Every Monday, each of us will suggest a film that we feel too few people have seen.

Windy’s Pick of the Week: May

Unless you went to BNAT in 2001, you may have missed this delightful character-study/horror film. Lucky McKee directs Angela Bettis (who I wish popped up in more movies – she’s fantastic) as the titular May: an awkward girl who just wants to make a friend. Looking for a relationship, any relationship, May’s overtures are painfully realistic (we’ve all done or witnessed these scenarios), but May eventually overcomes in a truly creative fashion. Bettis anchors the film with her vulnerable and quirkily humorous performance – May is unabashedly optimistic and open to any path that looks promising. She’s joined by Jeremy Sisto and Anna Faris, so she has some solid and entertaining support.

Melissa adds: Whatever you do, don’t read the description on the back of the DVD box before watching this movie!

Melissa’s Pick of the Week: Trucker

Try this description on for size: the main character of Trucker is a semi-truck driver who finds himself forced into parenting an 11-year-old kid that he abandoned ten years previously. That sounds like it might be an okay 1970s-style melodrama, right? Well, try the real description instead: the driver in question is a woman. Played by Michelle Monaghan, Diane Ford is a unusual, deeply engaging, sometimes infuriating character. In her career of choice, she has become as battle-hardened as possible, and she is completely unthrilled at the prospect of being forced to be a mother again. It is Monaghan’s performance that turns this film from something ordinary to something extraordinary. Beyond that, director James Mottern manages to balance the melodrama so it never becomes saccharine. It’s a fine little film, and worth the work to track down. Also, bonus points for Nathan Fillion content. You want that, right? Sure you do!