5 Overlooked Things

5 things I think haven't got the public recognition they deserve in the past year:

The Ghost Writer 

I think this might have been limited release or just did not really get advertised despite a star-studded cast (Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Catrall anyone?). I don't know what it was - maybe the British actors and Americans using their best British accents scared people off, but this was one of my favorite movies of the past year.  Dirty politicians rarely make for a bad movie, and this one featured took you along for a ride with twists and turns at every corner (and one big twist at the end).  The dark ending especially tickled my fancy.

The Road 

You should a) read this book and b) see this movie - but if you're time pressed I recommend the latter.  The book won a Pulitzer, yet I found the story translated better to the screen.  I love that this story leaves out details that distract from what is at the heart of it - a father-son relationship.  It is about these two surviving in a post-apocalyptic United States but does not reveal how it came to be this way - avoiding the politics that come with that territory and leaving it up to the reader/viewer to concoct their own worst case scenario.  It also makes you reflect and wonder if you'd be the "good guys" that the son and his dad are, or the bad guys who lock people up and eat them.  Oh, and did I mention it has Charlize Theron? (only one of two women I would cheat on my future spouse with)

Better Off Ted

Technically, this came out last year, but just got cancelled this year.  I fail to understand America's taste in comedy (Mike & Molly premieres to 12 million people - really?) but maybe there just weren't enough fat people in this gem. This show made me laugh more than that other workplace comedy that got really unfunny last year.  Phil is arguably one of the better comedy characters in a while brought to life by Jonathan Slavin.  It's on Netflix Instant so watch it. Speaking of another show with a low number of viewers...

Terriers

The best new show in this weak fall TV season (I don't get HBO though, so maybe Boardwalk Empire is).  I have an unhealthy man-crush on Donal Logue, the main character in this buddy-private detective show, that dates back to his star turn in the short-lived but very beloved (by me and not too many other people since it was cancelled) The Knights of Prosperity.  (It was about a group of low-lifes trying to rob Mick Jagger and also featured the beautiful Sofia Vergara now of Modern Family fame - sadly, it's not available on DVD or on Netflix...but I digress).  But Terriers is a really fun show that makes you root for the two P.I.'s, faults/dark pasts and all.

Jake Byrd

Jake Byrd does guest spots on Jimmy Kimmel Live. And he loves famous people.  Basically, he goes to celebrities' court sessions/jail sentences and shouts out his "support" and manages to crash a few press conferences.  He parodies people's obsession to worship the plastic canopy of U.S. royalty. My favorites from the video below are him telling Lindsay to "fight for your right to party" and proclaiming Michael Lohan as "father of the year."