russell crowe | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: State of Play

Posted on September 27, 2009 by Darren

Ah, the good old conspiracy thriller theory movie is alive and well, it would appear. For those not quite up-to-date on Hollywood’s fascination with sequels, remakes and adaptations, State of Play is a remake of the classic BBC miniseries of the same name. Following an old-fashioned investigative reporter as he attempts to investigate the death of a Congressman’s aide, he finds himself getting drawn closer and closer to a lion’s den of corruption and defense contractors. It’s a solid conspiracy movie elevated by superior performances that doesn’t really live up to its potential.

Russell Crowe attempts to explain the plot twists of State of Play to a confused Ben Affleck...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: ben affleck, conspiracy, defense contractors, films, helen mirren, jason bateman, jeff daniels, journalism, Kevin Macdonald, Movies, non-review review, rachel mcadams, review, robin wright penn, russell crowe, state of play | Leave a comment »

Does Christian Bale Suffer From Sean Penn Syndrome?

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Darren

I like Christian Bale. Or at least, I want to like Christian Bale. Having watched him since American Psycho (joining relatively late in his career-to-date but earlier than most), I am continual impressed by the quality of his acting. Yet I find it very hard to refute when my brother begins justifying his hatred for the erstwhile Welsh thespian. Eventually – after much soul-searching – I figured out why. Christian Bale suffers from what might be termed ‘Sean Penn syndrome’. In short, he’s an incredibly talented douchebag.