There’s actually a lot of good stuff in the theaters today and below are the Top 5 New Releases in Theaters that Spur Social Action.

All of the films are playing in New York City but don’t worry if you don’t live here - click on the “take action” links below each trailer to find out when the film might be coming to your area.

1. Chop Shop : Ramin Bahrani’s examination of what life is life for a boy named Alejandro living and working in a piecemeal auto repair joint in Queens (a “chop shop”) says more about courage, family and childhood spirit than any film I’ve seen in a long time. Reminiscent of Kiarostami, the film says a lot about the systems that effect kids like Alejandro in urban environments without ever needing to address the subject directly.

to see if Chop Shop is coming to a theater near you.

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2. Chicago 10 : Brett Morgan mashes up animation with archival footage to recreate the trial of Abbie Hoffman, his fellow Yippies and other anti-war friends. He also kicks it up a notch with the addition of present day music and an editing style that illustrates the urgency in their actions. If you aren’t inspired to take it to the streets after watching this film, I don’t know if you ever will…

to see if Chicago 10 is coming to a theater near you.

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3. The Unforeseen : Laura Dunn’s thoughtful and poetic look at development in Austin, Texas leaves behind typical the one-sided progressive view on the subject and opts inside for a more complex and lyrical portrait of the issue. Produced by Robert Redford and Terrence Malick, it’s a beautiful film not to be missed.

to see if The Unforeseen is coming to a theater near you.

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4. The Year My Parents Went on Vacation : Cao Hamburger’s film:

takes place in Brazil in 1970, when the country was ruled by a military dictatorship and its national soccer team, led by Pelé, was making its way toward the finals of the World Cup. Accordingly, sports and politics both play parts in this film, which filters the tumult and trauma of Brazilian history through the perceptions of a 12-year-old boy named Mauro. [The New York Times]

The Year My Parents Went on Vacation is coming to a theater near you.

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5. The Counterfeiters:

The Italian writer Primo Levi, looking back on his time in Auschwitz, observed that in the Nazi death camps “the worst, that is, the fittest, survived.” “The Counterfeiters,” a brisk, tough new movie from the Austrian director Stefan Ruzowitzky, is in some ways an illustration of this axiom. Like most films about the Holocaust it is a survivor’s tale, and its protagonist, at least at first, seems long on guile and short on scruple. He is Salomon Sorowitsch, a master forger and a fixture of the Berlin underworld, and his yellow star is overlaid with a green triangle marking his status as a “habitual criminal.” If Sally Sorowitsch is a crook, he is also something of an artist, hatchet-faced actor with the striking name Karl Markovics, without sentimentalizing the character, allows us glimpses of his soul.[The New York Times]

to see if The Counterfeiters is coming to a theater near you.

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