Although we know you like to boogey and we know you like to booze, sometimes a nice night at the movies and a big tub of buttered popcorn is the perfect recipe for a relaxing weekend evening, especially considering many of us will be conserving our energy for next weekend’s madness. With that said, The Baxter (written and directed by its star, Austinist favorite Michael Showalter) tops the list of some mostly-pass-up-able new releases this week, but there is a host of good features currently playing that are worth checking out if you are knucklehead and have yet to take our advice (see: Austinist Recommends at the end of the post).

*The Baxter
You know that guy who is not the hottest cat in town, but he’s really sweet and lovable and maybe he just needs to set his sights a little lower or get lucky and meet a woman who can actually appreciate him? Well, that’s what you may henceforth refer to as a Baxter. Showalter stars in this film about said type of character and his misfortunes in the world of romance. It’s a sweet, charming and funny romantic comedy without any of the raunchiness.
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Just Like Heaven
A lonely architect falls for the spirit of the woman who once lived in his apartment. You’re f***ing kidding, right?
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Lord of War
Nicholas Cage plays a gun-runner in this thriller. Yawn. Maybe he should call Mike Figgis and see if he has anything else cooking, cause his career is now on life-support.
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5X2
This sad French tale of a broken marriage told in reverse chronological order is the latest offering from writer/director Francois Ozon (“Swimming Pool”). It’s one thing to see a marriage crumble, quite another to see it done from break-up to that ‘new love smell.’ The unique storytelling makes the deterioration all the more painful for the audience in a very ironic, and dare we say French, way.
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An Unfinished Life
This laconic tale of a rancher (Robert Redford) and his sagacious sidekick (Morgan Freeman) and said rancher’s on-the-run former daughter-in-law (Jennifer Lopez). All the characters have endured their hardships and now, thrown together, they all learn something from one another. Or some such crap.
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Venom
Cribbed straight from IMDB: “A pack of teenagers run for their lives through the swamps of Louisiana, as they are chased by Mr. Jangles, a man possessed by 13 evil souls who is relentless in his pursuit of new victims.” Um, ok.
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The Beat That Skipped My Heart (De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté)
The son of an intense shark in the competitive world of real estate tried to change his life after he is inspired by a love for the piano.
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*2046
IMDB yet again: “He was a writer. He thought he wrote about the future but it really was the past. In his novel, a mysterious train left for 2046 every once in a while. Everyone who went there had the same intention.....to recapture their lost memories. It was said that in 2046, nothing ever changed. Nobody knew for sure if it was true, because nobody who went there had ever come back- except for one. He was there. He chose to leave. He wanted to change.” TRIPPY!
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*Austinist Recommends: The Baxter, 2046, The Aristocrats, Constant Gardener, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Grizzly Man, Junebug, March of the Penguins