Movie time.

Since most of you are snowed-in or forced to deal with the Super Bowl, I'll offer up a few capsule movie reviews and recommendations. My taste in entertainment is a bit obscure, so maybe some of these films will be new to you:

North Country - Charlize Theron plays Tomboy as Josey Aimes, one of the only women working the iron mines in Minnesota in the 1970s. She leads a group of similarly abused women in standing up against the oppression of their bosses. Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson put in yeoman's work. Recommended.

The Man Who Wasn't There - A Coen Brothers film noir starring Billy Bob Thornton as the almost comatose co-owner of a barbershop who gets caught up in a ponsey scheme to open up, of all things, a chain of dry cleaners. He tries to blackmail his wife's lover, but the scheme has unwanted consequences for all concerned. Frances McDormand again is stellar. Recommended, but don't watch it if you're sleepy.

Burn After Reading - Another Coen Brothers joint. I liked this one more than some and less than others. If you like George Clooney you might like this. A couple of boobs (McDormand and Brad Pitt) think they have a valuable memoir but instead just have a lot of nothing - which is what some would tell you this film amounts to. Some found Pitt engaging and funny but I was not one of them. Just as in No Country for Old Men, expect another Coen Brothers oddball ending. Get it only if they don't have much else you want to see.

The Bucket List - Neither the Coen Brothers nor McDormand, but a nice time nonetheless. It made me cry a little at the end, but don't hold that against me. it's a nice story without a lot of the junk you saw in the TV commercials. It's much more serious than they let on. Recommended.

Hancock - Charlize Theron again and Wil Smith in what I thought was a great idea but lacked substance. The first 40 minutes were great. Smith is an alcoholic superhero who is at odds with his abilities. When he meets an agent (Jason Bateman) the film turns the wrong corner. I'd have preferred 90 minutes of drunken flying and crashing into junk, but I guess that isn't politically correct. It would have worked better as a straight comedy.

Smart People - I enjoyed this immensely. Ellen Page, Thomas Haden Church, Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker star in one of those unique character studies that I always enjoy. Think of a dysfunctional The Big Chill. Find it and watch it.

The Visitor - The dark horse in the group. I suspect you haven't seen it, but it features the Oscar-nominated Richard Jenkins, who gets involved with an immigrant couple and forges a friendship with them before one is thrown into a detention center for illegal aliens. Highly recommended.

Or, if you want to watch what I'm watching this weekend, pick up The Hours. We'll compare notes. We'll be movie buds.

If you're disinterested by the Super Bowl (and who isn't?) or just in need of some fresh entertainment to counteract all the snow-shoveling you've been doing, find one of these and pop it in. I'd guess that at least 5 of them will be better than the game will be.

And get the real popcorn, not that light butter or apple-cinnamon crap.