Movie Cricket

All the fangirls are excited for "New Moon," but there are five other movies opening in Utah today — most of them really good.

But first, a word about "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," an overlong and plodding second chapter in Stephenie Meyer's sparkly-vampire franchise — this time with the wishy-washy Bella (Kristen Stewart) getting dumped by vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) and finding out that her longtime pal Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) is a werewolf. Fans will go, enough to bust the box-office records. (Read about the fan phenomenon here, and read Tribune colleague Sheena McFarland's report from last night's midnight opening here.) The rest of us will stay home.

Two excellent dramas from this year's Sundance Film Festival, each featuring potential Best Actress Oscar nominees, hit town today.

"Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire" is a gut-wrenching drama of a Harlem teen (played by newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) with everything wrong in her life: Pregnant for the second time by her sexually abusive dad, living with her physically abusive mom (Mo'Nique), illiterate, obese and feeling worthless. The fact that this story is ultimately empowering and hopeful is a testament to Sidibe's performance, and director Lee Daniels' colorful and dynamic touches. (Read the Cricket's interview with Daniels here, and read the Tribune's Ben Fulton's analysis of Sapphire's novel here.)

"An Education" is a deeply literate and moving adaptation of Lynn Barber's coming-of-age memoir, elegantly written by first-time screenwriter Nick Hornby (a novelist whose books include High Fidelity, Fever Pitch and About a Boy) and directed by Danish filmmaker Lone Scherfig ("Italian for Beginners"). The story, about a teen (Carey Mulligan) slogging through her exams in 1961 Britain but finding herself enthralled by an older man (Peter Sarsgaard), is a thoughtful tale of love and ambition — and Mulligan's wise and luminous performance makes it worth the look.

Sandra Bullock gives one of her best performances in "The Blind Side," the real-life story of football player Michael Oher (played by Quentin Aaron), who was practically homeless in the Memphis projects when he was taken into the home of Leigh Anne Tuohy (Bullock's character) and her family. Director John Lee Hancock ("The Rookie") softens the hard edges of Oher's life a bit, but the movie remains heartwarming and compelling.

"Five Minutes of Heaven" is an actors' showcase, a two-man duel between Liam Neeson (as a former Protestant paramilitary member in Ulster) and James Nesbitt (as the brother of the man Neeson's character killed 33 years earlier). Directed with precision and understated tension by Oliver Hirschbiegel (who directed the Adolf Hitler drama "Downfall").

Last, and very definitely least, is "Planet 51," a charmless and dull computer-animated tale of an arrogant astronaut (voiced by Dwayne Johnson) who is treated like the alien when he lands on an already inhabited planet.