Movie review - "Jay Kelly" (2025) ***

 Baumbach's take on Wild Strawberries is full of talent and memorable moments but possibly pulls its punches - George Clooney has some mild regrets but not major ones, ditto Adam Sander's manager (nice wife Greta Gerwig, two kids) and life as a movie star is clearly still pretty good. Full of warmth. Sandler steals the show with a soulful performance. Nice to see Stacy Keach. A lot of nepo babies involved - Emily Mortimer, Bono's daughte, Sandler's, etc.

Movie review - "Batman and Robin" (1997) **

 Look, yes, it's bad, but not one of the worst films ever made. It does have a vision - bright and colourful. Young kids will like it. Clooney wobbles his head still a lot at this stage but he's fine. Chris O'Donnell whines a lot but he doesn't have much to play.

Film has bad emotional core. Who cares about Robin sulking around Batman? Or the villains? Elle MacPherson is the beard. Alicia Silverstone is wasted as Batgirl. Film should have been about her. Bane is wasted.

They borrow structure of Batman Forever with Uma Thurman as mad scientis and Arnie as the established villain. Good showmanship to have Arnie as villain.

Movie review - "Ticket to Paradise" (2022) **1/2

 I enjoyed this but I saw it on a plane which is maybe the best way. But it's got funny lines, pretty scenery, treats Bali culture with respect (even if it was shot in Australia) and most of all the high wattage star power of Julia Roberts and George Clooney, both getting on but both still have It.

Frustrating things abound - why not give Billie Lourd a subplot? Why not have a woman chase Clooney? Kaitlyn Dever, a brilliant actor, never seems in to her finace. 

But a fun time. And I did like the reason why they broke up i.e. their dream house burnt down. That's a traumatic event. It gave hope that maybe they could make it work again - as opposed to some insolvable inherent problem.

Movie review - "Ocean's 8" (2018) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)

The trailer for this was fantastic - bright, fun, with a knock out cast, funky music and great one liners. It looked like it was going to be a great time in the cinema.

But it was curiously flat. It never had the energy or pizzaz of the trailer. The cast are all there doing their thing - you can't say any of them are bad. Sandra Bullock holds the lead with her star power, Cate Blanchett is a useful sidekick, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway are fun in the showiest parts. I wish Mindy Kaling and Rhinanna had been given more to do. I wasn't sure what Sarah Paulsen's role in the heist was which is a shame since she was set up so promisingly.

The film lacks a romantic interest. There's the guy Bullock is getting revenge on - but nothing moving forward. It just would've been fun. Maybe use the James Corden character - expand that out. But they don't.

The last fifteen minutes things perk up when Hathaway comes more involved and so you see the film for what it could be. But it's really... ordinary. Some nice clothes.

TV special - "A Very Murray Christmas" (2015) **1/2

Sure, whatever. Some charm of Bill Murray singing tunes in a hotel room - Sofia Coppola's direction doesn't always mesh neatly with more stock in joke material, like Michael Cera as an agent and Amy Poehler as an assistant. The cameos feel a bit "grab bag"-y: George Clooney, Miley Cyrus, Maya Rudolph... It's a bit different, I didn't mind it, but... sure, whatever.

Movie review - "Gravity" (2013) *****

I've gone off going to the multiplex in recent years because its such an unpleasant experience most of the time, far too expensive, and the movies are often dumb. But this has helped revive my faith in Hollywood - a smart big budget special effects flick with stars and an awesome story.

Visually this is incredible - I kept wondering "how did they do that?" Alfonso Cuaron's tendency for long takes works brilliantly - it all works brilliantly - creating genuine white knuckle suspense. I'm sure boffins could poke holes in the science of it all, but I believed it.

Sandra Bullock is excellent in the lead - her plastic surgery wasn't too distracting as she spends most of the movie in a helmet, and looks splendid in astronaut underwear. It's such a tremendous role - I understand Angelina Jolie decided not to do it over money; if that's true, she was a fool: Cuaron is one of the best directors working in the world today. George Clooney was born to play an astronaut, too.

So many excellent moments: the opening "attack", the discovery of the fate of the Shuttle crew, Bullock's third act turning point. A wonderful film.

Movie review - "The Ides of March" (2011) ***1/2 (warning: spoilers)

No classic, and the writers are unable to come up with a better twist than "he had sex with an intern" but it's done with panache, with a superb cast: Paul Giamanti and Philip Seymour Hoffman are especially stunning as old-time political operators, both of them with their own integrity despite oozing corruption (Hoffman hangs on to loyalty, Giamanti loves the fight but also encourages young people to give up the game).

George Clooney is appropriately charismatic as the Governor, a dream Democrat (war hero, small "l" liberal) with the disappointingly usual flaw (he can't keep his fly up), and Ryan Gosling solid. Evan Rachel Wood was so confident in seducing Gosling and the way she carried herself I had trouble believing that she'd commit suicide, even after having had an abortion - I also had trouble buying a character like her (educated, well connected) would have difficulty raising five hundred dollars for an abortion.

That aside there are some first rate scenes, it isn't overly political, there is much to mull about on the nature of corruption, Clooney's direction impresses (it reminded me of The Parallax View at times).

Script review - "Up in the Air"

Smart, stylish, sceptical, cynical, with a heart - Jason Reitman is proving himself the true heir to Billy Wilder. This is two films - the minor one of a business sacking people (really the George Clooney job could have been anything that involved travel, but it does have terrific thematic echoes), and the major one of Clooney's company learning to connect. Some of the bantering dialogue involving the Clooney and his love interest (e.g. sizes of miles, crashing the party) and protege/threat (e.g. talking about ideal match) is of Golden Years of Hollywood (the good stuff) quality. It has heart and point and only goes Hollywood in one bit - when Clooney runs away from the speech at the end. At least he doesn't quit his job.

Movie review – “Up in the Air” (2009) ****1/2

Wonderful movie – I was a bit hostile coming in to watch it, all that acclaim and Jason Reitman being so damn talented – but was totally disarmed by it’s brilliant writing, excellent acting and all-round skill. George Clooney is good as ever, there are superb performances across the board – that new girl is great, Jason Bateman is having the most wonderful second act to his career, Vera Farmiga is the perfect girl, the small roles are spot on. I can imagine the studio asking several times for the ending to be tweaked (“can’t Vera turn out to be nice”) but that’s what rises this to true greatness. There is also the fact part of Clooney’s life is very attractive – going around the country, nice treatment, minimal commitment (I was reminded in some ways of Hugh Grant in About a Boy). My favourite bit was crashing the techno people party - Young MC makes an appearance!

Movie review - "Michael Clayton" (2007) ***

Tony Gilroy is one of my favourite screenwriters and its great to see him making an assured directorial debut. George Clooney is the title character, a "fixer" at a law firm. He hates it, but you know having worked in a law firm I'd have thought being a fixer was a pretty interesting job - every day a bit different, full of unusual challenges,and you'd have a dirt file that would ensure you had a healthy retirement fund. But Cloons becomes disillusioned, though not as disillusioned as Tom Wilkinson, who flips out in one of those "movie cases" (big evil law firm representing chemical company being sued by poor-and-dying-but-honest farmers) making Cloons re-evaluate life. Very strong performances, including Tilda Swinton as a sympathetic baddie(maybe that should be "empathetic"), Wilkinson (what a great post-Full Monty career he's having), and Sydney Pollack (no wonder Pollack is such a good director he has such presence you'd do whatever he tells you to do).

You know how in conspiracy movies they don't normally show how people are killed so their dead body turns up mysteriously as a supposed suicide? Well, this film shows how you go about it - contacting the necessary men, giving the orders, how the break in and kill someone to make it look like suicide. Its very educational. In fact, the two hired goons in this film are a lot more effective "fixers" than Clooney, who in his two big fixing scenes is pretty useless (to a client who's run over someone he says "get a lawyer"; sent to get Wilkinson, Wilkinson escapes). Around the two-thirds mark this started to lose its way,mostly I'm guessing because Clooney becomes passively caught up in events. I think the final shot, holding on Clooney over the end credits, works.

Movie review - "Out of Sight" (1998) ****

A fascinating case study - a movie where they made all the right decisions, brought back Steven Sodebergh from Hollywood exile I guess you could call it, had two exciting new stars in career-defining performances, a rich galaxy of support actors, an excellent script from a "hot" novelist, romance and action, etc - but the public didn't come.Well, that's not the whole story - they came, but not in large numbers,and the film has remained an audience favourite ever since, not to mention providing a massive boost to the careers of Sodebergh, Clooney,Lopez, etc. So quality in the long run does out. The only reason I can think of why this didn't attract bigger audiences on initial release was that Clooney and Lopez weren't as big stars then - make it with them no wand it would go gangbusters. Or maybe the essentially sad nature of the romance counted against it. Anyway it's a marvellous piece of entertainment, a tribute to everyone who made it.

Movie review - "Team America: World Police" (2004) ***1/2

Like the Austin Powers movies I was a bit let down when I first saw this but it's one of those films you enjoy more on re-viewing because you ignore the flaws and concentrate on the good bits, of which there are many. On a basic level its wonderful to see a big budget movie with puppets, and the basic Bruckheimer-like structure totally works even if they are making fun of it (the best spoofs are the ones that would work as drama eg Flying High). Many hilarious songs - "Everyone's Got AIDs","The End of an Act", "Montage", "I'm so Rone-ry" - and Matt Damon is one of the funniest things ever (also loved Burkha Burkha Burkha-stan). As in"South Park", sometimes the characters get a bit tired and the plot over reliance on shock to get a laugh. Because the film makes fun of America's gung ho attitudes, many people didn't seem to pick up this is actually a rare pro-Iraq war film - it ultimately endorses over-reactions to possible threats to America.

Book review – “Rebels on the backlot” by Sharon Waxman

Waxman tries to do an “Easy Riders Raging Bulls” for Gen X, concentrating on six hot directors of the 90s: Tarantino, David O Russell, Fincher, PTA, Sodebergh, Spike Jonze, with emphasis on the director’s personalities and love lives. Problem is, its too soon to get a real idea of the impact of these directors and rather than concentrating on their careers Waxman instead rather gives case studies of specific films – a lot of time is taking up on the making of Boogie Nights, Being John Malkovich, Three Kings and Fight Club, for instance, whereas other movies from the directors are passed by quickly (why not tell us a bit more about Se7en or Adaptation or Kill Bill?). Those are good films and the book is worth reading from that point of view.

There was a fair bit I didn’t know – Clooney and Russell came to blows making Three Kings, Jonze got John Malkovich to appear in his film by calling on father in law Francis Ford Coppola to make a phone call, Sodebergh had an erratic love life, Aussie producer Ross Bell got Fight Club optioned by having actors read a copy of the book, taping that and playing it to a producer, Russell Crowe was interested in the project and had a bigger fan club so probably would have made the film a bigger hit, Tarantino spent a lot of the late 90s smoking cones watching crappy old movies. And its always worth being reminded how hard it is to get a good movie through the Hollywood system.

But the book is full of irritating inaccuracies (Peter Jackson is not Australia) and hyperbole (there was such a thing as independent film before the 80s – heard of John Cassavetes?). Waxam also takes an annoying narky tone towards her subjects, tsk tsking Tarantino for snubbing his former video mates (maybe they were losers – although it was mean to dump his manager), creating the “myth” of his poor upbringing and not giving his mother lots of money (OK he hyped it a little and his mum was an achiever – but he still had no father, his mother went through several relationships, he was raised by his grandma for a few years when mum couldn’t hack it, and went away for a year to Tennessee – it wasn’t the most stable upbringing), and for crying out loud – this goes for most writers on Hollywood – stop taking writers claims “I wrote most of that script” at face value, you have to actually read the different versions.

She also takes PTA to task for being an egomaniac (which sounds very believable – his films do need cutting) and Clooney for continually going on about the fight with Russell and Russell for hiring a publicist. She seems to like Sodebergh, Jonze and Fincher. There is a lot better book to be written about this period.

TV show - "ER: the pilot" (1994) ***1/2

Never was a big fan of the E/R show, but then never been too into medical dramas - too many sick people! Michael Crichton wrote the script for the pilot, using some incidents which popped up in Travels. 

Lots of stuff going on, plenty of plots and medical dialogue and some good acting - though not from George Clooney who mainly leans his head at an angle and tries to look cute (they don't give him too many complicated medical words). Sherry Springfield is again effortlessly likeable and Anthony Edwards looks too much like, well, me.