CinePhillyist

The Good German - The concept - director Steven Soderbergh, along with stars George Clooney, Tobey Maguire, and Cate Blanchett, doing a black and white, post-WWII film noir homage to classic movies like Casablanca and The Third Man - sounds like a sure win. But the reviews are generally not good, and most critics seem to agree that the film is a rather soulless exercise in style. This makes us sad.
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Showing at: Ritz East

The Good Shepherd - The other "The Good _______" movie coming out this weekend, this one tells the story of the birth of the CIA via a dramatization of the life of one of the founding members and agents of the organization - Edward Wilson, who is played by Matt Damon. Angelina Jolie plays his wife; also appearing are Alec Baldwin, Billy Crudup, Keir Dullea, Michael Gambon, William Hurt, Timothy Hutton, Joe Pesci, and Robert De Niro, who also directs. The story is essentially about a man who, despite the fact that his idealism is slowly eroded by the nature of his job, and by the suspicions and paranoia of the Cold War, is so dedicated to that job, and to his country, that he will sacrifice everything for it. Sounds pretty good, and the talent involved is certainly top notch, but right now Rotten Tomatoes is telling us it's a coin flip: 50%. You're taking your chances on this one.
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Showing at: The Riverview

Night at the Museum - Ben Stiller plays his normal pathetic, but vaguely likable, character, who this time takes a job as the security guard on the night shift at a museum of natural history. He quickly discovers that the job is not as easy as it seemed - in fact, at night, everything in the museum comes to life. Not only must Stiller's character find a way to control the chaos that naturally results, he also must stop a nefarious plot and save the museum. The film also stars Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams, Steve Coogan, Paul Rudd, and (we thought) Owen Wilson (he's all over the ads for this movie, but strangely enough he doesn't appear in the IMDB cast list). Probably a fun movie, especially to take the kids to over the holiday weekend, as long as you don't expect it to be terribly thought-provoking or unpredictable.
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Showing at: The Riverview, The Bridge

We Are Marshall - Director McG takes on a more serious subject this time with a dramatization of the true story of the tragic deaths of the great majority of the Marshall University football team in a 1970 plane crash. The university's small town of Huntington, West Virginia is devastated by the event, but a young coach played by Matthew McConaughey helps to rebuild the team and heal the community. Also featuring Matthew Fox (the doc from "Lost") and David Strathairn, this film will probably be incredibly moving or incredibly gag-inducing, depending upon your attitude at the time of viewing, level of tolerance for "inspiring" filmmaking, and how important you think football really is.
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Showing at: The Riverview

Movies Opening on Christmas Day:

Most Likely to Suck: Black Christmas - Little Michelle Trachtenberg from "Buffy" stars in this remake of a 1974 slasher film about a sorority house terrorized by a crazed killer over Christmas break. Sounds fun in its own way, and might be a bit of an antidote to the sickly sweet holiday atmosphere that generally takes over the world on Christmas. But there are a number of warning signs attached to this one: It's a contemporary slasher/horror movie (which tend to be pretty bad), it features a young not-quite-star in the main role (generally not a good sign), it's a remake (we don't need to tell you how often that's bad news), and there aren't enough reviews on Rotten Tomatoes for them to even give it a rating (which means it wasn't released to critics for preview screenings, which generally means the filmmakers know it's bad). So yeah. Unless you're looking for some awful schlock to waste the day away with, we recommend you avoid this one.
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Showing at: The Riverview

Dreamgirls - The long-awaited, much-hyped film adaptation of the Broadway musical starring Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose, and Beyonce Knowles as a trio of black soul singers that rise to superstar status in the '60s and discover along the way the cost of fame to themselves and their friendship. The film also features Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, and John Lithgow. We weren't too interested in this one at first, but the reviews are good, and the cast is impressive. Might be worth a watch.
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Showing at: The Riverview, The Bridge

Image Credit: Killer Movies