1960 - Fat Kid Rules the World

I remember seeing press for this film when it was in the festival circuit.  I've always enjoyed Lillard as an actor so it was exciting to see what he could do as a filmmaker.  I think it's a strong coming-of-age story, and more honest about how it feels to be that kid in that situation.  I've been there, though not nearly as damaged.  Poor kid. 
I found the film to be pretty charming.  I was planning to watch it in the background while doing some work but it drew me in completely.  The cast is full of solid performances and interesting characters that don't simply fall into the stereotypes one might come to expend in a film like this.  It's on netflix and I strongly recommend to anyone who loves tales about lovable losers.

1774 - The Groomsmen

For some reason I completely forgot that I owned this film and here I've been looking for it on VOD all around.  This is one of the last films that Edward Burns made before he decided to go the extremely low-budget route in his filmmaking.  This film absolutely has more polish than his current work (although his newest film looks pretty slick).  Burns tells these extremely watchable character pieces.  I'd argue that this film starts to feel long - and given that it's barely over ninety minutes that's a bit of an issue.  It's the story of a man about to head into a shotgun wedding and where he and the men in his life are currently at.  There's a lot to like about this film - Matthew Lillard is a stand-out for sure.  I found it a touch uneven and also that a good deal of the conflicts in the film came up at random as opposed to organically.  That said it's full of a lot of heart and honesty and really "gets" men and our fucked up issues.  It was lovely to see Brittney Murphy again - goddamn she was lovely.  Still missed!
So while this film is by no means essential viewing, if you're going through Burns filmography it's not one you want to skip over either.