Yippee! A few things actually worth seeing!
Bigger Than Life
Rebel Without a Cause
Director: Nicholas Ray
The two films are both playing the week at the Gene Siskel Film Center. I’ve seen Rebel, but it was several years ago and would like to see it again. Life seems like a real treat, since I’ve never seen it.
Metacritic: neither one listed
Gomorrah (trailer)
Director: Matteo Garrone (First Love)
Italian mafia film that comes with fine reviews after having won the Grand Prix at Cannes last year. The Academy caused somewhat of a stir by snubbing this film from the Foreign Film nominations, although nothing like the stir caused last year by snubbing 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. Seems like a must-see.
Metacritic: 86
Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience
Director: Bruce Hendricks (Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour)
There have been a lot of boy bands through the years, but the Jonas Brothers have to be the most generic yet. Seriously. I keep waiting for them to rip off their masks, Mission Impossible style, to reveal Hanson underneath, except even Hanson had a distinctive sound, no matter how much I hated it.
Metacritic: 40
The Secrets (trailer)
Director: Avi Nesher
From the IMDb: “Two brilliant young women discover their own voices in a repressive orthodox culture where females are forbidden to sing.”
Metacritic: not listed
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (trailer)
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak (Romeo Must Die, Exit Wounds, Cradle 2 the Grave, Doom)
Huh … seriously?
Metacritic: 21
Two Lovers (trailer)
Director: James Gray (Little Odessa, The Yards, We Own the Night)
I didn’t see Gray’s first two movies, and thought that We Own the Night was sort of OK. I’m not sure if I’ll bother to go see this or not. I’ve never been a fan of Joaquin Phoenix, as most here probably know, and his “Late Show” antics didn’t exactly get me excited by the thought of seeing him play some moody, self-absorbed schmuck. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is a waste of my time. We’ll see.
Metacritic: 75
Gone Elsewhere 
I was right about Two Lovers, by the way. That movie put me in a really foul mood for the rest of the day after seeing it yesterday. Gray is really obviously a talented director, but I really have to wonder why he wanted to make a movie about the Phoenix character here. He’s just about the most unpleasant character I’ve seen in a movie since Snow Angels.
And I still hope, unlikely though it may be, that Phoenix’s retirement is legit. I don’t ever want to see him twitch and stammer his way through a movie for no other reason other than to demonstrate how much he’s “ACTING!” ever again.
At least when it comes to Colin Farrell or Matthew Broderick or even Renee Zellweger (albeit to a lesser degree), I have a lot of people behind me united in rejecting their particular brands of worthless hackery. But there are huge numbers of people out there who still insist in talking about Joaquin Phoenix as some kind of awesome talent. Well, to those people, I say: you’re wrong, and he sucks, and to hell with you if you don’t like it. I’m willing – happy, even – to go it alone on this one.
You’re right…Now that Aronofsky is back The Fountain would have been better with Joaquin Phoenix.