This week’s MUST SEE is the affecting foster facility drama Short Term 12, with its powerful performance by performance by Brie Larson (Rampart, The Spectacular Now). Another good choice is You Will Be My Son, a good French movie with a great ending (and it will likely be in theaters for only two weeks).
Other recommendations from the most current movies:
- I really liked the absorbing drama Ain’t Them Bodies Saints.
- In A Word… is the year’s best comedy so far – it’s a Hollywood satire, an insider’s glimpse into the voice-over industry, a family dramedy and a romantic comedy all in one.
- The Family, Luc Besson’s tongue-in-cheek Mafioso-moves-to-France comedy has its moments.
I haven’t yet seen Prisoners, which opens today. It’s a thriller from Denis Villenueve, the director of Incendies (my top movie of 2011). Other promising movies opening today include the festival hit Museum Hours and the literary bio-documentary Salinger. You can read descriptions and view trailers of it and other upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.
My other top recommendations:
- The powerfully authentic coming of age film The Spectacular Now is on my list of Best Movies of 2013 – So Far.
- Woody Allen’s very funny Blue Jasmine centers on an Oscar-worthy performance by Cate Blanchett.
- The very well-acted civil rights epic Lee Daniels’ The Butler.
My other recommendations:
- Those who enjoy romantic comedies will like I Give It a Year, with its twist on the usual rom com.
- the British farce The World’s End, which has its moments.
- The rock documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, essential for music fans.
- the satisfying shocker The Conjuring.
Check out my new feature VOD Roundup, where you can find my comments on over twenty current movies available on Video on Demand. There are some good ones, some bad ones and some really, really good ones (including Letters from the Big Man).
My DVD/Stream is the brilliant drama Mud, with Michael McConaughey. It’s a great choice to watch and then discuss with your pre-teens and young teens. Mud, one of my Best Movies of 2013 – So Far, is available on DVD from Netflix and streaming from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, GooglePlay, YouTube and other VOD outlets.
Turner Classic Movies will broadcast the riotously funny screwball comedy Twentieth Century on September 23.
