Over the past several days I took the opportunity to catch up on new releases at the movies.  I saw Invictus, Up in the Air, It’s Complicated, and Precious.  All very different movies and all noteworthy for different reasons. For the sake of clarity I will say what I liked about each movie.

Invictus was like watching a history lesson (this is an excellent thing).  Morgan Freeman was excellent and even if you don’t like rugby, you still want South Africa to win the world cup.  I highly recommend this and think it is an important film to encapsulate the post-apartheid reality that Mandela and the ANC desired.

Up in the Air is a very well done film.  George Clooney is good.  The story is very intense and did not leave me feeling warm and fuzzy though I did enjoy the movie.  I saw this on Christmas day and it was definitely not a Christmas movie in that I was glad I didn’t see the movie alone and had plans for the rest of the day with people.

It’s Complicated was an enjoyable escape.  Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep.  The views of Santa Barbara and the central coast are fantastic and made this California girl homesick.

Precious is another phenomenal film.  It is strange to say that I liked the movie because there isn’t much about the story to like.  Mo’nique is phenomenal and should definitely be getting the accolades going her way.  This film was a slice of reality that I think is all too often silent because it is the story of the inner city and it isn’t pretty. I have more to say about Precious though I will need to save it for another post.

Did you see any movies?  What were your impressions?