2 Best Movies to Watch by Cindy Hogan

The Great Lillian Hall doesn’t do anything particularly great to a familiar premise, but it’s still worth watching for the knockout performances. There’s Lange, whose dementia both complicates her desire to mount one last performance and resurfaces her guilt for being an absent mother. There’s Bates, who offers both sympathy and tough love. And then there’s Rabe, who’s gut-punching as the pained daughter crawling her way into her mother’s stiff arms. Everything else about the film is not as noteworthy as it drags the film for way longer than it should be. But that trifecta of performances makes it all worthwhile.

Genre: Drama

Actor: Allison Mackie, Blaque Fowler, Bryan McClure, Cindy Hogan, Clayton Landey, David Chin, David Marshall Silverman, David Vaughn, Derrick LeMont, Erik Parillo, Jesse Williams, Jessica Lange, Jonathan Horne, Kathy Bates, Keith Arthur Bolden, Kenneth Trujillo, Lauren Buglioli, Lily Rabe, Meg Gillentine, Michael Rose, Noshir Dalal, Pierce Brosnan, Rebecca Watson, Robert Stevens Wayne, Tenz McCall, Zele Avradopoulos

Director: Michael Cristofer

Rating: PG-13

Even if it follows nearly every trick in the playbook, American Underdog positions itself on a big enough scale that makes it work like a charm anyway. Following the story of legendary undrafted NFL quarterback Kurt Warner (Zahcary Levi), the film elevates its familiar beats through stunning, wide-angle football sequences that make the sport feel as thrilling as ever, and a particularly solid performance from Anna Paquin, as Warner's long-suffering partner. But what ultimately becomes American Underdog's real secret weapon is the fact that this isn't a sports movie about skill, strategy, or success; Warner becomes an inspiring figure because of how long he had to persevere with his dream just barely out of reach.

Genre: Drama, Family

Actor: Aaron J. Brooks, Adam Baldwin, Anna Paquin, Beau Hart, Bruce McGill, Chance Kelly, Cindy Hogan, Collin Taylor, Dennis Quaid, Jason Allen Wear, SerDarius Blain, Steven Chester Prince, Trisha Zarate, Zachary Levi

Director: Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin