Ten to See

The best movies currently in a theater near (or not near) you, or in your local Redbox, which is certainly near you.

In Theaters

Weekend - I've already lavished much praise on Andrew Haigh's groundbreaking gay romance, but it bears repeating.  Weekend is one of the best movies of the year.  It's not likely to make it beyond metropolitan theaters, but even if it requires you to drive an hour or two, you're unlikely to find a movie more worthy of your gas usage.  Tom Cullen and Chris New are brilliant as two men who find a pocket of love over the course of a weekend.  If a theatrical viewing simply isn't possible for you, make sure to keep an eye out for the DVD, which likely be out sometime next year.

Martha Marcy May Marlene - This alliterative thriller about a girl who escapes from a cult has been on my radar since it exploded out of Sundance, and it's finally in theaters.  Elizabeth Olsen has been garnering much of the attention in the film's positive reviews, and for good reason.  The Olsen twins' younger sister has a powerful yet subtle acting talent that her older siblings largely lack (though Full House will forever be one of my guiltiest and most pleasurable guilty pleasures).

Olsen gives one of those performances that utterly captivates you.  I couldn't look away as she vacillated between the sweet naivety of Martha when she first comes to Patrick's (a hauntingly charismatic John Hawkes) farm, and the frenzied fragility of the multi-named girl who emerges two years later into a world she's lost touch with.  Olsen bares all - literally and figuratively - giving one of the year's very best performances.  It's unfortunate the Best Actress race is so crowded this year, as it means Olsen will likely miss out on a nomination, but is she somehow manages to sneak in, it will certainly be well-deserved.

Despite her commanding performance, however, Olsen's work isn't the only reason to seek out Martha Marcy May Marlene.  Writer-director Sean Durkin's feature debut is brilliantly written and edited, as the film shifts between reality, memory, and fantasy with jarring subtlety, employing cinematographic motifs and masterful sound work to disorient the viewer even further.  It's a thrilling, challenging film that builds to a perfectly ambiguous, unsettling ending.  Martha Marcy May Marlene truly is the whole package, and hopefully it will be one of the year's breakout indie hits.

J. Edgar - I'm one of the few who loved Clint Eastwood's last offering, the 2009 afterlife meditation Hereafter, and it seems I'm in the minority on J. Edgar, as well.  The film is something of a mess, thanks to a screenplay by Dustin Lance Black (Milk) that jumps all over the place and asks more questions than it cares, or even tries, to answer.  The old-age make-up has been widely ridiculed, and rightfully so in the case of Armie Hammer's.  The attractive Social Network star looks something like a burn victim when portraying Clyde Tolson, Hoover's long-time companion and possibly lover, in his later years.                                                                                                                                     

Despite some of the less successful elements of the film however, J. Edgar finds its success and watchability in Leonardo DiCaprio's fantastic performance.  As Hoover, DiCaprio brilliant channels the paranoia, thirst for power, and fierce devotion that defined the FBI head.  Even with the film's tepid reviews, DiCaprio must be considered a viable Best Actor contender, as his work is so impressive.  Hoover isn't depicted as being terribly likable or, in many cases, respectable, but Eastwood and DiCaprio somehow make him emerge as a sort of sympathetic tragic hero whose contributions to our country's safety overshadow the shadier aspects of his private and professional lives.                                                                                          

Margin Call - Ensembles rarely come as talented as the immensely talented cast assembled for Margin Call.  Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Paul Bettany, Simon Baker, and Demi Moore star, among others.  It's the kind of star-studded affair that's worth getting excited about, where each actor is given a meaty role to dig into even if he/she isn't necessarily onscreen all that much (another great example from this year is Contagion).                                                                                                                                                                                    
Margin Call tackles the tricky subject of our current economic situation, and as things got rolling, I found myself wishing I had revisited Inside Job before trekking to the theater.  This is a smart movie, and one that is anything but condescending.  The film unfolds with breakneck speed, and if it's sometimes hard to follow, it's always captivating to watch.  Even if some of the finer details escaped me (and note that I'm not at all business-minded), I was able to understand the general thrust of the plot and grasp the important narrative beats.  Every time one of the higher-ups in the film asked the techies to speak plainly, I gave a silent cheer.                                                                                                                                                                                 
The tense, intelligent screenplay is in good hands, as the assembled stars bring the script to exhilarating life.  Jeremy Irons is perhaps the movie's MVP as the CEO who is willing to engage in bad business if it means coming out less scathed.  Irons chews through his dialogue with such certainty and power that it's a wonder he isn't given such great roles more often.  Hopefully his work in Margin Call marks a comeback for the actor.  (Margin Call is also available on Video on Demand.)

The Way -  Emilio Estevez's semi-road movie has been quietly working its way to commercial success (in limited release, it's already passed $2.5 million), and for good reason.  The Way follows a man (Estevez's father, Martin Sheen) as he travels overseas to recover his son's (Estevez) body after passing away on the first day of a pilgrimage.  In a turn of events everyone sees coming, the father decides to complete the pilgrimage in his son's honor, joining up with an eccentric group of internationals who all have their own reasons for making the journey.                                                                                                            
The film is, perhaps appropriately, a bit plodding, moving along at its own pace with lots of montages of Sheen and company walking.  For Sheen, however, the film is something like Solitary Man was for Michael Douglas.  It's a film that allows him to play a poignant role that embraces his age, a sort of late-in-the-career celebration for the long-established actor.  The film's emotional impact is intensified by the fact that Estevez directed, co-wrote, and co-stars in the film, giving the brief moments the two actors share onscreen a delicate, tangible weight.

On DVD
Beginners - What a lovely, lovely film.  Beginners centers on an elderly man (Christopher Plummer) diagnosed with a terminal illness who comes out to his son (Ewan McGregor).  Meanwhile, McGregor's character romances a lovely French girl played by Inglourious Basterds' stunning Melanie Laurent.  Beginners lives and dies on Plummer's performance, which is nuanced, honest, and heart-breaking without being sentimental.  Plummer masterfully navigates the happiness of living openly for the first time in his life, the bittersweetness of how ephemeral this happiness is, and the confusion that is necessarily a part of his new and ending life.  Already projected as the front-runner for Best Supporting Actor, Beginners is necessary viewing for Oscar fiends, and should be for everyone else, too.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II - If there was ever an unnecessary recommendation, this is it.  By now, seemingly everyone on the planet has discovered the magical world of J.K. Rowling's imagination, which was brought to cinematic life vibrantly over the past decade by a quartet of skilled directors.  Even as a lukewarm non-fan of Deathly Hallows Part I, Part II served as a fitting ending to the franchise.  The film packed in plenty of action in the epic Battle of Hogwarts, but also stuck the emotional landings during such pivotal scenes as Harry's walk through the forest and the big screen adaptation of The Prince's Tale, my favorite chapter in the entire series.                                                                                                                                                  
As reported a week or so ago, there's some urgency tied to the Part II DVD, as Warner Brothers is going to stop printing the movies in a move reminiscent of the loathed Disney vault.  So if you're a fan - and you are, aren't you? - you should scoop up any films you currently lack at risk of being stuck as a Muggle.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. - Aside from the crazy, stupid, punctuation of the title, Crazy, Stupid, Love. proved to be one of the summer's most pleasant surprises.  Fresh off his departure from The Office, Steve Carrell gives one of his best performances to date as a man who's forgotten how precious love is. Ryan Gosling is a wonderful scene-stealer as a Hitch-type character who helps Carrell reclaim his cool.  The film questions romantic comedy cliches even as it gives in to them, demonstrating that there's a reason for their existence: they make for great entertainment.  Even if I felt a tiny bit manipulated, I didn't mind.  This is wonderful, funny romance (maybe that could be the title of the sequel). Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Kevin Bacon, Josh Groban, and Marisa Tomei round out the great cast.                                                                                                                                  

Winnie the Pooh - Disney's beloved bear made a return to the big screen this summer, and virtually no one welcomed him back.  It's a shame, because the charmingly animated tale is one of the year's (few) animated highlights.  Music from The Book of Mormon's Bobby Lopez and She & Him breathed some new melodic life into the franchise even as the characters remained blissfully the same as we've always remembered them.  With a slight runtime of just over an hour, Winnie the Pooh packs plenty of laughs and tons of heart into every minute.                    
                                                                

Attack the Block - Chances are you've never heard of Joe Cornish's bizarre tale of alien warfare, and it's a shame, because Attack the Block is among the year's best, most joyous, and most fun movies.  Taking a cue from Sean of the Dead (Nick Frost even plays a supporting role), Attack the Block follows a gang of kids as they attempt to deal with an alien invasion.  The cast is hilarious, with each member of the ensemble providing great characterization and spot-on line delivery, and the film's action sequences are strong, thanks in part to the cool alien design, which looks something like a cross between a gorilla and a shark.  As far as action-comedies go, Attack the Block is one of the best I've seen, and easily one of my favorite movies of the year.