Movies This Week: Get Another Sanctum Company Roommate

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I'm so happy that the celebrity groundhog predicts an early end to winter because this former Bostonian has had enough of frozen water pipes. Thankfully, there are plenty of good movies to watch, and several new ones -- plus one previously released -- have come to our local theaters, including two Oscar nominated films. We'll see more in the coming weeks as the arthouse films hit theaters outside of LA and NY, but we've plenty to see now.

Movies We've Seen:

Another Year (pictured above) --  Mike Leigh's character studies may be an actor's dream but they can be hit or miss for audiences. Personally, I loved Topsy Turvy and Vera Drake, but Happy-Go-Lucky left me cold. Still, I can't help but appreciate the alchemy of his casting and the sheer range of stories he brings to the big screen. Another Year focuses on a serenely married couple in the eye of the emotional storms around them in the course of a year. Leigh's script is up for an Original Screenplay Oscar. Read Don's review for more. (Arbor)

The Company Men -- John Wells (The West Wing, China Beach) has worked on so many outstanding television shows and films as writer and producer, his credentials seem impeccable. Unfortunately, this study of men at different levels in their careers who find themselves collateral damage in the current economic upheavals apparently was researched back in the 80s. As a veteran of "outplacement" in recent years, I know there are serious flaws in some of his plot devices. Read Jette's review for more on this AFF 2010 selection. (wide)

Get Low -- Last in theaters this fall, apparently Get Low's two Oscar nods for Robert Duvall and Bill Murray is getting more well-deserved attention and is back in a local theater for those of you on the north side of town. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. Read my review for more on this tale of reputations and redemption. (Cinemark Round Rock)

Sanctum -- While being billed as "James Cameron's Sanctum," the director is actually Alister Grierson. This survival thriller is inspired by co-writer Andrew Wight's own experiences with cave diving. They couldn't resist putting a "what could go wrong" comment in the trailer that also makes sure you know it's filmed for 3D. Um, yah. Anyway, Mike braved the depths of an early screening so he can tell you more in his review. (wide)

Other New Movies:

The Roommate -- The psychotic roommate gal plot device takes place in college this time. Is this some sort of male terror-fantasy? I don't get it, but apparently the girl-on-girl horror action and catfight(s) that will eventually occur earn enough to keep getting greenllit in Hollywood. (wide)

Yamla Pagla Deewana -- Bollywood comedy about an uptight Canadian who finds out he has family back in India. (Cinemark Tinseltown)

Our Picks:

Debbie: Shameless self-promotion aside -- since Jette is on the panel -- I'm quite excited to see Gerald Peary's documentary For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism on Thursday night at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. This film covers the silent movie period to the present, and I'm intrigued to see whether much has changed in the two years since the film's release.

Elizabeth: If I hummed you the famous motif from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, I bet you'd recognize it. Local composer Brian Satterwhite, the host of KMFA's Film Score Focus, will introduce a special screening of the 1977 film scored by John Williams, Monday night at Alamo Ritz.

Jenn: SXSW 2009 selection For the Love of Movies is playing in AFS's Documentary Tour on Thursday. And besides. our own Slackery founder Jette Kernion is a guest panelist for the discussion portion. And no, Jette has not bribed me to say this.

Jette: Jim Jarmusch's delightful dingy film Down by Law is part of Music Monday at Alamo Ritz this week, and then screens again on Wed. night. This 1986 film is about a trio of prisoners -- played by Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni -- plotting their escape from a New Orleans-area jail. Stay up late and give it a look-see. Also at the Ritz all week, my pick from last week, the kung-fu drama Ip Man 2.