In the Loop (2009)
If you were thinking of going into politics, this is the film to dissuade you. The British prime minister's foul-mouthed communications director (a marvellous Peter Capaldi) swings into action when a cabinet minister says the wrong thing about a possible war. The rest of this savagely satirical comedy bounces from England to the United States, trafficking in political hardball and alpha-male intimidation. "No, no, you needn't worry about the Canadians," says a director of diplomacy. "They're just happy to be there."
Don't You Forget About Me (2009)
The writer-director of Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club and other sympathetic teen comedies is praised in a wide range of interviews with his actors, fellow directors and teens in the street. Missing is John Hughes himself, who had avoided the public eye for many years before his death from a heart attack three months ago. His absence leaves a hole in this documentary, and a self-consciously cute framing device by the filmmakers (one of them is Matt Austin, above) - let's drive to Chicago and try to see Hughes - feels like what it is: padding.