The Sunday Drive: 1/22/12

3. Contraband
Mark Wahlberg is a former smuggler pulled into one last job in this gritty, intense crime thriller, marking the impressive American debut of Icelandic director, Baltasar Kornakur.

2. In the Land of Blood and Honey
For a first time filmmaker, Angelina Jolie shows the confident guidance of a seasoned vet. She decided to start off easy, presenting a tragic romance between a Muslim woman and a Serbian soldier in the midst of the Bosnian War. Yep, a comedy. Just kidding. There are few laughs, if any, and Jolie is intent on holding the world's superpowers responsible for their inactivity during that brutal time. She never lets the message interfere with the complexities of the story. Never an easy task.
1. Haywire
Speaking of Angelina Jolie, she might want to move over. There's a new ass kicking chick on the block, and this one's got the legit scars and broken bones to prove it. Steven Soderbergh has found himself another superstar in Gina Carano, the MMA grappler who dominates the A-list studs(Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor) in Haywire. Soderbergh's precision filmmaking makes for a sleek, stylish revenge thriller, while the jazzy soundtrack is a subtle throwback to old school spy yarns.

DVD Pick of the Week: Dirty Girl
I know The Ides of March is out, but let's go with something I know most of you haven't seen. Much like the firebrand character at the center of the story, Dirty Girl is a film that spits in the face of preconceived notions. Juno Temple is Danielle, a promiscuous high school girl suffering in small town Oklahoma in the 1980s. When her former hard partying mom(Milla Jojovich) makes plans to marry a stick up the butt Mormon(William H. Macy), she decides to hit the road and find her real father. Newcomer Jeremy Dozier makes a memorable debut as Clarke, her shy, sexually confused friend who tags along for the journey. Oh, and there's a rather expressive bag of flour as well. Looking like your run of the mill coming of age comedy, Dirty Girl is occasionally crazy, occasionally raunchy, but always heartfelt and honest. Criminally underseen and poorly marketed, don't miss Dirty Girl now that it's out on DVD.