So Low

After a sexist ad campaign that pissed me off, I feel kind of delighted and vindicated in the fact that The Soloist was not a good movie and the director they so heavily lauded did nothing to help the movie. The main problem with The Soloist is that it doesn't know what it wants to be. A heart warming story about the infinite bonds of friendship? A social commentary on homelessness? An informative piece on schizophrenia? An uplifting tale on the power of music? It tries to do too much and doesn't succeed at any of it.

Go see State of Play!

Stars!

Consider me on board the Zac Efron train. In 17 Again Efron proves he can carry a film - albeit one that plays to his core audience. Efron is charming, charismatic, funny and he nails the more dramatic moments of the film. 17 Again doesn't break any new ground in the traditional time bending teenage genre, but it's a very entertaining and humorous film. Fittingly, the worst part of the film is the 25 minutes or so that do not contain Efron. My only real complaints with the movie are the bumpy and awkward start and the casting of Matthew Perry. If he's portraying an older Efron, shouldn't he be, you know, hot? Efron more than makes up for these shortcomings though. Thomas Lennon deserves some recognition for his wonderful supporting role. He definitely stole more than a few scenes.

Definitely one of the best casts in recent memory is in State of Play. Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren, Robin Wright Penn, Jeff Daniels, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis. I mean, come on! It doesn't get much better than that. I'm glad the story here doesn't waste any of the acting talent. State of Play is a great, complex, stirring mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. It's a wonderful thriller with a great deal of suspense.

Observe and Report

As I count down the days until State of Play is released, I decided to check out Observe and Report. I'm happy to report that this is an actual comedy, marketed as such and it's actually funny - albeit not as funny as I was hoping. What really held this movie together were the supporting performances. Michael Pena, Collette Wolfe, Celia Weston were odd, sweet and funny, respectively. I think Anna Faris was a definite bright spot in the film too. "Ooh, shots. It burns so good." Sadly, once again I think Seth Rogen was the weaker link. His over serious Ronnie mall cop was often so irritating and unlikable I actually turned away from the screen. I've said it before and I'll say it again, a little bit of Rogen goes a long way. Why he always needs to use five times the dialogue as a normal person is a mystery that I wish we could solve already. Here's hoping to a normal word count in the July release Funny People.

Adventureland

What is it with how Hollywood is marketing their films lately? First Duplicity and now Adventureland. I went into Adventureland expecting constant laughter - after all, that's what the previews told me to expect. I was bummed that I only got to chuckle a handful of times. Adventureland is not "the next great teen comedy from the director of Superbad" as was promised. It is a lot deeper than that and is more a romantic drama. I still liked the film quite a bit though. I liked how the young characters dealt with such grown up problems and I thought the performances were great. If you're thinking Superbad, I'd skip Adventureland, but if you're in the mood for a little more Nick and Norah-ish drama, I'd definitely check out Adventureland.

And In The End...

After 15 seasons the most honored drama in television history and the last shining beacon of truly Must See TV, ER, signed off this Thursday, April 2nd. The night ER premiered, three days after my 13th birthday, I remember my mom and I picking up some food at Wendy's and my mom was in a hurry to get home in time to watch this new show. I had never heard of it, but I decided to watch too and was immediately hooked. For the next 15 years I never missed an episode. Every Thursday night at 9 p.m. I was there. Finished homework early, stayed up late, battled illness, refused to leave the house - I did anything to be able to watch ER. What I'll miss most are the characters. It was comforting to see them once a week for 15 years. I literally grew up with them. Next Thursday, at 9, when I turn on my TV ER won't be there. Sam will be gone. Morris won't be around. Carter isn't going to be stopping by. I thought the finale was great. I loved the way it echoed the premiere. It tied everything up very nicely and made me feel that the staff of County General is still there saving lives, even if I can't see them anymore.