Win-Win

See- the title makes perfect sense by the end- the movie is a Win-Win for all the characters and for the audience. There is a gentle charm to Win-Win. It's the story of a a pretty unsuccessful lawyer (the hangdog Paul Giamatti) who coaches a wrestling team when he get guardianship of a rich elderly man so that he can get the $1500 a month guardian fee. Then he does a little sneaky thing that will haunt him. The grandson shows up on the doorstep followed by his druggie mom. The trick is that the kid is a superstar wrestler. So that's the premise- you can see the rest. Films as sweet and interesting and well written as Win-Win should have a large audience because there should be a reward for making a really good movie. It's actually a guy movie in a lot of ways- most of the humor made the guys laugh.  Go see it, and bring a friend and tell your neighbors to see it. It's a Win-Win.

The Lincoln Lawyer

This is a solid movie starring Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, William Macy, Ryan Phillipe and even Frances Fisher. This capable of a cast thoroughly makes up for the holes in the story and the parts that make you go "huh?". I'd rewrite a few scenes because the audience knows who is guilty very early on- because, after all, this is a movie that you know is trying to trick you so the writers shouldn't feel they also have to add a touch of confusion to it. But it was fun to sit through. McConaughey looks thin, mature and finally can carry off movies that require maturity. That goes for Tomei- she still looks winsome, but maturely winsome which means she is really acting now. No more cutesy stuff. 90% of the script is tight. It's about a lawyer who defends the scummy guilty and knows how to get them off. Some deserve it, most don't. Most are mediocre criminals not the big dudes. Then the case of his career is dropped into his lap- and this is what the movie was about. I'd highly recommend it. I enjoyed it even when I did have it all figured out.