Il potere dei soldi

Thankfully, Gary Oldman can make almost any film bearable and his portrayal here of a ruthless, corrupt CEO is just about the only thing that this derivative movie has going for it. He manages to infuse a one-dimensional character with at least one more dimension.

The script is so full of hackneyed clichés that I felt like I was watching a Dan Brown novel. You have to assume that the writer's entire experience of the corporate world is based on a combination of Occupy Movement manifestos and Oliver Stone movies. Liam Hemsworth has evidently starred in something call the Hunger Games where, I have to assume, he was hired for his looks and not his acting chops.

August is usually the doldrums when it comes to movie releases and this dud simply proves the rule to which Blue Jasmine is the exception.

A thriller about the dark world of tech business giants, with big shot start like Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford, what could go wrong, right? Well, with this movie, almost everything did. It's slow, boring, repetitive and overall just disappointing.

Adam (Liam Hensworth) is a programmer (I think, because character development apparently wasn't a priority in this movie) who gets stuck in the middle of a feud between two tech giants, Wyatt and Goddard, played by Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford. And that's about as deep as the story goes. There's some background as to the rivalry between Wyatt and Goddard and a hard-to-believe love story between Adam and one of Goddard's executives, but overall, the film feels like an unfinished job, with a lot of potential, but no real charm to it.

I've got to accept the movie has some good things worth mentioning. Gary Oldman is great, as expected, in his limited screen time, and the final scenes are actually pretty good, but all in all this was not a good movie, and I would not recommend it.

If you watch this movie because it has Gary Oldman or Harrison Ford, you won't be alone, but you may be in for a disappointment, I'm sorry to say. Firstly they don't have much screen time and the time they do have seems to have been filmed in a hurry with little effort put into it by anyone.

The main character is that of Liam Hemsworth, who plays Adam Cassidy; the best he has going for him is that he a good looking guy. I didn't find the character very convincing, unlike the part of his dad played by Richard Dreyfuss, but his lines might as well have been written on a napkin. What a waste of talent by writer and director here.

What you might like are the fancy cars and great settings as well as the secondary roles of Kevin and Allison, played respectively by Lucas Till and Angela Sarafyan. It's all so sad that a plot, especially the ending, could have been so much more, I could see the possibilities I did not see on screen.

PARANOIA is one of those corporate suspense thrillers about rival businesses, spying, and the like. All of these films seem to owe a debt to WALL STREET in the depiction of fresh-faced newcomers going under the wings of seasoned and cynical professionals.

Sadly, there isn't much to get excited about in PARANOIA, a distinctly average type film. The writing is of bog-standard quality and the most interesting thing about it is the sheer number of familiar faces playing in support: Embeth Davidtz, Julian McMahon, Josh Holloway, even Richard Dreyfuss in a minor put pivotal role. Sadly they have little to do in a storyline that feels devoid of suspense and is really very ordinary.

One of the the film's biggest flaws is in the central casting of the inexperienced Liam Hemsworth. Hemsworth fails to bring any charisma to his part and in fact feels wooden throughout, and certainly out of his depth compared to the seasoned pros surrounding him. On the other hand, there's a nice turn from Gary Oldman who successfully manages to capture some of that fire he had in the 1990s. Harrison Ford looks incredibly old but is pretty good in a cast-against-type role.

With a title like "Paranoia," I expected suspicion, suspense, maybe even a cool chase scene, but this movie not only lacks the characteristics its title suggests, but is really devoid of any depth. It seems to be a vehicle to see Liam Hemsworth shirtless as much as possible, as well as in some gorgeous suits.

Amid a lot of techie razzle-dazzle, the plot is rather thin and predictable and there is absolutely NO character development, except a small amount for Richard Dreyfuss, who seems to be the most interesting character in the movie. It was nice to see him in this role.

Harrison Ford doesn't look good with a shaved head. Reminded me of Mr. Magoo without the glasses.

Not a bad movie, but certainly not a thriller and definitely forgettable