Robin's Overlooked Movie of the Day

AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS, 1987

2007-09-25T22:48:00.000-05:00

Ah, a boys-at-boarding-school movie where Robin Williams won't jump around and inspire us all.

Directed by Louis Malle.

CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS, 1989

2007-09-16T23:17:00.000-05:00

This delightfully dark (and frankly, not that overlooked) Woody Allen picture about the aforementioned topics was made before half the actors ran off to join "Law and Order" and "ER."

Directed by Woody Allen.

INSIDE MAN, 2006

2007-09-13T23:43:00.000-05:00

Who is the Inside Man, anyway? Jodie Foster?

Directed by Spike Lee.

GATTACA, 1997

2007-09-12T21:44:00.000-05:00

Finally, a movie about what would happen if the fascists control both the space program and genetic engineering.

Directed by Andrew Niccol.

TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE, 2004

2007-09-07T23:55:00.000-05:00

A somewhat annoying man steps out from his famous cinematographer father's long shadow long enough to examine it.

Directed by Mark Wexler.

REBECCA, 1940

2007-09-05T23:42:00.000-05:00

She's the most menacing character that never appeared in a movie.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

BROKEN FLOWERS, 2005

2007-09-04T23:45:00.000-05:00

Former Don Juan Bill Murray (really) learns from an anonymous letter he has a son and sets out to find which of his former girlfriends is the lucky mother.

Directed by Jim Jarmusch.

THE ICE STORM, 1997

2007-09-03T22:19:00.000-05:00

Spiderman and Frodo and their parents get a little rowdy in the '70s in the 'burbs in the ice.

Directed by Ang Lee.

LONE STAR, 1996

2007-08-31T22:03:00.000-05:00

Half Western. Half mystery. Half family drama.

Directed by John Sayles.

HEAVEN CAN WAIT, 1943

2007-08-30T22:34:00.000-05:00

It's womanizing -- Lubitsch style! As Don Ameche tries to explain his way into Hell upon his death, he can't help but like "the ladies."

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

CORRECTION:

2007-08-30T15:38:00.000-05:00

An astute reader has brought it to my attention that Naomi Watts may not actually have a mandatory nudity clause in her standard contract. Overlooked Movie of the Day regrets the error.

21 GRAMS, 2003

2007-08-29T22:58:00.000-05:00

Is it in all of Naomi Watts' contracts that she appear topless? Or in all of Sean Penn's contracts to portray a man with a torturted soul?

Directed by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu.

CHARADE, 1963

2007-08-28T22:50:00.000-05:00

Audrey Hepburn's husband is murdered, but instead of grieving, she sets out with Cary Grant to figure out where the old man hid his stash.

Directed by Stanley Donen.

THE STATION AGENT, 2003

2007-08-25T23:01:00.000-05:00

You know how it is when you want to play alone with your trains but you keep accidentally making friends.

Directed by Thomas McCarthy.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE, 1942

2007-08-24T21:31:00.001-05:00

Once again, actors come to the rescue, using comedy to save the free world from the Nazis.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

GEORGE WASHINGTON, 2000

2007-08-23T22:15:00.000-05:00

Forget about your Mount Vernon-dwelling, pointy-hatted president. It's much better than that.

Directed by David Gordon Green.

SPARTAN, 2004

2007-08-22T23:06:00.000-05:00

Val Kilmer has really let himself go since playing this secret agent who searches for a kidnapped Veronica Mars (good thing she's cute) as the body count mounts around him.

Directed by David Mamet.

THE PAPER CHASE, 1973

2007-08-20T23:46:00.000-05:00

Not really about paper. No big chase scene. But lots of drama about, um, law school.

Directed by James Bridges.

CITY LIGHTS, 1931

2007-08-18T22:31:00.000-05:00

One of the saddest comedies. One of the best movies.

Directed by Charlie Chaplin.

FLOWER OF EVIL, 2003

2007-08-17T22:53:00.000-05:00

Secrets wrapped in lies sprinkled with scandal tied with ambition served with a side of murder and topped with a smile.

Directed by Claude Chabrol.

THE BIG HEAT, 1953

2007-08-17T00:29:00.000-05:00

A bomb and a pot of coffee serve as motivation in this oddly misogynistic gangster cop noir where being a woman around the hero seems to be the kiss of death.

Directed by Fritz Lang.

SWIMMING POOL, 2003

2007-08-15T23:10:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you cross an uptight British writer with a teenage French sexpot? A little inspiration and a lot of casual toplessness.

Directed by Francois Ozon.

STEAMBOAT BILL, JR., 1928

2007-08-14T23:36:00.000-05:00

The plot doesn't even matter. I get the same flutters in my stomach watching Buster Keaton do one of the most thrilling stunts captured on film as I do watching sharp shooters fling arrows at Toshiro Mifune.

Directed by Buster Keaton.

BEDAZZLED, 1967

2007-08-13T23:48:00.000-05:00

If Faust and Arthur got together at a swingin' love-in ...

Directed by Stanley Donen.

THE LADY EVE, 1941

2007-08-10T23:55:00.000-05:00

Barbara Stanwyck plays in one of the best poker scenes in the movies, as she tries to rescue the man she loves from the other man she loves.

Directed by Preston Sturges.

HEIST, 2001

2007-08-09T23:53:00.000-05:00

Rebecca Pigeon is cast yet again as the sexy female lead. And yet, compared to Lindsay Crouse ...

Directed by David Mamet.

INSOMNIA, 1997

2007-08-08T23:18:00.000-05:00

The first-time director did such a great job. Now, let's round up Al Pacino, Robin Williams and Academy-Award winner Hilary Swank and set the movie in Alaska so we can get rid of those pesky subtitles. Now you're talkin'!

Directed by Erik Skjoldbaerg.

MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, 1988

2007-08-07T22:34:00.000-05:00

He's furry, lives in the woods behind the house, has giant teeth and is big enough to eat the children. But don't worry; he's friendly.

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

THE BIG LEBOWSKI, 1998

2007-08-06T23:46:00.000-05:00

Not exactly Bogart and Bacall, but it's roughly the same Philip Marlowe story on pot and with rockin' supporting players.

Directed by Joel Coen.

ANATOMY OF A MURDER, 1959

2007-08-05T23:12:00.000-05:00

A tale of rape, murder, courtroom theatrics and panties in Ishpeming, Michigan.

Directed by Otto Preminger.

MY DARLING CLEMENTINE, 1946

2007-08-04T23:58:00.000-05:00

The title has almost nothing to do with the movie, and the title character is the most boring character in the film. But I suppose "My Darling Wyatt" doesn't have the same ring to it.

Directed by John Ford.

TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT, 1944

2007-08-03T22:57:00.000-05:00

Humphrey Bogart, in an exotic locale with a bar and a pianist, smokes a lot and eventually joins the Free French against the Vichy government with a beautiful woman in tow. A completely original plot!

Directed by Howard Hawks.

VELVET GOLDMINE, 1998

2007-08-02T23:35:00.000-05:00

On the plus side: A bombastic Ewan McGregor and a killer soundtrack. On the negatory side: Christian Bale's hair and a limp Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Directed by Todd Haynes.

THE PLAYER, 1992

2007-08-01T23:51:00.000-05:00

A Hollywood story about a Hollywood executive who gets caught up in a Hollywood plot of blackmail and murder. And, of course, it has a Hollywood ending.

Directed by Robert Altman.

LA NOTTE, 1961

2007-07-31T23:06:00.000-05:00

Perhaps not a typical overlooked movie, but we won't be getting more of these meandering films of callous disconnect as Antonioni died yesterday.

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni.

THE SEVENTH SEAL, 1957

2007-07-30T23:58:00.000-05:00

A Crusader looking to stave off death challenges the grim reaper to a board game.

Directed by Ingmar Bergman.

Gone Free Range

2007-07-27T01:19:00.000-05:00

I'm headed to the best film festival this side of the St. Louis River. Back in a few days.

BROKEN BLOSSOMS, 1919

2007-07-25T23:05:00.000-05:00

One part poetic performance, one part heart-breaking story, one part casual racism.

Directed by D.W. Griffith.

INCIDENT AT LOCH NESS, 2004

2007-07-25T00:50:00.000-05:00

A film crew follows documentarian Werner Herzog as he sets out on Loch Ness in search of the famous monster. Tension mounts as his Hollywood-minded producer tries to make the documentary sexier and action-packed.

Directed by Zak Penn.

NOTORIOUS, 1946

2007-07-24T00:25:00.000-05:00

Sebastian is the ringleader of a nefarious group of Nazis, but he doesn't notice his wife is a spy for the Yanks. Maybe Mommy will figure it out.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

GOOD MORNING, 1957

2007-07-22T21:45:00.000-05:00

It's not often you find a bona fide classic film with fart jokes.

Directed by Yasujiro Ozu.

THE SPANISH PRISONER, 1997

2007-07-21T23:57:00.000-05:00

How many cons in this movie? Are you sure? Really?

Directed by David Mamet.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, 1968

2007-07-20T21:52:00.000-05:00

Henry Fonda is as good as the bad guy as Charles Bronson is bad as the good guy.

Directed by Sergio Leone.

M, 1931

2007-07-19T23:51:00.000-05:00

I don't know which is scarier, the child killer or the folks who go after him.

Directed by Fritz Lang.

MILLER'S CROSSING, 1990

2007-07-18T23:56:00.000-05:00

Johnny's sick of the high hat. So he makes a play at a rival gangster, whose henchman ain't no schnook.

Directed by Joel Coen.

TROUBLESOME CREEK: A MIDWESTERN, 1995

2007-07-17T23:54:00.000-05:00

What could be more fun than a film about how the 1980s farm crisis forced this elderly couple to auction off all their belongings in the snow just so they could try to keep the bank from foreclosing on their land?

Directed by Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan.

THE ILLUSIONIST, 2006

2007-07-16T16:32:00.000-05:00

The second best magic-themed movie from last year. And Rufas Sewell is terribly mustachioed.

Directed by Neil Burger.

DARK CITY, 1998

2007-07-14T10:57:00.000-05:00

Waaaaaay better than the Matrix, Mr. Book. And Rufus Sewell is NOT terribly mustachioed.

Directed by Alex Proyas.

BOB LE FLAMBEUR, 1956

2007-07-12T23:56:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been so involved in what your doing that you lose track of time? Have you ever done that in the middle of a heist that you so very carefully planned?

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE, 1932

2007-07-11T23:10:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when your mark is a bit of a flirt and your partner-in-crime is a bit jealous.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

WALKABOUT, 1971

2007-07-10T18:37:00.000-05:00

Two stranded kids' trek through the wilderness is interrupted by an Aborigine boy and Jenny Agutter's nude swim.

Directed by Nick Roeg.

PETULIA, 1968

2007-07-09T00:08:00.000-05:00

Petulia is married to Richard Chamberlain. So why's it so hard to have an affair with George C. Scott?

Directed by Richard Lester.

THE IMPOSTORS, 1998

2007-07-07T18:04:00.000-05:00

Two out-of-work actors accidentally stow away aboard a ship full of kooks. They must avert several disasters and save the ship by, yes, acting as they have never acted before.

Directed by Stanley Tucci.

THE CIRCUS, 1928

2007-07-06T00:28:00.000-05:00

If you can't laugh at Charlie Chaplin on a tightrope with monkeys scurrying up and down his little body, you, good sir, can't laugh.

Directed by Charlie Chaplin.

LE SAMOURAI, 1967

2007-07-03T23:22:00.000-05:00

Alain Delon plays a hit man, who's just poured into that suit. And hat. And trench coat. And those gloves.

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville.

CHUNGKING EXPRESS, 1994

2007-07-02T09:54:00.000-05:00

Apparently, stalking is cute. Just like Tony Leung.

Directed by Wong Kar-Wai.

MURDER ON A SUNDAY MORNING, 2001

2007-07-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

If you want to get mad, like, really mad, watch how police go about solving the shooting death of a white woman in Florida.

Directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade.

NINOTCHKA, 1939

2007-06-30T00:13:00.000-05:00

Communism and the struggles of daily life under Soviet rule serve as a backdrop for this romantic comedy.

Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

YOJIMBO, 1961

2007-06-29T01:06:00.000-05:00

Toshiro Mifune plays rival gangs against each other. But watch out! One gangster wields an oversized novelty mallet.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa.

THE ZERO EFFECT, 1998

2007-06-28T00:04:00.000-05:00

Bill Pullman is a reclusive, paranoid, strung-out, master-of-disguise, astute-student-of-human-nature uber-P.I., who is also an avid Tab drinker. In other words, this movie has a little something for everyone.

Directed by Jake Kasdan.

WINCHESTER '73, 1950

2007-06-27T00:42:00.001-05:00

A story about guns. And brothers. And how one of those brothers and one of those guns saves Tony Curtis from certain doom.

Directed by Anthony Mann.

RIPLEY'S GAME, 2002

2007-06-25T23:56:00.000-05:00

Everyone's favorite sociopath, played by everyone's favorite droll egg-headed actor. (Makes me never want to use the bathroom on a train.)

Directed by Liliana Cavani.

THE LONG GOODBYE, 1973

2007-06-24T23:32:00.000-05:00

It may be difficult for anyone born after 1975 to believe, but Elliott Gould is rockin'.

Directed by Robert Altman.

MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY, 1993

2007-06-23T23:37:00.000-05:00

If you think YOUR neighbors peek into your garage a little too curiously, try living next to this neurotic pair.

Directed by Woody Allen.

ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS, 1939

2007-06-22T23:48:00.000-05:00

Toy airplanes take off from and land on on a miniature set; Carey Grant is just this side of dapper; and best of all, there's intense pilot rivalry.

Directed by Howard Hawks.

THE IRON GIANT, 1999

2007-06-21T23:02:00.000-05:00

Ted Hughes wrote this story about nuclear annihilation to cheer up his kids after their mom committed suicide.

Directed by Brad Bird.

SEVEN UP!, 1964, (AND THE REST OF THE UP SERIES)

2007-06-20T22:00:00.000-05:00

SEVEN UP!, 7 PLUS SEVEN, 21 UP, 28 UP, 35 UP, 42 UP, 49 UP: Explores the theory that annoying children grow up to be annoying adults.

Seven Up! directed by Paul Almond. The rest directed by Michael Apted.

BLOWUP, 1966

2007-06-19T23:12:00.000-05:00

A smooth-chested photographer suspects his camera has captured something nefarious. After couple of days, it's not even that strange when the mimes show up.

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni.

WINGS OF DESIRE, 1987

2007-06-18T22:43:00.000-05:00

Here's an angel-falls-in-love-with-a-mortal movie that's not ruined by Meg Ryan or sappy symbolism.

Directed by Wim Wenders.

SAMURAI REBELLION, 1967

2007-06-18T00:19:00.000-05:00

A former samaurai fights injustice and a group of the lord's meanieheads with romanticism, a katana sword and a baby.

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi.

OUT OF THE PAST, 1947

2007-06-16T23:35:00.000-05:00

A former private eye tries to blend in, but when the giant chin dimple from his past catches up to him, he finds himself in alligators up to his ears.

Directed by Jaques Tourneur.

THE THIN BLUE LINE, 1988

2007-06-15T18:17:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Dallas, Texas, a magical land where not killing folks can land you on Death Row.

Directed by Errol Morris.

INFERNAL AFFAIRS, 2002

2007-06-14T23:01:00.001-05:00

A mole in the police force and one in a gang work to out each other. A more descriptive title might be Internal Affairs. But why pass on the chance to be cute? And don't get too invested in the woman on the American DVD cover. She doesn't appear in the movie.

Directed by Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak.

LAURA, 1944

2007-06-13T23:57:00.000-05:00

Lotsa fellas dig Laura. She's a big-city gal with an apartment of her own and a gigantunormous portrait of herself. So why would anyone want to off her?

Directed by Otto Preminger.

THE CONVERSATION, 1974

2007-06-12T17:39:00.000-05:00

Harry's a bugging expert. But after replaying "Red Red Robin" a few too many times, he starts to freak about what he's really hearing.

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.

SHADOW OF A DOUBT, 1943

2007-06-11T01:26:00.000-05:00

Sure Uncle Charlie appears out of nowhere, is kinda creepy and has a mysterious past he won't talk about, but he's not at all trying to kill you.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.