Bloglander

Well, Buried — the Ryan Reynolds in a box for two hours movie — was supposed to come this week but now looks like it may not. We aren’t sure. Of the films locked in, we’d recommend Lebanon, if you think you can handle a war movie with subtitles and a less than heroic take on the nature of armed conflict.

IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY
Now is the winter of our Zach Galifianakis — this will be the first of many times Fat Jesus will be gracing our lives on both the silver and small screens. He’s a mental patient in a ward where Craig, a teenager suffering from depression, is forced to go when the children’s ward is closed. Crazy (literally) antics ensue, and Galifianakis mentors Craig the true meaning of life, insanity and love. (Spoiler: the last two are the same thing.) AMC only (DH) Rated PG-13 | SHOWTIMES

LEBANON
Most war movies are concerned with throwing as much blood and carnage on the screen as possible, whether as an attempt to claim legitimacy or merely to turn out the horror fans. Lebanon eschews that, filmed almost entirely inside a tank. It’s a gritty, personal war movie that takes the first-person style from video games and makes you live in the action. It doesn’t glorify war, it doesn’t excoriate war: It just tries to tell you what war is like. AMC only (DH) Rated R | SHOWTIMES

LIFE AS WE KNOW IT
A romantic comedy with tragic edges about a first date that goes very wrong. The participants (Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel) can’t stand each other but must come together when a car accident forces them to become joint guardians for the daughter of the couple that fixed them up. An odd, uncomfortable mix of slapstick, sadness, and sap. (ES) Rated PG-13 | SHOWTIMES

MY SOUL TO TAKE
Legend has it that the serial killer known only as “The Ripper” will return from the grave to murder the children born the night he died … because that makes sense. But I guess if they’re dumb enough to believe that, the fact the kids think the killer was reincarnated is somewhat believable. But bloody teenagers, lots of screamingßß and explosions (in 3-D!) can’t divert your attention from one fact: How can a town of a few thousand have had seven births in one day? (DH) Rated R | SHOWTIMES —-

SECRETARIAT
John Malkovich (Beowulf, Transformers 3 [rumored]) stars alongside Diane Lane (Under the Tuscan Sun) and a horse (glue [rumored]) in the retelling of the story of the first horse to win the Triple Crown in 25 years. Despite the fact that horse racing’s popularity has been in decline for decades, movie studios still insist on making movies about it. Luckily, there are only nine Triple Crown winners, which means there are only seven more equestrian films to go. (DH) Rated PG | SHOWTIMES