A BETTER LIFE (director: Chris Weitz; screenwriters: Eric
Eason/based on a story by Roger L. Simon; cinematographer:
Javier Aguirresarobe; editor: Peter Lambert; music: Alexandre
Desplat; cast: Demian Bichir (Carlos Galindo), José Julián (Luis
Galindo), Dolores Heredia (Anita), Joaquín Cosío (Blasco
Martinez), Chelsea Rendon (Ruthie Valdez), Nancy Lenehan (Mrs.
Donnelly), Tim Griffin (Juvie Officer), Carlos Linares
(Santiago); Runtime: 98; MPAA Rating: PG-13; producers: Paul
Junger Witt/Christian McLaughlin/Mr. Weitz/Jami Gertz/Stacey
Lubliner; Summit Entertainment; 2011)  "A sympathetic tale about
an illegal Mexican."  Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz   Chris Weitz
("About a Boy"/"The Golden Compass"/"The Twilight Saga: New
Moon"), of Mexican ancestry, directs a sympathetic tale about an
illegal Mexican single dad, Carlos Galindo (Demian Bichir),
struggling to make a better life in East LA as a gardener and to
keep his sullen street-savvy teenage son Luis Galindo (José
Julián), conflicted about joining a local Me