A list of the best films in theaters that you should see. Have a drink at the local watering hole before hand, whet your appetite for some good film while sitting on the bar stool, and see these movies soon before they are gone.
Up in the Air
Young director and writer Jason Reitman is on a roll, directing three of the most critically acclaimed American films this decade, “Thank You For Smoking,” “Juno” and “Up in the Air.” The latter is receiving large praise for its script and George Clooney’s portrayal of Ryan Bingham, a man who is hired by companies to travel to their workplace and conduct employee layoffs. He makes a few connections with an ambitious coworker and a frequent flyer who he strikes up a casual relationship with. The film is less about the layoffs than about how humans try and often fail to make real connections and relationships in life.
Youth in Revolt
Based on the novel by C.D. Payne, “Youth in Revolt” was written as a series of journal entries and other ephemera telling about a boy named Nick who is obsessed with girls and sex and uses an alternate persona to get both. The film stars Michael Cera in the dual roles and also stars another young newcomer, Portia Doubleday as the girl he is trying to woo. Zach Galifanakis, Justin Long, Ray Liotta and Steve Buscemi also make appearance sin this comedy. With comparisons to novels like “The Catcher in the Rye” and movies like “Rushmore,” “Youth in Revolt” is attempting to further the tradition those classics.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Terry Gilliam directed this fantasy film that was the last project Heath Ledger worked on before his untimely tell. The plot is about a thousand year old immortal doctor and his traveling theater group that offer audience members the chance to go beyond the reality of this world through a mirror that he keeps. Singer/songwriter Tom Waits plays the devil, and Heath Ledger plays a mysterious outsider who joins the traveling group. The interesting casting changes after Heath Ledger’s death involve Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law playing different transformed versions of Ledger’s character, thereby saving the film. Gilliams images are like a painter on a display easel, he is that good. Don't miss the surreal and transfixing picture.
