On the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack, the sound of unrequited love is oh so beautiful.

This generation’s cinematic ballad for the broken-hearted sees Joseph Gordon-Levitt endlessly pursuing every hipster’s crush, Zooey Deschanel. The movie’s soundtrack couldn’t be more gorgeously heart-wrenching either.

Of course, the master of pop sorrow, Morrissey, shows up on two classic Smiths tracks “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” and “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.” Somber modern fare like Doves’ “There Goes the Fear” sits alongside Morrissey and Simon & Garfunkel’s warm “Bookends” comfortably. Regina Spektor adds some unique levity—but the true highlight is when Deschanel busts out her own rendition of “Please, Please, Please…” for She & Him’s album closer.

Getting your heart broken never felt so good.—Rick
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Quentin Tarantino’s long-awaited Inglourious Basterds is a fairy tale.

The movie even begins with the line “Once upon a time…” With that choice of opener, Tarantino calls attention to the fact that this is, in fact, fantasy. It’s really about a boy’s love for classic cinema—The Dirty Dozen, Sergio Leone, etc. From that love, Tarantino has pieced together his most epic and intimate work yet. Basterds is the first classic film of 2009, and it illuminates the legendary filmmaker at his best.

There are various narrative threads to Tarantino’s WWII tapestry. Each one is equally important and, in true Tarantino fashion, they all weave together seamlessly at the end. There are the eponymous “Basterds” who occupy a sizable segment of the film. Led by Brad Pitt as Lt. Aldo Raine, his best performance thus far, the Basterds are behind enemy lines with one purpose—to kill and scalp Nazis. “The Germans will be sickened by us,” says Pitt in his hilariously confident Southern drawl.

As
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Wishing for a innovative and imaginative family film? Look no further than Robert Rodriguez’s Shorts.

The visionary director has crafted a 21st century fairy tale that’s cool enough for the kids and smart enough for the adults. The cool factor comes from Rodriguez’s fast-forward and rewind narrative structure that nods to Pulp Fiction with a big grin. Shorts is basically a cinematic playground for Rodriguez and the child stars, and that’s why it’s so fun.

This is a fairy tale for the iPhone generation. Toe Thompson (Jimmy Bennett) discovers a rainbow-colored “wishing rock” that grants any wish he can come up with. The rock can summon pint-size alien friends or an endless supply of chocolate bars.

Toe is in desperate need of friends when the movie kicks off. His parents, the hilarious duo of Jon Cryer and Leslie Mann, are too tied up in their jobs working at the company that made the BLACK BOX—the ultimate all-in-one device to truly give Toe time. The BLACK BOX is a phone,
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Johnny Depp is the perfect John Dillinger.

In Public Enemies, Depp gives Dillinger depth. He understands the nuances of one of America’s most famous outlaws, and he doesn’t play him as good or bad. He plays him as real.

Dillinger is a complicated cat. During “The Golden Age of Bank Robbery,” he reigned supreme. He was cool, cold and calculated, and Depp embodies each quality flawlessly on film. Much of the character’s complexity comes from how conscious Dillinger was about his public image. In one scene Depp mentions, “The public don’t like kidnapping.” Bank robbery is fine; just don’t steal anybody. Dillinger wanted to be a celebrity, so it makes sense that one of the biggest celebrities on the planet should play him, but Depp brings this iconic figure to life.

His awareness of Dillinger’s intricacies leads to the creation of an intriguing character that will draw viewers back again and again. Depp shows every side of Dillinger—the suave lover, the ruthless killer, the
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“I’m not really famous, but I bet all the famous people know me. I guess I moved past that,” declares Jim Jones” as he exhales a plume of smoke at the beginning of the new documentary This Is Jim Jones.

He’s moved past all of that Hollywood glitter for sure, and that statement rings out louder than shots from a drive-by. If you know who Jim Jones is, you can’t deny him.

Jones is an icon in the best way possible. The rapper/label exec/video exec doesn’t try at all. He just is Jim Jones. Similar to his current masterpiece, Pray IV Reign, there’s no pretense, no bullshit, no façade and absolutely no pulled punches in this film. This phenomenal down and dirty documentary shows Jim to be the man he claims to be—Harlem’s most passionate and determined Capo.

This is Jim Jones traces Jim’s journey from growing up surrounded by drugs and addiction in Harlem to his first taste of success with Cam’Ron and The Diplomats to becoming a solo artist to releasing Pray IV Reign on Columbia
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