Beth Grant Movies

Michel Hazanavicius' stylistically daring, dialogue-free comedy-drama The Artist stars Jean Dujardin as George Valentin, a matinee idol in Hollywood before the dawn of talkies. His marriage is far from perfect, and one day he meets ambitious chorus girl Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) and is smitten. Very quickly thereafter, sound comes to movies, and George sinks all his money into one last epic silent film, while Peppy becomes a star in the new era. John Goodman co-stars as the head of the film studio working with Valentin. The Artist played at both the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

A satirical workplace comedy with a slick action twist, Fouad Mikati's Operation: Endgame explores the violence that erupts when the organization charged with protecting America implodes, and the employees turn their guns on each other instead of their enemies. Somewhere beneath Washington, D.C., an intense rivalry is heating up between two opposing teams of government assassins. The hired killers in the organizations take their names from Tarot cards. The Fool (Joe Anderson) is the latest recruit. Reporting for his first day on the job, The Fool is shocked to find that his boss is dead, and the office is on lockdown. To make matters worse, the building has been rigged with explosives, and it's going to blow soon. Now, in order to get out alive, The Fool will have to root out the killer in his midst, and make a quick escape before his co-workers catch him in their crosshairs. Ellen Barkin, Zach Galifianakis, Rob Corddry, and Jeffrey Tambor star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A worn-down country singer and a burgeoning journalist form an unusual bond in this drama adapted from the novel by Thomas Cobb. His spirit broken by multiple failed marriages, too much time on the road, and too many nights with the bottle, Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) had started to feel like he was headed down the path of no return. When probing young writer Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal) digs deep enough to unearth the broken man behind the legend, however, Bad realizes that redemption may not be such a long shot after all. Robert Duvall and Colin Farrell co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Mad Men star Jon Hamm headlines this unusual low-budget mystery-thriller, as Detective Tom Adkins, a man haunted relentlessly by the disappearance of his ten-year-old son, Tommy, Jr. No leads immediately turn up in that case, but he does receive an early-morning phone call that draws him to the mangled and mutilated remains of a young boy slain 50 years prior. Tom takes on the case in an attempt to find absolution, and a second tale evolves, set 50 before, involving a man named Matthew Wakefield (Josh Lucas) and his son John. The baffling similarities between the Wakefield case and Tommy Jr.'s mysterious fate push Tom to the brink of sanity and ultimately lead him on a collision course with fate. Gradually, one step at a time, Tom stumbles onto the horrifying truth about what happened to his boy. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Given a grim diagnosis during a routine doctor's checkup, a man who once had it all finds his attempt to disappear into a working-class suburb and spend his remaining days subsisting on vodka and junk food hopelessly disrupted when he falls for the beautiful divorcée next door and a busybody neighbor notices a miraculous stain on his stucco wall. Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) had a comfortable life and a beautiful fiancée. But just when it seemed that the future couldn't look any brighter for Henry, a visit to the doctor's office casts a dark cloud over his sunny outlook. Shattered, Henry wants nothing more in life than to simply vanish into his surroundings, and what better way to accomplish that feat than to purchase a cookie-cutter house in a working-class suburb and spend his final days awaiting the inevitable in peaceful solitude. Unfortunately for Henry, his new neighbors aren't about to let the handsome neighborhood newcomer spend his days sulking. The first to stop by and welcome Henry to his new home is local yenta Esperanza (Adriana Barraza), who comes knocking on his door with a fresh plate of homemade tamales and laundry list of questions.

Later, after taking notice of sad-eyed divorcée Dawn (Radha Mitchell) and her taciturn eight-year-old daughter, Millie (Morgan Lily), who hasn't spoken a work since her father left, Henry finds his self-imposed exile shattered when Esperanza notices a stain on his stucco wall that seems to possess miraculous powers. Before Henry can say "Hail Mary," Esperanza is leading pilgrimages to the "holy site" in his backyard and inviting Father Salizar (George Lopez) to give his blessings to the sacrosanct blemish. As skeptical as Henry may be about the healing powers of the curious apparition, however, his growing friendship with young Millie not only brings him closer to Dawn, but also proves to him that there's no escaping the power of hope. Cheryl Hines, Richard Benjamin, and Jessica Walter co-star in a wry existential comedy drama penned by first-time feature film screenwriter Albert Torres, and directed by Mark Pellington (Arlington Road, The Mothman Prophecies). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Inspired by the satirical black comedy Man Bites Dog, emerging film director Thomas C. Dunn's feature debut tells the tale of a young documentary filmmaker who inadvertently captures a murder on camera, and unwisely attempts to blackmail the murderer into becoming the subject of his latest film. Mickey (Wes Bentley) is an aspiring filmmaker who seems to lack a certain sense of inspiration - that is, until he captures elusive serial killer James Lemac (Mark Borkowski) on camera doing what he does best. Realizing the remarkable value of this gruesome footage, Mickey approaches the madman with an offer of creating the ultimate reality show. Should James agree to become part of the project the pair will no doubt become famous, but should he refuse Mickey will immediately hand the footage over to the police. Left with precious little choice other than to play along in Mickey's twisted little game, a reluctant James agrees to grant the filmmaker total access to his grisly excursions. But as the filmmaker and his subject set out to make movie history, the lines of power gradually begin to blur, at times giving James the upper hand. Now, as the psychological game of cat and mouse winds to it's shocking conclusion, Mickey will be forced to confront the darkness that dwells not just in the corroded soul of his subject, but somewhere deep within his own fragile psyche as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Inspired by the satirical black comedy Man Bites Dog, emerging film director Thomas C. Dunn's feature debut tells the tale of a young documentary filmmaker who inadvertently captures a murder on camera, and unwisely attempts to blackmail the murderer into becoming the subject of a film designed to become the be-all-end-all of true crime docs. Wes Bentley, Joanne Baron, and Mark Borkowski star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Filmmaker David Scott Hay answers the New Visions Fellowship challenge to make the most out of a small budget, a single location, and no special effects with this inventive and twisting tale of three amiable misfit diner employees whose quest to gain footing over one and other in eventually thwarted by their own ineptitude. Alice's Diner is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary, and though all appears well on the surface, unspoken tensions soon boil to the surface when the owner of the restaurant meets a grim fate at the celebratory shindig. Benno is an ex-con and part-time lover to the owner who served as second-in-command to the watchful Alice. Though juvenile delinquent Scotty initially entered the restaurant with the intentions of cleaning out the cash register, he later walked out as Benno's assistant when the sympathetic owner took pity on him. Lastly, Joe makes the deliveries for the diner while struggling through a bad marriage and awaiting the moment to make his big move. When the party takes a turn for the worse and the diner proves in need of a new owner, these three hapless souls will enter into what would be a cutthroat competition for ownership if only their figurative knives weren't so dull. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

When a pudgy, bespectacled seven-year-old, Olive (Abigail Breslin), voices her desire to take home the coveted Little Miss Sunshine crown at an upcoming beauty pageant, her wildly dysfunctional family sets out on an interstate road trip to ensure her a clear shot at realizing her dreams in former music video directorial team Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' quirky feature debut, starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, and Toni Collette. Despite early career success as an outspoken motivational speaker, family patriarch Richard (Kinnear) continues to cling to his "Refuse to Lose" philosophy, much to the chagrin of his increasingly annoyed spouse, Sheryl (Collette). Add into the mix a Nietzsche-reading teenage son (Paul Dano) who has taken a vow of silence until he finds his fate as a fighter pilot; a horny, heroin-happy grandfather (Alan Arkin) with a penchant for creative profanity; and a suicidal genius (Carell) and Proust scholar still reeling about losing both his male lover and his MacArthur Foundation genius grant -- and the stage is set for a road trip in which sanity is sure to take the back seat. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

In this moody modern take on the classic Edgar Allan Poe story, a girl named Jill is coping with the disappearance of both her lover and her best friend, siblings Rick and Maddy Usher. Three years after the two vanished from her life, Jill receives a phone call informing her of Maddy's death, as well as the girl's dying wish for her estranged best friend to attend her funeral. With a heavy heart, Jill sets off for the remote New England town where her ex now resides, only to find that he himself is suffering from the same condition that claimed Maddy's life. With the shadows of Rick's disorder creeping ever outward, Jill begins to feel she is haunted by Maddy's ghost. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

When seed and sod entrepreneur Daltry Calhoun's (Johnny Knoxville) abandoned ex-girlfriend shows up on his doorstep with the daughter he never knew he had, the reformed ladies' man finds out that you can never truly escape your past -- even when it seems you may have no future. Calhoun is a local celebrity and self-made entrepreneur who made a name for himself by selling locally produced turf that blankets many of the nation's most exclusive golf courses, and his quirky television spots have won the hearts of television viewers across Ducktown, TN. When Daltry's ex-girlfriend May (Elizabeth Banks) arrives unannounced with talented teenage daughter June (Sophie Traub) in tow, she confides that her terminal illness has forced her to seek him out in hopes that he can care for their daughter after she is gone. Despite the early success of Daltry's business and the popularity of his kitschy commercials, things have been looking rather grim lately and Daltry has begun liquidating his assets in hopes of keeping his head above water. Though smitten shopkeeper Flora (Juliette Lewis) has offered financial help to Daltry, the kindly offers have fallen on deaf ears. Now, with the odds weighing heavily against him, Daltry vows to make up for lost time by doing right in the eyes of his family and community and caring for his daughter while getting his business back on track. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A gay man takes an experimental medication designed to make him heterosexual in this provocative independent drama. Plain-looking, unlucky in love, and approaching middle age, Tim (Jonathan Slavin) isn't very happy with the shallow hedonism of the gay world. He pines for his straight best friend Don (Mike Begovich), whose occasional willingness to accept drunken oral sex marks the closest thing to a date Tim's enjoyed in years. When news breaks of a drug trial for a miracle pill that will turn homosexual men straight, Tim jumps at the chance to enroll. His decision alienates him from Joey (Scotch Ellis Loring), his good-time-guy pal, and from Don, whose company he must shun in order to bolster the drug's effectiveness. As the treatment progresses, Tim tries out hetero sex with Sally (Susan Slome), a co-worker who's been in love with him for years. But when he spurns Sally for a better-looking new girlfriend who knows nothing of his gay past, Tim's final link to his previous life is severed. Ultimately, though, a crisis among his old friends drags Tim back into their orbit, putting his entire course of treatment in jeopardy. The debut feature from writer/director John Baumgartner, Hard Pill played the festival circuit before airing on Logo, the nascent, Viacom-owned gay cable network. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi