In case you fail to notice during the closing credits of the film, it’s worth noting that this English-language film is the work of Madrid’s ILION Animation Studios—which may well account for the freshness of their work. The film is the inaugural production of the studio, which was a spinoff of Pyro, a computer games manufacturer. This is all the more remarkable as the film in no way feels inspired by (or aimed at leveraging) the games market. Too bad we can’t say the same for many of our mega-budget Hollywood films. I really look forward to more from ILION. I know: it’s European. But really… that’s okay! Most of us used to be, too.

Capitalism: A Love Story is classic Michael Moore… which is to say, this is not his best work. It is unevenly entertaining, hopelessly skewed, yell-at-the-screen infuriating (for a number of reasons), and yet still largely compelling, just like the vast majority of Moore’s films. As Jeff Walls noted in his review of the theatrical release, “there’s no denying [Moore] knows how to make his case in a strong and entertaining way.” The film is certainly worth seeing; but it only tells part of the story. If you like what you find here, take the next step. Get serious. And remember: Michael Moore is an entertainer at heart. And that, my dear friends, is why he (and the rest of us!) likes Wally Shawn.

Writer/director Jason Reitman began adapting Walter Kirn’s novel Up in the Air in 2002 and intended for it to be his first feature film. He ended up setting it aside in favor of Thank You for Smoking and Juno, but the delay turned out to be something of a happy accident. As the movie centers around a man whose job it is to go from company to company and tell employees of those companies that they have been laid off, the story is much more relevant in 2009 than it would have been in 2002.

Director Lee Daniels’ Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire is the movie everyone has been talking about ever since it won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It has been generating Oscar buzz for so long it almost seems as if it should have been eligible for last year’s awards. The film is finally receiving a nationwide release and is set to attack audiences with an emotional wallop that is beyond compare. Probably second only to the shock at how brutal the abuse scenes in this film were is the delightful surprise at how funny it is at times.

There was never really a question of whether controversial filmmaker Michael Moore would tackle the current economic climate or not; it was only really a question of when. In true Moore fashion, he attacks the crisis using old film clips (including some from his own films), interviews with political figures and economic victims, and a few brazen, publicity-seeking stunts. It’s a formula that makes Capitalism: A Love Story another entertaining documentary, but also one that needs to be taken with a grain of salt.