Cedar Rapids (Rated R)

In a perverse twist on Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Ed Helms plays Tim Lippe, a naïf adrift at an insurance conference in the big city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Before he goes, we get snapshots of his day-to-day existence in the small town of Brown Valley, Wisconsin, where he sells insurance by day and sleeps with his much older junior high teacher, Macy (Sigourney Weaver) by night. Tim likes his job and his girlfriend, but craves more status at work. When the firm’s top dog meets with an untimely (and unseemly) death, Tim’s boss, (Steven Root) taps him to attend the annual ASMI conference in Cedar Rapids. A lot is riding on Tim’s sloping shoulders; it’s up to him to secure the coveted two diamond rating from the sanctimonious association president (Kurtwood Smith). Upon arriving at the hotel, he’s propositioned by a hooker, but mistakes her come-on for Iowan friendliness. Surprises continue with his roommates: Isiah Whitlock Jr., plays the stable, mature one, but he’s black, which shocks Tim (subtle, this film isn’t), while John C. Reilly, plays the foul-mouthed lout that Tim’s boss warned him about. Anne Heche spices things up as the foxy lady agent out for a good time. The satire is broad, the jokes crude (but funny), the cast irresistible.

Limitless (Rated PG-13)

Once again we see just how much graphic violence (eyeball stabbing anyone?) can get stuffed into a PG-13 film. The premise is seductive: a struggling writer, Eddie Mora (a scruffy Bradley Cooper) gets the opportunity of a lifetime, the limitless expansion of his brain power (but not necessarily his conscience), courtesy of his drug-dealing ex-brother-in-law, who introduces him to the pleasures of a pharmaceutical drug called NZT. Under its influence, regions of his brain that were previously dormant come alive. Suddenly, life is vibrant, and lit from within, Eddie pounds out a finished manuscript in days. The book mastered, he’s on to other pursuits: learning languages to impress the ladies and making tons of money. In short order, he’s a successful day trader, and attracts the attention of a shrewd Wall Street Tycoon, Carl Van Loon (Robert DeNiro), who hires him to shape a top-secret (and potentially lucrative) merger. Jockeying for room in a crowded plot, are a couple of murders that Eddie may or may not have been involved in, and menacing thugs. Lovely Abbie Cornish is underused as Eddie’s more refined paramour, who dumps him until he hits the big time. The film’s themes of drugs, sex and lots of money may be intended to satirize our collective zeitgeist, but it struck me as reductive that even with a new super brain, we crave the same old stuff.

Win Win (Rated R)

In this latest film from writer/director Tom McCarthy, Paul Giamatti plays Mike, a small-town lawyer, a good and decent man, who pressured by the negative effects of the recession makes an unethical choice in court one day that has the potential to derail his entire life. And, that life is a good one; he has interesting work, a loving wife (Amy Ryan), two adorable kids and loyal friends. To the surprise of the judge, Mike suggests that he be appointed guardian for one of his clients, Leo (Burt Young), an elderly gentleman with dementia, who wants to stay in his own home. Mike supports that desire, but then violates the agreement and moves Leo into an assisted living facility. One day, Kyle (Alex Shaffer), Leo’s estranged grandson, shows up on Leo’s doorstep sporting a black eye. He has run away from his home in Ohio and the chaos of living with a drug-addicted mother. With nowhere to go, and over the reservations of his strong-willed wife, Alex temporarily moves in with Mike and his family. Jackie is initially wary of the kid, but over time, her fierce mother love envelops this self-contained teen. Mike also coaches the local high-school wrestling team part-time. The team is terrible – until the talented Alex joins it. The entire cast is strong, but Bobby Cannavale especially stands out as Mike’s sidekick. Shaffer, a New Jersey high school wrestling champion, makes a solid film debut. But, ultimately, as in McCarthy’s earlier films, The Station Agent (2003) and The Visitor (2007), it’s his expanded vision of just what makes family that makes Win Win so winning.

The Lincoln Lawyer (Rated R)

Matthew McConaughey, not a personal favorite, is quite good in this courtroom thriller with an able assist from a strong supporting cast. McConaughey plays Mick Haller, the lawyer from the title, who is squired around town in a chauffeured Lincoln. Initially, we dismiss him as a hard-drinking-divorced-pretty boy-sleaze bag (reinforced by shady dealings with a motorcycle gang early in the film), but soon see substance under Mick’s slick surface. He’s kind to his driver, and a devoted father to the daughter he shares with his ex-wife (and fellow attorney), Maggie, played by Marisa Tomei. The plot accelerates when a bail bondsman played by John Leguizamo, recommends Mick to an affluent realtor, Louis Roulet, played by Ryan Philippe. Roulet has been arrested for raping a prostitute. He claims he’s innocent. Philippe shines as the smarter-than-thou-incipient psychopath. Like his character in Igby Goes Down (2002), he’s totally convincing as a snob, and his Freudian nightmare of a mother, played by veteran actress Frances Farmer, delivers a delicious shiver of menace. William H. Macy steals early scenes in the film as a cracker-jack private investigator and Haller’s best friend. Some may find the story preposterous as it progressively establishes it was no accident that Mick was tapped to represent Roulet. But that doesn’t detract from its many pleasures: a smart script, a fine cast and a noirish Los Angeles humming with vitality and decadence.

happythankyoumoreplease (Rated R)

Writer/director Josh Radnor also stars in this character-driven Sundance audience favorite that tells the stories of a group of 20-somethings finding their way in New York City. Against a hip, musical backdrop of indie artists (like Jaymay), Radnor plays Sam Wexler, a freelance writer, who brings Rasheen (Michael Algieri), an adorable little boy, home one day after the kid gets separated from his caregivers on the subway. Sam’s not a creep, just a guy oblivious to the consequences of such an action. In between bonding with the artistic youngster, he impulsively invites Mississippi (Kate Mara), an aspiring cabaret singer and brand-new lover to share his apartment. The other stories revolve around a long-term couple, (Zoe Kazan and Pablo Schreiber) whose relationship is being tested by a potential move to Los Angeles, and the love trials of Sam’s best friend, Annie (Malin Akerman), a feisty woman with alopecia, currently being wooed by a fellow co-worker, played with great charm by Tony Hale. If you can get past the absurdity of Sam abducting Rasheen, there are many moments to appreciate in this tale of friendship, longing and love lost and found, which capture the angst of fledging adults on the edge of maturity.

The Elephant in the Living Room (Rated PG)

This alarming documentary exposes the hidden world of exotic “pets.” The prevalence of the practice is scary: according to the film there are more wild cats living in our neighbors’ homes than in the wild in India. It’s a largely unregulated business; 30 states allow the practice of keeping exotics in the home and only nine require a license. Two threads weave through the film: the first follows Tim Harrison, an Ohio public safety officer specially trained in dealing with exotic animals (and their owners), and the second features Terry Brumfield, a truck driver on disability who lives with his wife and pet lions, Lambert and Lacie, on a ramshackle farm in rural Ohio. A worn-out guy with a myopic view of the world, we feel sympathy for him. He originally got the cats to lift his severe depression. The tension rises after Lambert escapes and terrorizes motorists on a local highway. The film explores other aspects of this subculture by interviewing staunch supporters and visiting an auction (where cameras are prohibited). Moral implications aside, the film also looks at the potential public hazards. A chimp goes berserk; a boa eats a baby; owners tire of their pets, or overwhelmed with their care, turn them loose in public parks. Happy endings are rare.

Beth is a freelance writer who specializes in film reviews and narrative non-fiction. Let Beth know what you think about her reviews at beth@bethlambdin.com.