Saturday Night Movie Recommendations with Abe

Welcome back 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 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 in Theatres

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (highly recommended): It’s difficult to convey just how awesomely creative and engaging this film, which took home both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, where I tried to see it but didn’t get in, is. The child and adult actors are equally excellent, and it’s hard to match this film’s wondrous style and dialogue. Now playing at AMC Lincoln Square, AMC 34th St, and Regal Union Square. Read my review from yesterday.

New to DVD

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (highly recommended): This Israeli film very deservedly earned a Golden Globe nomination last year for Best Foreign Film. The third feature from sibling directors Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz is a staggering and enormously compelling account of one woman’s lengthy battle to earn a religious divorce from her husband. It’s very well-written, balancing humor and devastation terrifically with fantastic performances from all in the cast.

Rich Hill (recommended): This documentary, which took home the Grand Jury Prize at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, is an honest, involving portrait of three young boys facing tough circumstances but proudly talking about their lives to an interested camera.

Now on Netflix Instant Streaming

Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (mixed bag): The story of the 1980s abduction of beer magnate Freddy Heineken by a group of criminals is an inherently fascinating tale, but it doesn’t translate to gripping cinema that way that it should despite a strong cast including Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthinton, Ryan Kwanten, and Anthony Hopkins.

Nightcrawler (recommended): Jake Gyllenhaal, who earned Golden Globe and SAG nominations for his performance, is terrific as a creepy budding video journalist with a fascination for the more grotesque side of Los Angeles. It’s an unsettling and haunting film that is equally captivating and hard to shake.