State Of Play

***1/2 - Is Russell Crowe as a tubby CCR-loving hippy, Ben Affleck as a straight-laced legislator, and Jason Bateman as a bisexual coke-head lout a perfect combination? Well, if this film is any indication, I would say that is a fair statement. A mysterious plot weaves its way through this well scripted and acted film that keeps the viewer guessing without annoying them. The ending isn’t entirely satisfying, but is good enough to raise this flick above the pack by a bit.

The Invention Of Lying

***1/2 – A thankfully non-traditional romantic comedy starring Ricky Gervais and the annoyingly bubbly Jennifer Garner. It starts out a little slow, but has a pretty neat idea behind it that only really becomes clear in the second half. It receives at least an extra star in my rating due to the presence of Gervais, who is especially funny when explaining his 'new knowledge’ to a large crowd about halfway through the film.

Extract

*** – A well performed and written comedy that has a number of bright spots interspersed with some moments that don’t really work, which is par for the course for anything Mike Judge has done that isn’t called ‘Office Space’. Great work from Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman and most of the rest of the cast, which goes to show that Judge’s greatest talent is probably good casting. Nowhere near as funny as ‘Office Space’, but certainly worth a watch.