5 Movies Like The Counselor (2013)

For better or worse, friendship can be the most important relationship a child can have, especially when they move into a new school. Poison for the Fairies takes a look at an unusual friendship, one that’s forged not by regular schoolgirl hobbies, but by witchcraft, spells, and superstition. It’s incredibly unnerving how Flavia and Veronica’s dynamic gets, as each morbid claim gets questioned but is never fully explained, as each unanswered question slowly adds to the terror, and as each boundary gets pushed because of those few moments of calm. But it’s also incredibly tragic, considering the ways Flavia and Veronica are characterized. Writer-director Carlos Enrique Taboada makes it all the more creepy by centering the camera through their eyes, by capturing the uncertainty of this terrible friendship.

Genre: Fantasy, Horror

Actor: Ana Patricia Rojo, Anna Silvetti, Arturo Beristáin, Carmela Stein, Elsa Maria Gutierrez, Ernesto Schwartz, Hortensia Santoveña, Laura Almela, Leonor Llausás, Lilia Aragón, Luis Mario Quiroz, Marcela Paez, Maria Santander, Rita Macedo, Rosa Furman, Sergio Bustamante

Director: Carlos Enrique Taboada

This documentary is about the life of New York rapper Nas around the time of the release of his first album, Illmatic.

It spans a quick and summarized 74 minutes and, while embellished by the direction of street artist One9, it remains a great snippet of recent American history. Nas’s album was a reflection of many realities that characterized his upbringing, while the movie serves to further explore those very realities.

Genre: Documentary, Music

Actor: Alicia Keys, Busta Rhymes, Cornel West, DJ Premier, Fab 5 Freddy, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., M.C. Serch, Marley Marl, Mrs. Braconi, Nas, Pete Rock, Pharrell Williams, Q-Tip, Skip Gates, Jr., Swizz Beatz

Director: One9

Rating: TV-14

You know Anthony Hopkins as the evil Hannibal Lecter, but in this film he gives a warm and heartfelt performance portraying real life New Zealand motorcycle legend Burt Munro who set a land speed record in 1967 on a hand-built 1920 Indian. It's a story of never giving up on your dream even in the face of ridicule and opposition. Hopkins' performance turns what could have been just another schmaltzy formulaic story line into true gold. You'll be cheering for Burt/Anthony by the end!

Genre: Adventure, Drama, History

Actor: Aaron Murphy, Alison Bruce, Annie Whittle, Anthony Hopkins, Antony Starr, Bruce Greenwood, Campbell Cooley, Charles Halford, Charles Pierard, Chris Bruno, Chris Williams, Christopher Lawford, Craig Hall, Daniel Sing, Diane Ladd, Eric Pierpoint, Gavin Grazer, Greg Johnson, Iain Rea, James Gaylyn, Jessica Cauffiel, Joe Howard, Juliana Bellinger, Latham Gaines, Mark Ruka, Michael Mantell, Mick Rose, Morgan Lund, Patrick John Flueger, Paul Rodríguez, Saginaw Grant, Tessa Mitchell, Tim Shadbolt, Todd Emerson, Walton Goggins, Wesley Dowdell, William Lucking

Director: Roger Donaldson

Rating: PG-13

The Sessions is drama about Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes), a quadriplegic who is forced to live in an iron lung due to complications from childhood Polio. A poet by trade, Mark longs to experience the touch of a woman, and despite his condition, to ultimately lose his virginity at the age of 38. After consultation with his parish priest (William H. Macy), Mark begins to see a professional sex surrogate (Helen Hunt), who slowly opens his mind and his body to the pleasures of sexuality. A very frank depiction of sex and sensuality, The Sessions is unflinching yet utterly tender storytelling. Hawkes and Hunt are both wonderfully real and honest in their performances. It’s the type of film that will surprise you by the ending at how much it has moved you.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Adam Arkin, Annika Marks, B.J. Clinkscales, Blake Lindsley, Daniel Quinn, Helen Hunt, J. Teddy Garces, James Martinez, Jarrod Bailey, Jennifer Kumiyama, John Hawkes, Jonathan Hanrahan, Ming Lo, Moon Bloodgood, RayVeness, Rhea Perlman, Robin Weigert, Rusty Schwimmer, Tobias Forrest, W. Earl Brown, William H. Macy, Мун Бладгуд

Director: Ben Lewin

Rating: R