Underrated/Overrated

UNDERRATED

‘Searching for Bobby Fischer’: With the compelling HBO documentary “Bobby Fischer Against the World” revisiting a curious yet remarkable time where chess and its tragic genius captured the world’s imagination, it’s a prime time to revisit this quiet gem from 1993. Telling the story of real-life chess prodigy Joshua Waitzkin, the film offers a warm glimpse of the burden of childhood genius and the importance of holding onto humanity in its relentless pursuit.

Ryan Dunn: Given the “Jackass” crew’s amateur stuntman mythology, maybe it isn’t all that surprising that one of their own died young, as Dunn did last week at age 34. The show was a hysterical mix of extreme sports aesthetics and Warner Bros.-schooled slapstick, and something about Dunn’s genial onscreen presence made it seem like he knew better but was still in for getting the laugh. It was a trait that makes his needless death behind the wheel seem that much sadder.

OVERRATED

The ‘Yacht Rock’ renaissance: Indie rock’s ongoing “Taste of the ‘80s” fixation has taken a kind of amusing turn of late, mining this breezy side of vintage soft rock, including Destroyer’s buttery-smooth album “Kaputt” and the lusher moments on Bon Iver’s self-titled new record. But now, Michael McDonald is backing up electro group Holy Ghost!, and Christopher Cross recently released his first album in 12 years. This stuff can’t be coming back for real, can it?

Comic stars feeling super: Now that “Green Lantern” is raking in considerably less green than expected, can the curious blend of studio speculation and agent ambition stop forcing naturally funny actors into superheroic situations? Though Michael Keaton established this career path with Tim Burton’s “Batman,” Ryan Reynolds’ goofy charm was lost trying to save the world, and Seth Rogan’s “The Green Hornet” had no sting. Maybe the color is the problem.

chris.barton@latimes.com