Savannah review bundle: "How I Live Now" (***½), "About Time" (****), "East of Acadia" (**½)

Saoirse Ronan stars in "How I Live Now"

"How I Live Now" is prolific filmmaker Kevin Macdonald's latest film, adapted from a 2004 novel by Meg Rosoff and starring Saoirse Ronan in perhaps her most assertive performance yet. While young adult adaptations set in a post-apocalyptic world are dime-a-dozen these days, "How I Live Now" manages to set itself apart by not compromising edginess for a lower MPAA rating and a wider audience. At the start, Ronan's Daisy seems nothing more than a cliched, rebellious teenager, but as the film progresses and the story takes increasingly more devastating turns, it becomes clear that she is the film's greatest strength. The young actress maintains a firm grasp on her character, anchoring a film that—while not desperate—wouldn't really know where it was going without as laser-focused a lead as Ronan provides. Visually, the film is not very uniform in terms of its pallet or composition, but successfully relays to the audience Daisy's reactions and experiences through urgent representations of dreams, visions or her confounded physical and emotional states. Jon Hopkins' score is surprisingly beautiful in between louder soundtrack selections. "How I Live Now" is—thankfully—not as reliant on its grim, dystopian setting as most of its YA counterparts, allowing it to be more of a backdrop for its characters rather than the emphasis for the story itself. However independent and hard-boiled it manages to be, it still doesn't capture the mood of such a world as well as, say, "Children of Men." Regardless, Ronan and her supporting players are easily worthy of your time. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

"About Time" and "East of Acadia" after the jump.

Savannah Director's Choice: "About Time"

Domhnall Gleeson and Bill Nighy star in "About Time"

Tonight's mystery Director's Choice screening at the Savannah Film Festival was truly something no one had guessed—Richard Curtis' "About Time." The film stars Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, Lydia Wilson, Lindsay Duncan and Tom Hollander. It's as sweet as can be, but I sort of loved it.

Look for a review to come soon!

Review: "Total Recall" (***1/2)

Colin Farrell stars in "Total Recall"

Several factors led me to be curious about "Total Recall." I use the word curious because despite a high level of interest, there was always a good deal of hesitation. Piquing my interests foremost was Colin Farrell. While he has yet to become a massive box office draw in America, look carefully at his filmography and you will see a long list of good acting choices. Casting Bill Nighy and Bryan Cranston lent the project some more bonus points. To top it off, any Philip K. Dick story has the potential to make a great film.

Never having read any Philip K. Dick stories, I can still profess to being a fan. Several of my favorite sci-fi movies have been adapted from his works, 1990's "Total Recall" being among them. The story that has given life to both films is "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale." Based more on the short story than the 1990 film, we still see quite a few nuggets from Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi classic make their way over to Len Wiseman's film.

Win free passes to an advance screening of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" in Atlanta!

We have a set of two passes to a screening of John Madden's "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" to give away for next Wednesday night, April 11th, at Phipps Plaza! The feel-good film from the director of "Shakespeare in Love" comes complete with an ensemble comprised of incredible British thespians such as Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith.

How do you win the passes? Simple! Either retweet this tweet or email us at reelga@gmail.com with "Marigold tickets" in the subject line to be entered to win. Do both and double your chances. We will contact the winner with the passes early next week.