CL: If life is indeed about enjoying the little things, then it’s entirely appropriate that the best scenes in Win Win are the little slice-of-life ones. Writer-director Tom McCarthy is a master at making movies that tap into instantly recognizable emotions and experiences — his previous pictures were 2003’s superb The Station Agent (Netflix that one ASAP) and 2007’s The Visitor — and this unassuming picture is at its finest when it follows that rule.
In this week's movie podcast Tim, Spling and co. review 'Cars 2', 'Scream 4' and 'Win Win'.
Player Affinity writes: In recent years, there's been a big increase in the number of quality art-house films hitting theaters during the first half of the year. Last year, Winter's Bone and The Kids Are All Right carried their goodwill and relative box office success to Best Picture and Best Actress nominations. The year before, The Hurt Locker carried the same goodwill to a Best Picture win. And countless other films--Moon, Two Lovers, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, A Prophet--earned distinctions on year-end best lists despite an early release date. In other words, December is no longer the only time an independent movie can succeed. Art-house cinema is a year-round enterprise, and in 2011, business has been booming. Here are some of the most respected indies of the year thus far, and their chances for Oscar recognition in 2012.
Local attorney Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti – Barney’s Version) moonlights as a high school wrestling coach with his friends Steven (Jeffrey Tambor – Arrested Development) and Terry (Bobby Cannavale – Snakes On A Plane) and is struggling to make ends meet. An opportunity to make some quick cash arises when one of his clients Leo (Burt Young – Rocky) requires a legal carer. But soon things start to get complicated when Leo’s grandson Kyle (Alex Shaffer) shows up. On the plus side, Kyle is a great wrestler and could be the saviour Mike’s team have been looking for.
