Frank Whaley's lovely LIKE SUNDAY, LIKE RAIN offers chamber music for our ears, eyes and soul

Frank Whaley is probably better know as an actor than as a filmmaker (my favorite of his many roles is that of the memorable "kid" in the David Mamet/Danny DeVito sort-of-biopic Hoffa). After seeing this filmmaker's exquisite little chamber piece, LIKE SUNDAY, LIKE RAIN, however, it may be that, from this point on, you'll best remember him as one terrific movie-maker. (The film's title actually refers to the name of a particular piece of chamber music composed by one of its two main characters.)

Mr. Whaley, shown at right, has created -- with the help of his two leading performers -- a story so tender and kind (we really don't get much kindness from today's movies) that thoughtful audiences will find themselves hooked by these characters and their unusual situation. As Whaley initially presents them, his two protagonists seem cut from relatively typical cloth: the spoiled rich kid, Reggie, who's got just about everything, and the barely-making-it young woman, Eleanor, who is ending a relationship, which unfortunately also ends her employment.

But wait. There is so much more, particularly where that rich kid -- an immaculate and surprisingly believable performance from young Julian Shatkin -- is concerned. Rather than spill the beans, I'll leave you to discover the details on your own. Whaley makes them wonderfully specific and fascinating, while Shatkin embodies them with rare grace and charm.

The young woman employed to look after the boy is played by Leighton Meester (above, of Gossip Girl fame and the crummy crime film, By the Gun). Ms Meester is a revelation here, so perfectly attuned to each event and moment that she and her co-star create together a kind chamber music duet of acting moments that register as real, touching, funny and, well, just very special. By turns tentative then slowly growing stronger, Meester's character blossoms under Shatkin's tutelage, just as his does under hers.

The supporting cast includes only a few other characters: Reggie's narcissistic mom (Debra Messing, above, right, in fine, funny form), their housekeeper (Olga Merediz, above left), with Billie Joe Armstrong (below), who registers strongly as Eleanor's punk-ass boyfriend, and J. Smith Cameron (memorable, as always) as her not-so-hot mom.

Where the story goes is, perhaps, expected -- but how it arrives there and how strongly it may affect you are not. The climax is simply splendid -- rich and moving -- and Whaley knows just how long to make this last so that the characters are able to feel and acknowledge what they must. (The denouement is lovely, too.)

Like Sunday, Like Rain -- from Monterey Media and running a near-perfect 104 minutes -- is available now on DVD and via (some) digital outlets. I hope it makes its way onto Netflix streaming soon.

Streaming sleeper: the Johnston/Mason/Boyes ultra-timely thriller, NOT SAFE FOR WORK

How rare is it to discover a suddenly streamable genre movie that's first-rate yet never even received a theatrical release? Very. Which makes NOT SAFE FOR WORK (TrustMovies has finally learned what the Internet acronym NSFW actually means!) pretty much a must-see, especially for fans of sharp, tight, cat-and-mouse thrillers, of which we see damned few good ones anymore.

As directed by the capable-in-many-genres Joe Johnston, (shown at right) from a smart screenplay by Adam Mason and Simon Boyes, this little movie lasts only 74 minutes, yet for most of its running time is one of those eyes-on-a-screen-from-which-you-cannot-look-away endeavors. It's that tight and exciting.

Best of all, this is a film that relies not upon near-constant special effects but is instead concerned with clever plot mechanics, a very good script and smart dialog to whisk it along, abetted by the kind of direction that knows where to put the camera when and how to cut for maximum speed and intelligibility (the editing's by Rick Shaine).

Add to this a situation that puts you in the midst of Big Pharma, a major corporation, the Mafia and a large law firm -- yes, all of our favorite kinds of people, even though one of these turns out to be a red herring -- and you have a recipe for fast-moving, top-notch entertainment. All the more so for the movie's being near-completely unknown to most movie-goers.

Another smart move: making its hero nothing like a superman (he actually does some dumb things along the way) yet proves someone who, when severely tested, can rise to the occasion. As played by the excellent Max Minghella (above, who it is nice to see in a lead role), this guy is fun to be around, never more so than when he's playing for very high stakes.

The heroine is a pretty and bright secretary (Eloise Mumford, above), and the villain a very smooth-talking fellow (played by JJ Feild, below), who gives his character a most interesting spin.

The major supporting roles are played by Christian Clemenson (below), as the boss of the law firm;

Tom Gallop, as Minghella's co-worker (gasping, below) and Alejandro Patino (shown at bottom) as the building's kindly janitor.

Every cast member nails it. As does this juicy little out-of-nowhere movie. The film's ending has evidently proven problematic for some audiences. Too bad. Considering all we know these days, what happens here could hardly be more on the mark.

In retrospect you may have a few logic questions, but while it's moving along, Not Safe for Work is mostly riveting. It's available now via Netflix streaming, Amazon Instant Video, and on DVD.

Here's a streaming "must" -- Sam Hoare's unusual "family" film, HAVING YOU

One of those don't-miss movies that the whole world will -- because small tales of love and life and learning, no matter how good they may be (and this one is very) find it almost impossible to make a dent in today's marketplace, given the amount of money that is spent selling cloddish blockbusters to sheep-like consumers -- HAVING YOU proves one of the most special films to arrive of late in that difficult-to-market category of rom-com drama.

The film also heralds the movie-making debut of an actor named Sam Hoare (at right), whom we shall certainly be hearing from again. Mr. Hoare has managed to tell a terrifically good story -- full of surprises, large and small, that never defy credibility -- and tell it so well that we latch on early and stay supremely focused on these several characters brought to lovely life by the excellent cast.

Suddenly one day, into the life of a struggling young man named Jack (Andrew Buchan, below)-- he's dealing with commitment issues; an angry, unloving father; and a job that barely earns his living -- comes Anna (Anna Friel, above), with a young boy in tow (a quiet and hugely appealing performance from Isaac Andrews), whom she says is Jack's offspring from a one-night-stand nearly a decade earlier.

Jack has just popped the question to his fiancee of too many years (the beautiful Romola Garai, below), who happens to have, as her doctor has put it, an "inhospitable womb," but who accepts Jack's proposal with tears and grace and lots of love. This is a particularly well-crafted and -acted scene -- so unlike the many dumb proposals we've viewed on-screen. Still... Now what?

What the filmmaker, who both wrote and directed Having You, does with this fraught situation is simply lovely -- there's not a misstep anywhere along the way. Via low-key but somehow intense and very real performances, Hoare keeps us rooting for every character, despite some of their wrong choices. On one level there does not seem to be a lot of conflict here, and yet the conflict is built into the situation and into the character of Jack, whose responsibility all this finally is.

Aside from the drama present, there's a good deal of humor, too, particu-larly from Jack's boss and best friend, Paul, given a nice spin by Steven Cree. The people here are good people, doing their best and generally succeeding. Yet the past will catch up with them and force them to face who they are and what they really want. The present, too, has some trauma in store, and together past and present unite to force change.

Having You is one of the most "dear" movies in a long while: the kind you want to protect and nurture, just as, I suspect the filmmaker and his cast wanted to do. They have succeeded so spectacularly -- but, yes, in a small, sweet way -- that their film becomes hands-down one of the least known success stories of last year. You can view it now via Netflix streaming and elsewhere.

John Stockwell's CAT RUN: Was Janet McTeer nominated for the WRONG movie?

Yes, yes: Of course, Albert Nobbs was wonderful, and Janet McTeer was expectedly brilliant in her Oscar-nominated role. However, for unexpected brilliance -- I'll bet most of you didn't even know that our Janet graced the likes of this ultra-violent, nasty, gory but oh-my-god, it's so funny, clever, surprising and special movie -- CAT RUN is the film to see. Out now on DVD and Blu-ray -- and with its gorgeous Montenegro/Bosnia/Herzegovina coastal settings, Blu-ray is the one to choose -- the movie is solid enough to bypass any waft of guilty pleasure (thanks to Ms McTeer, there's oodles more pleasure here than guilt).

Directed by John Stockwell, more or less in the fast, smart style of his under-rated Turistas (rather than the sleep-inducing manner of his later Dark Tide), the movie initially has a little trouble joining together its two elements: goofy comedy, essayed by two best friends played by Scott Mechlowicz (above, left) and Alphonso McAuley (above, right), and dark thriller, in which would-be star Paz Vega (below) and real star McTeer do the heavy lifting. (The writers here are  Nick Ball and John Niven.)

Mechlowitz always has an air of sweetness about him that often saves the day, and so it is here. McAuley, initially off-putting, slowly works his way into our good graces. Vega is gorgeous, as ever, but has little to do in the acting department. Also on hand are Christopher McDonald and Karel Roden as the villains -- both are enjoyably reprehensible -- and D.L. Hughley, shown at bottom, as a triple amputee (two legs and one arm) office manager (don't ask -- but he's terrific).

It is Ms McTeer however (above and below), who provides the film's fuel. As as assassin named Helen Bingham who looks like a modern-day Mary Poppins, appears to know every trick in the book, and will stop at nothing to get her job done, she is one ghastly delight: equal parts frightening and funny. She knows her way around, not just one-liners (though she is quite good at these) but around dialog in general, and as much of it as you'd care to throw her way. Her line readings, every last one of them, are impeccable. They keep goosing the movie into some kind of lame-brained art.

McTeer is scary as hell for about half the movie, and then something even more wonderful happens: We begin to learn a little more about her, and then occurs what may be a "first" for films in this thriller/chase genre known for sporting outsize villains like this one. The last half of the film is simply top-notch, and even those two disparate elements mentioned earlier, the humor and the thrills, start working together beautifully -- once again, thanks to this phenomenal actress, who along with everything else she does so well, gets to do a nifty martial arts fight scene and show us some quite appealing cleavage, too. Janet, dear: Is there nothing you can't do?

McTeer is better than any Bond villain so far -- perhaps any villain the movies have yet given us. Which is why members of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts & Sciences, should they ever deign to view a movie not earmarked as Oscar-bait, might discover and then honor a role and a performance for the ages. I doubt we shall see its like again, this combination of unique character, amazing actress and all-stops-out performance.

So you, dear reader, better get hold of Cat Run before it becomes a collector's item. It's available now for purchase or instant video rental from Amazon, rental from Netflix or Blockbuster, and probably a lot of other smaller venues, too.

DVDebut: ASTRO BOY -- little-seen, utterly charming -- speaks of parenting and of being human

Kids'll love it, and their parents might be surprised at how enjoyable they find it, too -- given that ASTRO BOY harks back to a simpler time of storytelling for children without excessive double-entendres and adult references. I'm sure the movie cost plenty to make but with nowhere near the price-tag of the major studio stuff -- much of which is spent on marketing, in any case.

David Bowers' sweet, swift and economically-told tale (84 minutes plus end credits) of the death and re-birth of a scientist's son who gets into the wrong place at the wrong time is full of religious themes, as well as some from Blade Runner (what it means to be "human") and politics (smarmy leaders with fascist tendencies who guide their society astray). Bowers (shown at right, who also gave us Flushed Away) directed and co-wrote (with Timothy Harris) the screenplay, which offers a wide array of characters, most of them fun and meaningful.  These are voiced by a pro crew that includes Nathan Lane, Freddie Highmore, Eugene Levy, Donald Sutherland, Samuel L. Jackson and especially Bill Nighy -- whose rich, dulcet tones, coupled to a deep understanding of meaning, can move you to tears (he also doubles as the voice of one of the funnier robots).

The film moves quickly from scene to scene, event to event, resting just long enough on particulars to bring to life its most important themes: parenting, love, trust and friendship.  And while it has its quota of slam-bam violence, since this is directed against a major bad-guy robot and is never bloody or nasty (it's all in self-defense), there is little here to corrupt our children.  I'm going to recommend it to my grand-kids, in fact.

The colors are bright and eye-popping and the animation is of the old school: It looks like animation, rather that some of the recent stuff that keeps pretending to be "real."  You want real?  Make a live-action movie.

  

Astro Boy is available now on DVD.