Home Theatre Tuesday (Jan. 24, 2012)

 Each week, we bring you a quick run-down of what's out on DVD so you don't miss the hits and you can skip the misses.

 Photo: amazon.ca

Buy it now: 50/50

Joseph Gordon Levitt and Seth Rogen star in this truly touching, based-on-true-events tale of a young man diagnosed with terminal cancer. The script, written by cancer survivor and Rogen BFF Will Reiser, is not the usual melodramatic (and thus, wholly insincere) drivel that one might easily associate such a story. It's refreshingly raw, making you cry with laughter just as much as it does with sadness.  No wonder it made Emily's Top 10 of 2011.

Rent it: Restless

Restless is the super sappy love story attempt by director Gus Van Sant and starring Henry Hopper (Dennis Hopper's son) and Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland and Jane Eyre). Though there is the ever-constant teenage "the world is ending" attitude to the film, I didn't feel it overpowered the undercurrent of new love and fun hats. He really let the two youngens try and work out their weird story on their own, similar to his style in Elephant.

Read the rest of Isa Montagnese's review.

Also out: Real Steel

A down-and-out boxer (played by Wolverine) coaches a misfit robot in combat. As he helps the robot KO his competitors in an underground, machine-based fight club, the dude also works to rebuild his relationship with his estranged son. Sounds like Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots the Movie. But with more crying.

The Fille Files (October 2-7)

Each week, the Filles bring you some of our favourite films finds of the week -  news, reviews,  features, interviews, tweets, new releases, etc. -  just in case you missed them.

REEL GREAT READS 

• Why do we want to see movies like ‘The Human Centipede 2’? (EW) - Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman tries to understand why he and so many other morbidly-curious cinephiles are dying to sit through the supposedly sickening sequel to The Human Centipede, which he says “could be the sickest B-movie ever made” and “would have the Marquis de Sade gagging into his popcorn.”
• Film Circuit is Being Sued for Marketing ‘Drive’ Too Well (Film School Rejects) - Apparently a woman is suing FilmDistrict and the theatre she saw Drive at, because it didn’t live up to the Fast and Furious feel of the trailer. (Oh, and cause she thinks it’s antisemitic?!) If people sued production companies every time a trailer wasn’t a fair representation of the actual movie, Hollywood would be bankrupt.
• Hand Drawn Homage to Classic Films (NY Times) - A profile on Mondo, a company that works alongside the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, to produce badass reimaginings of old and new school movie posters and counts Guillermo del Toro (!) as one of its fans.
• ATTN Studio Execs; You’re Delusional and Your CGI SUCKS (Bloody Disgusting) - Mr. Disgusting gets his totally-justified rant on about modern sci-fi and horror’s dependence on awful CGI, complete with vivid photos of classic movies (i.e. Alien, An American Werewolf in London) that did it way-better with simple movie make-up. He says he got fired up watching a new big studio movie. Here’s hoping it’s not The Thing remake!

WEEKEND WATCHES

• The Ides of March - The year of the Gos’ continues with this George Clooney-directed political thriller in which Ry plays a political staffer who has to keep his presidential candidate’s (Clooney) scandalous methods under wraps.
• Real Steel - Hugh Jackman coaching robots fighting other robots in an underground boxing league!

TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Young Adult 

Charlize Theron is a spoiled, aging prom queen with her sights set on her married high school crush in this new Diablo Cody/Jason Reitman feature which has perhaps the best poster ever made.