Contraband (2012)

Mark Wahlberg, the Houdini of smuggling via cargo ship, takes on one last job, because his brother-in-law screwed up the last one. Wahlberg outwits Giovanni Ribisi, beats the shit out of Ben Foster and saves wife Kate Beckinsale in a satisfying payoff.

d: Baltasar Kormakur | imdb.com | trailer | Trust me.
Back from the dead | AA meeting | Customs | What’s up, Houdini?

Up in the Air (2009)

Director Jason Reitman captures the current zeitgeist of unemployment, and George Clooney (a corporate downsizer) delivers the bad news. Clooney is at his best — charming, perfectly dressed and engaged by smart, sexy Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick.

d: Jason Reitman | imdb.com | trailer | “Charlie Rose”
Bar club cards | I’m not a tour guide. | Miles | Something real

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Director Karyn Kusama (“Girlfight”) and screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno”) craft a knowing, feminist take on the teenage slasher film with Amanda Seyfried as the tough, vulnerable heroine and Megan Fox as the body. Cody’s hip kid-speak is satiric fun.

d: Karyn Kusama | imdb.com | trailer | Kissing scene | Evil

Extract (2009)

Mike Judge (“Office Space”) captures more mundane workplace moments, but there isn’t enough smart satire to sustain the film. Jason Bateman owns an extract flavoring company and resides in a sexless marriage (to Kristen Wiig). Ben Affleck plays his druggie pal.

d: Mike Judge | imdb.com | trailer | Brad Chavez | Stupid Brad
“Film Forum with Beavis and Butthead”

I Love You, Man (2009)

Engaged but friendless, Paul Rudd looks for a best man and finds fellow Rush fanatic Jason Segel in a poor man’s version of a Judd Apatow film. The movie is so precious, so sweet that it needs a shot of adrenaline — maybe a bar fight or Steve McQueen.

d: John Hamburg | imdb.com | trailer | Open House | Rushified