Neglected Films Of 2008 Still Well Worth Seeing
Correction: The interview described a scene in the film "The Visitor" involving a "Senegalese drummer." The drummer in the movie was actually Syrian.
EnlargeUnder the Same Moon is among NPR critic Bob Mondello's picks for neglected movies of 2008 that are worth seeing. After the death of his grandmother, Carlitos (Adrian Alonso) braves the U.S.-Mexico border in search of his mother, who's been working in Los Angeles.
Documentaries
- April 25, 2008Nothing 'Standard' About Eye-Opening Prison Film
- April 10, 2008'Young @ Heart'
- March 21, 2008'Fighting for Life'
- March 21, 2008'Blindsight'
- Feb. 29, 2008'Chicago 10' Re-Animates a Protest Story
- Jan. 23, 2008'U2 3D' -- Better Than the Real Thing?
Foreign
- March 20, 2008'Under the Same Moon'
- March 4, 2008'City of Men'
- Feb. 8, 2008'4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days'
- Feb. 7, 2008'The Band's Visit'
- Jan. 31, 2008'Caramel'
Hollywood's Early 2008 Movies
Mostly forgotten by the time awards season came along.
- April 24, 2008'Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay'
- April 10, 2008'The Visitor'
- March 29, 2008'Stop Loss' Inspired by Real Soldier Stories
- Feb. 21, 2008'Charlie Bartlett'
- March 6, 2008'The Bank Job'
- Feb. 8, 2008In 'Bruges,' Medieval Charms (Plus Small-Arms Fire)
All Things Considered, January 11, 2009 · It happens every year. Awards season rolls around, and it's as though the first half of the movie year didn't exist.
Nearly all of the pictures nominated for statuettes and globes of various sorts will have opened in the fall. And often in the verrrry late fall.
Collective memory loss? Well, not really.
The first part of the year has become a sort of Hollywood dumping ground of late. No producer peddling a serious 2009 picture wants to compete with 2008 films that can festoon ads with Oscar nominations and Top 10 citations. Better to wait a few months and open when awards fever has faded.
Still, while it's generally safe to assume that titles opening in the first months of the year will prove forgettable — Fool's Gold? Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins, anyone? — the multiplex isn't a total dead zone after the holidays.
In 2008, when Hollywood producers declined to compete with the Oscar nominees, independent studios brought out some of the year's more intriguing foreign films, such as Romania's heartbreaking 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days and the Lebanese beauty shop comedy Caramel.
There also were documentaries like the animated history lesson Chicago 10 and the eye-popping concert film U2 3D.
A few decent Hollywood pictures — the sardonic teen comedy Charlie Bartlett was a personal favorite — also got lost in the box-office shuffle, probably cementing the notion that competing with award-winners is foolhardy.
But overlooked doesn't mean not worth looking at.
Here's a short list of pictures that mostly got away from the awards folks, but shouldn't get away from you.
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