In 1994, Brandon Burlsworth (Christopher Severio) defied the odds by becoming an official member of the Arkansas Razorbacks football team. He was overweight at first, but he eventually lost weight and built up his muscle mass while reaching even more triumphs: he was selected for the All-American team. Life at home wasn't easy for him because of his alcoholic father, Leo (Michael Parks). At least his mother, Barbara (Leslie Easterbrook), was there for him as well as his older brother, Marty (Neal McDonough).

      Everyone loves a good underdog sports story. Classic ones like Rudy, Hoosiers, Miracle, The Blind Side and Remember the Titans all have a major trait in common: they are about human beings first and foremost. Fortunately, Greater ranks up there with those classics because writer/director David Hunt and co-writer Brian Reindl keep the film focused on Burlsworth's life while showing the audience the the social, familial and innate struggles that he had to go through Burlsworth was picked on for his weight by his teammates and came from a dysfunctional family, but he studied hard, trained hard and kept his faith in Christianity which helped him to persevere and become an American hero.

      Hunt and Reindl do a great job of unmasking the human being behind the American hero in a way that's family-friendly and inspirational without being cloying or excessively preachy, although it does somewhat skirt that delicate line toward the end with the narration that explains the inspiring, uplifting messages quite simply and explicitly. That's forgivable because the uplift is well-earned. Who doesn't want to feel great about life and inspired with kernels of wisdom every now and then? So what if the plot is formulaic? Every film follows some kind of formula; it's more important how follows it. At least Greater never becomes clunky and dull like last year's My All-American.

      Christopher Severio gives a solid performance in the lead role and caries the emotional burden of his role with conviction. The same can be said for the supporting actors and actresses each of whom helps to add to the film's authenticity and sense of humanism which is its greatest strength. I've written it before in past reviews, but I'll write it again because it's important: humanism is a truly special effect in modern American cinema because it's so rare while CGI should be re-labeled as standard effects. Although the running time is 2 hours and 10 minutes, it breezes by like 90 minutes. Ultimately, Greater is the best underdog sports movie since The Blind Side. It will make you stand up and cheer!

      John Hollar (John Krasinski) returns home to his father, Don (Richard Jenkins), and brother, Ron (Sharlto Copley), when his mother, Sally (Margo Martindale) learns that she has an advanced-stage brain tumor. Ron meets his ex-wife, Stacey (Ashley Dyke), with whom he has two adorable little kids, but she and her new husband don't quite welcome his visit warmly. Complicating matters even further, John bumps into ex-girlfriend, Gwen (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and his father struggles to keep his plumbing business afloat financially. Gwen just so happens to be married to his childhood classmate, Jason (Charlie Day), who just so happens to be Sally's nurse at the hospital. Oh, and did I mention that John's current girlfriend is expecting a baby?

      Every year there are always at least a few dysfunctional family dramedies with cancer thrown in as a plot device to bring everyone together. The Hollars has so much going on with so many characters that it ends up biting more than it could chew. The screenplay by Jim Strouse feels both overstuffed and undercooked. Each actor and actress tries their best with the material that they're given. Margot Martindale, one of the best actresses of our times, and the always-reliable Richard Jenkins both give superb performances that rise above the weak material. A separate film altogether could have been made about just their characters and marital issues.

      Unfortunately, when it comes to blending comedy and pathos, that's where the screenplay struggles the most and ends up being neither funny nor genuinely heartfelt. Too many plot strands come together in the third act in a way that feel contrived rather than organic. Moreover, the overly manipulative musical score pounds you over the head about how you should be feeling. If only the Strouse were to have trusted the audience's intelligence and patience. The pace moves so fast that it's hard to become truly absorbed in any given scene. Yes, there are a number of sad moments (don't be deceived by the film's poster artwork that makes it look like a very upbeat dramedy), but while Strouse should be commended for going into dark territory, he doesn't go deep enough. Much of the film feels like a Lifetime movie-of-the-week with good acting. If you're the kind of audience member that likes your hand not only held, but also squeezed tightly from start to finish, you might end up somewhat teary-eyed by the end of The Hollars. Everyone else, though, will roll they eyes at the corniness and implausibilities despite the stellar cast. The running time of 88 minutes feels more like 2 hours. It's almost as cringe-worthy, clunky and painfully contrived as The Family Stone.

      John Cleaver (Max Records), a borderline sociopathic teenager, lives with his mother, April (Laura Fraser), in a funeral home where he had developed a fascination with cadavers all of his life. He could be on the verge of becoming a serial killer, and he's seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Neblin (Karl Geary). He keeps his killer instincts at bay by trying to be kind to those around him, i.e. by shoveling snow for his neighbor (Christopher Lloyd). Meanwhile, there's an actual serial killer on the loose in the small town, so John takes it upon himself to investigate the killings.

      To both achieve and maintain a tone that blends drama, mystery, horror and sci-fi with a little dark comedy thrown in is no easy task, but writer/director Billy O'Brien and Christopher Hyde achieve both with flying colors. The film know when to take itself seriously and when not to. Beyond that, it also boasts a strong, rich story and intelligent characters instead of merely having impressive sound design, cinematography and dumb characters like in the vapid and unimaginative horror thriller Don't Breathe. The most interesting characters are the ones who are flawed, troubled and mysterious like John. There's more to him than meets the eye which makes him all the more compelling as a character. He's also surprisingly likable thanks to the charismatic peformance by Max Records. Christopher Lloyd is also well-cast as John's creepy neighbor.

      It's hard to categorize I Am Not a Serial Killer into one particular genre. Thanks to the clever and well-written screenplay, O'Brien and Hyde avoid turning the film into an uneven, atonal, over-the- top and campy mess. Once the third act twist arrives, the tone changes a bit, but it's still fun and engaging in a tongue-and-cheek sort of way without derailing the film. It also features an inventive use of a classic song from the 70's. A note to my readers: please avoid reading Michael Atkinson's unprofessional, irresponsible review in the Village Voice because it somewhat spoils the third act's surprise. At a running time of 1 hour and 44 minutes, which feels more like 1 hour, I Am Not A Serial Killer deserves to become a cult classic.

      Four couples gather at a mansion in Savannah, Georgia: Jessie (Clea DuVall), who owns the mansion, and her partner, Sarah (Natasha Lyonne), Annie (Melanie Lynskey) and her boyfriend, Matt (Jason Ritter), Lola (Alia Shawkat) and Jack (Ben Schwartz), as well as Jessie's sister, Ruby (Cobie Smulders) and her husband Peter (Vincent Piazza). Little do Ruby and Peter know that the true reason for the get-together is so that their friends can persuade them to divorce because they believe that they're stuck in an unhappy, stale marriage that's past the point of being saved.

      Dramas used to lead the American box office back in the day, but suddenly we're stuck with shallow, CGI-infested tentpole films made for $100 million or more that lack a heart, mind and soul. Along comes the low budget American drama The Intervention that has plenty of heart, mind and soul---in other words, it humanism, a truly special effect. Adults used to drag their kids to the movies, but most of the time, their kids have to drag them to the movies nowadays. How refreshing it is to watch an American film that's for adults, that can't be turned into a video game. and where no one gets eaten by zombies for a change! In The Intervention, the plot, just like life itself, is simply complex: a group of friends/couples come together, talk about issues that they've been bottling up inside them, and experience epiphanies within the course of a weekend.

      Writer/director Clea Duvall, in her directorial debut, does a great job of keeping you engaged by this very human story because she brings the complex characters to life with the help of the naturally talented actors and actresses onscreen. No one over-acts or under-acts. Yes, the film is talky and could be turned into a play, but it never feels stuffy. Duvall balances the drama with just the right amount of comic relief/levity. Each of the characters is flawed in their own way which makes them relatable. With the exception of Lola whom Jack had just met, everyone feels like they've been friends for a while. Kudos to Duvall for tackling the issues of love and friendship so astutely. It's captivating to watch the relationships gradually evolve, and to observe the different character arcs. Most importantly, though, the third act, where most dramas tend to fall apart, actually works effectively while remaining plausible, honest and mature like the rest of the film. At an ideal running time of 90 minutes, is engrossing, wise, funny and well-acted.

      After he gets fired from his job as a projectionist, Ronnie (Alon Aboutboul), a 60-year-old living in Israel, travels all the way to America to find is long-lost childhood sweetheart, Rachel. He encounters a few quirky strangers along the road trop in search of Rachel. One of those strangers, Myla (Naruna Kaplan de Macedo), a film student making a documentary film, tags along with him for the remainder of the journey.

      Is That You? mights as well take place on another planet because very little that happens to Ronnie seems plausible, and none of the human beings behave like human beings would in real life; it's as though the characters are merely there to move the plot along forward. The dialogue written by writer/director Dani Merkin and co-writer Eshkol Nevo feels very stilted with too many eye-rolling "conveniences" that require a suspension of disbelief. Each of the strangers whose door Ronnie knocks on greets him politely and invite him inside their home rather quickly without hesitation. Tedium soon sets in as he gets closer and closer to finding Rachel, but by the time he gets very close, it's difficult to care about Ronnie as a human being because the lazy, clunky screenplay doesn't bring him to life. The same can be said about the character of Myla, especially the way she suddenly joins Ronnie.