Beeswax, Bloggers and Barack

Oscar qualifying time brings out the year's best docs (including one with the President).

“I Sell The Dead”
Adapted from his 2005 short “The Resurrection Apprentice,” this feature debut from effects supervisor-turned-director Glenn McQuaid is a low-budget, high-concept exercise in ghoulish absurdity in the finest tradition of Hammer Horror. A flash-backed romp through the Victorian era, the film stars Dominic Monaghan as Arthur Blake, the condemned apprentice of a notorious grave robber (producer Larry Fessenden) who recounts his sorry tale over a bottle to a twitchy, inebriated monk (Ron Perlman).
Opens in limited release.

“Julie & Julia”
A prestigious trio of heavyweight female talent bring this story of two women from different eras to life. Food blogger Julie Powell’s (Amy Adams) transformation from bored homemaker to internet sensation is paired with glimpses of the adventures of the woman who inspired it, pioneering chef Julia Child (Meryl Streep, reuniting with her “Doubt” co-star). Nora Ephron, who wrote the screenplay, directs and no doubt hopes to efface her last film, “Bewitched,” from the public memory.
Opens wide.

“Paper Heart”
With an actor (Jake Johnson) playing the role of director (Nicholas Jasenovec), a comedienne (Charlyne Yi) playing a skeptic of love, and the current crown prince of geek chic (Michael Cera) playing himself, this alleged documentary chronicling a search for the existence of true love will likely divide audiences between innocents captivated by its earnestness, and cynics declaring the whole exercise a sham. Filmed by the real Jasenovec, Johnson and Yi embark on a cross-country survey of real tales of romance, collecting interview testimony that parallels an apparently impromptu courtship between Yi and Cera.
Opens in limited release.

“A Perfect Getaway”
Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich make up one of the odder on-screen pairings this year, playing a couple who encounter murderous psychopaths while hiking a remote trail in Hawaii. Timothy Olyphant and Marley Shelton co-star, while genre favorite David Twohy take the director’s chair for the first time since 2004′s awful “The Chronicles of Riddick.”
Opens in wide release.

“Twelve in a Box”
A self-confessed throwback to the satirical British societal comedies churned out in the heyday of Ealing Studios, this 2006 debut from writer/director John McKenzie bakes up an old-fashioned comedy of manners with generous sprinkles of the macabre. With a cast comprised entirely of unknown Brit TV thesps, McKenzie unleashes a barrage of murder, deceit, hostage-taking and infidelity, as 12 private school alumni reunite at the home of a late eccentric millionaire to answer the challenge of spending 96 hours locked up together on the estate for a grand prize of one million pounds each.
Opens in Los Angeles.

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