Pick of the Week
Take Shelter
Drama-thriller; rated R for language; available on DVD and Blu-ray
The Gist: A small-town family man (Michael Shannon) experiences a series of apocalyptic visions that threaten his family and his sanity.
The Lowdown: "Take Shelter" was one of the best movies of last year, with some of the best film acting you'll ever see. The fact that Michael Shannon didn't get an Oscar nomination is final evidence of the cruel and uncaring nature of the cosmos.
As the very troubled Curtis LaForche, Shannon is a man caught in a terrifying spiral. His visions of a coming apocalypse - gathering clouds of doom, sinister strangers in the night - feel real to him, yet no one else seems to be seeing what he's seeing. Is Curtis a psychic? A prophet? Or is he just losing his mind?
The genius of director Jeff Nichols' film is that the nature of Curtis' dilemma is ambiguous right to the end - and even then, there's no definite resolution. The effect is to put the viewer squarely behind the eyes of a man who may be crazy. Or worse, he may be right.
Jessica Chastain delivers an amazing performance as Curtis' justifiably freaked-out wife. She takes what could have been an onlooker role and turns it around into something much more interesting.
The movie works well as a psychological thriller, but it has deeper rhythms as well. "Take Shelter" has a clear resonance with our current cultural climate in which disaster and collapse seem right around the corner. Maybe it will be the economy, or the icecaps, or the Mayan calendar. We're seeing a lot of movies like this lately - Lars von Trier's recent drama "Melancholia" comes to mind - and it's getting a little worrisome, frankly.
The Extras: A short behind-the-scenes doc, commentary track with Nichols and Shannon, a Q&A with the actors and a few deleted scenes.
The Bottom Line: A superior thriller with terrific performances and disturbing implications.
Double Secret Bonus Tip: Shannon won the Emerging Master Award at last year's RiverRun International Film Festival in Winston-Salem.
The Rum Diary
Comedy-drama; rated R for language, brief drug use and sexuality; available on DVD, Blu-ray and digital download
The Gist: Johnny Depp stars as a boozehound journalist at a run-down newspaper in 1950s Puerto Rico.
The Lowdown: Adapted from the book by gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, "The Rum Diary" tells the story of itinerant journalist Paul Kemp, who takes a staff job at the San Juan Star newspaper in Puerto Rico in the late 1950s. As Kemp gets involved with local politics, and with a dangerous beauty played by Amber Heard, the film becomes a parable about corruption and truth-telling at the dawning of the 1960s.
The movie meanders a bit, and is probably 30 minutes longer than it needs to be, but provides a lot of fun along the way. Visually, "The Rum Diary" is a running catalog of decadent '50s Caribbean glamor - cynical expats in soiled linen suits, bombshell blondes in cherry-red convertibles, palm trees, panama hats and fountains of rum.
The music is great, too, and there's one scene in a smoky blues club that boasts one of the most menacingly sexy dance scenes ever put to film. As the femme fatale, Amber Heard is a revelation. She's like some mathematical expression of theoretical hotness - Keira Knightly times Scarlett Johansson squared.
As you might expect, considering the source material, "The Rum Diary" is heavy on crackling dialogue, light on narrative coherence, and fairly well soaked with booze and drugs. Good times.
The Extras: Two substantial featurettes on the film and the backstory, including some entertaining footage of the late Hunter S. Thompson discussing and revising the book.
The Bottom Line: Not strictly necessary, but generous with good humor, exotic locations and assorted bad craziness.
Double Secret Bonus Tip: Thompson wrote the novel in 1961, but it wasn't published until 1998.
Get the biggest news in your email or cellphone as it's happening. Sign up for breaking news alerts.
Eric Braeden, who plays Victor Newman on ‘The Young and the Restless,’ brought his famed moustache to Bath recently. 
The suits have knocked off the superheroes at the box office. 
The movie takes the old story in new directions, but it raises expectations it never intends to fulfill. 
Coming in second on "American Idol" may still be a path to superstardom, but it no longer offers guaranteed paychecks worthy of the next pop idol or rock star. 
“Man on a Ledge,” “Gone” and “We Need to Talk About Kevin” head the list. 
Koka Booth launches its ‘Movies by Moonlight’ summer series with ‘Crazy Stupid Love.’ 
The heartfelt comedy can barely contain its cast of veteran British actors. 
Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij know how to write their way into a grippingly suspenseful movie. They just don’t know how to write their way out, and the uneven result is “Sound of My Voice.” 
The flaccid movie suggests director/writer Lawrence Kasdan has said everything he needed to say long ago – and more cleverly. What to do? Find out with out free entertainment newsletters, delivered straight to your inbox!
Subscribe to Lifestyles - it's free!
Subscribe to Movies - it's free!
Subscribe to Restaurants - it's free!
Subscribe to What's Up - it's free!
Quick Picks
The delightful indie comedy "Tiny Furniture" takes a mumblecore approach to the absurdities of life, love and family dynamics. Director and star Lena Dunham famously cast her real-life mom and sister as her onscreen mom and sister, and the film has a loopy authenticity that can't be faked.
The compelling documentary "How To Die In Oregon," concerning physician-assisted suicide, won multiple prizes at last year's Full Frame film festival in Durham.
"Woody Allen: A Documentary" examines the career of the prolific filmmaker, comic and musician. Director Robert Weide has made a career out of chronicling some of America's greatest comedians, from the Marx Brothers to Lenny Bruce.
The 1930 war epic "All Quiet on the Western Front" has finally been reissued to Blu-ray, with bonus features and a "silent version" of the film.
Also new this week:
The African zombie movie "The Dead," the Brazilian action movie "Elite Squad," the original Israeli spy thriller "The Debt" and the provocatively titled "Nude Nuns with Big Guns." Also look for 50 Cent in " All Things Fall Apart," and gamer babe Felicia Day in "Dragon Age: Redemption."
