Recommendations

Check back Friday morning for a complete rundown of what's coming up on this weekend's show.

With all due respect to the majority of gainfully employed film critics (and I do mean this sincerely), who usually have no choice but to dish out a star rating to accompany their reviews, Sam and I can't get excited about assigning some kind of grade to the films we discuss. If we can help steer you away from a mediocre film, or help nudge you to a film that warrants your attention, that's great. But ideally our discussion would produce at least one halfway cogent, provocative point to merit a listen -- even if you never intend to see the movie in question. Whether or not we succeed in pulling this off on a consistent basis (or ever, for that matter) is for you to decide.

All of that said, I thought we could provide you with some alternatives that are worth viewing (or reading) as a follow-up to those films that we felt came up short -- unfortunately, like both of the films we have reviewed so far.

In our discussion of "Millions," we referenced a handful of other similar or connected works that are more deserving of your time:



In America: Jim Sheridan's autobiographical account of an Irish couple and their two daughters trying to start over in 1980s New York City following a family tragedy. Told from the perspective of sisters Christy and Ariel, "In America" is a perfect example of style in the service of substance, unlike "Millions," which uses style to compensate for its lack of substance. A truly magical movie.

Bloody Sunday: Under used as the father in "Millions," John Nesbitt stars in this dramatization of the titular event in which British soldiers killed 13 unarmed Irish civilians during a 1972 demonstration. From director Paul Greengrass, who brought his cinema verite style to "The Bourne Supremacy" two years later.

Also worth checking out: About a Boy, starring Hugh Grant, based on Nick Hornby's 1998 novel. Read my original review here ... and the book How to Be Good, also by Hornby. Not as good as "About a Boy" or "High Fidelity," but it covers the same terrain as "Millions" while maintaining a healthy dose of cynicism and humor.