In the Valley of Elah

(4 stars)

 Tommy Lee Jones plays Hank Deerfield, a retired military man investigating the mysterious disappearance of his soldier son, Mike, in this mystery-drama from director Paul Haggis. Charlize Theron is the civilian homicide cop in the small town near the base where Mike recently returned from a term of combat in Iraq. When this unlikely pair ends up investigating the mystery together, they encounter some suspicious covering-up from the army. Deerfield gets access to his son's camera-phone which contains startling video footage from combat overseas.

 Performances are all Oscar-worthy: The film highlights the downside of soldiers returning from war and confronting a normal life. They have to live with the gruesome realities of what they did and often take it out on loved ones. Finally Jones realizes that his son was not the sweet brave young man he knew, but became just another American-made monster killing indiscriminately in Iraq. Based on true events.

 Once

(3 Stars)

 “Once” is a modern-day Irish singer-songwriter musical. In the film, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova play two main characters, known only as “Guy” and “Girl” in the credits. He is a guitarist/singer-songwriter who makes a living by fixing vacuum cleaners in his Dad's Hoover repair shop by day, and singing and playing for money on the Dublin streets by night. She is a Czech girl who plays piano when she gets a chance, and does odd jobs by day and takes care of her mom and her daughter by night. They get to know each other as the she helps him to put together a demo disc that he can take to London in the hope of landing a music contract. During the same period, they work through their past loves, and reveal their budding love for one another, through their songs.

 This is a musical that is well worth watching and inspirational.