What to Watch This Weekend

The weekend is upon us at long last and we've got some movies available before their theatrical release and at the same time of their theatrical release.  Let's get started.

The Lifeguard

Directed by Liz W. Garcia
Rated R  
98 Minutes
Comedy

Starring Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer Martin Starr.

Leigh, almost 30, is living a seemingly perfect life in New York. But when her career and love life both come crashing down, she flees to her suburban hometown and regresses right back into high school life. Picking up right where her teen halcyon days left off, she moves into her old room with her parents, hangs out with friends who never left town, and reclaims her high school job as a condo-complex lifeguard. But as Leigh enjoys shirking off adult life and responsibilities, and enters into an illicit affair, she begins a chain reaction that affects those closest to her. (c) Screen Media and Focus World 

Jayne Mansfield's Car

Directed by Billy Bob Thornton
Rated R
121 Minutes
Comedy, Drama

In what critics are calling his best work as writer/director since SLINGBLADE, Academy Award (R) winner Billy Bob Thornton stars - along with Oscar (R) winner Robert Duvall, two-time Oscar (R) nominee John Hurt and Golden Globe winner Kevin Bacon - in this story of fathers and sons, wars and peace, and the turbulent time that changed America forever. It’s 1969 in a small Alabama town, and the death of a quirky clan’s long-estranged wife and mother brings together two very different families for the funeral. But do the scars of the past hide differences that will tear them apart or expose truths that could lead to the most unexpected collisions of all? Robert Patrick (WALK THE LINE), Ray Stevenson (“Dexter”), Frances O’Connor (THE HUNTER), and Katherine LaNasa (“Deception”) co-star in the acclaimed comedy/drama. 

The Colony

Directed by Jeff Renfroe
Rated TV-MA
94 Minutes
Action

Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Bill Paxton (Aliens) and Kevin Zegers (Dawn of the Dead), headline an all-star cast in this savage and unrelenting thriller about mankind’s greatest enemy: himself. As an endless winter engulfs Earth, humans struggle to survive in remote underground outposts. When Colony 7 receives a distress call from a nearby settlement, Sam (Zegers) and Briggs (Fishburne) race through the snow on a dangerous rescue mission. What they find at the desolate base could mean mankind’s salvation-or its total annihilation. Terrifying discoveries will unfold that will change the rules of survival forever.

Drinking Buddies

Directed by Joe Swanberg
Rated R
90 Minutes
Drama

Starring Olivia Wilde, Jake M. Johnson, Anna Kendrick, Ron Livingston

Luke and Kate are co-workers at a Chicago brewery, where they spend their days drinking and flirting. They’re perfect for each other, except that they’re both in relationships. Luke is in the midst of marriage talks with his girlfriend of six years, Kate is playing it cool with her music producer boyfriend Chris. But you know what makes the line between “friends” and “more than friends” really blurry? Beer. (c) Magnolia

Image and recipe from popcorn.org

Cheesy Popcorn

Yield: 10 Cups
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons garlic flavored or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup popcorn kernels
• 1 tablespoon melted butter, optional
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast or brewer’s yeast (found at health food stores, adds a cheese-like flavor without the calories or fat)
• 1 teaspoon curry powder, optional

Directions

• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot (with a lid), place oil and about 3 popcorn kernels.
• Heat over medium-high heat until a kernel pops. Add remaining popcorn; cover.
• Once corn begins to pop, shake pot constantly over heat.
• When popping slows, remove pot from heat and transfer popcorn to a serving bowl.
• Pour butter over popcorn, if desired, and toss.
• Sprinkle yeast and curry powder, if desired, over popcorn and toss to distribute evenly.
• Serve immediately or store in an air-tight container.