Laith Nakli Movies

Actor Josh Radnor makes his debut as a writer and director with this independent comedy drama in which a handful of people riding the gap between their late twenties and early thirties navigate the sometimes tricky path of adulthood in New York City. Sam (Radnor) is a struggling writer who has trouble with long-term relationships; one day while on the subway, he meets Rasheen (Michael Algieri), a young boy who has been abandoned by his parents. Sam takes the boy in, which gives him a preview of parenthood but also proves to be more complicated than he expected. Sam is infatuated with Mississippi (Kate Mara), a bartender with a dream of making it as a musician; tired of one-night stands, she agrees to move in with Sam for a few days to see how she feels about a "real" relationship, but Rasheen's presence makes things awkward. Another of Sam's sometime girlfriends is Annie (Malin Akerman), who suffers from a rare medical condition that prevents her from having any hair. Though she's beautiful, Annie's lack of hair has caused her to have a dire self-image and she jumps from one relationship to another with a handful of men, some of whom treat her poorly. And Mary Catherine (Zoe Kazan) and Charlie (Pablo Schreiber) are a couple whose relationship is teetering on the brink as he considers a lucrative job offer in Los Angeles while she refuses to budge. Happythankyoumoreplease received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the audience award for Best Dramatic Feature. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A lonesome widower and college economics professor finds his mundane existence suddenly shaken up when he befriends a pair of illegal immigrants, one of whom has recently been threatened with deportation by U.S. immigration authorities, in the sophomore feature from The Station Agent director Tom McCarthy. Years after losing his wife, 62-year-old Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) has also lost his passion for writing and teaching. In an effort to fill the empty void that his life has become, Walter makes a half-hearted attempt to learn to play classical piano. Later, when Walter's college sends him to a conference in Manhattan, he is surprised to discover that a young couple has moved into his seldom-used apartment in the city. Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and his Senegalese girlfriend Zainab (Danai Gurira) have fallen victims to an elaborate real-estate scam, and as a result they no longer have a place to call home. When Walter reluctantly allows the couple to remain in his apartment, talented musician Tarek insists on repaying his host's kindness by teaching him to play the African drum. Over the course of Walter's lessons, the ageing academic finds his spirits revitalized while gaining a newfound appreciation for New York jazz clubs and Central Park drum circles. Later, Tarek is arrested in the subway and threatened with deportation after police learn that he is an undocumented citizen. Suddenly, in his attempt to help his new friend, Walter's passion for life is unexpectedly awakened. When Tarek's radiant mother Mouna (Hiam Abbass) arrives in the city in search of her son, that passion turns to romance -- something that Walter had previously thought he would never experience again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi