Movie Review Stuck on You

Stuck on You (2003) 

Directed by The Farrelly Brothers 

Written by The Farrelly Brothers

Starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Cher, Eva Mendes, Seymour Cassell, Dane Cook, Lin Shaye, Bella Thorne 

Release Date December 12th, 2003

Published December 11th, 2003 

The Farrelly Brothers signature had always been juvenile grossout humor tinged with sweetness. With Shallow Hal, they seemed somewhat tame in the gross stuff. Now with their latest film Stuck On You, they seem to have moved beyond the grossout humor completely. What's really surprising however is that they prove just how much they don't need it anymore. This funny, sweet and unusual comedy about conjoined twins is some of the best work the Brothers have done since There's Something About Mary.

Walt (Greg Kinnear) and Bob (Matt Damon) were born attached by a single liver so dangerously small that doctors don't believe they can be separated. Thus the two have gone through life together playing sports, dating and running a restaurant on Martha's Vineyard where friends and family have come to completely accept the boys as they are.

Walt has recently become restless. His ambition has always been to be an actor and his one man shows at the community theater have all been well reviewed, even as poor Bob suffered from severe stage fright. Walt wishes to go to Hollywood and despite his reservations, Bob finally relents. The two leave behind their comfortable surroundings for the big city and Walt's shot at the big time.

Once in Hollywood it's not long until Walt hits the big time with a role opposite Cher on a CSI-esque show. All is not as it seems however, as Cher has hand selected Walt to be on the show in hopes that his being a conjoined twin will get the show canceled. Much to Cher's dismay, Walt turns out to be a hit and the producers find it easy to hide Bob behind props and with special effects. Even after their secret gets out, Walt becomes an even bigger hit.

As for Walt, moving to Los Angeles offers him the chance to meet his internet pen pal May (Wenn Yann Shih) who does not know he is conjoined. This leads to rather obvious jokes as Walt and Bob date May, with the help of an actress friend from their apartment complex April (Eva Mendes) coming along as Walt's date. The joke is obvious but the actors play it so well that it's easy to overlook that.

Naturally the subjects of surgery to separate themselves come up and these scenes are really terrific. I love how the film explains the age difference between Kinnear and Damon along with various other physiological complications. All of it handled without falling back on grossout humor but with the Farrelly Brothers other signature, sweet-natured ridiculousness. Both Bob and Walt are typical, delightfully clueless Farrelly characters who can't imagine why anyone would find them unusual.

The cast is terrific from top to bottom. Kinnear and Damon have a terrific chemistry with Damon really surprising us with his comic talent. You expect Kinnear to have great comic timing as he showed on TV's Talk Soup and the movie Sabrina. For Damon however, though he showed terrific humility in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, this is his first full-length comedic performance and I was surprised how well he pulled it off.

The supporting cast is every bit the equal of the leads with Eva Mendes really standing out. Her bubble-headed actress April provides some of the biggest laughs of the film with her ditzy reactions to the twins’ condition. The way she just thinks that the twins being connected is totally natural is priceless and part of the film’s charm. Cher is also good, perfectly willing to make herself the joke in what is her biggest acting role in a while. Watch out for a pair of terrific cameos as well, Meryl Streep shows up near the end and brings the house down.

The film is not as funny as Kingpin or as sweet as There's Something About Mary but Stuck On You proves that with or without shocking the audience with sight gags, the Farrelly brothers are just plain funny.

Movie Review Stolen Summer

Stolen Summer (2002) 

Directed by Pete Jones 

Written by Pete Jones 

Starring Aidan Quinn, Bonnie Hunt, Kevin Pollak, Brian Dennehy 

Release Date March 22nd, 2002 

Published November 14th, 2002 

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Project Greenlight attempted to combine the reality TV genre with the art of filmmaking and the result was Pete Jones's childhood drama `` Stolen Summer. But was Project Greenlight a success?

The film stars previously unknown child actor Adiel Stein as Pete O'Malley, a misguided second grader who is concerned that he won't get into heaven. So Pete sets out on a quest and after he finds out that the Jewish people in his neighborhood weren't interested in being saved he sets about trying to convert them. Pete's theory is if he can help Jews get to heaven he can get himself in. So Pete sets up a lemonade stand outside the local synagogue to give away lemonade and talk about heaven. The Rabbi of the synagogue is Rabbi Jacobsen (Kevin Pollak) who finds Pete to be a little curious and after speaking to him takes to the odd little boy. Rather than being upset by the boy or trying in vain to explain the Jewish faith he simply accepts the kid's quest and figures he'll grow out of it.=

Aiden Quinn plays Pete's domineering father Joe who doesn't have time to keep track of what Pete's doing, with his job and seven other children. Pete's mother (Bonnie Hunt) is tolerant of it as long as he doesn't get in trouble. After a fire at the Jacobsen home where Joe saves the Rabbi's son Danny (MIke Weinberg), Pete strikes up a friendship with Danny while Rabbi Jacobsen seeks a way to repay Joe for saving his son. 

We quickly learn there is something wrong with Danny and it's revealed that he has leukemia, for Pete this means he has to find a quick way to get his friend into heaven. Since neither knows anything about religious conversion they agree on a series of athletic events, swimming, running and the like. Meanwhile Rabbi Jacobsen wants to pay back Joe's good deed by awarding Joe's oldest son Patrick (American Pie's Eddie Kaye Thomas) a college scholarship from the synagogue. Joe's pride however will not allow him to accept it to the great dismay of his son and his wife. Does Joe's pigheadedness come from anti-Semitism or just pride, we aren't certain.

So this is it, this is the best material of all the 7500 plus screenplays submitted. This is the one. It's not a bad screenplay, but it's not great either. The film has the feeling of a better than average TV movie. It is certainly not as interesting as the documentary of the film's creation which aired on HBO. The series Project Greenlight had all the best and worst elements of reality TV, short of having people voted off the set. The film Stolen Summer has none of that intrigue or passion. A production so fraught with drama should produce a better film than a movie that could fit easily into the wonderful world of Disney.

I will say this for Pete Jones and his crew, Stolen Summer is a technically solid film. The acting is sharp amongst the older actors, Pollak especially. Hunt and Quinn could do this material in their sleep, and to their credit they stay awake and give strong performances. Watching Aiden Quinn in Stolen Summer does make you long for the jerk he showed himself to be behind the scenes, the bravado, the backstabbing, the "why in the hell am I here?"

In the end the film is swallowed by the TV series and rather than watching Stolen Summer, audience members spend most of the film searching for the cracks in the armor that were obvious in the making of the documentary. We watched the film's one special effects scene to see if it turned out better than it did on TV. We watched the scene with the kids swimming knowing that it took forever to shoot and that the kids were freezing cold. The audience is unable to separate the film and its production and thus the film gets lost.

Movie Review The Adjustment Bureau

The Adjustment Bureau (2011) 

Directed by George Nolfi 

Written by George Nolfi 

Starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Terence Stamp 

Release Date March 4th, 2011

Published March 3rd, 2011 

Fate versus free will is the debate at the heart of “The Adjustment Bureau,” or so the movie wants you to believe. There is little ambiguity about the side the film comes down on: Both Sides. Surprise! A mainstream entertainment that tries to be all things to all sides; hey taking a side might cost a potential ticket buyer.

As irksome as the compromised plot of “The Adjustment Bureau” is, I can't stay mad at the movie because the makers placed Matt Damon and Emily Blunt at the center of their faux conflict. Damon and Blunt have such wonderful, unforced romantic chemistry that “The Adjustment Bureau” adjusts from a bad idea to a not terrible bit of romantic goofery.

Matt Damon stars in “The Adjustment Bureau” as Congressman David Norris, a rising star and bad boy Democrat. We meet David as he is running for Senate from the great state of New York and falling victim to one of the lamest scandals ever to befall a politician, especially one from New York.

With his campaign derailed, David is preparing his concession speech in a hotel men's room when he meets Elise (Blunt), hiding out in said men's room to avoid hotel security. She hears much of David's lame speech and unintentionally nudges him toward something slightly more genuine.

What we see of the speech doesn't really warrant the political superstardom the movie claims for David but maybe the better stuff is on the editing room floor. It doesn't really matter, the film's depiction of politics is not central to the plot which really kicks in after David takes a private sector gig, working for his pal Charlie (Michael Kelly).

Men in hats played by Anthony Mackie and Mad Men's John Slattery have been shadowing David since we met him and after he loses they step in to inform us that David has to have his path adjusted. It will be Mackie's job to slow David down on his way to work so an adjustment can be made at work. When that slowdown doesn't happen, David winds up meeting Elise again and his path gets out of control.

The man in charge or the Chairman or God or whatever, doesn't want David and Elise together; it's not part of David's life plan which may or may not involve the Presidency. Should David choose to continue pursuing Elise he will be lobotomized and the process will begin all over again, just with someone other than David.

Unfortunately, David's attraction to Elise is more powerful than the threat to becoming President or potential frontal lobe dismemberment. He chases her down and when one of the adjusters decides to help him out, plans begin to diverge toward chaos.

The ideas in “The Adjustment Bureau” are interesting but they are not all that well explored. The film is based, not surprisingly, on a short story by Phillip K. Dick which explored the theme of fate versus free will in a more thorough and concise manner in a much shorter amount of time.

Writer-director George Nolfi appreciates the ideas of Dick's story but his movie doesn't really explore the themes. Instead, we get a lot of chase scenes and scenes between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt that do well to distract us and then scenes with Damon and Anthony Mackie that remind us that the movie isn't very good.

Nothing against Mackie, it's not his fault that his character is more functionary than character. The same goes for John Slattery and Terrence Stamp who don't so much have character arcs as spots they have to hit in order to throw a wrench in Damon's plans. That wouldn't be so bad if they at least had interesting things to say, maybe if they were funny or brought any real energy to their work. 

But no, these adjuster characters have few emotions beyond being tired from their ungodly workload; there are several billion people with paths to adjust. Their dialogue is mostly expository with Mackie coming off, at times, like he has one of those videogame bubbles over his head in order to illustrate the instructions Damon must have for his next move in the game. 

Now, it sounds like I hated “The Adjustment Bureau” but I don't. Despite the major plot issues I walked out of “The Adjustment Bureau” smiling thanks to stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Damon is at his charismatic best investing David Norris with the oily charm of a politician and the ability to convert genuinely into an average guy. 

When Damon is opposite the beautiful Ms. Blunt his eyes light and the whole movie seems to perk up. Emily Blunt has that essential quality of a star ingenue; beauty combined with that something behind the eyes that holds an audience in rapt attention to whatever she is trying to communicate. These two brilliant people together are irresistible and when the rest of the plot gets out of their way, it works. 

Is that really enough to recommend “The Adjustment Bureau?” Well, for me it is. It's hard to say whether this appeal will be there for all audiences; fair to guess that many people will be so disappointed with the failed sci-fi plot that they can't like the movie. For me, Damon and Blunt are worth the price of a ticket and in the future, easily worth a look at the Redbox.

Movie Review Ocean's 13

Ocean's 13 (2007) 

Directed by Steven Soderbergh 

Written by Brian Koppelman, David Levien 

Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin 

Release Date June 8th, 2007 

Published June 7th, 2007 

The breezy filmed cocktail party atmosphere of the first two Ocean's pictures continues to charm in Ocean's 13. However, even as the stars remain witty and charismatic and director Steven Soderbergh's direction becomes more confident and experimental, there is a fatigued quality setting in. Like a party beginning to wind down, Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta Jones have already left, Ocean's 13 has drifted late into the night and it's time to lock the doors and send everyone home. But, hey, we did have a good time.

Al Pacino sets the plot of Ocean's 13 in motion as a jerky hotel financier named Willy Bank. Having entered into a deal with our old friend Reuben (Elliott Gould) to open the biggest new resort on the strip, Willy has decided to renege on the deal. Reuben is out, his steak of several million dollars is gone, but mostly he has lost his pride. Not long after Willy rips him off, Reuben has a heart attack that leads to severe depression and a nearly comatose state.

Enter Reuben's old pals Danny (George Clooney) Rusty (Brad Pitt) and Linus (Matt Damon) seeking vengeance. Reuben was a surrogate father to Rusty and Danny and after helping the Ocean's crew in each of their largest ventures, Reuben is family and so the plan is set in motion to ruin the casino and find a way for Reuben to get his cash back.

The plot set in motion is... complicated. It involves kidnapping a group of high roller gamblers, putting down a workers revolt in Mexico, and generating an Earthquake in Nevada. If that isn't complicated enough, how about throwing in Super Dave Osbourne as an FBI agent ready to throw the whole scheme into uproar, seeming to trip his way into Danny and Rusty's deeply complicated con. 

Director Steven Soderbergh is one of the busiest, most involved directors in the game. Even in the slick trifle that is Ocean's 13; Soderbergh not only directs, he slaps the camera on his shoulder and shoots the picture (the credits say Peter Andrews but that is just Steven Soderbergh's alias). Soderbergh is also the executive producer on the film and is seemingly involved in every aspect of the film down to the dice chosen for a pivotal scene.

It is Soderbergh's attention to detail that keeps this bloated cast party from becoming just a star vehicle. Don't get me wrong, this is still predominantly a star vehicle, but Soderbergh's herculean efforts lend the production a little artistic credibility.The film doesn't need it but it doesn't hurt to have it. Soderbergh crafts a dynamic look for Ocean's 13 that is perfectly fitting of the Vegas setting. It's what he's done throughout this franchise but it remains a notably positive element. 

Ocean's 13 is a charm factory. The glint in the eyes of this group of actors is why we turn out and why we have such a good time. When Clooney, Pitt, Damon and the gang are obviously having a great time the vibe is infectious and it radiates from the screen. Whether it's Pitt and Clooney's clowning on one another or the way Matt Damon is very much the little brother of the three, we can't help but feel like we are being let into the inner circle of our favorite stars, even for just a moment.

It's unfortunate that neither Julia Roberts or Catherine Zeta Jones could not stick around for the end of the extended cocktail party that are the Ocean's movies. Those knockout stars are replaced in Ocean's 13 by Ellen Barkin, a beautiful actress whose career has languished in B-movie leads the last few years. Reunited with her Sea Of Love co-star Al Pacino, Barkin's role is sadly underwritten and she plays things overly broad to cover.

As for Mr. Pacino; he seems invigorated by this role. He gets into the spirit right away with good humor and quick wit. If only his casino owner character were a more formidable foe for Danny and company. Despite what we are told is the most sophisticated security system in the world, Willy Bank's casino gets knocked over by the most outlandish scheme imaginable. It reduces Pacino's villain to merely a plot hanger, a reason why things happen and little more. 

Keep in mind however, dear reader, the scheme is not the point of Ocean's 13. Rather, the heist just provides the setting for the charm assault of this exceptional group of actors. Whether it's Casey Affleck and Scott Caan leading a worker revolt in Mexico or Bernie Mac flashing that sneaky bright white smile undercover as a domino dealer, every actor in the Ocean's crew has at least a moment where they delight the audience. And then there is David Paymer as a Hotel critic who gets wrapped up in the Ocean's 13 scheme. Keep an eye on him because his few moments of sad sack humor are priceless. Paymer is a small but welcome addition to the Ocean's canon. 

Ocean's 13 is yet another superfluous, throwaway blockbuster; entertaining in exactly the ways that all throwaway blockbusters are. Perfectly aware of its charm and good looks, Ocean's 13 proceeds from one scene to the next with supreme confidence and great humor. The good vibes are infectious and while you are unlikely to remember much of what you saw later, you will be entertained in the moment and with this kind of blockbuster, that's all you can ask.

Movie Review Syriana

Syriana (2005) 

Directed by Stephen Gaghan 

Written by Stephen Gaghan 

Starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, Amanda Peet, Tim Blake Nelson

Release Date November 23rd, 2005 

Published November 22nd, 2005 

2005 has been an extraordinary year for George Clooney. His second directorial effort Good Night and Good Luck, a film about the pitched battle between newsman Edward R. Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy, has been lauded by critics for its intellect and social relevance. Both Good Night and Good Luck and Clooney's latest acting effort Syriana are awards contenders with Clooney likely competing against himself as a supporting player in both films. In Syriana, Clooney is part of one of maybe a dozen subplots in a byzantine tale of corruption and futility. An exceptionally thought provoking narrative that is as fascinating as it is depressing.

Describing the plot of Syriana is a somewhat futile task. The complex, non-linear form of the script defies any simplistic description. The film is essentially about how business is done in the oil industry. But the real essence of Syriana is futility. The futility in attempting to stop the madness in the middle east. Futility in attempting to discern the culpability of oil companies in creating the instability of the middle east. And finally the futility of following the myriad of motivations of each of the characters in Syriana.

There is George Clooney's Bob Barnes, a CIA operative in the middle east, who we first meet as he is setting up some potential terrorists in Iran to be killed. Bob is getting older and his colleagues back in Washington are talking about the end of his career. Bob's career, the chance at a cushy desk job, rides on one last task. He must kill a potential new middle eastern king. When that job goes bad, Bob's career is beyond merely being over.

Matt Damon plays Brian Woodman, an oil industry analyst who lands a major new middle eastern client after his own son is killed at a party held by this new client. Naturally, this arrangement does not sit well with Brian's wife (Amanda Peet) who cannot abide profiting from her son's death. This does not deter however as becomes the top economic advisor to his new client. With this client about to become the biggest player in the Middle East, Brian stands to get very rich. This, however, puts Brian's interests at odds with a number of other competing interests.

Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper and Christopher Plummer inhabit another of Syria's many plots. Wright is an ambitious Washington lawyer who lands a gig trying to smooth the way for two major oil companies to merge into the fifth largest company in the world. Cooper is the CEO of one of the two companies, Killen Oil of Houston, Texas, and Christopher Plummer plays Wright's boss whose CIA connections are key in helping the merger succeed.

How these plots intrude on one another only becomes clear well into your post-film analysis. While watching Syriana you are dazzled individually by each plot, even as you have little idea what they mean or where they are headed. It's a rather astonishing film that can leave an audience so bedeviled and at once so fascinated. Syriana is as compelling a film as they come.

Director Steven Gaghan knows a little something about sprawling multi-layered, massively cast epics. It was Gaghan who scripted the Oscar nominated Traffic. Syriana and Traffic are each muckraking cousins in terms of stirring debates on important issues. Traffic is slightly superior in that it somehow feels more complete and its characters' motivations so much clearer. But both films are a testament to Gaghan's talent for complex and meaningful stories. 

When late in Syriana Clooney's CIA agent is chasing through the desert in attempt to save someone's life you cannot figure if it's just dumb luck that landed him in exactly the right spot or just an editing decision that excised the scene that might explain his luck. At one moment he looks lost, the next he is tearing off after exactly the people he's searching for. I say that Clooney's character was trying to save a life, but his motivation may be more ambiguous than that. There are a few more scenes missing from Syriana that might make the narrative clearer but, in the end, they aren't needed. Part of what makes Syriana fascinating is a level of ambiguity left to the audience to consider well after they have watched the film.

Working from a book by former CIA agent Robert Baer called See No Evil, director Steven Gaghan posits that much of the fictional tale of Syriana is based on reality. If this is true, Syriana could rank as one of the more depressing films of the year. Essentially it depicts oil companies, the CIA, and our government as morally bankrupt and completely corrupt. They do business with people in the middle east who are equally as corrupt and often more murderous than us, though we do more than our share of killing. 

Corruption, as illuminated in a quick but resonant speech by Tim Blake Nelson, in a pivotal cameo, is not only necessary, it is simply what we do. Corruption is American foreign policy. It is the cost of doing business, an everyday part of how things move through the Middle East. Both here and abroad corruption is everywhere and you can do nothing about because all of us, no matter how much you may deplore it, benefit from this corruption every day.

The gas you buy so cheaply as compared to other countries is the result of this corrupt system. Most of the products you buy are produced in some way, shape, or form using the oil that is siphoned from middle eastern oil fields. The corruption is inescapable unless you're willing to accept some major new inconveniences and even then you have to find a way to elect people who will put those new inconvenient policies in place, which means working around the corruption in place to hold up the corruption already in place. Good luck with that.

In a way Syriana reminds me of the first amendment documentary Orwell Rolls In His Grave, which details the corruption that has led all of America's communications industries to fall into the hands of a few wealthy elites. The thesis of 'Orwell' was that fighting the battle against the major media is a waste of time because they have all the power. Leaving Orwell I felt pretty hopeless and I had a similar, if slightly less desperate feeling leaving Syriana.

There is something hopeful in just the fact that a movie like Syriana got made. The film shines a light on some things I'm sure those in power would rather not become part of public discourse. That is not to say that Syriana has the power to change the nature of the way we do business in America but it's like the old saying about how people love bacon but no one wants to see how it's made. Syriana shows you just how our American economy is made in all of its gory, blood-soaked, greed-obsessed ways and leaves it to the individual viewers to decide how to live with that information.

Syriana is exceptional in executing its maze of plotting and leaving the audience with questions and feelings that could have a lasting impact. However, if you are looking for a simple movie to pass the time, you might want to look elsewhere. Syriana is not interested in being a simple entertainment. The makers of Syriana are intent on making you think about American foreign policy, about the feelings and interests of our allies, and enemies, and about the dirty business of making money in America. Often disheartening but never boring, Syriana is a powerful film going experience.

Movie Review: Ocean's 11

Ocean's 11 (2001) 

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Written by Ted Griffin 

Starring Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Julia Roberts

Release Date December 7th, 2001 

Published December 8th, 2001 

It's been years since I've seen the original Ocean's 11 starring the Rat Pack and there closest friends, but I can remember the film wasn't so great from the standpoint of filmmaking as art. It was great though as filmmaking from the standpoint of a filmed moment in history, the last gasp of a generation in Hollywood who knew their time to just have a good time was nearly up. The original Oceans 11 can be described as a heist movie but it's not really about the heist it was about how cool the Rat Pack looked pulling off the heist and that worked for me. 

The new Oceans 11 is as much about the heist as it is about how cool the cast, headed up by George Clooney and Brad Pitt, look doing it and for me it didn't work as well. Clooney plays Danny Ocean, a con man fresh from a prison stay in Jersey. He's ready to score and score big, but first he needs a crew. Cut to LA where cardsharp Rusty (Pitt) is showing some young WB stars including, Barry Watson and Josh Jackson, how to play poker for a movie. Enter Danny Ocean setting up a fun scene where the young actors smartly allow Pitt and Clooney to make them look stupid, while Topher Grace from That 70's Show shines with hilariously self-effacing humor.

From there we move to Vegas and filling out the crew with scenes that reminded me of Gone in 60 Seconds, a sort of where are they now ex cons montage. These scenes are slick and humorous but a little too familiar, which seems to be the problem with the whole film. The original Ocean's 11in retrospect has a sort of camp feel to it, of hepcats and martini's and oh yeah there's a movie in there somewhere. Mostly, they're just hanging out and drinking and the plot occasionally interrupts them. 

The new Ocean's 11 struggles with that, it wants to be a hang out and a movie. The new Ocean's 11 wants the atmosphere of cool and gets it for the most part, but it also wants to be a real movie as opposed to the filmed cocktail party that was the original. It's the movie stuff that gets in the way. The plot to take the casino in the original is where the actors hung their hats. In the new version we're given computers and cameras and electronic wizardry and the old video tricks seen many times before in many lesser films. 

On the bright side, the actors pull some of it off with the sheer force of their charm, especially Clooney who has grown into his star status like a comfortable suit. Brad Pitt shows a new side to his persona each time he's onscreen be it Ocean's 11 or an episode of Friends. The film's best performance however, comes from Matt Damon as Linus, the ace pickpocket and late addition to the crew. Damon has made it clear in previous films that he's not comfortable in comedic roles but he really is very funny and has a great scene with Bernie Mac late in this film that was by far my favorite in the film. 

Oh yeah, Julia Roberts is in the movie too. She plays Tess, the arm candy of casino owner Terry Benedict, played by Andy Garcia and she's also Danny's ex wife, thus adding an extra level to the heist but also a convenient way to shoehorn a huge star into a film already overflowing with star power. Roberts isn't given all that much to do, she has a scene with Clooney, set in a hotel lounge very reminiscent of a scene in Out Of Sight which was also directed by Steven Soderbergh and starred Clooney opposite Jennifer Lopez. The scene is well played but the chemistry of Clooney and Roberts pails in comparison to the chemistry of Clooney and Lopez who nearly set the screen on fire with sexual heat. 

The main problem with Ocean's 11 is not its cast, they are all great. It's just all been done before: the heist, the techno trickery, and the Robin Hood heroes. Ocean's 11just isn't very original. I expect more from director Steven Soderbergh. He's a brilliant talent who usually can spice up a genre piece like this with clever ideas. He did that in Out of Sight, a movie with similar goals as Ocean's 11. Sadly, it seems that Soderbergh is coasting on cliches in Ocean's 11 whereas in Out of Sight, he was having fun messing with genre conventions and delighting in what and his cast came up with. 

Movie Review The Informant

The Informant! (2009) 

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Written by Scott Z Burns 

Starring Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel McHale, Melanie Lynskey 

Release Date September 18th, 2009

Published September 17th, 2009 

In Hollywood there are stars and there are actors and rarely do they exist in one. People like Tom Hanks or Paul Newman can claim both mantles. Now, after watching the new comedy The Informant! you can add Matt Damon to that select group. In The Bourne series Damon is a star. In The Informant! Damon is both star and actor as he devilishly deals laughs while melting so perfectly into his role that even his hairpiece is acting.

As Mark Whitacre Damon brings midwestern values to the razor's edge between character and caricature. His portrayal of a corporatized doofus from Decatur of Illinois comes ever so close to an unkind parody of a typical Midwesterner. Thankfully, Damon's deft touch and inexhaustible charm keep things at just the right pitch.

Mark Whitacre worked at ADM, Archer Daniels Midland, one of the leading corn processing companies in the world. He began his career as an agri-scientist before being bumped up to the office. Once out of the lab he never really seemed to acclimate to the office. He was good at accepting a paycheck but when his job is on the line Mark cracks quickly under the pressure.

Hiding it all behind a doofusy grin Mark gets himself in real deep trouble when accusations of corporate dirty tricks lead to the FBI getting involved. Scott Bakula plays the lead FBI Agent assigned to investigate, at first on behalf of ADM then eventually gathering evidence against them. Mark willingly becomes his expert witness. Sensing a chance to play spy, and buff his ego; Mark agrees to wear a wire and gather evidence that his bosses are fixing the price of corn.

The story in The Informant is based on a true story. Mark Whitacre is a real guy who indeed attempted to become a whistleblower only to end up admitting to crimes of his own. The book based on Mark's story is the inspiration for the movie and both are terrifically well told stories.

Steven Soderbergh adapted and directed The Informant! with a touch of the absurd. With a jaunty score by the great Marvin Hamlisch and a comically distracted voiceover by Damon, the oddity of The Informant! perfectly matches the oddity of Mark Whitacre whose bizarre, ever escalating absurdity is matched only by his bizarre ability to remain an affably clueless doofus.

What a remarkable performance by Damon. Truly, an Oscar worthy effort. Damon's Mark Whitacre is, if you can imagine, like a non-animated Ned Flanders from The Simpsons all eager to please pep. He can put a bright spin on almost anything and his upbeat attitude is at once charming and utterly hilarious. By the end of The Informant, Matt Damon is earning laughs with just a raise of his eyebrow.

The supporting cast of The Informant! is at once a terrific assemblage of comic talent and a subliminal in-joke from Director Soderbergh to an educated audience. Soderbergh fills the supporting cast with some of the best stand up comics working today. Joel McHale, Patton Oswalt, Bob Papa, Bob Zany, Paul F. Tompkins among others have roles in The Informant.

By stocking the cast with comics Soderbergh effectively creates a funny by association meta-joke. The Informant! seems funnier just by the sight of so many funny people in the cast. It only works if you are a fan of the world of stand up comics and recognize these guys. If you do, it's an extra giddy thrill in what is already a pretty terrific movie.

Funny, smart, exceptionally well directed and featuring an Oscar level performance by Matt Damon, The Informant! is one of the best movies of the year.