"Extract"
- Starts off funny, but quickly become repetitive. Jokes are run into the ground and others are just too broad. In particular, a drug sequence in the film's second act is dead on arrival. This sequence not only stalls the film's narrative but also crushes the comedic rhythm.
- Jason Bateman is great in the lead role. He really embodies the every man. Unfortunately, his relationship with his wife, played by Kirsten Wiig, makes no sense. This is problematic because their relationship is the crux of the film.
- Both Kirsten Wiig and Mila Kunis's characters feel underwritten. Their characters just feel like plot conveniences.
- J.K. Simmons needs a new agent. He keeps getting type cast in the same roles. That being said, this is one of his better performances in the recent years.
- Ben Affleck and Gene Simmons are shockingly good in their parts. They truly create the film's most memorable characters.
- The film's satire is uneven. It teeters between broad comedy, sharp digs and mean-spirited critiques too often for it to be truly successful. At the end, one is not entirely certain what director Mike Judge is trying to say.
- C+
"Adventureland"
- intimate coming of age story
- solid, if not spectacular, performances
- able to create a distinctive atmosphere that most films lack
- interesting, but not particularly engaging
- seems like it is trying to be introspective, but I did not feel compelled to think too much about it afterwards
- B
"State of Play"
- thriller injected with moral complications
- interesting study on the decline of newspapers and the rise of Internet blogging
- solid performance from Russell Crowe; middling performance from Ben Affleck
- Jason Bateman delivers a wonderfully realized supporting performance as a slimy corporate publicist.
- Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren fare well in underwritten, and at times fairly annoying, supporting roles
- narrative is marred by a twist ending that feels convoluted and unnecessary
- manages to succeed thematically, despite its narrative pratfalls
- B+
Wow! I've been watching too many Jason Bateman and Ben Affleck films.
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