Posts tagged Paul Giamatti
“The Ides of March” Shows Dirty Politics
Oct 13th
Official Website
Movie Trailer
“Excellent Portrayal of Dirty Politics”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Ides of March is one of the best movies of the year, but one of the most difficult to enjoy, one of the most rewarding, but also one of the most frustrating, and one that should be seen by everyone who follows politics, but is also a handbook for what not to do in politics.
And expect to hear its name often at the Academy Awards ceremony in 2012.
Now, about the title. To the person who wrote “WTF the title? It doesn’t even take place in March,” I say, “Google it, Dude.” It is a famous expression from a famous play by a very famous author.
George Clooney produced, co-wrote, and directed the movie. He also stars as Gov. Mike Morris, who is campaigning for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States.
The action takes place in Ohio, where the Democratic primary election is coming up, and we are told, “As goes Ohio, so goes the nation.”
Ryan Gosling plays Stephen Myers, Gov. Morris’s press secretary; Philip Seymour Hoffman plays his campaign manager; Paul Giamatti plays the campaign manager for the Democratic rival running against Gov. Morris; Evan Rachel Wood plays an intern working for Gov. Morris’s campaign; and Marisa Tomei plays a reporter for The New York Times.
Stephen is very good at his job and is told that all the reporters love him, even the ones who hate him. However, when the rival’s campaign manager arranges a secret meeting with Stephen, tells him that Stephen is working for the wrong man, and offers to hire Stephen to come work for him, a chain of events are set in motion that will change Stephen’s idealistic views of Gov. Morris.
And then when Stephen learns a secret about Gov. Morris that could damage his campaign severely and perhaps even ruin the governor, Stephen has to battle his own idealistic views, because he can use that information either to further his own career or to damage the governor’s reputation.
We are told that loyalty is the only thing valued in politics and the only thing that can be counted on. We are also told that if you stay in the political business long enough, you become jaded and bitter.
The Ides of March can do the same and is an excellent portrayal of dirty politics.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
The Ides of March – Movie Trailer
Oct 13th
“The Ides of March” takes place during the frantic last days before a heavily contested Ohio presidential primary, when an up-and-coming campaign press secretary (Ryan Gosling) finds himself involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidate’s shot at the presidency.
“Win Win” Winner Winner
May 4th
“Winner Winner”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
Win Win is the third film written and directed by Tom McCarthy, after the 2003 The Station Agent and the 2007 The Visitor, and if you saw those two films, you have a good idea of how excellent this one is, also.
You might not have seen those films, because low-budget, independent films don’t have extended runs in theaters, no matter how excellent they are.
So, see this one as soon as you can.
Paul Giamatti stars as Mike Flaherty. He is a husband and father of two girls, but the twist is that he is a struggling lawyer in New Jersey and the coach of a high-school wrestling team that, for lack of a better word, is awful.
Mike is struggling with problems in all aspects of his life, starting at home with a dead tree in the front yard. His wife, Jackie, makes him promise to call someone about it, because she says, “I don’t want it coming down on the house.”
But when Mike gets to his office in an old residential house, he has other problems to worry about. He is going to need $6,000 to replace the boiler in the basement even though it was repaired three months ago.
Also, one of his clients, Leo Poplar, is in the early stages of dementia, and a judge wants to appoint a guardian for him. So, Mike volunteers to be Leo’s guardian, even though Leo wants to live in his own house, and he hasn’t seen his daughter in over 20 years.
However, Mike tells Leo that the court has ordered Leo to live in a retirement home, puts him in one, and then pockets the money that Leo gets every month.
Complicated, right? And maybe even illegal.
But wait. There is more. Leo’s 16-year-old grandson, Kyle, suddenly shows up, having run away from home in Ohio and wanting to live with Leo, because his mother is in a drug-treatment program and they don’t get along at all.
So, Jackie takes pity on Kyle and invites him to stay with them.
But, wait, there is still more. Kyle is an excellent wrestler, which solves one of Mike’s problems, but then Kyle’s mother shows up, which causes even more problems.
Win Win brings to mind “Winner Winner, chicken dinner,” as the kids like to say.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”