Rent:
Planet 51 (Blanco, Nov. 20th)
Synopsis: The inhabitants of Planet 51 live in fear of alien invasion. Their paranoia is realized when astronaut Chuck Baker (voice of The Rock) arrives from Earth. Befriended by a young resident, he has to avoid capture in order to recover his spaceship and try to return home.
Why You Should Rent It: Not likely to break any new boundaries in the animation department, but with a fun premise coming from a Shrek writer and entertaining lead voice there are worse things out there.
Women in Trouble (Gutierrez, Nov. 13th)
Synopsis: A pregnant porn star, a couple of call girls, a scorned psychiatrist, a teenage goth, a flight attendant with a crush on a famous passenger… the troubles of this cluster of LA women couldn’t be more different, but on one crazy day feminine compassion will alter all of their lives.
Why You Should Rent It: Carla Gugino plays a porn star, and it’s directed and written by the guy that scribed Snakes on a Plane.
Me and Orson Welles (Linklater, Nov. 25th)
Synopsis: NYC, 1937: A week in the life of aspiring actor Richard Samuels (Efron), where he finds himself cast in Orson Welles’ staging of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” and falling for an older woman (Danes).
Why You Should Rent It: Debuting over a year ago at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival, Richard Linklater’s latest is finally seeing a release. Efron has shown in charm in many films, but here is a true test to see if has what it takes to go further.
The Blind Side (Hancock, Nov. 20th)
Synopsis: A disadvantaged teenager is taken in by a conservative family who see tremendous promise in the young man. Despite certain obstacles, the attention and inspiration he receives helps him mature into an athletically and academically successful NFL prospect.
Why You Should Rent It: This looks pretty terrible, but I’ve heard the story it is based on is good and it is from the director behind The Rookie, which was fine for what it was. If don’t mind the forced dialogue and Oscar-bait performances displayed in the trailer, then check it out.
Check out previous months here.
Do you agree with this list? What are you watching this month?
