I saw Borat once and didn't feel that it was over. However, the opening of this, also today....

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1435513/

...might be a bit more earthshaking.

Agnieszka Holland's In Darkness conveys another true Holocaust story, this one from Lvov, then Poland, now Ukraine (after WWII, Poland was leftshifted on the map to accommodate the new winners and losers). A contingent of Jews manage to escape the ghetto before its exterminated by burrowing down into the sewer system. Where they encounter two Polish sewer workers, who agree to help them survive down there in exchange for money.

A lot tries to go against the grain. Despite being a Polish film, the two Polish leads are petty thieves in their spare time and anti-semitic. The Jewish refugees bicker and cheat and are not particularly religious or noble. So much for the good guys. But the bad guys are pretty much as usual -- the Germans ruthless and sadistic; the Ukrainians enthusiastic collaborators and Jew-haters. The Nazis and the Commies always had Jew-hating in common.

It's a pretty well-done large-budget film and was nominated for the Best Foreign Oscar. Unfortunately, the arguments and crises which flare up regularly seem a bit contrived and after a brief loud flare-up die down or get resolved easily. And I had a little trouble following the passage of time. In real life the surviving group of Jews spent a full year living in the city sewers.

The lead Polish sanitation engineer does a fine job of acting and it doesn't hurt that he looks quite a bit like Jean Gabin. Despite his casual anti-semitism, he helps the Jews for personal gain. But as time goes on he grows to know the people and grudgingly admire their resilience and bravery, continuing to help them long after their money runs out and at considerable danger to himself.

At times it seems fairly familiar, and with all of the stuff going on the characters, particularly the sewer refugees, aren't that developed. There are a few very good jolting scenes, including the openign and one tense moment in a concentration camp. I think this film is a Big Deal in Poland this year.

I saw that.
A little repetitive, but interesting and sad.
Worthwhile as long as you don't expect anything too fancy or sophisticated.

This weekend I'm going down South for my mother's birthday (92!) and we'll probably see a movie. However, the only two I really want to see are Joss Whedon's current hits, and neither is something my mom would care about. (I wouldn't either, probably, if not for Whedon.) So can anyone recommend a good middle-of-the-road flick, preferably a comedy? Is "The Five-Year Engagement" worthwhile?

Agree, especially since this was my first Kurdish movie with Kurdish director and actors and set in the Kurdish region of Iraq.

I absolutely loved it, but there are others who found it wanting. If I were you I would definitely take the chance. If nothing else, it has chemistry between Jason Segel and Emily Blunt that is astonishing. As Blunt's sister, Alison Brie shows comic chops never hinted at when she plays Trudy on Mad Men.

Segel and Blunt are fast becoming my new favorite male and female actors of their generation.