Why would anyone ever want to inform on you to the FBI? They're probably just a regular law-abiding citizen who also happens to enjoy cutting people's balls off! This is "Movie Night"!
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Hello, and welcome to "Movie Night." I'm your host, Jonathan Paula. Our first film tonight is "The Informant!", a dark comedy by director Steven Soderbergh.
Starring Matt Damon as Mark Whitacre, a whistler blower within the lysine price-fixing conspiracy of the mid 1990s, "The Informant!" is loosely based on a true story.
It features a very large supporting cast of mostly TV regulars, like Scott Bakula, Joe McHale, Scott Adsist, Patton Oswalt, and even Thomas F. Wilson, the guy who played Biff in "Back to the Future."
The film is sharply written and moves along at a blisteringly and sometimes confusing pace as we follow the inner monologue of a habitual liar and middle-man at ADM, a lysine manufacturing company.
While the plot here is based on a true story, it certainly offers very little cohesion for the viewing audience, as the developments from scene to scene routinely fail to build on one another...
...With many pieces of dialogue in the film playing out like unfunny SNL skits, rather than something in a professionally released movie that ought to be progressing the plot forward. There are interesting characters here and a plot to follow.
But unfortunately for us, the Whitacre character is just so haphazard in his motives that it's very difficult to figure out if he's telling the truth, or if he's even the good guy in this film.
And for a movie that is billed as a "dark comedy", "The Informant!" is, by all accounts, neither. Although the dialogue is well-written and well-acted, this movie is nothing more than a quirky two-hour office drama that confuses the viewer...
...And fails to reach a satisfactory conclusion with its characters. When it comes right down to it, there was nothing "dark" about the material, and there certainly was not a single moment that even resembled funny comedy.
"The Informant!" finishes with a definite conclusion, but it feels very slow getting there, and, when the credits DO roll, you wonder if any of the characters learned anything from their mistakes and exploits.
I suppose if you're massively curious about the lysine price-fixing scandal of 1995, this might be a fun film for you, but sadly, it failed to spark my interest, and I really couldn't get invested in it.
Well, that's what I had to say about "The Informant!" Now, let's see what you had to say in the YouTube comments.
Jon: Djistify wrote... (reads Djistify's comment)
Jon: theawesomevlogger wrote... (reads theawesomevlogger's comment)
Alright, now that we've both voiced our opinions, let's see how "The Informant!" ranked on the Rate-o-Matic.
A "4" and a "5"! There were parts of this film I enjoyed. The quirky style, dialogue, and Matt Damon were all terrific. But sadly, the character motives were far too confusing at times for me to really keep me interested in this film.
I had to score it a "meh." Collectively, you guys ranked it an "alright." Many of you cited similar reasons for disliking the film, but few of you were able to provide strong reasons as to why the film was bad, landing it pretty much in the middle.
Anyway, our next film tonight is the 2009 "R"-rated violence thriller "Law-Abiding Citizen." Starring Gerald Butler, Jamie Foxx, and an excellent supporting cast, "Citizen" is the story of Clyde Shelton, played by Butler...
...Who is a regular family man who witnesses his wife and daughter brutally murdered in front of his eyes during a home invasion in the opening scene of the film.
Jamie Foxx is Nick Rice, the greedy lawyer who decides not to take Shelton's case to court because the evidence against the criminals isn't strong enough.
Fast forward 10 years, and Shelton, now wealthy and very well educated in the justice system, has prepared his ultimate revenge against both the criminals who went free and nearly everyone involved in the justice department who he felt had betrayed him.
This is a fast-moving, engaging, exciting, and engrossing thriller from start to finish. Initially, the audience sides with Shelton, a man who has lost everything and has watched his family's murderer go free.
As the film progresses. however, we see Shelton's true intent: The inner desire to plan the ultimate revenge, with absolutely nothing to lose, being that he is a man with unlimited resources and time.
And as for me, I absolutely loved rooting for his character, the guy who actually gets to take his bloody revenge on the people who wronged him. Sure, an eye for an eye isn't typical protagonist material...
..But this allows for some absolutely shockingly violent and entertaining scenes in a film where none of this bloodshed and murder really feels out of place.
And that's why the first half of this film is a fresh and brilliant piece of cinema I thoroughly enjoyed, but by the halfway point of the film, our characters start taking actions that make them less and less likeable.
This results in a film without any true protagonists. It maintains its fast pace and flashy editing, but I found myself pulling more for the blood and violence in the final act, instead of the characters I was originally rooting for.
Granted, that is not necessarily a bad thing, but I felt the film did slide a bit in the final hour. Butler is outstanding in the lead role here, but Jamie Foxx just sorts of looks on and reacts to what's going on around him.
The film does end with a good message and doesn't cop out, so I have to give it points there. Anyway, that's what I thought about "Law-Abiding Citizen." Now, let's see what you had to say in the YouTube comments.
Jon: cayseena wrote... (reads cayseena's comment)
Jon: MrWeeklyGeek wrote... (reads MrWeeklyGeek's comment)
Okay, now that we've heard both sides, let's rank "Law-Abiding Citizen" on the Rate-o-Matic.
A "great" and an "awesome"! I really enjoyed every part about this film, but when the main protagonist you're rooting for starts murdering innocent people, you find yourself watching the film more for the explosions and less for the characters.
I had to score it an "8." You folks unanimously loved this film, praising the edge-of-your seat thrills and Butler's outstanding portrayal of Shelton. You scored it a "9".
Well, that's it for tonight's films. Now, let's take a look at Hollywood's latest releases, with some Tweet Critiques.
Jon: phallex Tweeted... (reads phallex Tweet)
Jon: timmytitanic Tweeted... (reads timmytitanic's Tweet)
If you're going to the movies this weekend, make sure to review it on Twitter, to have it featured on next week's episode of "Movie Night"! That does it for this week. Let's take a look at the two films we'll be watching for next episode.
"2012" and "Where The Wild Things Are" were both huge hits last year, so I'm sure you're familiar with both of them already. They're both brand new on DVD this Tuesday, so I hope you get a chance to buy, rent, or download them before next week's episode.
Until then, my name is Jonathan Paula. Thank you for joining me on "Movie Night." I'll see you next week!
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