Freeheld

There are so many reasons to recommend FREEHELD: For starters, the real-life story on which it's based is inspiring and important. And the always-great Moore is so good as Laurel Hester that you can almost feel the pain of every breath she takes once Laurel is diagnosed with cancer. It's refreshing to see Shannon play a good guy (and do it well), and the ensemble, on the whole, is impressive (though Carell seems to be on a different wavelength tonally).

In fact, the film means so well overall that it's tough to criticize it, but its dogged devotion to telling the story chronologically gives it a paint-by-numbers feel. There's so much timeline to cram in that we hardly see how -- or more importantly, why -- Laurel and Stacie fall in love with such force and intensity. And Freeheld also summarizes Laurel's career in a way that diminishes its potency. Yes, by the end, we share in the movie's feeling of triumph, but even that is muted by an earnestness that overpowers its beauty and spark.