5 to Find: Great flicks new on DVD that got no Oscar love
BY MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer
Thursday, February 21, 2013
2/21/13 at 3:42 AM
The Academy Awards are Sunday night, and movie lovers have spent the time since the nominations were announced catching up with Oscar favorites such as "Lincoln," "Argo" and "Silver Linings Playbook."
All of these are critically acclaimed as well as being box-office hits - this will be the first year in which more than five best picture nominees have rang up more than $100 million in receipts.
But what about the little guys? What about the films that received acclaim outside of the Academy and deserve to be found by audiences? What about those pictures that may someday be looked at more favorably than some of this year's Oscar nominees?
These are five of those exceptional, non-Oscar-love nominees, and you should seek them out on DVD now.
'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'
The best movie about teens in years explores the troubled world of introverted protagonist Charlie (Logan Lerman) and his two high school friends (played by Ezra Miller and Emma Watson in unforgettable, award-worthy efforts). Seriously teen-smart and intimately aware of the melodrama that is the teen experience, "Perks" was selected one of the 10 best movies of 2012 by the National Board of Review, and book author/movie director Stephen Chbosky is a Writer's Guild nominee for his screenplay.
'End of Watch'
Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña deliver performances as partners in a Los Angeles squad car that rarely reach such depth of character in portraying cops. They make an audience care about their lives, and their ultra-dangerous jobs, and all that they stand to lose. The Broadcast Film Critics Association named Gyllenhaal a best actor nominee, and Peña is up for best supporting actor at this Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards.
'The Intouchables'
The top-grossing film at Circle Cinema since it reopened as an art-house theater is this French bromance about the deep bond that forms between a quadriplegic and his street-wise caregiver, creating a dependent relationship in which each man comes to know the other's joys, pains, desires and secrets. This international blockbuster grossed $416 million in the rest of the world, and many were shocked when it was not nominated in the foreign-language field.
'Looper'
This time-travel story made for a quirky science-fiction tale, with a second-act twist that raises the stakes. Enjoy Joseph Gordon-Levitt in one of his four impressive 2012 performances, and after watching Bruce Willis in "Die Hard" for the fifth time, check out his acting ability here when action is mixed with quiet moments. Perhaps the most award-worthy performance comes from Emily Blunt as a woman hiding a secret.
'Your Sister's Sister'
Indie comedic drama at its best, with just the right amount of personal conflict and improvised hilarity. Complications abound when one woman (Blunt again, and excellent again) must come to come to terms with a coupling between her best friend - whom she may be in love with (Mark Duplass) - and her sister (Rosemarie DeWitt). One of the best ensembles of the year, and DeWitt is nominated also at Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards.
Original Print Headline: 5 to Find
Michael Smith | World Scene Writer 918-581-8479 | michael.smith@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Ezra Miller, Emma Watson and Logan Lerman. COMINGSOON.NET
Jake Gyllenhall. COMINGSOON.NET
Francois Cluzet and Omar Sy. COMINGSOON.NET
Joseph Gordon-Levitt. COMINGSOON.NET
Rosemarie DeWitt and Emily Blunt. COMINGSOON.NET
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