Opening This Weekend:
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, dir. Jonathan Demme, written by Jenny Lumet
PREMISE: A young woman who has been in and out from rehab for the past 10 years returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding.
PLAYING AT: Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, Regal Union Square
The film is directed by Silence of the Lambs' Jonathan Demme and has received pretty high praise in most reviews I've seen - many comparing it to gems directed by Robert Altman (here and here, for example). It doesn't hurt that it stars the oh-so-make-out-withable Anne Hathaway. (Cue inappropriate comment from Cake Man... NOW.)
This is the first feature for screenwriter Jenny Lumet, daughter of Dog Day Afternoon's (and many other films') Sidney Lumet - so we know she comes from good genes.
BALLAST, written and directed by Lance Hammer
PREMISE: A drama set in the Mississippi delta, where one man's suicide affects three people's lives.
PLAYING AT: Film Forum
The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at Sundance (ultimately losing to Frozen River). You can read This Savage Art's praise here.
NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST, dir. Peter Sollett, adapted by Lorene Scafaria
PREMISE:Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a comedy about two people thrust together for one hilarious, sleepless night of adventure in a world of mix tapes, late-night living, and, live, loud music.
PLAYING AT: Just about everywhere.
I like Michael Cera, but the trailers for this movie make it look too Juno-sugary for my tastes. This review certainly didn't make it look any more appealing to me:
"An emo cover version of a John Hughes comedy ... unless you believe that Death Cab for Cutie’s lyrics really speak to your life, Nick and Norah’s charms are frustratingly finite." - Time Out New York
BLINDNESS, dir. Fernando Meirelles, adapted by Don McKellar
PREMISE: A doctor's wife becomes the only person with the ability to see in a town where everyone is struck with a mysterious case of sudden blindness. She feigns illness in order to take care of her husband as her surrounding community breaks down into chaos and disorder.
PLAYING AT: Clearview Chelsea, AMC Loews
What're you seeing this weekend?
