A Better Life is the story of an undocumented Mexican father and his teenage son living in East Los Angeles. Single dad Carlos played by Bichir works as a gardener and is struggling to take care of his son Luis (José Julián), though they don’t see all that much of each other. Luis is busy being a teenager, hanging with his friends who are headed towards becoming gang bangers, while Carlos works long hours around rich white people in Beverly Hills and Malibu. When his partner decides he’s ready to retire back in Mexico and sells him his truck with all his tools, Carlos grabs the chance to move up in the world and give his son some real security. But when the truck and tools are stolen, Carlos and Luis are forced to work together to hunt them down.

While the script is at times a bit heavy handed with its message about the the class divide and the injustices of the immigrant experience, the film really belongs to Carlos. His love of his child informs everything he does, and when it seems that he will be separated from Luis, you know he will do whatever he has to to get back to him. A Better Life was directed by Chris Weitz who directed The Twilight Saga: New Moon, but also another touching male bonding film, About a Boy. He knows how to fill very small scenes with meaning. And Demián Bichir’s performance is exceedingly earnest, rivaling Jean Dujardin (The Artist) for expressiveness, though in a much more subtle way. The film definitely has an indie vibe – character driven with a story intimate in scope. It is worth seeing. It may or may not get another life in theaters now that it has the nomination, but for this movie DVD viewing would be fine. Bring tissues.

If you watch Weeds, you will recognize Demián Bichir as Esteban Reyes, mayor of Tijuana, drug boss, and father of Nancy’s baby.

It’s hard not to go the way of double-entendres and full-frontal flippery when describing this movie – especially since Fassbender is pretty darn good looking and this role is a far cry from his turn as Magneto in X-Men: First Class (which I happened to like by the way). But in truth, Shame is very raw and depressing, and Brandon’s addiction is way more sad than sexy. So I wouldn’t want to mislead you into thinking this indie is even remotely mainstream in its appeal. It’s just not. And even if Fassbender’s performance is potentially Oscar-nomination-worthy, I think the risqué material makes it highly unlikely that the Academy will go all Portman on him. I think the “three-way” at the climax of the movie (oops – shame on me) may have gone a bit over the top. That said, if you liked Black Swan, I suspect you’ll like Shame as well. Just pick your movie-mates carefully, or wait until it comes out on DVD or pay-per-view.

The film, directed by Alexander Payne (Sideways, About Schmidt, Election), is a bittersweet melodrama laced with heartfelt emotion and subtle humor. No guns. No car chases. No explosions. No blaring soundtrack. Just a guy reconnecting with his daughters during a family trip to Kauai that happens to involve tracking down his dying wife’s lover.

It’s an unpredictable journey – and at times, a funny one, thanks mostly to the seemingly inappropriate presence of daughter Alexandra’s clueless, tag-along boyfriend Sid (Nick Krause). You’ll spend a good deal of time wondering why he hasn’t been kicked to the curb, but it all pays off in the end.

The Descendants is a slow but engaging drama with solid performances all around, a healthy dose of heart and humor, and a whole lotta George. Happy Thanksgiving.

Sometimes you just need to see a movie that is not all flashy and star-filled. There is a strange joy in watching actors you’ve never seen before since you bring no expectations to their performances. The Lie is one of those little indie treats. It is based on a short story by T. Coraghessan Boyle about a 30-something guy who wakes up to his going nowhere life and concocts a lie to get out of work, which then spirals out of control.

Joshua Leonard whose big acting break came in 1999 with Blair Witch Project directs and stars in the film. (He shares a writing credit as well.) He plays Lonnie. Lonnie wanted to be a musician back when he was in college and still dreams of getting together a band with his buddy, only now he has a wife, Clover (Jess Weixler), in law school, and a cute little kid, and he’s stuck in a soul sucking job that he can’t leave because he needs to be “responsible.” The catalyst for his rebellion is when his idealist wife informs him that she has been offered a job with a pharmaceutical company. Lonnie’s job is drudgery and his boss a screamer, and he arrives at work one day and just decides he can’t go in, so he makes up an excuse, a little white lie. Then the next day he makes another and before you know it he has been gone for a week and as his boss threatens him, Lonnie throws out the biggest lie of all, one that he can’t take back and one that has severe repercussions.

The Lie is very well acted and apparently much of the dialogue is improvised. Fortunately, the chemistry between Lonnie and Clover is really good, so you enjoy the give and take of this young couple trying to decide what life is supposed to be about and whether they are selling out their former dreams. It is by turns both sweet and funny. And the kid is very cute. It is not a deep story, but it is one that many of us can relate to. Are we living the lives we dreamt of in our youth? The Lie is in theaters now, but it will also make a very good rental/stream when it comes out in a few months. It is one of the nicer little films I’ve seen in a while.

The film’s chick-flicky trailer sucked me in – and perhaps set my expectations too high – with its attractive stars (Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess), melodramatic encounters, sweeping vistas of London and Paris, and lines like, “Dexter… I love you. But I don’t like you anymore.” Total chick flick, right?

So what’s wrong with it? I’m not sure I can put my finger on it. Maybe Anne Hathaway is just too attractive even when she’s trying not to be. Maybe I just couldn’t buy her British accent. Maybe I’m a sucker for a Hollywood happy ending and this one delivers more of a sucker punch. Don’t worry – that’s not really a spoiler – especially considering the foreshadowing in the first thirty seconds of the film, and the fact that it’s based on a best-selling novel (by David Nicholls, who also wrote the screenplay).

On the plus side, I do have a new crush on British actor Jim Sturgess. I suspect he’s one break-out role away from actual name (and face) recognition.

The gist of the story is this: Emma (Hathaway) is a working-class girl with idealistic dreams and ambitions. Dexter (Sturgess) is a wealthy charmer who thrives on self-indulgence. The two form an unlikely bond of friendship (and possibly more) after spending a single day together after their college graduation in July of 1988. The film dips into their lives on that same date over the course of the next 20 years, providing a glimpse of their highs and lows, personally and professionally, together and apart.

The premise is promising, but it’s never a good sign when you’re asking yourself mid-movie, “what year does this end?” 1988… 1989… 1990… 1991… 1992… keep counting til you hit 2008 and you’ll understand why I started getting bored with that narrative device, probably somewhere around 1995.

For a better, more entertaining chick flick option, consider Friends with Benefits instead. Or, at the very least, save One Day for a discount matinee. You’ll thank me one day.

Beautiful Boy

Michael Sheen and Maria Bello deliver strong, poignant performances as a couple on the verge of separation whose lives are shattered when their son goes on a murderous rampage at his university and takes his own life. Together, they must face impossible questions about their parenting skills, missed signs, and how to reconcile their unconditional love for their child with his horrifying actions.

The fact that the parents are inherently decent people who thought they were doing okay by their son is likely to make you sympathize (at least somewhat) with the parents of the Columbine shooters and other kids who go off the rails with little or no explanation. The couple does not attempt to diminish the pain and loss their son has caused – but they, themselves, are given little room to grieve amid the media onslaught, awkward pity from family and friends, and vilification by others. They are left with only each other to turn to for support – which isn’t easy given the pre-existing cracks in the foundation of their relationship.

Maria Bello’s performance is more believable and nuanced to me than Nicole Kidman’s was in Rabbit Hole (a role for which Kidman got an Oscar nomination). And I’ve never seen Michael Sheen in such a raw and vulnerable role. Their ability to play normal and sympathetic as they struggle with grief, pain, rage, blame, self-discovery and ultimately hope is what makes the film work. But the subject matter makes it a tough sell amid the superheroes, comedies and superficial fluff of summer. If you’re looking for a deeper diversion, then you may want to seek this one out.

Beautiful Boy is rated R for language, sexuality, and adult themes. There is no on-screen graphic violence (the massacre is only alluded to in media coverage).

The story begins as a pair of 30-something fraternal twins, Simon and Jeanne, visit a lawyer for the reading their mother’s will. Her last wishes include a couple of requests and surprises; she wants each of them to deliver a letter, one to their formerly presumed dead father, and one to a brother they never knew existed. Simon is not interested in his mother’s game, but daughter Jeanne immediately takes off from her job and heads to an unnamed Middle Eastern country to find her father. She does not really know anything about her mother’s early life there and the story alternates between flashbacks bringing the audience into the history of the mother Nawal Marwan and her daughter’s odyssey.

I suggest anyone who goes to see the film first do a bit of reading about the Lebanese civil war since that is what the film seems to be based around. In flashback we find that Nawal was a young woman from a Christian family who fell in love with a (Palestinian) refugee and brought shame on her family. She had his son but was forced to give him up and leave the village to go and study in the city. Once there she became passionately involved in the political upheaval. Warning: Parts of this war story are harrowing, giving the audience Nawal’s close-up view of atrocities and torture. As Jeanne learns more and more about the mother she never really knew, she comes closer and closer to uncovering the shocking secrets Nawal could never bring herself to share with her children. Eventually Simon joins Jeanne and together they find what they were sent to find.

The film is long (130 min.), but I was never bored. It is apparently based on a play that ran to 4+ hours. Incendies is a very personal anti-war howl. At its center is a woman who survives the unimaginable and even in death finds a way to teach her children about love. It is not a movie for everyone. But for people who appreciate great acting, a slowly peeled onion of a story and haunting cinematography of a desert land being torn apart by war, Incendies is worth a viewing. It is intense, but satisfying. And it will stick with you for days.

It is in theaters now, but also available on Netflix and for sale.

If only we could roll the Gibson clock back a few years – to perhaps around the time of Braveheart or even Signs – then this is the type of indie movie/role that would have garnered the actor quite a bit of critical or even mainstream acclaim. I suspect, however, that Gibson’s personal crazy train is too far out of the station for that to happen. But for those who do choose to cut Gibson a break, or support Jodie Foster, or simply want to see a good psychological drama, then The Beaver is out there for ya.

Now, to the story itself: Gibson plays Walter Black, a toy executive, husband and father who’s become so mired in depression that suicide seems the only way out. But in his darkest hour, Walter finds solace and salvation in a hand puppet – a beaver that he imbues with an Irish accent. The two become – quite literally- inseparable. When he’s talking through the beaver (much as a ventriloquist might with a dummy alter-ego), Walter is confident, successful and happy again. His wife, played by Foster, tries to be supportive of Walter and his “prescription puppet” but it’s a daily struggle, filled with frustration, hope, and despair. The relationship between Walter and his two sons also plays into the drama, which delves into the hereditary aspects of depression and the physical and emotional manifestations of a pained existence. It sounds like heady stuff – and the whole beaver-puppet thing seems just plain weird – but in the end, the pieces fit.

The Beaver reminded me of the quirky 2007 indie Lars and the Real Girl with Ryan Gosling. Remember, Lars falls in love with a blow-up doll he bought off the Internet? That sounded preposterous too, but the film was surprisingly good. Same goes for The Beaver. Thankfully, it’s not an overly heavy or dark psychological drama (I don’t particularly like those). The Beaver has some light moments and quite a few poignant ones and is ultimately well-directed, well-acted and oddly compelling to watch… if you can forgive Mel his instability off-screen. It’s a tall order, I know.

Win Win

The film stars Paul Giamatti as Mike Flaherty, a struggling lawyer and high school wrestling coach who can’t seem to catch a break. Mike secretly takes on the guardianship of an elderly client with dementia (Burt Young) in the hopes he can just ship the client off to a good nursing home and quietly collect the monthly checks from the court. But that plan backfires when the client’s teenage grandson shows up in need of a place to stay. Kyle (played by newcomer Alex Shaffer) is a strange but sensitive kid who quietly endears himself to Mike’s family – including Mike’s strong but supportive wife (a spectacularly relatable Amy Ryan). It doesn’t hurt that Kyle also happens to be a really good wrestler. He joins Mike’s team and helps transform them into a more confident and competitive group of guys.

But of course, the story doesn’t end there. Kyle’s mother emerges from her latest stint in rehab – determined to uproot Kyle once again and secure guardianship of her father, and his money.

Win Win is a funny and poignant film that’s loaded with interesting and complex relationships among family and friends. The supporting cast is excellent – including Melanie Lynskey as Kyle’s mother (you may know her as crazy Rose from Two and a Half Men. Look who’s “winning” now!); Bobby Cannavale as Mike’s needy best friend – and the source of much of the film’s comic relief; and Jeffrey Tambor, a guy who just emanates funny without really trying.

Win Win strikes a perfect balance of comedy and drama and represents yet another victory for writer/director Tom McCarthy (The Visitor, The Station Agent). It’s a win-win for the audience as well. And even though it’s rated “R”, I think it’s a good family film for older kids (14 and up). What’ve you got to lose?

Ed Helms (The Daily Show, The Office, The Hangover) plays Tim Lippe, a well-meaning but very naive small-town insurance salesman from Wisconsin who gets his first taste of the “big city” when he’s sent to an annual insurance convention in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  With his cummerbund money belt, traveler’s checks, and old-school luggage, it’s clear from the get-go that Tim has a lot to learn about the modern world – not to mention the business convention “protocol” of parties, politics and hook-ups. Lucky for him, there’s a trio of conference veterans (played by John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Isiah Whitlock, Jr.) who take Tim under their wing and teach him how to loosen up and have fun. After all, what happens in Cedar Rapids stays in Cedar Rapids.

The plot thickens, however, when Tim’s innocence and enthusiasm are shattered by revelations of corporate corruption. His new pals must then band together to try and make things right for Tim and bring some integrity back to the insurance industry (cue the sarcasm and cynicism)!

Sigourney Weaver appears briefly in the film as Tim’s former seventh-grade teacher and current pseudo-girlfriend (in a maternal/Mrs. Robinson sort of way). Her character basically exists to underscore Tim’s child-like naïveté, which comes across as  sweet, sincere, and kinda lame.

I suspect that Cedar Rapids will have a tough time finding an audience. It’s fine. Its heart is in the right place. And anyone familiar with the rituals of a business convention at a three-star hotel will likely get an extra chuckle or two out of it. But for the most part, the movie simply fails to inspire any reaction one way or another. Wait for the DVD or catch it on a plane en route to that business convention in [pick your city].