Knocked Up
As big-name comedy releases become more predictable and less funny every year, Knocked Up stands out as an authentic and hilarious take on relationships and what staying together requires. Former Vancouverite Seth Rogen plays the ultimate slacker, who manages to get an ambitious woman (Katherine Heigl of Grey’s Anatomy) pregnant after too many drinks. Written and directed by Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin), Knocked Up is a smart and original addition to the romantic-comedy genre.

Babel
A powerful film by director Alejandro González Iñárritu, just released as a two-disc special collectors’ edition, containing four interlocking stories, held together by a single bullet. As a vacationing American couple (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) struggles with an injury in a remote Moroccan village, a local Arab family copes with a tragedy. At the same time, a crisis unfolds at the American couple’s home in Los Angeles, and a father and daughter struggle with their past in Tokyo. Babel is a profound story about the shortcomings that connect us all.

Black Book
Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct?) directed this thrilling story of revenge. As the Allies fight to take back Europe in the final years of the Second World War, Rachel Stein (Carice van Houten) is forced to flee the tranquillity of her home in the Netherlands to join up with the Dutch Resistance.

Bug
A waitress down-on-her-luck (Ashley Judd) finds hope for a fresh start in a mysterious drifter played by Michael Shannon. Things begin to look up, until something else crawls into her life. Touted as eerie and original by some, but criticized as hopelessly misdirected by others, Bug is an acquired taste.

Next
A Las Vegas magician (Nicholas Cage) discovers he can foresee the future, but only by minutes. Content with using his gift to make a mediocre living, his life is turned upside down when a government agent recruits him to hunt down terrorists.