Crazy Heart (2009)

As tired, drunk country singer Bad Blake, Jeff Bridges performs his songs (written by T-Bone Burnett) like he has been singing them his whole life. He is great, but the movie is just good. Robert Duvall shows up — a nod to his country singer in “Tender Mercies.”

d: Scott Cooper | imdb.com | trailer | Charlie Rose
No tab. | Keep after it. | “I Don’t Know” | “The Weary Kind”

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)

Nicolas Cage gives a singular performance as a wonderfully unhinged cop investigating a multiple homicide. His personal life is a high-wire balancing act — Vicodin, cocaine, prostitute girlfriend and gambling on college football.

d: Werner Herzog | imdb.com | trailer