THE GHOSTWRITER

I had read some pretty good reviews about this film from one of the movie websites I frequent (www.firstshowing.net), and I had nothing else in the Netflix queue that I really wanted to see, so I figured I'd give this one a whirl.  I also love Ewan McGregor and mystery movies, so I guess it was really a no-brainer that I'd eventually see this. 

In one of the my favorite details of the film, Ewan McGregor plays a writer who we only know as The Ghost.  He doesn't have a name, but it's his job to help ghostwrite former British Prime Minister Adam Lang's (Pierce Brosnan) memoirs.  Lang's prior ghostwriter washed ashore dead after working on the book, so McGregor is brought in to finish the job.  Unfortunately for McGregor, before he even makes it to Lang's house, Lang is brought under fire by the media for possible war crimes, giving the entire ordeal the feel of a three-ring circus, all the while making McGregor's difficult job nearly impossible.

Of course, McGregor unearths more than he bargained for, and ends up fearing for his own life, and in the middle of a possible far reaching conspiracy.  The movie ends with a few tricks up it's sleeve, causing me to actually say, out loud, 'Whoa!' at one point near the end (Did NOT see that one coming). 

McGregor is again very good, but Kim Cattrall seems miscast to me here, and although Pierce Brosnan is the subject of the memoirs, he doesn't have nearly as much screen time as one would expect.  One interesting note is that Roman Polanski, who directed the film, actually finished the movie while in a Swiss prison, serving time for a decades-old sex with a minor charge.

This was pretty good.  I understand it's not for everyone, as it contains very little action, and is filled with red herrings and misinformation.  I'll stop short of recommending it, but I don't feel like I wasted my time.  3 out of 5 stars. 

DATE NIGHT

Steve Carell? Love him.  Can't get enough Michael Scott.  Tina Fey?  Love her.  30 Rock is my favorite show on TV and SNL is relevant again thanks to her.  Steve Carell and Tina Fey together in a preposterous movie that feels like a long, inside joke between friends?  Truly, truly terrible.........

This felt like about a half of a step up from one of those SNL skits that becomes an actual movie (It's Pat, Ladies Man, Superstar, etc....).  The movie is packed, PACKED with random cameos that are undoubtedly just friends of Carell and Fey and got stuck into the movie (James Franco, Mila Kunis, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wigg, Leighton Meester, Common, Olivia Munn, Will-I-Am).  Only Mark Wahlberg has an extended role, looking his Marky-Mark and the Funky Bunch best sans shirt the entire time. 

The whole movie feels contrived, stale, and just plain stupid.  The series of events that lead Carell and Fey to the climax of the movie make horror movie bimbo's look smart in comparison.  I have no problem buying into a ridiculous movie if the leads are supposed to be utterly stupid (Dumb and Dumber), but a grown, married couple who are parents of 2 children and live in a nice suburb, cannot POSSIBLY be this stupid. 

I know I may be in the minority in feeling so, especially as the film has made nearly $150MM worldwide to date, but I really disliked this movie.  This is a movie that caters to the lowest common denominator.  In fact, my DVD stopped working with about 30 minutes left, and I nearly didn't care enough to try it in a different DVD player to make it the ending.  I did, and I watched, and felt stupider for doing so.  1 out of 5 stars.

GREEN ZONE

Green Zone is an Iraqi War movie starring Matt Damon. Damon plays Roy Miller, a Chief Warrant Officer and head of a group of soldiers who are sent on WMD-finding missions through Iraq.  Basically, Damon's crew comes up empty at spot after spot, finding no WMD's anywhere, leading to Miller to question whether there are any WMD's to found at all.  Brendan Gleeson (the big guy from In Bruges) and Greg Kinnear also star in the movie, along with Amy Ryan, who I couldn't get out of my head as Michael Scott's girlfriend Holly from The Office.

This is far more of a political movie, rather than a 'war' movie.  If you believe that we were lead into this war under the false assumption, or flat out lie, that there were WMD's in Iraq, then this is the movie for you.  Personally, I could care less what some movie that's so heavy-handed is trying to tell me.

Long story short, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't very good either.  In an earlier post, I described how I appreciate when a movie can make you 'feel' something - anything.  This was the opposite of that kind of movie.  I basically just didn't care.  It was ok, but if you lived your whole life without ever seeing this film, trust me, no big deal....  2.5 out of 5 stars.