What is wrong with the world when a Zac Efron movie debuts in the number one spot? Well, I hope he enjoys it because the shelf life of a 'Tiger Beat' cover boy is about as long as it takes me to eat lunch.
Besides the opening of '17 Again' (the retelling of a tale that has been told a thousand times before within the last decade alone) a very serviceable grownup 
picture also opened. It starred Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck who for story purposes were supposed to have been college roommates which is probably the biggest flaw in the film considering that Crowe is eight years the elder of Afflect and looks it as well. Apparently Brad Pitt was supposed to play Congressman Stephen Collins, but bowed out due to problems with the script (some sites have suggested that 'State of Play' was a causality of the then going writer's strike). Robin Wright Penn plays the Congressman's wife which further emphasizes the age discrepancy. Other than that the film was a nice 'All the President's Men' sort of political thriller.
The story centers on a Blackwater (which has changed its name to Xe probably because it is now working for the Chinese government) like corporation that is plotting to be the primary beneficiary of government contracts for not only external military operations, but internal national policing as well - bye-bye FBI. Although I haven't seen any of the recent horror releases, this scenario appeared scarier to me because the likelihood of such a thing happening seemed very probable with the last administration. I mean come on, the Obama administration releases Bush Era memos about the use of torture and all the old guys have to say is that, "Oh no, now all the terrorists will know our techniques." Suffice to say I consider them all panty wastes or pantywaiste (take your pick) especially a certain ex who stated "This government does not torture people."
Russell Crowe is Cal McCaffrey, a newspaper reporter cast in the dying spirit of news print. Rachel McAdams is Della Smith, the new breed of reporter whose outreach is the blog sphere. Rounding out the acting troupe is Helen Mirren as a Katharine Graham sort of editor who must balance the decaying wisdom of old time news reporting with the profit margin the new corporate owners demand. All and all a pretty impressive list of performers. Lest I forget, Jason Bateman who has a small role as a 'life of the party bad guy' and Jeff Daniels as the Congressional Whip. A pre-Oscar nominated Viola Davis plays the medical examiner.
'State' is directed by Kevin Macdonald who also directed 'The Last King of Scotland.' The film is based on a British series of the same name from 2003 thus the writing credits are fairly long. I wouldn't say this film will be the best of the year but it wasn't stupid and it kept the action going. Obviously, it is an actor's movie and not a special effects offering, thus it will be as fun to watch it on DVD as in the theater. It was nice to see Crowe in a movie where he embraces his leading man status. He might have looked a bit scruffy, but he was still sexy.
I would recommend 'State of Play.' I think it makes a nice grownup date movie (the kind that might be on the endangered species list). It offers various topics of discussion afterwards. It had some nice twist and turns and the outcome wasn't predictable within the first ten minutes. Really the only thing it lacked was Zac Efron.
Westerfield © 2009
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Comments: 36
Peter, I love Helen too! She is one of the few actresses that I would go out of my way to see a film in which she is starring in.
Renee, it is worth your time.
(Tim Mathieson, Donny Osmond, every member of The Monkees, John Travolta.. to name a few who are still working, still performing and/or making money (actually i think i heard Peter Tork hasn't been well, still..) still bringing a gleam to middle aged womens' eyes... so don't beat up on ALL tigerbeat cover boys just because of the Robbie Bensons and Leif Garretts, okayyy?)
Adelaide, now that I’m older, probably when I was younger as well, I would settle for Russell Crowe far quicker than I would do with Zac Efron. In my book he is still a child.
panty wastes
funny! Well done, I'll watch BIG when I want "young again" theme.
....Zac Efron = Leif Garrett (except without the pretty hair)
I want to see a movie where a Hollywood producer goes back in time to change the plot of his movie about someone going back in time to his youth. His goal is to make is successful. Naturally, the sacharine-sweet moral to the story is you CAN'T change it and it will ALWAYS suck eggs.*
* Exception: Groundhog Day. That movie rocks.
Thank you for posting to this group whose only purpose is to thank you for posting to this group.
Russell Crowe is a good actor as is Ben Affleck and Helen Mirren, although Mirren is not put to the best use in this film. The story is taken from a British TV series of the same name. Although the film is pretty good, it lacks the depth of the series. (Katharine Graham was the publisher and owner of The Washington Post not an editor. Ben Bradlee was her famous editor.)
I’m just joshing, Efron is probably a very decent sort of guy.
Richard, thanks, I was sort of reaching as you might be able to tell from Dame Ruth’s comment below.
John, I think this is one article that may be free from ‘the gays.’ Although I can’t really vouch about Karl Rove although I didn’t mention him by name above, but he was one of those belly aching about the released memos.
Jennifer, thank you.
Sharon, cool beans, I hope you see it.
Paul, I think it will play well on DVD.
Magi, but it has your homeboy Russell Crowe!
Norene, cool.
De, yes, but Leif lost his hair thus I think that changes the equation Zac > Leif.
Vicky, amen to that!
Michael, you better copyright that idea because it is actually pretty good. I love ‘Groundhog Day’ too. It was a spin on the whole time dimension thing. Plus Bill Murray was excellent.
Dame Ruth, dang it, I screwed up again! I should have checked that term because it’s not something I use. I did change Affleck, which was something I should have spotted since I did check to see if his name was spelled with one or two Fs. It is always a joy to post to your group.
Elizabeth, I didn’t see the series, was it focused on a Blackwater sort of corporation as well? I did know that about Graham, in my sentence I was referring to Mirren as the editor modeled after Graham (in terms of personality). It was an awkward sentence.
Mugg, all you have to do is google him. : )
Dorian, he probably is no more asshole than the next guy, he just looks too pretty.
Chana, thank you and thank you for dropping by.
Larry, I think that there aren’t as many adult minded films as there used to be thus it seems as if the pickings are slim.
Karen, and he is ruggedly cute as well.
GayLynn, I thought it was a good movie to see with friends.