Opening movies: Look for a little light

Looks as if this isn’t going to be the brightest weekend of the year for Inland Northwest moviegoers.

First of all, mainstream viewers are going to have a fairly easy choice between James Cameron’s “Avatar” and the romantic comedy “Did You Hear About the Morgans” ? So, CGI sci-fi adventure or lame middle-age comedy featuring “Sex in the City” leftovers and a more-stuttering-than-usual Hugh Grant. Oh joy.

Fans of the more challenging independent scene may have the opportunity to see more quality work, but little of it will offer anything remotely light. “Precious” and “The Road” open at AMC’s River Park Square Theatres. “Precious” follows the story of a high-school girl who, aside from being a virtual slave to her mother (Mo’Nique), has been impregnated twice (!) by her stepfather. And “The Road” is an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-holocaust study, which pretty much guarantees that it will be one of the bleakest films of the year.

The Magic Lantern offers a bit of an alternative with the Spanish-language effort “La Nana” (“The Maid”) and the documentary “Good Hair,” a study executive-produced and co-written by Chris Rock. And of all the movies, the Rock film - which is a look at African-American hairstyles - may offer the lightest view.

If nothing else, it’s bound to be funnier than walking through a post-apocalyptic world, battling a teen’s sad life or even watching the pathetic negotiations of two aging movie comdey actors trying to intrigue us with their lame marital problems.

Just saying.

Below : The trailer for “Good Hair.”