Saw a matinee of 'The Arrival' which is getting raves in some curcles. Basically a remake of 'Contact' only slightly less cheesy, though it's apparently based on a short story by a Chinaman. Worth seeing though.
Just got done watching a dvd of a coming of age thing called 'Whip It' starring Ellen Paige and directed by Drew Barrymore of all people. Much, much better than you'd expect. Ordinarily I would say Barrymore had help with tjis but with her connections, but she jas been around so much and the movie feels so personal I don't think so. Sweet, funny, lowkey, and fine acting, particularly from Paige and Juliette Lewis who plays an over the hill (!) roller derbyer threatened by Paige's up and comer. The coming of age genre is second only to comedies and biopics for producing bad movies, so this is something of an achievement.
By the way, the best biopic Ive ever seen is Robert Altman's 'Vincent & Theo' which dodges every formula cliche in inimitable Altman style. The worst is Todd Haynes' Dylan biopic which huffs and puffs and spins its wheels so hysterically to subvert the genre that comes out the other side as a whole new kind of bad movie.