The Informant!

It's not the acts of espionage in "The Informant!" that are funny, but the bland, unromantic places in which they occur. When you see "Springfield, IL" pop up urgently in bold, demanding letters across the screen, your first instinct is to laugh. In that sense, director Steven Soderbergh has succeeded. His goal is to deromanticize the corporate thriller genre with a comic spirit, revealing how bureaucratic and "uncool" (for lack of a better term) the business of spying can be. He aims to show you that corporate corruption and espionage are very real and occuring all around you, not only in the exotic locales of James Bond films, but in shabby offices across your city.

Matt Damon, in a career-high performance, stars as Mark Whitacre, the real-life whistleblower behind ADM's lysine price-fixing scandal of the 90s. In the film, Whitacre is a bit of a child: wide-eyed, extremely sensitive, self-absorbed. However, Damon and Soderbergh do not simply mock him. They give him virtually the same treatment Oliver Stone gave George W. Bush in his biopic, "W." That is, they only gently poke fun, showing genuine affection for him beneath their humorous jabs. In their hands, Whitacre is never unlikable. This is due in large part to the endearing innocence Damon brings to the character. Late in the film, when FBI agent Brian Shepard (Scott Bakula) asks Whitacre why he keeps lying, you truly believe Damon when he simply, sadly says in his mind, "I don't know."It's an intimate, poignant moment. This is not a throwaway comedy like some critics are calling it. There is truth and raw emotion behind the humor.

Many other scenes of this film are still swimming around in my head. I'm still in awe of the acting as well. Not only from Damon, but Bakula, Joel McHale, Tom Papa, and Tony Hale to name a few. The casting is simply perfect. Everyone fits their role so naturally and convincingly. I couldn't imagine any other actors playing these parts.

This film is not Oscar bait. It's not a searing legal thriller in the vein of "Michael Clayton" or "The Insider." It's not a slick depiction of sharks in suits. That's why I love it, though.

QUESTION

Does anyone read this blog? Just curious. I want to make sure that I am not just ranting to myself with these entries.

Quick Reviews

I'm trying to catch up, so here are some capsule reviews of the latest films...

"9"- A post-apocalyptic tale chronicling the adventures of a group of small, burlap sock puppet robots. This film is very original yet familiar, evoking H.G. Wells, tin-pot Isaac Asimov, and Max Fleischer's 1940s Superman cartoons. Like its main characters, 9 is stitched out of old scraps yet emerges as something unlike anything you've seen before.

"Inglourious Basterds"- It might not be his masterpiece, but this is definitely Quentin Tarantino's tensest film. He proves himself as a master of suspense with the first chapter alone, "Once Upon a Time in Nazi-Occupied Frace." The ominous high-pitched strings on the soundtrack, the quiet tension between the characters, the overwhelming sense of dread. It is a scene of Hitchcockian power. Few of the following scenes are quite as effective, but the film is engrossing nonetheless. Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Melanie Laurent, and especially Christoph Waltz deliver very charismatic, complex performances in this exuberant World War II epic.

"Taking Woodstock"- This is not a sweeping historical drama about the revolutionary 1969 concert that united the nation. That does not mean the film is bad, though. Far from it. Its meandering, minimalist style is refreshingly subversive. It also charms with a quiet, subtle performance from Demetri Martin as the unlikely helm of the legendary concert, Eliot Tiber.
The film succeeds as a quiet journey through a loud and turbulent era.

"Shrink"- A refreshingly sympathetic satire of Hollywood and the eccentric souls that keep it alive. Kevin Spacey stars as a Tinseltown psychiatrist struggling to help himself and his patients. Screenwriter Thomas Moffett and director Jonas Pate never simply mock these characters. This is evident in an indelible scene wherein two actors (played by Jack Huston and Robin Williams) ramble inappropriately during a press junket. Underneath the humor of this moment, we see their exhaustion, their struggle to remain enthusiastic about a career that never allows them to be their true selves. Thankfully, the rest of the film is just like this scene: intimately poignant.

Exciting Update

I have some exciting news-- I've started writing for NUVO Magazine and I couldn't be happier. I'll be writing movie reviews and various news stories about new films and I am thrilled. I normally don't like to pat myself on the back, but I am so excited about this, I just had to share it. Here are my first two NUVO articles...

'Shrink': New film, old school marketing (http://www.nuvo.net/entertainment/article/shrink-new-film-old-school-marketing)

You could tell in his voice that he was nervous. Nervous for his film. Nervous about the crowds at the Keystone Art Cinema awaiting him with questions. Perhaps most of all, screenwriter Thomas Moffett was nervous this past Friday and Saturday night during the Q and A for his new film, Shrink because, despite attracting an impressive cast, he is not a big-ticket filmmaker. Not yet, anyway.

A mere few years ago, he was just another Indiana kid, raised in West Lafayette, who dreamed of being a storyteller. He shows incredible promise with Shrink. But the film needs help getting seen.

You’d think Academy Award winning actors Kevin Spacey and Robin Williams would make it an easy sell. Being an independent film, however, Shrink cannot afford an advertising campaign and the filmmakers are therefore relying on word of mouth. They shouldn’t have to worry for long. Shrink is bound to provoke plenty of discussion.

Spacey stars as a Hollywood psychiatrist struggling to help his patients while coping with his own problems. The deft, vivid portrait of Tinseltown and the intimacy the film has with its show biz characters is surprising considering screenwriter Moffett is not from Hollywood. Then again, the characters’ conflicts often transcend Hollywood issues. Moffett explained that this was his intention. He said, “I'm not a Hollywood insider by any means. I live in New York. I just wanted to write a film about people with problems. Hollywood magnifies their problems because everything is under more scrutiny there, but my goal was to create characters that the audience would connect with. I think that with some adjustments, you could put the characters in any town.” Moffett has achieved his goal. The key strength of the film is its universally appealing characters. Spacey’s performance is particularly compelling.

Moffett agrees that Spacey’s performance is powerful and will attract people to the film. He elaborated, “There is a vulnerability and an intimacy to his performance which is incredibly moving for me to watch, not only as the writer, but as a member of the audience.”

Shrink is a great little film [see review on page 28]. It just needs a push. As Moffett explained, money is and always will be the biggest obstacle in independent filmmaking and Shrink simply cannot afford a marketing campaign. It’s currently playing at the Keystone Art Cinema. So, as Moffett stressed at the end of his Q and A, “tell your friends, tell your family, tell everyone you know to see it.”

'Shrink' will continue its run at Landmark Theatres in the Fashion Mall: http://www.landmarktheatres.com/.

"Shrink" Quick Review...

NUVO Rates it: 4 out of 5 stars

Shrink is a refreshingly sympathetic satire of Hollywood and the eccentric souls that keep it alive. Kevin Spacey stars as a Tinseltown psychiatrist struggling to help himself and his patients. Screenwriter Thomas Moffett and director Jonas Pate never mock these characters. This is evident in an indelible scene wherein two actors (played by Jack Huston and Robin Williams) ramble inappropriately during a press junket. Underneath the humor of this moment, we see their exhaustion, their struggle to remain enthusiastic about a career that never allows them to be their true selves. Thankfully, the rest of the film is just like this scene: intimately poignant. 106 minutes. http://www.nuvo.net/entertainment/article/quick-movie-review-shrink