CinePhillyist

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.

Under the Same Moon (La Misma Luna)
This film, which was a big hit at Sundance, is about an adolescent living with his grandmother in Mexico while his mother works as a maid in the US, hoping to make enough money to send for him. When his grandmother dies unexpectedly, he sneaks across the border to find his mother. The critics are a bit mixed on it; they say it's manipulative, but heartfelt. We think we'll pass; we're not a big fan of manipulative.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse

Most Likely to Rule: Shine a Light
A legend of film (Martin Scorsese) turns his camera on legends of rock (The Rolling Stones) for this epic concert film. During their 2006 A Bigger Bang tour, the Stones spent two nights at New York's Beacon Theater as part of President Bill Clinton's birthday bash. Scorsese and a host of famous cinematographers made sure the concerts were covered from every angle. The footage from the shows is intercut with historical footage, interviews, and behind-the-scenes footage from decades past. All together it makes up a critically acclaimed film that should be a lot of fun.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: Ritz Five

Leatherheads
George Clooney directs and stars in this goofy romantic comedy set against the backdrop of the formation of professional football in America in the 1920s. Clooney plays Dodge Connelly, a big football star for whom everything seems to be going well, until his team loses its sponsor and the entire league seems set to collapse. He plans to turn things around by getting former college football star and decorated war hero Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski) to join the team, but cub reporter Lexie Littleton (Renée Zellweger) is determined to prove that Rutherford is not what he seems. Things are further complicated by the fact that Connelly and Rutherford are fighting each other for Littleton's affections. This film looks very silly, but it sounds like it could be fun, and the combination of story elements is certainly a clever marketing gimmick (football for the men, romance for the women). Still, reviews are mixed, so you're taking a gamble on this one. And everybody knows that gambling on football is illegal.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: UA Riverview, The Bridge

Nim's Island
This film adaptation of the popular children's book by Wendy Orr is about a young girl (Abigail Breslin) living on a tropical island with her scientist father (Gerard Butler) who is left to fend for herself after her dad's boat leaves him stranded far away and careless tour companies begin wreaking havoc on the secluded paradise. Desperate for help, she begins exchanging emails with the author (Jodie Foster) of a book she has been reading. Sounds rather dull to us, and the reviews aren't so great, so this is another one we'll be skipping.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: UA Riverview

Most Likely to Suck: The Ruins
This is another film adaptation of a novel, although this time the novel is one for adults written by the author of A Simple Plan, Scott Smith. It follows four American tourists who are on vacation in Cancun when a friendly German tourist implores them to help search the jungle for his missing brother. Soon enough they find themselves hopelessly trapped in a nightmare scenario which, from the ads, seems to involve evil natives, creepy parasites, and human sacrifice. As of this writing, the freshness rating is sitting right at 50%, so this one could go either way. Rabid genre fans might enjoy it, but it sounds like just another boring, B-level, dumb-teens-in-trouble horror flick to us.
Trailer - Freshness
Showing at: UA Riverview, The Bridge

The Philadelphia Film Festival
It's the opening weekend for the 17th Philadelphia Film Festival, which means lots of interesting movies all over town. Click through for the full schedule.
Showing at: Many venues

Image via Internet Movie Poster Awards Gallery