I don't know if that's necessarily true. I admit I haven't been watching films consistently for very long (year and a half now) but still, I don't see why you have to dislike them. I mean, not everything is or is meant to be a master-piece. I think if you evaluate terms on their own terms, you'll find them a lot more enjoyable. that just my humble opinion though.

Too much Russell Crowe.


...that's my main criticism of this movie. Now... don't get me wrong - - I've been a big fan (3:10 To Yuma, Cinderella Man), but there's certain roles where Russell Crowe just seems like a big fat ham. This is one of them. Yow.

Yeah, I know the movie is written around that role, and that the screenplay is pretty darn good - - but there's just no escaping the fact, that I would have loved to see bigger roles for all the other lead players (ie: Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jason Bateman, and Jeff Daniels). What a firecracker that woulda been!

But as it stands, all this talent swirls around Russell Crowe in full black hole acting mode. There's no hope of breaking free of his awe full gravity.

I guess State of Play was an okay movie.

out of

I agree, but give it a few years... I've been watching the 125-150 yearly releases for the past five years and like I said, just recently found it more and more difficult to enjoy films like i use to. When you watch movies as a way of life instead of just a casual hobby to, it changes the circumstances. Its not that I don't like most of the films, its just there are fewer and fewer that become memorable.

I've been watching that number of new movies every year for more than a few years, and I often get accused around here for loving too many of them. I have commented many times on how lucky we are to have such a bounty of great movies to enjoy that I have trouble limiting myself to just a top ten list at the end of the year.

Unfortunately, none of this in any way makes State Of Play a great movie.

If its affecting your ability to review films, maybe its time to pass the Nevada Sagebrush baton. You're what, 19, 20? If you're burned-out now, imagine what happens when you actually start watching ALOT of movies.

Hummm... Thats the problem though, I love what I do too much to let it go. I wouldn't say its affecting my ability to review films as long as I continue to improve upon my writing. Im sorry Loyal, but you're probably going to be seeing my reviews for a long time to come

I will just say one thing, as a movie goer who reads critics reviews as advice on which movie to see, I truly think that the major problems with critics is that they get on a pedestal and think that any movie which isn't absolutely brilliant or perfectly produced is trash. I disagree with critics very frequently but it's almost always me saying that a movie is good and them claiming it's crap. This is not just directed at you, but at critics in general, I think the reason the public pays so little attention any more is that critics simply disapprove of too many movies that are actually worth seeing.

Can't say i disagree with you there... The sad thing is though that most really great critics are expressing their honest and educated opinion and get little attention. Critics like Lyons and other quote whores that seem to go along and like a good share of movies are most likely selling out more than anything else. But yeah, that is the reason, the professional film criticism is dying. As movies get dumbed down more and more to sell to what studios know what will sell, critics in general aren't changing with the times because we know better can be produced. If we weren't being completely honest, there would be no need for us. But yeah, we're way off topic here now. State of Play is a semi-great movie and I wish more would come out like it.

interesting story, good acting (some great acting and some meh acting combined), fine direction, some cool music selections, a solid conclusion, and a terrific closing credits sequence. Good stuff.

B

Dumb last ten minutes, but outside of that it's a smart, confident, easy-to-like movie. I had a lot of fun. I get the impression that Kevin MacDonald is probably a pretty good filmmaker.

State of Play is little more than a generic thriller trying but failing to be a little more important or interesting than it actually is.

Acting is all over the map. Russell Crowe I think is the best part of the movie, though at times I felt like he was doing a Big Lebowski impersonation. Rachel McAdams tries, but has little more to do than be a sidekick who advances the plot when Crowe has been on-screen too much. Ben Affleck is overly weepy and forlorn the entire time, which makes the "twist" all the more obvious. Helen Mirren is completely one-note as the old crotchety bat who curses repeatedly at her underlings, while Jason Bateman provides some actual comic relief but seems to be in another film altogether. I forgot about Robin Wright Penn, which is easy to do.

Plotholes abound, the entire premise that someone could get pushed in front of a subway train in the middle of rush hour yet there is not a single witness or security footage is really an insane stretch of the imagination. The parking garage chase scene ended up having nothing to do with anything, but a lot of the movie ended up being red herrings in an effort to keep the viewer guessing.

The pace is brisk and it's certainly not torturous to sit through but we've seen this done before a million times, and done much better. Too bad. C+

A few loose ends but I can forgive them because this film was very entertaining.

B+

B film.
It's meh. Seen much better and the plotholes became more and more obvious.
No one saw her being pushed? The police are incompetent to the maximum?
The sniper fellow kills everyone yet waits forever to kill Crowe?
It's not boring like the International but it's not very exciting like Inside Man or funny like Duplicity.
Body of Lies wasn't a very good film either though I love anticipating films like these.
Anyhow Crowe's acting wasn't very good. Affleck has a terrible performance.
Also seems standard for some strange reason. So yup, nothing to write home about.

By the way Savage, what you've said here in this thread is true though months on I wonder if you still stand by it?

Yes, the movie was pretty great but the final twist was just too much. I would have loved if this movie ended 10 minutes earlier. I'm usually not that into movies like this but I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and Bateman's 'cameo' was great. The rest of the cast was very solid too but no one really stood out.

B+ (would have been A- without the final twist)

STATE OF PLAY - 8/10 (A-)

A terrific dramatic thriller. Rachel McAdams and Russell Crowe are great. As is Helen Mirren, but she's not in it as much. I was a little worried I was falling out of love with Rachel after "The Time Traveler's Wife," but after watching this I know I was worried for nothing.

Solid thriller until the final twist, which nearly ruins the entire thing. Still, it's pretty good, with some great performances.