Thursday, May 24, 2018

Man of the Year (2006) PG 13 - 3½ Stars

I do feel that Robin Williams is one of the funniest comedians around. I have never heard anyone who can just ad lib for hours on end and still be funny. Maybe that is why I see most of his movies and find them entertaining. Live he is outstanding and this movie got laughs out of me.

Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) is a popular talk show host speaking his mind about how messed up the nation is. While broadcasting his show, he boasts that he'd make a better president than who's in charge of the White House now. After receiving a warm welcome to his comments, Tom takes the idea to the extreme and along with his following of fans, form a grassroots movement to get his name on the ballot. They rally behind Tom as he speaks whats on his mind. He laughs at the beuaracy swarming around the elected officials and the people find it enlightening to laugh with him, instead of at him. He's giving the people a voice.

Tom doesn't expect to win but a computer voting glitch, gives him the victory. But his first order and most important order of business is to discover if he wants to go back to his microphone, where he is safe and comfortable or stay on the course for the White House.

Universal Pictures
Director: Barry Levinson
Writer: Barry Levinson
Producers:Barry Levinson, David C. Robinson, James G. Robinson
I viewed 3/07

Saturday, May 12, 2018

State of Play (2009) PG13 - 4 Stars

Really enjoyed this intense suspenseful drama with great performances by Crowe, Affleck, McAdams and Mirren. For me, it's one of Crowe's best performances and I also thought Affleck was cast perfectly as Congressman Collins. The story takes many twists and just when you think you have it solved, there's more. It's a "hold-onto-the-edge-of-your-seat" thriller. Crowe gets answers where others can't and the movie does a good job defining the corruption steamed from power, and greed in both corporate and government.

Cal McAffrey, (Russell Crowe), is a journalist for the Washington Globe. He's working on a murder of a homeless man. He arrives on the scene of the crime with coffee in hand in hopes of insider information from detective Donald Bell, (Harry Lennix). Cal has a way of obtaining information that the police aren't even able to find.

U.S. Congressman Stephen Collins, (Ben Affleck), is rising up the corporate ladder very quickly. He's the chairman of a committee that oversees spending habits of the Department of Defense. Sonia Baker, (Maria Thayer), is Collins aide and mistress, and on her way to work falls in front of an oncoming train and is killed. Collins learns of her death just minutes before he's to speak to the committee about his findings of corruption against military contractor, Point Corp. Instead, he tearfully breaks down leading most to believe there is more between these two co-workers.

Junior reporter Della Frye (Rachel McAdams), shows up athe the Globe trying to get information from Cal about Collins. She has learned that the two go way back to college days and figures he can give her the dirt for her blog on the congressman. Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren), editor of the Globe tries to get Cal to make nice with Della but he's insulted by her tabloid intent and refuses.

While Cal is working on the murder story of the night before, Collins shows up with no where else to go. He has to dodge a bullet in the media after Sonia's death as now it looks like a suicide implying killing herself because Collins wouldn't leave his wife. Watching his grand career about to take a dump, Collins asks for advice from a friend from a media point of view.

As Cal looks farther into Sonia's death, he decides to use Della's services and sends her out on tough assignments to prove her worthy of reporting. Together they start to unravel more information that directly connects Senator Fergus (Jeff Daniels), to the corruption at Point Corp as they obtains photos that prove Sonia was pushed onto the tracks in a cover-up.

Awards:
2009 - Australian Film Institute - Best Actor - Russell Crowe


Working Title Films, Universal Pictures
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Writers: Matthew Carnahan, Tony Gilroy, Billy Ray
Producers: Andrew Hauptman, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner