Art house snobs would like to think the only reason you go to the movies is to experience the latest and greatest cinema has to offer, but hitting up the theater is about so much more than just quality. Part escape, part entertainment, part bored activity and part bonding experience, the ideal film isn't always the best one but the one that particularly suits your mood and goal for the night. What I'm looking for when I attend the movies with my girlfriend isn't usually the same thing I'm looking for when I go out with three or four dude friends.
Fear not, moviegoers, Cinema Blend has you covered in an all new column we're calling CB Recommends. Once a week, we'll preempt the weekend with writer and editor recommendations for new movies to see based on circumstance and objective. We know you don't see everything. Hell, we're movie critics and still a film or two slips past us due to time constraints and lack of interest. That's okay. Not everything is worth a look. Not every indie flick people are raving about needs to be seen, and not every raunch comedy critics are slandering should be missed. You want to be in on the water cooler conversation about the newest blockbuster Monday morning, but you also want to see possible Academy Award nominees before your friends. It's a tightrope to cross, but we're here for you. For the week of Friday April 29th, 2011.
If you want to see the best movie, CB recommends...
...hoping an independent theater near you is playing American: The Bill Hicks Story Both hilarious and thought-provoking, CB Head Honcho Josh Tyler has raved about the film since seeing it last year at Sundance, and I just awarded the film four and a half stars. Bill Hicks was easily one of the five best comedians America has ever produced. Unfortunately, the majority of people still have no idea he briefly existed before succumbing to cancer before his thirty-fifth birthday. Imploring audiences to think for themselves and tearing down the status quo, the visionary inspired hundreds of today's best known comics including Chris Rock. Go see it. Become a believer, and if you live in the middle of nowhere, check your TV's OnDemand. It should be playing.
If you're bringing a date, CB recommends...
...seeing Water For Elephants. Not only is it better than the book, it's also the only romantic option, unless lions attacking each other gets you in the mood or you're under eighteen and still watching The Disney Channel. In the latter case, we recommend Prom, because, well, the trailer told us that night's just for you.
If you're looking for a good time, CB recommends...
...bringing as many friends as possible and catching Fast Five. Yeah, I know. Who saw this coming? Blend Managing Editor Katey Rich just dropped a four star review, and it turns out she's not the only one who's raving. The majority of critics are shutting their complain holes and just rolling with it, embracing the best unapologetic action film since The Expendables. You will too, unless you went to college and majored in physics. This one might be a little too short on logic and believability to please the Newtons of the world, but for the rest of us who don't know cunts from cosines, annoyances like gravity hardly matter.
If you'd like to see a great indie movie, CB recommends...
...impressing your friends with stories of 13 Assassins. The Samurai import is mined with booby traps and impossible odds, but there's not even a hint of a love story. If that's hat you're looking for, best flee immediately. 13 Assassins is a deadly thrill ride that's more action than character development, but once you see the villain cut off a woman's arms and use her as a sex slave, what more motivation could you possibly need? Cinema Blend gave the film four stars, and it's sure to become a classic, at least in sociopath circles.
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