Inception

FINALLY! New Movies to See This Week

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Vincent Cassell in Mesrine: Killer Instinct

 

The good autumn movies have started to roll out, and it’s time to go back to the theaters.  This week I’m recommending Mesrine: Killer Instinct, Animal Kingdom, The American and The Tillman Story.  I’ll be seeing Soul Kitchen soon and will have a recommendation on that, too.  And Inception, Toy Story 3, The Girl Who Played With Fire, Get Low and The Kids Are All Right are all still playing in theaters.   For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

For my recent DVD choices (including trailers), see DVDs of the Week.

Movies on TV include Rebel Without a Cause, The Graduate and Touch of Evil, all coming up on TCM.

Movies to See Right Now (very late August Edition)

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The Kids Are All Right

Now we’re really down to the August dregs in theaters. Here’s your chance to see some better movies from earlier in the year.

Inception, Toy Story 3, The Girl Who Played With Fire, Get Low and The Kids Are All Right are all good and still playing in theaters.   For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

You can also catch up a good movie with my DVD of the week, Sweetgrass, or last week’s Fish Tank.  For the trailers and other DVD choices, see DVDs of the Week.

Movies on TV include A Face in the Crowd, Anatomy of a Murder, The Stunt Man and The Outlaw Josey Wales, all coming up on TCM.

Movies to See Right Now (late August edition)

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The Girl Who Played with Fire

As my friend Keith always advises me, movie distributors send out their weakest material in August.  Make lemonade out of the lemons by catching up on the better movies from earlier in the year.

Inception and Toy Story 3 are two of the year’s best. If you want a thriller, go with The Girl Who Played With Fire.  Robert Duvall gives another masterful performance in Get Low.  For an indie dramedy, try The Kids Are All Right.   For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

My DVD of the week is a British coming of age drama from earlier this year, Fish Tank.  For the trailers and other DVD choices, see DVDs of the Week.

Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun

Movies on TV include Cool Hand Luke, A Place in the Sun, A Face in the Crowd, Anatomy of a Murder, and The Stunt Man, all coming up on TCM.

New Movies to See This Week

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Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek in Get Low

Inception and Toy Story 3 are two of the year’s best. If you want a thriller, go with The Girl Who Played With Fire.  Robert Duvall gives another masterful performance in Get Low.  For an indie dramedy, try The Kids Are All Right.   For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

My DVD of the week is the great 1995 documentary, Crumb.  For the trailers and other DVD choices, see DVDs of the Week.

Movies on TV include The Set-Up, Leave Her to Heaven and The Fallen Sparrow, all coming up on TCM.

Taking Stock – The Best of 2010 So Far

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Well, we’re at the halfway point of the movie year – the summer movies are winding down, and the Oscar bait is still ahead of us in the autumn and holidays.  So it’s time to take stock of the year’s movies to date.  I now have ten movies on my list of Best Movies of 2010 – So Far. You can read my comments and watch the trailers on the Best Movies of 2010 – So Far page.

Better yet, you can see Toy Story 3 and Inception in the theater this week.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, A Prophet, The Girl on the Train, Fish Tank, The Ghost Writer and Sweetgrass are all available on DVD right now.  Sweetgrass is also available on Netflix streaming video.

The Secrets of Their Eyes will be available on DVD on September 21. The DVD release of my top film of the year so far, Winter’s Bone, is October 26.

Sweetgrass

Updated Movies to See Right Now

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Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Inception

I recommend the summer’s one high quality blockbuster, Inception.  If you have followed The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, you will want to continue the trilogy with The Girl Who Played With Fire.  The indie dramedy The Kids Are All Right is enjoyable, too.  One of the year’s best, Toy Story 3,  is still playing.  For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

My DVD of the week is one of 2010’s best:  A Prophet (Un Prophete).   For the trailers and other DVD choices, see DVDs of the Week.

Gene Tierney in Leave Her to Heaven

Movies on TV include The Set-Up and Leave Her to Heaven, coming up on TCM.

ALL NEW (mostly) Movies To See

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Joseph Gordon Levitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception

 

I recommend the summer’s one high quality blockbuster, Inception.  If you have followed The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, you will want to continue the trilogy with The Girl Who Played With Fire.  The indie dramedy The Kids Are All Right is enjoyable, too.  One of the year’s best, Toy Story 3,  is still playing, but the equally great Winter’s Bone has become difficult to find. For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

My DVDs of the week are the gnarly Step into Liquid and the way awesome Riding Giants.   For the trailers and other DVD choices, see DVDs of the Week.

Movies on TV include The Searchers and Bad Day at Black Rock, coming up on TCM.   Before Sunrise is still playing on IFC.

More on D-Box

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When I saw Inception, the theater was selling D-Box tickets for an $8 premium (added to the ticket price).

Last week, after a test drive, I trashed the latest Hollywood gimmick, D-Box motion effects seats.   To “enhance” the action or tension on the screen, the D-Box theater seat jolts, wiggles, tilts, swerves, etc.  I found it to be more like the experience of dropping a quarter in a motel massage bed.  With an $8 premium, that means ticket prices closing in on 20 bucks to distract the moviegoer with a few jolts and wiggles.

And, finally, Inception is a legitimately exciting movie.  It doesn’t need the gimmick, which I’m sure just distracts from the cinematic experience.

Inception

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Inception is the year’s most successful Hollywood blockbuster.  Because it’s written and directed by Christopher Nolan (Memento, The Dark Knight), we expect it to be brilliantly inventive and it exceeds that expectation.  The story places the characters in reality and at least three layers of dreams simultaneously.  A smart viewer can follow 85% of the story – which is just enough.  Then you can go out to dinner and argue over the other 15%.  The Wife said it was “like The Wizard of Oz on acid”.

Leonardo DiCaprio leads the cast, but the supporting players give the best performances: Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Tom Berenger and Tom Hardy.