New on DVD: Friends, Takers, and Boxes

Looking for a movie to lighten these cold, winter nights? SixSeeds lets you know what's new on the DVD aisle.

The Social Network

The Gist: A Harvard college kid has a plan for a website that will connect people. Its name? Facebook. Problem is, some other college kids have the same idea. Let the lawsuits begin.

The Ups: A fantastic script by “The West Wing” writer Aaron Sorkin, fantastic acting, and a fresh as your status update topic combine to make this a spectacular movie. It sounds less than interesting, but grips you from the first moment. Read our full review. This film has already won numerous awards and is considered to be a front runner for the Oscars.

The Downs: Finding downs in this movie is hard because it is so well-made, timely, and interesting.

The Verdict: Watch it. This is a great movie, perfect for our times, and on the must-watch list for 2010.

Be Aware: Because it does frankly depict some excesses of college life and some drug use, parents should weigh the movie’s benefits before showing it to their children. Rated PG-13, it’s appropriate for most teens.

Takers

The Gist: Some extremely well-dressed bank robbers (one of whom is singer Chris Brown) plan to do one last heist. Wouldn’t you know it? The coppers want to stop them.

The Ups: Other than a quick paced sequence in which Chris Brown proves he can run fast and look decent doing it, there are no ups.

The Downs: Cliched plot. Bad acting. Characters flatter than a C-note. Wobbly camera. And shootouts that don’t make much sense.

The Verdict: Skip it. This film is not insured by the FDIC.

Be Aware: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, a sexual situation/partial nudity and some language

Buried

The Gist: For reasons that surely seemed logical at the time, someone has buried Paul (Ryan Reynolds) in a box under the ground. He has a lighter, a cell phone that sorta works, and good hair. How will he survive?

The Ups: Reynolds does a fine job portraying a dude who really, really wants out of the box, but director Rodrigo Cortes brings tension and empathy to the film. It’s better than it sounds.

The Downs: The whole movie is in a box.

The Verdict: Depends. If you’re not claustrophobic and “The Social Network” isn’t available, this is a decent flick to get you through the evening.

Be Aware: Rated R for language and some violent content.

Read more by the same author:

Movies that Moved Me

The Best Films of 2010

"True Grit" Review

Nearly Flawless