I love true crime. “The Imposter,” a documentary by Bart Layton, is a true crime story that’s hard to believe. It’s about the disappearance of Nicholas Barclay, a 13-year-old boy from San Antonio, in 1994. He’s found alive in Spain three and a half years later. His sister jumps on a plane to bring him home, but is this boy really Nicholas?

We, the audience, know that it’s not Nicholas. The man impersonating him looks vaguely like Nicholas, but how are the boy’s family members being fooled? There’s a palpable tension as to why the family doesn’t notice that there’s now a stranger living in their home. Soon a private investigator takes interest and this hard to swallow story takes a chilling turn… I recommend “The Imposter” to anyone who enjoys true crime or a good documentary.

I’m a huge geek and comic book fan, but I’ve never gone to a comic book convention, let alone the granddaddy of them all: The San Diego Comic-Con. That’s why I was excited to watch “Comic-Con: Episode IV – A Fan’s Hope,” a documentary by Morgan Spurlock about the famous nerd gathering. Spurlock follows the story of seven attendees of the 2010 SDCC while intercutting interviews with the upper-echelon of geek-culture such as Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith and Stan “The Man” Lee.

A few of the con-goers come off more obnoxious than endearing (I’m thinking specifically of Anthony, the toy collector), but the overall theme of belonging and the passion that each individual displays is tremendously and unexpectedly affecting. I would recommend this documentary to both die-hard con-survivors and to those with only a casual interest.

I’m going to be honest with you, I was initially drawn to “Safety Not Guaranteed” due to the involvement of the lovely Aubrey Plaza (from my favorite show, Parks & Rec).  I was rewarded with an off-beat, heartfelt indie that won me over despite its misfire of an ending.

The movie follows Darius (Plaza), an intern at a Seattle magazine, who is disinterested and disconnected with her life.  Darius and two other co-workers see a potential story in an odd classified ad from someone who claims to have traveled through time and is looking for a partner to embark on another trip.  They discover that the ad was placed by an intense, but likable, supermarket clerk named Kenneth (played by Mark Duplass).

Darius finds a kindred spirit in Kenneth and soon befriends him.  She’s unsure of his claims, just as the audience is, but you just can’t help but be disarmed by how earnest he is.  Like I said earlier, I wasn’t a fan of the ending (and a quick check on Rotten Tomatoes tells me that it was divisive), but the overall charm of the movie makes it worth watching.

Full disclosure:  I have not read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo nor have I seen the Swedish language film.  This either makes me the best person to review the 2011 remake or the worst.  So what made me want to watch the remake after I had passed up the book and the original film?  Director David Fincher. He’s the mastermind behind such films as “Seven,” “Fight Club” and “The Social Network.”  I’m a huge fan of his movies, and I even enjoyed the ones that others considered duds like “The Game,” “Panic Room” and “Zodiac.”  “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is definitely in his wheelhouse.

For the three people who have not consumed the story: Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (played by Daniel Craig) is hired by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), an aging industrialist, to figure out who killed his niece 40 years earlier.  Everyone in Vanger’s eccentric family, including a handful of Nazis, is a suspect.  Lisbeth Salander is the titular “Girl,” a gifted hacker who helps Blomkvist piece together the mystery.  Salander is played (inhabited is a better word) by Rooney Mara whose regular girl-next-door look is subverted into the pierced, alt icon.  Mara is 100% devoted to the role, and she owns the movie because of it.

Fincher’s take is bleak and beautiful with atmosphere to spare.  Every shot is purposeful and builds tension.  The movie looks, for the lack of a better word, expensive.  Which also might be a bit of a problem, because the movie didn’t perform quite up to expectations.  So, Fincher led sequels are up in the air. In the meantime, I’m going to devour the books, which is something I obviously should’ve done a long time ago.