Bloglander

BUCKY LARSON
Written and produced by Adam Sandler and his mediocre posse of interchangeable actors, this film aims to lower the bar of the feel-good, mid-life crisis movies they've been churning out for several years. Nick Swardson (Grandma's Boy) plays Bucky Larson, a nerdy, Iowan grocery bagger who, after learning that his conservative folks were once porn stars, sets off to Hollywood in hopes of being just like them. (EW) Rated R

CONTAGION
Steven Soderbergh’s slick and very believable horror film is about what happens when a virus goes soaring around the world, passing from one person to the next via a simple touch. The movie features an ensemble cast (Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Elliott Gould, others) and shows the race against time to find a cure while international populations succumb. (ES) Rated PG-13

CREATURE
Monster movie. In a swamp. Better-than-average prosthetics on the creature. Averager than average acting for schlock horror. Friday the 13th meets Swamp Thing. At AMC (LB) Rated R

LIFE, ABOVE ALL
A heart-wrenching portrait of a little girl who — after her baby sister dies and her mother is run out of town for being a witch — fights to overcome the prejudice of her community and bring her mom home. Earned the Un Certain Regard Prize at Cannes and was shortlisted for the Best Foreign Film Oscar in 2010. At AMC (LB) PG-13

LIFE IN A DAY
Over 80,000 submissions consisting of 4,500 hours from 192 countries later, Kevin MacDonald (The Last King of Scotland) and Ridley Scott's production company have created a 95-minute movie about what it was like to be alive on July 24th, 2010. Spliced entirely out of clips uploaded to YouTube by anybody who volunteered, this “time capsule” puts other viral videos to shame. Gimmick aside, it remains an inventive and deeply moving documentary unlike any you've ever seen. At Magic Lantern (EW) Rated PG-13

TUESDAY, AFTER CHRISTMAS
Romania's dished out some fairly swell movies lately, and here's another. Paul is a married man of 10 years with a loving wife and an adoring daughter. Yet he is having an affair with his daughter's sexy dentist. By Christmas, he must choose between his family or the woman who challenges his spirit. In no way is this a unique premise, but the subtleties of human interaction and long, quiet shots add new depth. At Magic Lantern (EW) Not Rated

WARRIOR
Reaching Shakespearian levels of storytelling, this is about two brothers — a social outcast (Tom Hardy) and a guy with financial worries (Joel Edgerton) — who, each with some degree of desperation, enter a mixed martial arts tournament, while at the same time trying to stay away from the father (Nick Nolte) who once alienated them because of his drinking. Very entertaining and over-the-top filmmaking, featuring brutal fights, lots of Beethoven, and some motivational readings from Moby Dick. (ES) Rated PG-13