Water for Elephants

The greatest show on Earth.

I remember being a child and watching The Greatest Show on Earth for the first time. Even then, I was drawn to the idea that a film about a circus can represent so many things - a sense of belonging, people constantly being on the move and on the run, faith, and illusion. But, at the same time, it was a disappointing introduction to circus films. It's certainly not the one I would make my kids watch first. I'd probably start them off on Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken (though, that's more about a fair than a circus, but I digress). After The Greatest Show on Earth ended, I didn't feel much - I appreciated the spectacle, but not the people within it. It's regarded as a great film by most people. I don't think so. Not even a good film.

Good movies leave you with the sense that they were there, and they give you a pleasant feeling, no matter the content. Great movies, you can touch. That sense of remembrance is tangible, and when the movie is over, you want more. Water for Elephants is a great movie. And, probably, the best circus movie I've seen.

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In Theaters This Weekend

Taken moments before Pattinson breaks into "Baby Mine"

Hitting theaters this weekend, three major releases bordering on the cusp between greatness and merely watchable - Water for Elephants, the sort of lonely circus drama that will most likely recall the glory days of Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken; Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family, in which Madea gathers her grandchildren to give them all bad news; African Cats, in which Samuel L. Jackson talks about lions for an hour and a half. But which is going to be worth your money? Or your time? Find out after the break.

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