“Cardboard Boxer” (**1/2 out of four) was a heartfelt but limited melodrama about a world-weary homeless man (Thomas Haden Church) struggling to live on the streets and survive and is recruited by a group of rich kids to compete in a fighting contest circuit against other homeless people. Haden Church is outstanding in what may be the best performance of his career and makes this worth watching for at least a few scenes. Film has some pertinent scenes and comments about the plights of the homeless but they’re unfortunately plugged into a story that’s conventional and contrived. For a more raw and powerful look at homeless people trying to survive, watch “The Saint Of Fort Washington”, “The Pursuit Of Happyness”, and “No Place Like Home.”