It’s a sad weekend at the movies when we’ve got the formulaic What Happens in Vegas (40 at Metacritic) and what is apparently the really shiny turd of Speed Racer (36 at Metacritic)… and not much else. I wouldn’t condemn either of these films before seeing them, but things are not looking up. For those looking to see a good film, here are some I’ve been hoping to catch (all on limited release):

Persepolis

Persepolis is the poignant story of a young girl in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It is through the eyes of the precocious and outspoken 9-year-old Marjane that we see a people’s hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power—forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. Clever and fearless, Marjane outsmarts the “social guardians” and discovers punk, ABBA, and Iron Maiden. Yet when her uncle is senselessly executed and as bombs fall around Tehran in the Iran/Iraq war, the daily fear that permeates life in Iran is palpable.

The Savages

The Savages is an irreverent look at family, love and mortality as seen through the lens of one of modern life’s most bewildering and challenging experiences: when adult siblings find themselves plucked from their everyday, self-centered lives to care for an estranged elderly parent.

Up The Yangtze

In China, it is simply known as ‘The River.’ But the Yangtze—and all of the life that surrounds it—is undergoing an astonishing transformation wrought by the largest hydroelectric project in history, the Three Gorges Dam. Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang returns to the gorgeous, now-disappearing landscape of his grandfather’s youth to trace the surreal life of a “farewell cruise” that traverses the gargantuan waterway.

Plus, there are some wide release movies on the horizon that could be good…

• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
  Buckling swashes, excellent fantasy, fun special effects, and hopefully good writing to hold it all up. The music from the last one was pretty great, too (Imogen Heap!). Unfortunately, Heap’s track for this one has been shifted off the Prince Caspian soundtrack and into her album.
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
  Fail or succeed, it’ll do so spectacularly.
• WALL-E
  Pixar keeps hitting movies out of the park; I have high hopes for their latest.
• Hancock
  Will Smith as an anti-hero with superhero abilities. C’mon this movie be good be good be good be good.
• The Dark Knight
  If this could even equal Batman Begins in quality, I’d be ecstatic.

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