Top 5: Add This to Your Queue

As the writers strike drags on, I find myself watching more movies (natch) and in an effort to make your Netflix queue as long as mine (393 DVDs and counting), here are 5 (mostly) new releases worth checking out:

1. A Mighty Heart - The title is all wrong; it made me think this would be a cheesy, manipulative telling of a truly tragic tale, but it's not. Angelina Jolie is incredible as journalist Daniel Pearl's wife (I cannot believe she wasn't nominated for an Oscar this year), but the entire film (directed by Michael Winterbottom, who's films I really love (well, except for 9 Songs, which my ex-boyfriend rented thinking it was a lovely concert film, and it basically turned out to be performances by Franz Ferdinand and The Dandy Warhols mixed with scenes of a couple having pretty graphic sex. It was very bizarre)) is really good and interesting and serves as a reminder of a truly heroic man and his amazing wife. Don't let the title fool you; it's a tough movie (I haven't cried that hard in a long time), but worth every minute.

2. 3:10 to Yuma - There were quite a few great westerns released this year. This remake, starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, is no exception. Christian Bale is really one of the worlds great underrated actors (as Liz has said, he's been the "Next Big Thing" for what seems like forever). Now with the Batman franchise and films like this, maybe he'll finally get the notice he deserves (oh, and Russell Crowe is great, too, but I figured that pretty much goes without saying).

3. Transformers - Every now and then, I love a good, mindless action movie...and boy did Transformers deliver. Actually, it's probably the best of Michael Bay's films...amazing special effects, incredible sound and a really great leading man (Shia LeBeouf is one of my favorite young actors. I really hope he keeps it together and doesn't ever pull a LiLo). Kinda made me wish I'd seen it on the big screen...

4. Away From Her - This story of an older couple, still very much in love, and how their world changes when one of them develops Alzheimer's is, well, sad, as you would expect, but also very touching. Julie Christie will probably win the Oscar for her performance (she should really win for being so gorgeous at age 66. Seriously. It is wrong to be jealous of someone 3 times my age because she's prettier than me?) and, while I would probably vote for a few other ladies (you, know, if I had a vote), the film, and Christie's performance, is absolutely worth checking out.

5. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind - I can't believe it took me 6 years to see George Clooney's first film. A look at the life of Chuck Barris, the creator of The Gong Show, The Dating Game and The Newlywed Show (who also worked for the CIA (maybe)), with a script by Charlie Kaufman, Confessions is a weird, funny, sad, intriguing look at a man who was a bit mad, and all genius.

So there you have it. If you have any suggestions to make my queue longer, I'd love to hear 'em...