pauljcurley
jul 2005 se unió
Te damos la bienvenida a nuevo perfil
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Distintivos2
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Reseñas15
Clasificación de pauljcurley
The Informant! is a comedy about a price-fixing investigation in the feed additives industry. Yes, that sounds impossible. But it works -- brilliantly.
Matt Damon stars as Mark Whitacre, a senior executive at Archers Daniels Midland (ADM), who becomes an FBI informant in connection with investigations into ADM's business practices in the early to mid-1990's. Whitacre believes that if he blows the whistle against the bad guys at his company, it will help his career. Needless to say, things don't go exactly as he planned.
Damon's superb acting truly makes the film. As a stocky Midwesterner with a cheesy moustache, Whitacre is, physically, the exact opposite of Damon's action hero Jason Bourne. Rather, Whitacre is square and nerdy, an intense player on the corporate battlefield, and prone to lying to almost everyone. There is something terribly wrong with this dude, but we are not sure what it is.
The real-life Whitacre has actually praised the film, and has even accepted the fact that his ordeals at ADM were turned into a comedy. He acknowledges that his conduct during that time was basically ridiculous, therefore, conducive to being portrayed in a comic light.
In addition to Matt Damon's brilliance, The Informant! also features smaller roles from comedians such as Tom Papa and Patton Oswalt. However, it should be made clear that the comedy is extremely subtle. I am sure that many viewers won't even recognize it as "funny". However, I personally savored the deliciously uncomfortable feelings of almost every scene, as this quietly manic executive gets himself in deeper and deeper trouble.
The only thing I question about this film are the music and titles, which evoke a cheesy 1970's feel. Sure, the goofy music helps turn a potentially boring anti-trust investigation into a light-hearted and wacky affair, however it comes across as anachronistic, considering the events took place in the 1990's. But this is a very minor complaint, outweighed by the amazing writing, acting and directing of this exceptionally intelligent film.
Matt Damon stars as Mark Whitacre, a senior executive at Archers Daniels Midland (ADM), who becomes an FBI informant in connection with investigations into ADM's business practices in the early to mid-1990's. Whitacre believes that if he blows the whistle against the bad guys at his company, it will help his career. Needless to say, things don't go exactly as he planned.
Damon's superb acting truly makes the film. As a stocky Midwesterner with a cheesy moustache, Whitacre is, physically, the exact opposite of Damon's action hero Jason Bourne. Rather, Whitacre is square and nerdy, an intense player on the corporate battlefield, and prone to lying to almost everyone. There is something terribly wrong with this dude, but we are not sure what it is.
The real-life Whitacre has actually praised the film, and has even accepted the fact that his ordeals at ADM were turned into a comedy. He acknowledges that his conduct during that time was basically ridiculous, therefore, conducive to being portrayed in a comic light.
In addition to Matt Damon's brilliance, The Informant! also features smaller roles from comedians such as Tom Papa and Patton Oswalt. However, it should be made clear that the comedy is extremely subtle. I am sure that many viewers won't even recognize it as "funny". However, I personally savored the deliciously uncomfortable feelings of almost every scene, as this quietly manic executive gets himself in deeper and deeper trouble.
The only thing I question about this film are the music and titles, which evoke a cheesy 1970's feel. Sure, the goofy music helps turn a potentially boring anti-trust investigation into a light-hearted and wacky affair, however it comes across as anachronistic, considering the events took place in the 1990's. But this is a very minor complaint, outweighed by the amazing writing, acting and directing of this exceptionally intelligent film.
Greenberg is the story of two hipster / artist / nerds who find each other in LA. The title character (played by Ben Stiller) is 40 and his lover Florence (played by Greta Gerwig) is in her mid-20's. Normally, I recoil at how Hollywood pairs up wrinkly old guys with cute young girls. Speaking as a 41-year old, I can vouch for how unrealistic this is, how 40-somethings and 20-somethings share virtually nothing in common, and how the lack of romantic interest is (more or less) mutual. However, in this film, the relationship actually works.
Greenberg and Florence are both quirky outcasts. Both are involved in music – Greenberg had a semi-successful band in the 1990's, and Florence sings at hipster bars in Silver Lake. Most importantly, Greenberg's mental outlook seems frozen in time – he seems unable to move beyond the day that he ruined the band's chances at a major label record deal, and the band fell apart. It's as if he, too, is still in his 20's in terms of trying to achieve stability and find himself. (However, he is also extremely curmudgeonly for a guy who is emotionally still in his 20's).
The main point of the film is that, since the break-up of the band, Greenberg's life has gone nowhere. His former band-mates and other old friends have moved on, raising families and developing careers outside of music. As Ivan, the former guitarist (now a tech consultant), says: "I learned to embrace the life that I didn't choose". Greenberg hasn't figured out how to do this.
Some IMDb reviewers complain that Stiller's grumpy character is unlikeable (which is true to a certain extent) and that the film is "boring". These reviewers are probably too young or too shallow to appreciate the twists and turns of adult life – how to cope with the fact that you may not realize your childhood dreams, and the challenge of finding new dreams to sustain you as you grow into maturity.
These reviewers probably don't catch the subtle humor and nuances in the film's conversations. In one part of the film, Florence tells Greenberg that "Hurt people hurt people". Later, Greenberg tells her that someone once told him "Hurt people hurt people". He apologizes that this statement might be a little "trite" but he concedes that it's "stuck with me for some reason." He then suddenly realizes that Florence was the one who told him this -- and that it was only a few days ago! His embarrassing faux pas is a result of his relentless focus on himself. He wants to move beyond his own pain, and wants to care about other people. But he is constantly hobbled by his own self-inflicted hurt. By the end of the film we hope that he might someday learn to cope, and learn to embrace the life he didn't choose.
Greenberg and Florence are both quirky outcasts. Both are involved in music – Greenberg had a semi-successful band in the 1990's, and Florence sings at hipster bars in Silver Lake. Most importantly, Greenberg's mental outlook seems frozen in time – he seems unable to move beyond the day that he ruined the band's chances at a major label record deal, and the band fell apart. It's as if he, too, is still in his 20's in terms of trying to achieve stability and find himself. (However, he is also extremely curmudgeonly for a guy who is emotionally still in his 20's).
The main point of the film is that, since the break-up of the band, Greenberg's life has gone nowhere. His former band-mates and other old friends have moved on, raising families and developing careers outside of music. As Ivan, the former guitarist (now a tech consultant), says: "I learned to embrace the life that I didn't choose". Greenberg hasn't figured out how to do this.
Some IMDb reviewers complain that Stiller's grumpy character is unlikeable (which is true to a certain extent) and that the film is "boring". These reviewers are probably too young or too shallow to appreciate the twists and turns of adult life – how to cope with the fact that you may not realize your childhood dreams, and the challenge of finding new dreams to sustain you as you grow into maturity.
These reviewers probably don't catch the subtle humor and nuances in the film's conversations. In one part of the film, Florence tells Greenberg that "Hurt people hurt people". Later, Greenberg tells her that someone once told him "Hurt people hurt people". He apologizes that this statement might be a little "trite" but he concedes that it's "stuck with me for some reason." He then suddenly realizes that Florence was the one who told him this -- and that it was only a few days ago! His embarrassing faux pas is a result of his relentless focus on himself. He wants to move beyond his own pain, and wants to care about other people. But he is constantly hobbled by his own self-inflicted hurt. By the end of the film we hope that he might someday learn to cope, and learn to embrace the life he didn't choose.
I recently stumbled across the name Varian Fry, and was intrigued by the fact that he is one of only 3 Americans to be named "Righteous Among The Nations" by Israel -- which is an award given to non-Jews who saved Jews during the Holocaust. (Such as Oskar Schindler).
When I saw that a movie had been done about his experiences, I decided to rent it, even though it was made-for-TV.
Unfortunately, I don't think this film did justice to the emotional intensity of this period of history, or Fry's remarkable achievements. Fry's real-life story seems like it would be really juicy, but is portrayed in this film without much of the juice.
Right off the bat, I sensed that this was a cheap production. I noticed an extra who was walking in one scene, and then is seated in a wheelchair in another scene. I noticed the same prop (a photo with Joseph Kennedy) used in the background in 2 different offices. Of course, these minor goofs are not important, but they give you a sense of the low-budget flavor.
Ultimately, I give Varian's War a rating of 5 because it is hard to totally destroy this interesting tale, and because there are at least a few decent scenes and moments of genuine emotion. But overall, it lacks the charm, excitement and thrills that I am sure accompanied Varian Fry's actual adventures in France.
By the end of the film, my thirst for knowledge about this heroic American had not been quenched.
When I saw that a movie had been done about his experiences, I decided to rent it, even though it was made-for-TV.
Unfortunately, I don't think this film did justice to the emotional intensity of this period of history, or Fry's remarkable achievements. Fry's real-life story seems like it would be really juicy, but is portrayed in this film without much of the juice.
Right off the bat, I sensed that this was a cheap production. I noticed an extra who was walking in one scene, and then is seated in a wheelchair in another scene. I noticed the same prop (a photo with Joseph Kennedy) used in the background in 2 different offices. Of course, these minor goofs are not important, but they give you a sense of the low-budget flavor.
Ultimately, I give Varian's War a rating of 5 because it is hard to totally destroy this interesting tale, and because there are at least a few decent scenes and moments of genuine emotion. But overall, it lacks the charm, excitement and thrills that I am sure accompanied Varian Fry's actual adventures in France.
By the end of the film, my thirst for knowledge about this heroic American had not been quenched.