The return of Andrea Arnold

The extremely talented British writer-director, whose 2003 short film Wasp won an Oscar (and still shocks me with its brilliance), has a new movie, Fish Tank, coming out in the U.S. this month. (Her first feature, Red Road, was intelligent and very well acted and directed, but a little dry for my taste.) Based on the trailer, and the fact that it's racking up international awards, I'm betting Fish Tank is her ticket to the worldwide acclaim she so richly deserves. Arnold is especially impressive to me because she's nearly 50 -- decades older than the typical up-and-coming filmmaker. Her work is an inspiring reminder that it's never too late to begin a creative endeavor, or even to become a career artist.

This movie might as well have been made for me

I love Noah Baumbach's films, I have a serious crush on mumblecore icon Greta Gerwig (Hannah Takes the Stairs), and I've been waiting (patiently) for Ben Stiller to do something watchable. Based on the trailer, his character is ambivalent about finding a career and plugging away at it -- i.e., what's widely considered growing up -- and I can certainly relate. Also, he's Jewish. And there's LCD Soundsystem on the soundtrack. Baumbach, Gerwig, Stiller in non-sellout mode, Jewishness, romantic-comedy elements, and indie rock. Yep, this one's got my name all over it.