The Descendants
(Fox, $30)
George Clooney “has never been better, subtler, more deeply rooted in a performance” than he is in this quiet tragicomedy, said The Philadelphia Inquirer. Playing against type, Clooney is a disconnected father of two who’s forced to become a better parent when his wife lands in a coma.
Melancholia
(Magnolia, $27)
Lars von Trier’s sci-fi drama was one of 2011’s “most emotionally resonant art movies,” said the New York Post. Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg star as sisters facing doomsday as a rogue planet heads for a collision with Earth. The film’s originality makes it “essential” viewing for cinephiles.
Young Adult
(Paramount, $30)
This dark comedy from the team behind Juno achieves a “queasy brilliance,” said Entertainment Weekly. As a self-centered alcoholic returning to her hometown to win back an ex-boyfriend who’s now happily married, Charlize Theron exhibits a “really ugly inner childishness.”
