Saturday Night Movie Recommendations with Abe

Welcome to a weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. I'm going to be providing a handy guide to a few choice movies currently playing in theatres as well as several films newly released on DVD. I’ll also aim to comment on those films I have not yet had the chance to see, and I invite you to add in your thoughts on any films I haven’t seen in the comments below. Understandably, some weeks will have considerably fewer releases to address than others.

Now Playing

The Black Tulip (recommended): This 2010 Best Foreign Film entry from Afghanistan is a powerful drama directed and written by Afghan-American filmmaker Sonia Nassery Cole, who also stars as Farishta, the owner of a Kabul restaurant eager to celebrate the newfound uncertain freedom threatened by the Taliban. Now playing in New York and Los Angeles. Read my review from yesterday.

New to DVD

Cargo (anti-recommended): This story of a captive woman and the human trafficker driving her across the border from Mexico into the United States is a tight, focused film, but its contents, unfortunately, aren’t all that interesting.

Take This Waltz (mixed bag): This Tribeca Film Festival entry is intriguingly shot, and most notable for the dramatic performances featured by Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman. Michelle Williams is in the lead in a familiar role, and the film often appears to be more captivating than it actually is.

Now on Netflix Instant Streaming

Bruno (anti-recommended): This very well-known film is an awful follow-up to the brilliant “Borat,” highlighting extreme gross-out sequences and preposterous plot points for the sake of humor. It’s a complete failure, the ultimate example of what comes from too much of a good thing gone wrong.