(This movie made its midwest premiere June 13th at the Waterfront Film Festival, is in limited release and is available on Comcast on-demand)

“The Answer Man” is laugh-out loud funny, a great “R” rated romantic comedy.

Its not your average romantic comedy, but it is classic Jeff Daniels.  And the chemistry between Daniels and Lauren Graham is good.
 

(My spoiler-free review:)

The characters in “The Answer Man” are not all what they seem to be.

Daniels plays Arlen Farber, a reclusive author that wrote a spiritual answer book, who hilariously finds himself in need of some chiropractic help.   The scene with him going for help is classic.

Graham’s character is real and genuine… and the chemistry is great between these two.

Max Antisell, who plays young “Alex” is great… another solid child performance.

One of my favorite lines from the movie is when Farber (Daniels) says “I like kids: short people in a land of giants that rely on imagination and creativity to get by”.

The movie is a nice blend of hilarious and awkwardness as Daniels interacts with the rest of the cast.

The supporting cast of Lou Taylor Pucci, Olivia Thirlby, Kat Dennings, Nora Dunn, and Tony Hale are solid.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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“State of Play” is a great twisting thriller that will keep you guessing ’till the end.

This is a movie that worked on soo many levels.  On the surface: good drama, good acting, good twists and surprises make up a great story.  But underneath this story takes the basic perception of modern politics: twists and spins of the truth combined with the basic idea of journalism: the search for the truth and mixes them together in a great work of cinema. 

Russell Crowe shines as the journalist (his last performance in “Body of Lies” was not as strong) searching for the truth and Ben Affleck holds his own as the other main character – the politician at the center of a high profile Washington, D.C. scandal.

The supporting cast is very strong from newspaper editor Helen Mirren, to cub reporter Rachael McAdams, Michigan’s own Jeff Daniels as a senior senator, Harry Lennix as the Detective, and Jason Bateman as… well, I don’t want to ruin it for you.

The acting is top notch, the suspense and tension are very palpable, and just when you think you have it all figured out… keep watching.

Its nice to see a movie with a slightly more realistic view of journalism as it takes more than one scene, phonecall, or interview to track down the story.

My only real criticism is the heavy-handed “conspiracy theory” theme running through the movie.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

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(RE-POSTING from 8/30/08)

Here’s a movie to keep on a short list for Academy Award considerations… This intense story of international espionage and counter-terrorism is full of twists and intrigue… and with a solid cast of actors – it should be your first choice of the new movies to see this weekend !!!

“Traitor”

(2008) (rated: PG-13 for intense violent sequences, thematic material and brief language ) (1 hr, 54 min)

Starring: Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Said Taghmaoui, Neal McDonough, Jeff Daniels

Genre: Drama/Thriller

The Plot: When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton (Pearce) heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn (Cheadle).

MY TAKE (spoiler free):

Don Cheadle is a very good actor. No seriously, think about the characters he’s played… a Brit in the “Ocean’s Eleven” movies, an old roomate of Adam Sandler’s in “Reign Over Me”, Henri Moore in “After the Sunset”, an Oscar nomination for Best Actor as a hotel manager in “Hotel Rwanda”, a police detective in “Crash”, and small, but great roles in ”Swordfish” and “Traffic”.

“Traitor” doesn’t take long to get going… (more…)