Melancholia



A Dangerous Method



Martha Marcy May Marlene



The Artist



Take Shelter



50/50



The Skin I Live In



Like Crazy



Going into wide release in movies theaters this weekend is… nothing. Seriously, nothing. Given the glut of big movies that came out in time for the Thanksgiving weekend, Hollywood took a mulligan this week, holding off the rest of their big movies for further into December and giving time for audiences to catch up with the other great stuff out there. But if you spent your Thanksgiving holiday seeingand all the rest, you're either seeingin limited release this weekend or totally stuck without options.Or are you? There are a ton of smaller movies out in theaters right now that you might not have caught yet, and this is a great week to catch up. Below we've got eight ideas for your movie viewing this week, from small indies that just hit theaters to sleeper releases from earlier this fall that still need your love. Get out there and show these smaller films some respect!Lars Von Trier movies aren't for everybody, but they are inevitably thought-provoking, beautiful, and the kind of thing you absolutely have to see with somebody else so you can talk about it after. So don't wait to see his new film,, years down the road on Netflix when everyone else has already moved on; see it now, on video on-demand or in theaters, so you can walk out of the theater and either pester your fellow moviegoers or read other reviews that try to figure out exactly what Kirsten Dunst's unhappy bride character was thinking, or how the movie contains Kiefer Sutherland's best performance in years. Really, if you can, you ought to see it on the big screen--opens with a kind of cinematic overture, heightened and gloriously shot scenes that reflect, sort of, what happens at the end of the movie, but all scored to bombastic Wagner and so mysterious that you can't imagine how the movie can eventually make sense of it. That alone is reason enough to see it, butgoes on to show one of the funniest and most disastrous onscreen weddings of all time, Kirsten Dunst's best performance in years (maybe ever), a vision of the apocalypse that even Roland Emmerich couldn't imagine, and did I mention how good Kiefer Sutherland is in it?is weird, and you may not even like it, but it is more than worth your time.You normally think of David Cronenberg as the director who pulls out terrifying body horror films like, or at least sics a naked Viggo Mortensen on some Russian baddies in. But just becauseappears on the surface to be a movie you could take your grandmother to see doesn't mean it lacks its share of twists and shocks. Telling the story of the friendship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, and how a deeply disturbed woman named Sabine came between them,explores psychoanalysis as it was invented in the stately drawing rooms and boat rides of early 20th century Vienna. On the surface it's all polish and fancy costumes, but in the twisty dialogue (and the occasional scene of S&M) there's a darkness-- Freud might call it an id-- lurking beneath. See it because Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley are in it giving their all to tough performances, but pay attention to the way Cronenberg is putting the whole thing together, slightly more restrained than usual but still getting under his audience's skin all the same.It's pretty amazing thatis the feature film debut from writer-director Sean Durkin. The control and precision with which he crafts the film hint at a much more seasoned filmmaker. I'm not sure I would label the film a full on exercise in horror but it is one of the most haunting films in recent memory.is not without its faults but the film has such undeniable power that it's very easy to overlook some of the more glaring problems. Durkin's film, for the most part, is very tight and impeccably (innovatively) structured as it explores the psychology that can lead someone to surrender themselves to others so fully and completely while also trying to examine the possibility of return.Oh, and it doesn't hurt that the 'cult' leader is played by John Hawkes, who gives another Academy Award (nomination) worthy performance as the disturbingly charismatic Patrick. However, the real revelation is Elizabeth Olsen. She commands the screen with her mesmerizing presence as the shattered Martha as she plays all sides of the character pitch perfectly. I would be shocked if she didn't walk away with an Oscar nomination. The performances might be the highlight of the film but it also deserves high praise for the beautiful and earthy cinematography, its fantastic editing and the music - both its low-key score and one great original song. So, what are you waiting for, join the cult while you still can!The Artist isn’t the best movie to be released this year – as we noted in our review – but it’s hard to argue that it’s not a well-made film. While creativity in Hollywood is slowly dying (you need all your fingers and toes as well as a couple friends to keep count of the number of sequels and remakes released this year), writer/director Michel Hazanavicius dared to work on a project that no major studio would touch with a ten foot pole: a silent, black-and-white movie. Endlessly charming and featuring a terrific turn from French star Jean Dujardin, The Artist doesn’t have the most original story, but it’s really the presentation that sells it. The critical darling was only given a limited release this past Friday, so it’s hard to tell just how well it will perform at the box office. Still, it’s as pleasant a movie experience as you’ll find and definitely worth your time, consideration and money.There are some truly powerful, incredible lead male performances in this list of movies, but few of them actually compare to Michael Shannon’s brilliant turn in Take Shelter, the new film from writer/director Jeff Nichols. The movie was released all the way back on September 30th, and is currently only playing on 49 screens nationwide, but believe me when I say that it’s worth the extra gas money. In addition to the stunning work by Shannon, the film boasts one of the tightest scripts you’ve seen this year and visually the movie is astonishing. Though the movie was made for only $5 million, the apocalyptic visions envisioned by Shannon are breathtaking and frightening. Take Shelter is one of the strongest character pieces to be released this year, and also manages to be one of the scariest horror films and one of the most deeply felt dramas. Ignoring Nichols’ movie would be a sincere mistake.A while back Josh penned an eloquent plea to get people to givea chance, and shared a very personal story about his own run-in with cancer years ago. Since 2004 I've twice had my own dealings with cancer, and I wanted to add one thing he didn't touch on: once you've had cancer, Hollywood's portrayals of it becomeannoying. It's the crutch writers call on whenever they need to have somebody die dramatically. But the thing you almost never see, and the thing it'sto see, is an honest look at what it's really like to face it, and toit.Barring a cure, cancer is something that will touch most of our lives in some way, at some point.shows us, with brutal, uncompromising honesty, all the fear and denial and frustration of confronting "the C word"...and then shows us that you shouldn't give up hope. Joseph Gordon-Levitt nails every moment pitch-perfect, from the stunned paralysis of hearing the diagnosis, to the gallows humor, to the soul-weary breakdown when you reach the end of your rope.faces one of the scariest words in our language head-on, and invites you to come on a journey that is funny and heartbreaking and scary and ridiculous and. It's one of the best movies of the year, and almost nobody has seen it. Let's remedy that, shall we?In a fair and balanced film society, Pedro Almodovar’s name above a movie’s title would guarantee a level of box-office success currently afforded to the likes of James Cameron or (shudder to think) Michael Bay. Alas, Almodovar remains a niche, and when the auteur challenges his audience with a film that’s nearly impossible to properly market, said film can fly under the radar.What is, Almodovar’s collaboration with a steely Antonio Banderas? Is it a ghost story? An arthouse answer to the torture porn that’s gunking up the horror genre? A sordid, blood-soaked, soap opera story of vengeance and pain? Or isan unpredictable romance that somehow transcends all of the aforementioned descriptions … at least until Almodovar skillfully pulls the rug out from underneath us, sending us stumbling from the theater on a giddy high of perverse sexual shock?? The answer, of course, is all of the above. And yet, I can’t explain why. Like Sony Pictures Classics’ marketing department, I have been painted into a corner by Almodovar himself, who consistently surprises with a non-linear narrative that isn’t crystal clear until the final two words of the screenplay have been spoken. And man, are they heartbreaking. God bless this brilliant filmmaker for refusing to fit his sophisticated efforts into easily defined categories. Now go seeso he can make several more.Winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance should be enough to drum up business for a film, and yet, Drake Doremus’ tender character drama – which also earned a Special Jury Prize for lead actress Felicity Jones – continues to chase an elusive audience ($2.4M gross to date) as it rolls out in select markets (150 theaters at last count).Let’s change that. Doremus has delivered an honest, compassionate and at times difficult relationship story that lives up to a standard set by contemporary classicsor. Jones and her co-star, Anton Yelchin, aren’t bankable leads (yet), but the real star ofis Doremus’ script, which reportedly draws on this divorcee’s past experiences with a tough-to-manage long-distance relationship.Word-of-mouth might have circulated ahead of potential audiences warning thatisn’t a gooey, warm love story with a cut-and-dried happy ending. Rather, it’s an honest depiction of two young lovers short on life experience who don’t realize that they’ve fallen out of love, yet fight to hold on to a relationship that’s no longer there. Butisn’t interested in breaking new ground. It’s content to speak to a target audience, saying to them, “We all went through it at some point as well, and you aren’t crazy for feeling the way you feel.” You are crazy, however, if you let this one pass you by.