I'll say it flat out -- Alexander Payne's new film, The Descendants, is my favorite of the year, a movie that manages to be heart-breaking and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.
Like Payne's earlier films -- including Election and About Schmidt -- The Descendants blends absurdly human comedy with tragic and touching situations.
My hunch about skipping the opening weekend of this year's Toronto International Film Festival has paid off, in more ways than one.
Mostly, however, ...