Movies to See Right Now – Updated

The Fighter: For better or worse, Mark Wahlberg has Christian Bale in his corner

This is the time of year that I live for –  lots of great choices in the theaters.  I strongly recommend Rabbit Hole, an exquisite exploration of the grieving process with great performances by Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhardt, Diane Wiest, Sandra Oh and Miles Tenner.  Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is a rip roaring thriller and a showcase for Natalie Portman and Barbara Hershey. The Fighter is an excellent drama, starring Mark Wahlberg as a boxer trying to succeed despite his crack addict brother (Christian Bale) and trashy mom (Melissa Leo).  Fair Game, the Valerie Plame/Joe Wilson story with Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, is also excellent.  I Love You, Phillip Morris is an entertaining offbeat combo of the con man, prison and romantic comedy genres.  For some delectable food porn, see Kings of Pastry.

Morning Glory is a passable comedy, as is Love and Other Drugs.

There are some Must See films still kicking around in theaters this week: Inside Job and The Social Network. Both are on my list of Best Movies of 2010 – So Far.

For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

I have not yet seen Somewhere, True Grit or The King’s Speech, opening this weekend.  You can see the trailers at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD of the Week is the surprising Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. For my recent DVD choices (including trailers), see DVDs of the Week.

Movies on TV include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Anatomy of a Murder, Requiem for a Heavyweight and Arsenic and Old Lace on TCM.

Movies I'm Looking Forward To: Early December Edition

I’ve updated the Movies I’m Looking Forward To page to add trailers and descriptions of some key December releases.

This weekend brings us Black Swan with Natalie Portman and I Love You, Phillip Morris with Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor.

December 17 may be the best opening weekend for quality films all year.   I’ve already seen the exquisite drama Rabbit Hole, with Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhardt.  We can also see Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter, Julie Taymor’s version of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, The Company Men and the sci fi TRON 2: Legacy.

And later in the month will come Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere, the Coen Brothers’ True Grit, Javier Bardem in Biutiful and Kevin Spacey in Casino Jack.  Just in time to qualify for Oscars, Master Director Mike Leigh will release Another Year, and Peter Weir will showcase The Way Back.

The year’s final release will be the offbeat romance Blue Valentine, with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams.

See my Movies I’m Looking Forward To page for descriptions, image and trailers.

Here’s the trailer for Rabbit Hole.

More Movies I'm Looking Forward To

September is approaching, and so is the Fall movie season, when the studios push their Oscar contenders.  So I have updated my Movies I’m Looking Forward To page with new titles and new trailers.

There are films by Clint Eastwood, Mike Leigh, Terrence Malick, Peter Weir, Sophia Coppola, Julie Taymor and the Coen Brothers.  Two of my favorite lesser-known directors, Suzanne Bier (Brothers, After the Wedding, Things We Lost in the Fire) of Denmark and Guillaume Canet (Tell No One) of France, have new movies.  Darren Aronofsky will release his newest film after hitting it big with The WrestlerBlack Swan with Natalie Portman.

Helen Mirren will star in three movies: The Debt, Brighton Rock and The Tempest.

The Oscar Bait includes The Town, The Fighter, Another Year, Somewhere, Hereafter, True Grit, Howl, The Way Back and The Tree of LifeWall Street: The Money Never Sleeps and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest look to me like the surest Fall hits.   Another Year, The Town, Hereafter and The Way Back look like they will be the best movies.  We should have a better feel for the buzz after Toronto’s film fest in mid-September.

Visit Movies I’m Looking Forward To for more descriptions and trailers.