BY JOE REID |

This Weekend's Indies: "The Sapphires," "Gimme the Loot," and More

Opening this week in limited release: Chris O'Dowd, Minnie Driver, and the sweetest graffiti taggers you ever did see.

This Weekend's Indies: "The Sapphires," "Gimme the Loot," and More

The Sapphires
In 1968 Australia, Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids; Girls) tries to put together a girl group to take to Vietnam and entertain the troops. This got a whole lot of great attention and accolades in Australia (read our interview with director Wayne Blair today for more), and who isn't going to jump at the chance to see Chris O'Dowd be his charming self in a lead role for once?

Gimme the Loot
This festival fave is all about a group of graffiti kids in New York, trying to make their mark and dealing with friendship and romance and growing up and all sorts of modern-day coming-of-age concerns. Jonathan Demme is a producer on this, and it gets a big ol' stamp of approval from Roger Ebert in the trailer, which should help draw an audience.

Love and Honor
Another trip to the Vietnam era, this romantic drama clearly seems to have Nicholas Sparks ambitions, though instead of the Sparks pedigree, it's relying on the charms of The Hunger Games star Liam Hemsworth, who plays a soldier who goes AWOL and ends up falling for Teresa Palmer. Palmer's been a rising star in search of a project worthy of her talent and charisma for a while.

My Brother the Devil
Writer-director Sally El Hosani has been getting a lot of festival love for this story about British Arab brothers in hard-edged London, who find their bond tested by prejudice and surprising revelations. Queerness in hard-bitten urban environments is fertile ground, so there's a lot to get into here. This was a prize winner at both Sundance and Outfest and has gotten pretty stellar reviews.

InAPPropriate Comedy
You've been waiting for the first bawdy comedy with a premise based on apps for a tablet, and now you're getting it. Complete with Adrien Brody and Lindsay Lohan. We're being promised a lack of political correctness, so you know, be prepared.

Hunky Dory
It's been a while since Minnie Driver has starred in a movie, and it looks like she's taking full advantage as a Welsh high-school teacher helping the kids put on a '70s-rock-infused version of "The Tempest." Lots of small-town "We don't respect the performing arts" stuff happening here, but between the Bowie music and the feel-good atmosphere, it looks like a good time.

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