Yesterday, Scott posted a terrific month-by-month report card looking back the 2008 movie scene from the halfway point. With the interval between theatrical and DVD release dates shrinking steadily, a lot of the movies from January through June are either already available on DVD, or soon will be. For your consideration, here are what I consider to be seven underseen, underexposed, and/or unfairly overlooked gems from the year to date. Something to consider next time you log on to Netflix.

In no particular order:

1. Charlie Bartlett - I'll clamber out on a limb and call Charlie Bartlett the most valuable movie for young teenagers this decade (despite its R rating). Most films for kids and teens unthinkingly implore them not to worry about being popular -- do your own thing! Don't worry about what your peers think of you! Good advice in the abstract, maybe, but completely detached from reality for most school-age kids, who have to, you know, go to school, and eat in the cafeteria. Charlie Bartlett is smart enough to realize this. Rather than imploring kids to "be themselves," it wants to say something about what the ones who are actually popular should do with their popularity. For once, it's a movie with a message aimed not at the misfits but at the leaders: the kids who are smart, charismatic and capable; the schoolyard trendsetters and tastemakers. It powerfully suggests the importance of using that influence for good instead of evil. Oh, and it's bright, sincere, and very funny, with a downright miraculous performance by Anton Yelchin.

It's hard to imagine the basketball junkie who won't fall madly in love with Adam Yauch's new documentary, Gunnin' for That #1 Spot, simply because it's a very sincere and admirably straightforward story about eight young men and their passion for the game. Sure, all eight of the high school basketball wizards have their dreams set on NBA fame, but at this early point in their career, these guys just enjoy the game that much. At this point it's not about money, contracts, or endorsements. It's almost time for all that jazz, but what's most important right now, in these formative years, are teamwork, dedication, and talent.

Easily the best movie of its kind since Steve James' Hoop Dreams, Gunnin' is a refreshingly basic affair: We're introduced to eight of the nation's finest high school basketballers, and then we accompany the kids on a trip to Harlem's legendary Rucker Park. It's there that the young players, most of whom come from very different backgrounds, will get together for the joyous experience of playing on a world-famous neighborhood court with some of the best players imaginable. Hell, what competitor wouldn't jump at a chance like that?