There are certain films that are simply magic. They are few and far between, and the experience of watching them often comes up over you. You realize you’re watching a masterpiece, and you don’t want the film to falter. You don’t want it to lose its bearings and for some reason become stupid, or disappointing. Abbas Kiarostami’s Certified Copy envelops you in a story that is slow to unfold, but as it grows, it becomes intoxicating. William Shimell and Juliette Binoche star in this film about an author and one of his readers who go for a ride in the Italian countryside, only for their relationship to change as they spend more time together. Our review of the Criterion Collection Blu-ray release of Certified Copy follows after the jump.

This weekend, audiences will have a choice among a diverse group of headliners: the sci-fi invasion epic Battle: Los Angeles, the animated alien abduction flick Mars Needs Moms, and, if you prefer werewolves over extraterrestrials, Red Riding Hood will be playing in your neck of the woods. Hit the jump to check out our coverage (including trailers and synopses) on these headliners as well as the limited releases 3 Backyards, Black Death, Certified Copy, Elektra Luxx, Jane Eyre, and Kill the Irishman.

The 2010 Cannes Film Festival has come to an end, the ballots are in, and the winners have been announced.  The Palme d’Or went to Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, an “arresting and imaginative cinematic oddity touching on themes of animism and reincarnation.”  With the win, Weerasethakul became the first Thai director to win the fest’s top prize.  The acting categories included some more familiar (and easier to spell) names: Juliette Binoche was honored for her work in Certified Copy, while Javier Bardem’s turn in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Biutiful was deemed to be equally superlative to that of the Italian Elio Germano in Our Life.

Despite buzz for Mike Leigh’s Another Year, we English-speakers were completely shut out at this year’s Cannes, whose lineup was reportedly the “weakest in years.”  Check out a list of all the winners after the break.