Short Review: Seriously, who doesn't love watching middle-aged people hook up? What's more exciting than witnessing a couple of soulless corporate hacks who have wasted their lives on burying their personal woes under heaps of work and travel? That's what the world needs, a movie about a budding romance between the upwardly pathetic.




I think its fitting that this film was nominated for an impressive six Oscars but didn't get any of them. That pretty much sums up the experience of watching the film. Its almost really good.

There is plenty going for the movie. George Clooney gives a notable performance, in particular in relation to his other films as of late. Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner penned a well meaning script and Reitman turned in another strong film.

The problem?

Who cares?

That's a big problem.

Reitman has a great voice and knows how to craft full characters. As it turns out, his main character is his downfall. Clooney is well cast as Ryan Bingham, a high-class corporate consultant who fires people for a living. He flies from one job to the next, ruining other people's lives. His job has also ruined his. Aging and seeing himself slowly becoming obsolete himself, Bingham casually strolls through his mid-life crisis.

A man adrift can be an interesting character study and Bingham certainly has points about him that make him an attractive lead. Bingham's freedom is shown to be his flaw. He can go anywhere but he has nowhere to return when he's through. It may be poetic but it is terribly boring to watch.

Bingham doesn't have anything holding him down so in turn he has nothing to lose. The audience has little to invest in, other than a polite "I hope he does well." When the final credits roll we are no closer to the character than when we walked in. We know more about him, but there is no depth, no growth for us to ponder. Ultimately, he's just a loser in a fine suit.

This is not a film you should avoid at all costs. There are many moments that make it a worthwhile watch. I would recommend this if you have an urge to see it. If you're a Clooney fan for example. Otherwise, there are plenty of superior films out there you haven't seen. Go find one.





Related Reviews:
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Ocean's 12 (2004)
O'Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)


Other Critic's Reviews:
The Independent Critic
ReelViews

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Labels: Anna Kendrick, Danny McBride, film, George Clooney, Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, movie review, Sam Elliott, Vera Farmiga

Screenwriters: Judd Pillot and John Peaslee
Director: Tim Allen
Actors: Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), JK Simmons (Extract), Ray Liotta (Smokin' Aces), Tim Allen (Redbelt), Jeanne Tripplehorn (Waterworld), Julie Bowen (Joe Somebody) and Kelsey Grammer (An American Carol)

Labels: film, Jeanne Tripplehorn, JK Simmons, Julie Bowen, Kelsey Grammar, movie trailer, ray liotta, Sigourney Weaver, Tim Allen

Short Review: The real gift is if this movie came with a complimentary barf bag.


Billy Bob Thornton can’t write.

Let’s be clear, neither can I. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed my atrocious grammar. I understand I am chucking big ol’ cinder blocks at William’s glass house, but I must.

Billy Bob Thornton can’t write.

This film is a drifting, condescending bore. Even with a very talented cast (Cate Blanchett, Greg Kinnear, Giovanni Ribisi, JK Simmons, Gary Cole and Hilary Swank) and one of the best working directors, Sam Raimi, this film is like eating paste dipped in rotten flour. It’s bland and yet leaves an awful taste in your mouth.

Billy Bob is a very talented actor, but I refuse to give him credit for his script work. I need only this film and Sling Blade to buttress my complaint. This guy’s work is first of all BORING. Not just slow, but produces a soul-pounding boredom - listening to Ben Stein reading the collected works of James Joyce boring. Moreover, he hates southerners. Sure, Billy Bob’s name is Billy Bob, but this guy’s writing pokes the South in the eye at every turn. To view his work, you’d think no one below the Mason-Dixon line has any real value. Can we have yet another presentation of a dim eyed, drunken, slacked jawed yokel beating his wife? These guys exist sure, but can we have the other side of the coin every once in a while?

Are there positive sides to this film? No, not really. It’s not a complete loss, but there’s nothing here to recommend either. It’s a bland, lifeless movie waiting for its turn in the bargain bin at your video store. Which is where it belongs.


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Other Critic's Reviews:
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Labels: Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett, film, Gary Cole, Giovanni Ribisi, Greg Kinnear, Hilary Swank, JK Simmons, Katie Holmes, Keanu Reeves, Michael Jeter, movie review, Sam Raimi

I am a fan of Mike Judge. Dating back to when he erupted on the American cultural landscape with Beavis & Butthead through his low-key but clever films (Office Space, Idiocracy), I have always considered him to be one of the most insightful comedic writers working. His criticisms of American life and the vacuous state of our culture have been dead-on.

Unfortunately, Judge has decided to pull away from his satirical brand. Extract is more of a straight comedy, playing on the uncomfortable fumbling of a middle-aged man trying to come to terms with his unsatisfying life. Missing is Judge's biting humor. The situations have no deeper meaning beyond what is happening on screen so any humor is likewise distant.

Judge's work is character-based. One can't walk away from his previous works without some connection with the people in the story. In this film, other than a bitter, assembly line worker and a lawyer, the characters are rather thin. It seems Judge had little affection for the people he is writing about. Either that or he had no idea who they were. This is seen in the second half of the film where the story simply swings from catastrophe to catastrophe without deepening emotional payoff. Layers of bad things pile up and then POOF, there's a flimsy resolution.

More times than not this is a character issue in the script. When characters are properly developed and managed, their motives will grind against one another. These conflicts will all lead to the same point where a single, clearly defined resolution is achieved. If the writer is unclear on his characters, who they are, what they want, the conflicts will get jumpy and misaligned. While it is possible to smooth over such faults throughout the story, it will always come to light in the final act.

I am a fan of Judge but I have to turn this one down. I can't recommend this movie. It is poorly written, contains unnecessary crudeness and way too much Ben Affleck. Three strikes, this one is out.




Related Reviews:
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Labels: Ben Affleck, David Koechner, film, Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, Kristen Wiig, Mike Judge, Mila Kunis, movie review

Something tells me that I'm not the target audience for this film given that I am not a dolt.

Is there anyone out there who this appeals to? Anyone? What is the draw here? Megan Fox? Sure, she has a pretty face but she her screen presence that is often overcome by the props around her.



Screenwriter: Diablo Cody (Juno)
Director: Karyn Kusama (Æon Flux)
Actors: Megan Fox (Transformers), Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!), Johnny Simmons (Evan Almighty), JK Simmons (Spider-Man 2) and Any Sedaris (Maid to Order)

Labels: Amy Sedaris, Diablo Cody, film, JK Simmons, Megan Fox, movie trailer

Screenwriters: Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking) and Sheldon Turner (The Longest Yard)
Director: Jason Reitman (Juno)
Actors: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Vera Farmiga (The Departed), Anna Kendrick (Twilight), Jason Bateman (Extract), J.K. Simmons (The Ladykillers), Sam Elliott (We Were Soldiers) and Danny McBride (The Fist Foot Way)

Labels: Anna Kendrick, Danny McBride, film, George Clooney, Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, movie trailer, Sam Elliott, Vera Farmiga

Its from Mike Judge, so I'm seeing it.

The trailer itself doesn't back the film well. Judge's humor isn't evident and it seems more like yet another cobbled together comedy. Jason Bateman plays yet another frustrated, borderline middle-age guy, so we'll see if he breaks away from the pigeonhole he's created for himself. He certainly appears to be recreating his mope from Juno and Hancock. Its not a good sign that Ben Affleck is on board. The extra hair isn't going to help his inability to act. He'll just be Ben Affleck hammering through his lines through a scruffy beard. Maybe he'll shock and actually be funny, but it would be the first time he's brought anything to a film other than his looks.

There's doesn't appear to be much here. I give it a chance purely because its from Mike Judge. The man is a fine talent and has a knack for character. We'll see.

Screenwriter: Mike Judge (Idiocracy)
Director: Mike Judge (Office Space)
Actors: Jason Bateman (Juno), Mila Kunis (Max Payne), Ben Affleck (Armageddon), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man) and David Koechner (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy)

Labels: Ben Affleck, David Koechner, film, Jason Bateman, JK Simmons, Mike Judge, Mila Kunis, movie trailer

Labels: Aaron Eckhart, David Koechner, film, JK Simmons, Maria Bello, movie trailer

Labels: film, JK Simmons, movie review, Omar Sharif, Viggo Mortensen

Screenwriters: Ken Rance and C. Jay Cox (Latter Days)
Director: Jonas Elmer (The Art of Success)
Actors: Renee Zellweger (Cinderella Man), JK Simmons (Juno), Harry Connick , Jr. (Independence Day), Nathan Fillon (Serenity) and Siobhan Fallon (Baby Mama)

Labels: film, JK Simmons, movie trailer, Renee Zellweger

Jimmy Starks had everything - except a good haircut. Hey, I loved the nineties as much as the next guy but c'mon.

Cool, collected urban guy gets stranded in the scary, unknown world of the Midwest and a fortune teller lets it slip cool, collected urban guy is going to die at the first snow. Cool, collected urban guy ain't so cool and collected no more. Not the most original idea but time based plots lend themselves to tension filled scenes. I like the cast, Guy Pearce, J.K. Simmons and William Fichtner but it's a debut in the director's chair for a screenwriter (Mark Fergus (Iron Man) so that's a strike against it. That's the thing about screenwriters, they all want to be directors.










Screenwriter: Mark Fergus (Children of Men) and Hawk Otsby (Iron Man)
Director: Mark Fergus
Actors: Guy Pearce (Memento), J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man 3) and William Fichtner (The Dark Knight)

Labels: film, Guy Pierce, JK Simmons, movie trailer

"There are thousands of kids still out there waiting to teach me about who I am."

Okay, you're a scary loser and stay away from my kids.

I'm all for introducing children to theater and the arts. It is healthy, builds strong creative minds and whatnot - just not so sure it makes good cinematic viewing.

And what's with having J. K. Simmons pop up in the middle of the proceedings? You have this nice little trailer about some goofballs teaching kids how to perform a play and then Vern, the homosexual rapist, Nazi guy from Oz stops in to give his endorsement. Creepy.



Screenwriter: Rob Whitehair
Director: Rob Whitehair
Actors: J.K. Simmons (Spider-man)

Labels: documentary, film, JK Simmons, movie trailer