Bloglander

BEGINNERS
When his 75 year-old, recently widowed father admits to being gay, Ewan McGregor attempts to experience a relationship with all the vigor and bravery that his father had in the last years of his life. This quirky and autobiographical story by Mike Mills (Thumbsucker) is sure to have plenty of awkward humor and devastating reality while striving to find the timeless similarities of love. At AMC (EW) Rated R

COWBOYS & ALIENS
Jake Lonergan, emphasis on “loner” (Daniel Craig), wakes up in a desert, wanders into town, and everybody hates him. Then aliens show up (happens all the time) and this loner becomes a hero. Part Serenity, part High Plains Drifter, the movie's loaded with special effects sure to amaze all ages, and enough brooding contrasts in light to make you feel like it's still a western. It's got the perfect cast and crew, but sometimes even the All-Star team fails miserably. (EW) Rated PG-13

CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE
Steve Carell and Julianne Moore are the long-married couple who suddenly have divorce staring them in the face. But there are plenty more relationship problems: A kid has a mad crush on his babysitter; that babysitter is quietly swooning over the boy’s dad; a young woman wants her boss to see her as more than a working partner. Then there’s the philandering that broke up the marriage, and questions of how to start over in love. This is a funny, tender, and edgy comedy that speaks a lot of truth as its writer and directors madly go about spinning wildly played-out stories that all manage to fit together. (ES) Rated PG-13

PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES
Understatement alert: The newspaper business has been going through some changes. This documentary, shot over the course of one year, shows what’s been happening at the New York Times as its managers, editors, and reporters try to maneuver through those changes. A lot of this is depressing, but the film lights up whenever raspy-voiced, sleepy-eyed, tough-minded media reporter David Carr is on-camera. And in the end, the film suggests that newspapers will always be around, just in a different form. At Magic Lantern (ES) Rated R

THE SMURFS
The comic book to TV series to, finally, big screen adaptation about those computer-generated little blue things that just want to be happy kicks off with an exhilarating, often hilarious first half hour of absurd action (and even some pretty darn good 3D). Alas, the movie falls apart when it brings in human characters (Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays) with an unnecessary story that will bore kids and adults. But kudos to Hank Azaria as the villainous human Gargamel (a sorcerer who appears to be married to his cat) who, upon arrival in Manhattan, will stop at nothing to get his hands on some “Smurf essence.” He’s in a lot of scenes, and he steals every one of them. Good voice work by Jonathan Winters as Papa Smurf and Alan Cumming as Gutsy. (ES) Rated PG.

SUBMARINE
15 year-old Oliver Tate crafts his life like a movie script with protagonists, antagonists, plot twists and such in a scheme to lose his virginity while simultaneously destroying any connection between his mother and her ex-lover. Will he succeed or will he learn that not everything in life can be planned? Fans of Rushmore should flock to this offbeat comedy. At Magic Lantern (EW) Rated R

VIVA RIVA
In a world where fuel has become a precious commodity, Riva is a con man of sorts who has figured out how best to steal it. Unfortunately, the bad guy's girlfriend is immensely attractive, and might become Riva's new objective. A thriller from the Democratic Republic of Congo, it centers around the violent extremes people will go to in a world overrun with poverty. At Magic Lantern (EW) Rated R