats
Just looking at Letterboxd for the 2000s, here are a collection of ones I really enjoyed:

Children Underground (473 seen)
Man Push Cart (964 seen)
Sweetgrass (882 seen)
Alamar (970 seen)
Sugar (1.4k seen)
Goodbye Solo (1.5k seen)
Devils on the Doorstep (1.1k seen)
Chop Shop (1.6k seen)

"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36129
  • Marathon Man
Man Push Cart (964 seen)
Goodbye Solo (1.5k seen)
Chop Shop (1.6k seen)
People need to learn about the greatness of Ramin Bahrani.

Corndog

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 17025
  • Oo-da-lolly, Oo-da-lolly, golly what a day!
    • Corndog Chats
At Any Price was alright, but I haven't seen or heard much about his other recent stuff. Anyone seen 99 Homes or Fahrenheit 451?
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

Bondo

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 23082
I thought 99 Homes was a way better take on the housing crisis of 2008 than The Big Short. I have F451 lined up for viewing in my two-month HBO stint.

Bondo

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 23082
I think Say Uncle is the most obscure 2000s feature film in the Bondo Collection (that got a DVD release). Various shorts and festival films that are solid were more obscure.

But I guess I don't know if the top 5 is the best films that meet a certain threshold of overlookedness or if the most overlooked films that meed a certain level of quality.

The most obscure 2000s film from my top 100 is the TV movie Arabian Nights from 2000.

FLYmeatwad

  • An Acronym
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 28785
  • I am trying to impress myself. I have yet to do it
    • Processed Grass
At Any Price was alright, but I haven't seen or heard much about his other recent stuff. Anyone seen 99 Homes or Fahrenheit 451?

F451 was, um, dicey at best. I did like 99 Homes, and has a couple of really strong performances.

Speed Racer is, by and large, the film I would put at the top of my Overlooked list, but also I think at this point people have come around to recognizing its greatness, so it may not qualify.