Saturday Night Movie Recommendations with Abe

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. Absent a wealth of new film reviews during the weekend, I’d like to start providing a handy guide to a few choice movies currently playing in NYC as well as several films newly released on DVD. I’ll also aim to comment on those films I have not yet had the chance to see, and I invite you to add in your thoughts on any films I haven’t seen in the comments below. Understandably, some weeks will have considerably fewer releases to address than others.

**You’ll have to excuse the state of things here this weekend. Blogger went down over the past few days and managed to almost eat a few of my TV posts with it as well as slightly screwing up the four movie reviews I had planned for this weekend. They’ll be up eventually, most in capsule form this time around. Additionally, this week’s edition of Saturday Night Movie Recommendations will be considerably more abridged than usual. Look for a return to the usual format in subsequent weeks.**

Now Playing in NYC

This weekend, there are a few good films opening, some wider than others. For fans of independent comedies, take a look at Everything Must Go, an endearing Will Ferrell film that shows the funnyman at his subtlest, playing a mildly dramatic lead who has been literally thrown out on his lawn with all of his possessions. It’s easy to like Hey Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill A Mockingbird, a documentary about the famed book and film and its reclusive author that serves as a proper celebration of their legacy, playing at the Quad Cinema. The First Grader is a sweet story about an 84-year-old Kenyan man who goes back to school to learn how to read, and I’d recommend stopping by the Angelika or the Beekman if that storyline appeals to you. Please, for me, steer clear of Hesher, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It’s just awful. The review will explain it. Otherwise, Bridesmaids is the kind of movie I might see on DVD someday, and I think I’ll skip Priest because, unlike what the first trailer for the film indicated, it looks like a horror movie more than a futuristic sci-fi thriller.

New to DVD

Blue Valentine (recommended): This Oscar-nominated drama features strong performances from Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams and packs quite the emotional punch. Some of the parts are better than the whole, but ultimately it’s a worthwhile and powerful film.

No Strings Attached (mixed bag): In this case, you get about what you’d expect from a comedy starring Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman, an intriguing mix of less-than-stellar plotting and dialogue and some decent entertainment. Given the expectations, it’s fairly enjoyable.