To market

Despite my keen adoration for all things film, I still have to bring in some dough to pay for things like, well bread. I am a marketer day to day. Now there are hundreds of films about cops, even more about lawyers and spies. There aren't too many about filmmakers but there's even less about marketing and those that there are are hardly complimentary your Highness ;)

But when I first saw this week's flick I was entranced for I know, and have worked with, kings and queens of spin. They're not optimists, nor pessimists. They don't see the glass half empty or full. They just want to make sure you buy more glasses and fill it with more of their product, edible or not, carcinogenic or not!

Yet this film takes that characteristic and flogs the shit out of it, with so much tongue in cheek it may choke. It's witty, vivacious and wry. And it has a terrific cast lead incontrovertibly by the excellent Aaron Eckhart and is helmed by the director of acclaimed film including Juno and Up in the Air.

Check out...

THANK YOU FOR SMOKING

Plot: Nick Naylor is the king of spin and his client is big tobacco.  Can he spin his own moral responsibilities when his own son questions them?

Cast: Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight), JK Simmons (Juno), Cameron Bright (Birth), William H Macy (The Lincoln Lawyer), Robert Duvall (Gone in 60 Seconds), Mario Bello (A History of Violence), David Koechner (Anchorman), Rob Lowe (The West Wing)

Watch the trailer

Doppelgängers - part deux

A new addition to the doppelgänger list

Original post:

People often confuse actors with other actors and it's not hard to see why, even without the makeup, prostheses and camera tricks and lighting! Here are some common mistaken identities... Can you think of others?

Here fishy fishy fishy

Rarely does a film that revolves around Britain's relationship with the Middle East completely lack any connotations or references to war or terror or the impact of these things.

Ladies and gentlemen I give you the beacon for fresh ideas, ie not from the freezer section ;)

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Plot: A Fisheries expert reluctantly agrees to assist a Sheik and his liaison with an unusual project after the prime minister's pushy press secretary insists it offers positive PR potential.

Cast: Ewan McGregor (Star Wars Ep I), Emily Blunt (Young Victoria), Kristen Scott Thomas (Easy Virtue), Tom Mison (Sleepy Hollow)

Money money money

Ok so finance ain't exactly my bag. Thank goodness for excel spreadsheets or my savings account would bleed red like a Tarantino film.

But I just had to add my voice to the many many many strong reviews of this week's film. A superb screenplay brought to life with Excellent performances and crisp direction. Really this should be in the horror section when you consider the terrifying consequences for everyone at the end of this story. For your consideration...

Margin Call

Plot: 24 hrs before what would become the GFC, three investment bankers predicted the fall. What did their employer do with that information?

Cast: Stanley Tucci (Easy A), Zacchary Quinto (Star Trek), Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), Simon Baker (The Mentalist), Kevin Spacey (American Beauty), Demi Moore (Charlie's Angels Full Throttle), Paul Bettany (Wimbledon), Jeremy Irons (Die Hard w a Vengeance)

Watch the trailer

Legal stock n trade

I have a confession... I don't always get popular films. I simply do not understand a need for applause lauded for the Appatows and Farrelys Bros of the modern movie experience. I guess half the problem is these movies are often oversold by friends to such a degree that my expectations are simply too high when I see them - not that they were that high to begin with ;) 

Hopefully I didn't just lose half my followers!? The Coen Bros are another pair whose style is pretty hit and miss with me. I either LOVE their flicks or am bored within minutes of openings credits. However since working for a law firm, my appreciation for one of my favourite Coen Bros has only intensified. 

Plus you can see Clooney at his best, before he started flogging coffee capsules. I encourage you to revisit....

Intolerable Cruelty

Plot: Miles, the best divorce attorney in well, ever has met his match in 'wronged wife' Marylin.

Cast: Catherine Zeta Jones (No Reservations), George Clooney (3 Kings), Paul Adelstein (Prison Break), Geoffrey Rush (Elizabeth), Billy Bob Thornton (love actually)


Watch the trailer