Honorable Mention:

Dedication (The Weinstein Company)
Starring Billy Crudup, Tom Wilkinson, Mandy Moore, Bob Balaban, Christine Taylor, Dianne Wiest, Martin Freeman, Bobby Cannavale, Peter Bogdanovich
Directed by Justin Theroux (debut); Written by David Bromberg (debut)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rated R
Plot: Children's book writer Henry Bean (Billy Crudup) is a neurotic mess, but when his illustrator, friend and mentor (Tom Wilkinson) dies suddenly, he's forced to work with a pretty young artist (Mandy Moore) who has trouble understanding his drastic mood swings.
Tagline: "Life is a thin line between love and fate"

While I certainly don't love every indie "romantidramedy" I've see—yes, I made up that word in case you were wondering—but I am a sucker for romance and when it's done well—that is, not in a corny Hollywood way—then a movie like this can easily win me over. It helps that Billy Crudup's eccentric performance goes a long way in selling the lovably quirky character Henry Bean, a neurotic obsessive-compulsive writer who's quite the antithesis of his illustrating partner played by Tom Wilkinson. The two of them have many funny scenes as the movie begins, and thankfully, Wilkinson doesn't exactly leave the picture once his character dies. Much of the humor comes from the way the movie looks at the world of children's book, as exemplified by Bob Balaban as Henry's editor. While I'm not as big a fan of Mandy Moore—she did star in one of the worst movies of the year "Because I Said So"—she's much better here, more subdued and less cutesy, making it obvious that first-time director Justin Theroux was able to pull something out of her that few other directors have managed. It never hurts when a director embellishes the story with a soundtrack full of cool, well-picked and placed music as Theroux does here. While it furthers the comparisons to Zach Braf's "Garden State" (one of my favorite indie rom-coms ever), it's the kind of music that greatly adds to the story and visuals but also makes you want to go out and buy the soundtrack. I haven't bought any Deerhoof records, but you can guarantee that most of the people who see "Dedication" will become fans. (Bit of trivia: the other main band/artist in the movie is Cat Power, whose first two records I recorded.) The movie opens in New York and L.A. on Friday and hopefully it won't be killed too badly by the usual late August malais, so that it receives its planned wider release in September.

Interview with Justin Theroux

Also in Limited Release:

Hannah Takes the Stairs (IFC Films) - A collective of filmmakers and actors converged on Chicago last summer for this unscripted, improvised film by director Joe Swanberg (LOL) about a young woman named Hannah (Greta Gerwig) who goes from one relationship to another dating two co-workers, causing a rift in their relationship.

Mini-Review: Maybe I haven't seen enough of Swanberg's films or that of his cast (which includes the filmmakers of "The Puffy Chair" and "Funny Ha Ha") to really appreciate this style of filmmaking, but it certainly seems like this movie was made by a group of people who went into a room full of alcohol and drugs and then filmed the resulting conversations. It's such an obviously improvised piece, but instead of feeling natural, it feels like everyone is constantly trying to be funny or clever, and while on the one-hand, it might be seen as a low-budget modern-day "Reality Bites", all of the characters seem so pretentious and annoying that there's no reason to care about any of them, particularly the title character played by Greta Gerwig. Granted, she's kinda cute and the strongest actor in the bunch, but it's hard to like a character who messes around both physically and emotionally with so many different guys in such a short span of time. (Paul, played by Anrew Bujalski, seems to be the best choice but he's gone within the first half hour.) Certainly Gerwig's talents and those of the cast might be better displayed in some form of scripted or structured film rather than this erratic warts 'n' all waste of time. Rating: 4/10

Closing Escrow (Magnolia Pictures) – Armen Kaprelian and Kent G. Llewellyn's comedy about three families trying to move into the same house for different reasons, each dealing with their own strange issue-laden real estate agents in the bargain to try to get the property. It will open in limited release on Friday.

Deep Water (IFC Films) – This documentary by Louise Ormond and Jerry Rothwell follows the story of Donald Crowhurst, an entrepreneur and amateur sailor who took part in a 1968 boat race around the world in a boat he built and was never heard from again.

The Hottest State (THINKFilm) – Actor Ethan Hawke adapted and directed this adaptation of his first novel about a young man from Texas (Mark Webber) who comes to New York to become an actor and falls for the beautiful singer/songwriter Sara (Catalina Sandino Moreno) only to have his heart broken when she breaks up with him. It's opening in New York and L.A. on Friday.

Interview with Ethan Hawke (Coming Soon!)

Mini-Review: There's definitely some good within what might have been a pretentious semi-autobiographical vanity project, the first and foremost thing being the breakthrough performance by Mark Webber as a hapless idiot who never knows the right thing to do or say to win over the woman he loves. It doesn't help that the woman is played by the weak link in the equation, Catalina Sandino Moreno, who is grossly miscast as Sara. Sure, she can be sexy when she wants to be, but she doesn't have the type of range or on-screen charisma to pull off the convincing New York psycho-bitch that the story requires. Otherwise, this is an often painfully uncomfortable dissection of a relationship that's so awkward that you can't imagine it working out and the rapport between the two actors starts grating on the nerves even before it crashes and burns in the worst possible way. As said before, Webber is the standout, particularly in one scene where he leaves the worst phone message ever, but even the interesting secondary parts by Michelle Williams, Laura Linney and Sonia Braga seem to be a waste of their talents, especially when the film's strongest scene involves Webber and Hawke himself as William's estranged father. The soundtrack, made up of songs written especially for the film by Jesse Harris, is solid, but Hawke seems way too in love with this music, often using the same themes over and over to the point of being annoying. Except for a few Wim Wenders inspired shots of Texas, the movie doesn't look particularly good in terms of the way things are shot or framed either. As a writer, Hawke has some strong and worthwhile thoughts about love and relationships, but the sad truth is that as a director, he's just not skilled enough to make his novel work as a movie. Rating: 5/10

Right at your Door (Samuel Goldwyn) – This timely and topical thriller by Chris Gorak looks at what happens when chemical dirty bombs are set-off in downtown Los Angeles and a man accidentally quarantines his missing wife outside their home as he tries to seal himself off from the effects. After being delayed and then dumped by Lionsgate, this finally opens in New York and L.A.

Mini-Review: Chris Gorak's directorial debut begins with a solid premise about what someone might do if there ever was a chemical attack in a major city, something that's certainly still on a lot of minds post-9/11. Rory Cochrane does a convincing job as a man caught between doing the right thing, whether it's dealing with his own survival or protecting and saving the woman he loves. That said, once he's sealed himself inside his house after 20 minutes of set-up, the movie hits a death march lull where it's essentially just the two of them talking on opposite sides of a sheet of plastic while acting paranoid about what might happen next. It's almost impossible not to be reminded of William Friedkin's "Bug" at this point, which was about two people in a hotel room, but that at least offered conflict and tension and two solid, if not a bit crazed, performances. "Right at Your Door" isn't quite on that level, nor does it take things far enough, and despite it being a talky movie, the writing and dialogue are mundane at best with characters inserting the F-word into every other line to try to make things edgier and more intense. The ending offers a lame and frustrating twist that's certainly not worth the time it takes to get there, because it seems like a somewhat obvious and predictable way of ending things. Despite these problems, one can tell that Gorak's a strong first-time filmmaker that given a bit more of a budget and some time to grow as a filmmaker, he could be someone worth watching. Rating: 5/10