The Ides Of March

Year: 2011
Genre: Drama
Director: George Clooney

Plot: A young assistant campaign manager for a potentially promising presidential candidate gets into serious trouble after one mistake sinks him deep into the world of dirty politics.


The gist: In general I hate politics because of what it represents and how it is run. But even so, I found The Ides Of March a brilliant film that focuses on how low political backstabbing can get, and how some people would do anything to nail a victory in an election.

George Clooney stars and directs this film, which sees him in a supporting role to Ryan Gosling's character. Gosling plays an ambitious assistant to Clooney's campaign manager, who finds his world turned upside down when he makes an error that questions his loyalty to his bosses. It then follows how he has to go as low as his opponents to regain his position. 

Clooney does a great job keeping the pace tight and making sure everything flows smoothly. It may be a drama but there is nary a dull moment here.


The good: The cast is awesome. Gosling and Clooney are great, so are Philip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti in their roles as opposing campaign managers. Evan Rachel Wood has great chemistry with Gosling as a junior staffer who gets involved with him, which plays into the center plot. Clooney also deserves credit for his firm direction and making the film seem authentic, like it really is election season.

The bad: Marisa Tomei and Jeffrey Wright are underused, but they play their parts well enough. Other than that, I can't think of anything else.


Verdict: It's a solid film about politics and it is entertaining enough even for those who don't like politics or elections. (4/5)

Paranormal Activity 3

Year: 2011
Genre: Horror
Director: Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman

Plot: The origins of Katie & Kristi's encounters with demons in the first two films are revealed.


The gist: If you've seen the Paranormal Activity films, then you'll know what to expect here. The filmmakers take a step back in time as the footage are shown to be VHS style, complete with overlapping lines as the tape gets old etc. Though it probably was recorded digitally and the VHS effects added later.

The story follows young Katie & Kristi as they play with a supposedly imaginary friend that turns out to be something more sinister. As usual, the male characters are the ones with the cameras and there will be one person in the family that doesn't believe in the happenings until it's too late.


What's good: There's a part where they install a camera on a table fan so that it can capture a wider area as it turns, thereby not only making it innovative, but also a tad scarier as the audience anticipates what the lens might pick up as it moves. The acting is quite solid too, and the ending is pretty good, even though it's a lot like its predecessors.

What's bad: I still don't get why they have to keep recording everything, it just doesn't make sense. Even when things go bad, they still keep the camera running, and the camera is always pointing in the right direction when the shit hits the fan. It's strange.


Verdict: It's basically the same as before, with a few added twists. It answers a few questions, but creates even more questions. And they'll make more PA films for sure. It's just okay for me. (3/5)