The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

Where to begin. I should probably start with a little disclosure. I do not care for Jeremy Piven. Not since the 'PCU' days. And odd that he seems to grow MORE hair as he gets older. Maybe it was that mercury poisoning... Anyway, I do my best to go into all films with an open mind, as I did with 'The Goods'. I had heard good things about this film. Friends of mine whose opinions I respect. Sadly, they were wrong. Very, very wrong.

The conceit of the film sounds promising enough. And Piven's given a pretty damn good bullpen to work with. David Koechner, Ed Helms, Ving Rhames, Rob Riggle, Craig Robinson... I could go on, but that may only serve to infuriate me (and you) more. It's quite a talented cast, with a below average script. And what makes it maddening is that it holds so much promise. It's the Ryan Leaf of comedies. Every time it sets up a joke, it always go for the lowest common denominator. It could have been smart and funny. Sadly, it's neither. The whole affair just felt lazy to me. Take a chance. Reach a little farther. Then maybe we would have had something here, instead of the crappy used car salesman of a used car salesman comedy that we got.

Report Card: C-

Inside Job

Angry. That's how I felt when I walked out of 'Inside Job' This enthralling documentary covering the market crash of 2008 is revelatory. Director Charles Ferguson details the factors that caused the crash, as well as the individuals responsible. Ferguson is able to translate the highly confusing world of derivative trading into plain, understandable English. Damon does a fine job narrating this tale of greed spun horribly out of control. Is it 'Gotcha' film making at times? Sure, but it has to be.

I'm resisting the urge to turn this into a tirade involving my own personal politics. Though I must say that I do feel a healthy bit of regulation would go a long way to correcting some of the problems inherent in a strictly capitalistic system. When your only goal is the bottom line, with no care for the people impacted, people are going to get hurt. It's part of the human condition that we need to push back against. We, as individuals, tend to develop a certain tunnel vision which leads to the blatant disregard for people with whom we do not come into any regular contact. Couple this with the amount of power and money at stake, it's easy to see how one can become corrupted. Though I am in no way granting permission or creating an excuse. Many of the subjects in this documentary are only concerned with being on the top, having the most money and toys. And I guess that is inherently wrong, possibly even evil. There. Off my soapbox.

Perhaps the most upsetting conclusion I drew from this film is that nothing has been done to prevent this type of collapse from occurring again. In fact, the financial firms are bigger than they were before, and continuing the exact same practices that nearly destroyed the world's economy (instead of just bringing us to the edge collapse).

Is this a film you need to see? Yes. Just prepare yourself for a healthy bit of disgust and spite. Oh, and write your congress person or senator.

P.S. Eliot Spitzer gets a bit of redemption as well. Was he ultimately responsible for his all down fall? Sure. But the context is a whole lot more interesting than you may have known. It shouldn't taint what he was trying to do, or possibly could of stopped...

Report Card: A

Inside Job is still available in select cities.  No Blu-Ray/DVD release date has been listed at this time

Inside Job Site

Never Let Me Go

I know we've neglected our 'Outtakes' page for quite a while now.  So I've dedicated myself to post at least twice a week going forward.  How lucky for you!  Let's start our renewed romance with the English sci-fi love triangle, based on the book of the same name.

Never Let Me Go is a sneaky sci-fi film. Science fiction is more the skeleton that the film is draped around. The real story of this film is the love triangle between our 3 stars, James Garfield, Kiera Knightley, and Carey Mulligan. The less you know going into this film, the better off you'll be. Our story starts off in a boarding school for young children as we track the genesis of the relationships between our three stars as they grow, mature, and are prepared for their inevitable fates. The performances by the three leads are all fantastic. This is my first exposure to Ms. Mulligan (I shamefully have yet to see 'An Education'), but the talent she possess is clearly visible. Her performance is the strongest of the three. Her understated strength and fragile longing is captivating.

While the film is beautifully made, the style and presentation never truly allows you to become invested in their tale. The premise is truly thought provoking, unfortunately for me the execution seemed overly artificial and distant. Is it worth checking out? Yes. The romance at the heart of this film, coupled with the beautiful, dream like imagery, and performances make this a film you should see.

Report Card: B+

Never Let Me Go is set to come out on Blu-Ray & DVD on February 2, 2011. You may still be able to catch it On Demand.