If you attend a film series or frequent the revival circuit, there’s a good chance you’re usually seeing films that are in the canon.  There’s a communal feeling watching a work by Kurosawa or Hitchcock; whether you like it or not, whether you’re getting it or not, there’s still some sense that you’re part of the cognoscenti, aware that you are seeing a work by a great artist or that has an understood value.

A new series is challenging that notion, as the online film magazine Hammer To Nail has organized the Misunderstood Gems series at 92YTribeca, focusing on works that defy the notions “good” and “bad” with films such as The Real Cancun and I Know Who Killed Me. The series was put together with the idea that audiences will walk out having experienced something, but they may not be altogether sure what it was.  The selections also buck conventional festival-thought by focusing on films that are underappreciated contemporary works.  I spoke with series curator Michael Tully to understand that which is misunderstood.

What makes a misunderstood gem?

To be completely honest, I wanted to label this program something different, but the title I wanted to use for this type of film could be considered offensive to some people. To me a misunderstood gem is a film that succeeds on terms that it was not intending. Whether it be an unintentional comedy or a movie that has its sights set on a different side of the spectrum [while] it lands completely on the opposite side.

The selections are all contemporary films, released in the last decade.  In part, this seems to be due to the fact that after a period of time a movie eventually gains its own legacy and we’re more conditioned to know how to react to it.  Any other factors here?

Well, mainly it was for the decade.  We just finished this decade and all these lists are coming out and I thought it would be neat to celebrate films that first and foremost are very entertaining to watch with a crowd.  And secondly, these are not the types of films that will get mentions in decade wrap-ups that you’ll be reading. So, rather than doing the “Best Films of the Decade” I wanted to put a fun spin on it.

The next film in the series is The Real Cancun playing this Thursday. Give us a few words on how this made the cut and why we should see it.

You just really should see it! I, like many when The Real Cancun came out, planned to ignore it. But a recommendation of a trusted friend caused me to take the plunge at which point I was pretty floored by the experience. And, you know, I think now in light of the smash success of Jersey Shore, this is probably the most timely pick, if you will, in the series. I think what The Real Cancun did for the first time as opposed to the earlier incarnations of The Real World, was that the filmmakers were clearly heightening the absurdity, the lunacy, the idiocy of these people. The first few seasons of The Real World you were invested in the characters and you cared what would happen to them, The Real Cancun changed all that for better or worse. And for this experience I plan to bring a squeegee bottle of tequila–this is the part where you’re supposed to want to come see it now—and at any point if you are moved by what you see, almost like church, I will be there for you with a tequila squirt.

Was it just serendipity that one of the screenings—Lady In The Water—will take place on April Fool’s Day?

You have just blown my mind. I had no idea.  I realize these films are available on DVD and I realize it’s cold and dark at night, but these films play great with a room of open-minded viewers, so I’m trying to spice these screenings up.  To set the tone for that screening, I will be reading from choice excerpts, by way of introduction, from the M. Night Shamalyan book [The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career On A Fairy Tale, by Michael Bamberger] on the making of the film. The writer was a Sports Illustrated writer and he opens the book with, “I am nothing like a movie expert. Ingmar Bergman, man or woman? I don’t know,” and it just goes from there.

Hammer To Nail is an online magazine dedicated to independent and adventurous cinema. What’s next for you guys?

That’s a tough question.  We’re two years old and our plan was to build slowly and organically.  We currently don’t have advertising, but in this current climate if the films aren’t making money, online magazines (laughs) definitely aren’t making money.  But that said, our mission remains to be a positive voice and in such a cluttered world point you in the direction of movies that we love and think you should, too.

Misunderstood Gems are playing monthly at 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson St.

The Real Cancun, Thu, Feb 11, 2010, 8:00pm

I Know Who Killed Me, Thu, Mar 4, 2010, 8:00pm

Lady In The Water, Thu, Apr 1, 2010, 8:00pm