O Jornal

There are not too many solid Newspaper stories which ever make it to the silver Screen. Occasionally one does comes along and if it's message is important with respect towards the audience, it deserves attention. Such a movie is, " The Paper ". The star of the movie is Michael Keaton who plays Henry Hackett a city editor who's boss is Bernie White played by noted actor Robert Duvall. Jason Robards is the Publisher, Graham Keighley. Their newspaper is about to print a story about a local derailment, when a small item arrest in Williamsburg NY, inspires Hackett to risk his position and a promotion with 'The Sentinal'' a prestigious uptown Newspaper. There are a number of hurtles to following up on the Williamsburg murder of three prominent bankers who lost several million dollars of the Mafia's money, primary of which is Alicia Clark (Glenn Close) an envious supervisor who is more interested in saving money than the reputations of two black youths. She explains that without more information on the dead men, additional corroboration or a quote by the tight-lipped police, she is running the subway derailment story. Confident he is right, Hackett pulls out all the stops to beat a four hour deadline, attend his wife's (Marisa Tomei) social life, protect his top reporter (Randy Quaid) from a gun-toting parking official (Jason Alexander) and file the story by press time. The movie possess all the exciting impetus of a modern front page story including the daily problems confronting the staff and the personal lives of all concern. The film is powerful in it's direction and will in time be seen as a Journalistic Classic. Easilly recommended for all. ****

I usually find Ron Howard's work a tad self-indulgent - you only have to watch Apollo 13 to know what I mean. However, with this, Ron really delivers a fully watchable film.

There are classic comedy moments - the Glenn Close "I light a cigarette..." line is just brilliant - while also providing true pathos with an excellent performance from Marissa Tomei (a disappointingly under-rated actress in anything she is in - witness her performance in Mel Gibson's otherwise rubbish "Whast Women Want").

I saw this in the cinema, and own it on DVD - it features in my regular rotation, and it doesn't matter how many times I watch it, it is still good viewing. A sign of a classic film is how often one can view it without finding scope for criticism - nothing yet!

'The Paper' is solid entertainment. The film shows the high tension jobs of reporters working in a big city tabloid paper. The plot is rather implausible, but the film has a cracking pace and good performances all round. Michael Keaton is dynamite as the workaholic editor of the paper who's immersed in his job and neglecting his pregnant wife Marisa Tomei. Robert Duvall, Glenn Close and Jason Robards all do well in supporting roles. The ending is full of loop-holes but somehow manages to work. Worth watching for it's energy and fine acting.

Overall 7/10

Ron Howard has assembled an all-star, A-list cast to dramatize a day in the life of a New York City tabloid. And they do a great job of it. Ron Howard is not a director to choose the "edgy" themes, and The Paper is no exception. The main plot focuses on the decision of whether or not to publish a sensational story that the editors and writers suspect is false, but will nonetheless sell lots of papers. This thread is supported by a variety of minor, intertwining stories that weave in and out of the main tale. It's very enjoyable stuff, part drama and part comedy. Ron Howard has made a movie that is just right for that weekend rental for the family.

Great director, great cast, totally unique. Not even on BluRay... WTF???

This is movie is almost 2 hours long, yet such is the pace it only feels like you've been watching it for an hour. It's like a shot of adrenaline.

A great drama, brilliantly evocative of the early nineties, and loaded with humour. You won't regret watching it!