2009 in Review: The Best Films... Number 7

BRIGHT STAR
Directed by Jane Campion

Jane Campion’s previous films have either irritated me or completely passed me by, so it was with some surprise that I was so completely bowled over by BRIGHT STAR, the story of the love between John Keats and Fanny Brawne that inspired some of the former’s greatest poetry. In the two lead roles, Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish excel, Cornish, in particular, is at her very best here. There is genuine romantic chemistry between them, which is exacerbated by Campion’s painterly skill with the camera. With a film so unashamedly about beauty, and beautiful things; you have a right to expect gorgeousness to permeate every frame. It is to Campion’s immense credit that not only does she surpass any such expectations; she doesn’t neglect the simple beauty and pathos of her story, or of the work of her inspiration. Whishaw reads a Keats poem over the end credits, and the effect is crushing.

2009 in Review: The Best Films... Number 8

A SERIOUS MAN
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen

Yes, this was a much smaller film than we may have become accustomed to from America’s most famous filmmaking brothers (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and BURN AFTER READING) are their two most successful films of all time, after all. Yes, it was very Jewish, and yes it was brilliant, in a more Coen-esque fashion than either of their two more lionised recent hits. Michael Stuhlbarg (a near unknown) is brilliant in the titular role, as a man whose life is becoming unstuck – his wife is leaving him, for a mutual friend, one of his students is offering him a bribe, he can’t connect to his kids and his ailing brother is causing him stress. In typically playful style, the brothers take us through our Serious Man’s trials and tribulations, and the accumulation of weight upon his shoulders. It feels like an older, more restrained BARTON FINK, which is a compliment of the highest order. It’s likely to be regarded as a minor classic in the not too distant future.

2009 in Review: The Best Films... Number 9

AN EDUCATION
Directed by Lone Scherfig

Among other things, in the near future, AN EDUCATION will be remembered as the film that brought the luminous Carey Mulligan to the public eye. Her performance, as a precocious teenaged girl in Scherfig’s adaptation of Lynn Barber’s memoir is simply perfect. It’s a flawless piece of work made more impressive by the calibre of her cast-mates, from Alfred Molina (equally good as her father) to Peter Sarsgaard, Rosamund Pike, Emma Thompson and Olivia Williams. Nick Hornby’s script pulls off the neat trick of being perceptive and tight, and even more impressively, mould Barber’s character into likeability. The period is beautifully evoked by Scherfig, whose direction is elegant and restrained throughout. It’s not likely to stick in your mind for years, but is a thoroughly well made and entertaining film, and one with a knockout central performance.

2009 in Review: The Best Films... Number 10

CHE
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Those annoyed by folding two films into one should look away now. Separately, THE ARGENTINE and GUERRILLA are strong points on Steven Soderbergh’s CV. Together, they become his most ambitious, exceptional film (although not his best – that is OUT OF SIGHT). The two films tell two stories from the life of Che Guevara, a man whose image is one of the most famous in the modern world. The first is of the Cuban revolution, and Guevara’s infamous role in it. It’s an exciting and stylish war movie, shot with customary elegance and style. The second tells the (much) less told story of an attempted coup in Bolivia, in which Guevara was also involved, taking place some time after the successful Cuban campaign. The juxtaposition between the two is handled adroitly. They feel like vastly different films, but uniting them is a superb central performance by Benicio Del Toro, who humanises an icon with seeming ease.

2009 in Review: Part Two. The Best Films...

50) WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
Directed by Spike Jonze

Yeah, I was disappointed by the film. It doesn’t work in the way that I wanted it to. However, the strength of the trailer alone (the best trailer of the decade?) merits it a place on this list.

49) ROLE MODELS
Directed by David Wain

It was a decent year for comedy, and Role Models got the year off to a good start. Extra kudos for giving Paul Rudd an all-too-rare starring role.

48) CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller

Pixar have clearly dominated American animation for years, but this is the best non-Pixar animation in years. It’s very, very funny.

47) I LOVE YOU MAN
Directed by John Hamburg

Just pips Role Models by virtue of casting the great Jason Segel (Freaks and Geeks rules) and the lovely Rashida (daughter of Quincy) Jones from Parks and Recreation.

46) RELIGULOUS
Directed by Larry Charles

Funny and irreverent. Larry Charles, who directed Borat, made a better film this year than his former colleague, Sacha Baron Cohen.

45) BROKEN EMBRACES
Directed by Pedro Almodovar

Average Almodovar is still better than so much else released in a cinematic year. This is heaps of fun, and features another knockout turn by Penelope Cruz, who was even better here than in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

44) KISSES
Directed by Lance Daly

Gorgeous black and white Irish indie, about a couple of pre-teen runaways in Dublin. Funny, sweet and scary, this is further proof of a burgeoning Irish film industry.

43) FROST/NIXON
Directed by Ron Howard

Seems so long ago (although in fairness, it’s been 18 months or so since I saw it), but this is an impressive and occasionally thrilling piece of work, with a tremendous performance by Frank Langella.

42) PUBLIC ENEMIES
Directed by Michael Mann

One of the year’s biggest disappointments for me, a big Michael Mann fan, but still an impressive film. I’ve just bought the blu ray, can’t wait to give it a second go.

41) RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
Directed by Jonathan Demme

Demme hadn’t made a film for ages before last year’s brilliant Jimmy Carter documentary. This should be the world’s most annoying film. That it isn’t is down to a brilliant performance by Anne Hathaway.

40) PONTYPOOL
Directed by Bruce McDonald

Impressive and stylish low-budget zombie movie, with a wonderful performance by Stephen McHattie as a DJ caught up in an unbelievable turn of events. A future cult classic, and really highly recommended.

39) ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Directed by Werner Herzog

Herzog can seemingly do no wrong at present, and this documentary, while lacking the genius of Grizzly Man is one of the year’s best non-fiction films.

38) THIRST
Directed by Park-Chan Wook

The year’s second best vampire movie (although, in full disclosure: I haven’t seen Twilight). Park is a brilliant director, and this is as stylish as his best work, although the story lacks the power of the Vengeance trilogy.

37) FUNNY PEOPLE
Directed by Judd Apatow

So close to being a third consecutive stone-cold classic for Apatow, this had more good stuff in it than any other comedy this year, but the occasional misfire pulls it back.

36) DEPARTURES
Directed by Yojiro Takita

Winner of last year’s Best Film in a Foreign Language Oscar, where it defeated Waltz with Bashir. While it shouldn’t have done, it’s an affecting, gracious and emotionally involving film.

35) REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
Directed by Sam Mendes

I’m not a massive Mendes fan, but this was his best film to date. It’s based on one of the greatest books of all time, and boasts knockout performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Not an easy watch, however.

34) FROZEN RIVER
Directed by Courtney Hunt

Melissa Leo won a richly-deserved Oscar nomination for a stunning turn that is the heart and soul of Courtney Hunt’s film.

33) THE INFORMANT!
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Soderbergh had a wonderful year, and this was a delight from start to finish. Matt Damon is superb as a man involved in the corporate criminal culture in the US.

32) FANTASTIC MR FOX
Directed by Wes Anderson

Another of the year’s disappointments, although it’s hard to see how Anderson could have improved upon this. It looks magnificent, but couldn’t possibly have lived up to the filmmaker’s best work.

31) AVATAR
Directed by James Cameron

It will be interesting to see how history regards James Cameron’s 3D marvel. At its best, it’s the best big movie of the year.

30) IL DIVO
Directed by Paolo Sorrentino

Sorrentino’s a great filmmaker, but Il Divo has faded from my memory somewhat since I saw it. Toni Servillo’s performance is extraordinary, and a rewatch may have moved the film higher up this list.

29) BETTER THINGS
Directed by Duane Hopkins

Sensational, but downbeat debut from British director Duane Hopkins about the effects of drugs on a small Cotswolds community. It’s a massive downer, but seriously impressive stuff.

28) FISH TANK
Directed by Andrea Arnold

Katie Jarvis steals the show in her debut performance as a disaffected teenaged girl in Andrea Arnold’s excellent follow-up to the brilliant RED ROAD. Good support too from Michael Fassbender.

27) IN THE LOOP
Directed by Armando Ianucci

A really good year for British cinema, 2009, and IN THE LOOP is further evidence of that. Not quite as brilliant as THE THICK OF IT, the TV show that spawned the film, but hilarious all the same.

26) THREE MONKEYS
Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

Ceylan is one of Europe’s best filmmakers, with films like DISTANT and CLIMATES among the decade’s best. THREE MONKEYS is just a hair below that quality, but is a terrific piece of work.

25) MOON
Directed by Duncan Jones

I would argue that Sam Rockwell gave the year’s best performance in Duncan Jones’ (the son of David Bowie) directorial debut. MOON is by no means a perfect film, but fits neatly with two of the obvious trends of the year, 2009 was an excellent year for British cinema, as noted in the previous post, but also an excellent year for science fiction. Many compared it to the work of Kubrick, I think it’s more like a cross between SOLARIS and DARK CITY.

24) MILK
Directed by Gus Van Sant

Sean Penn won the Oscar for his portrayal of openly gay US politician Harvey Milk in Gus Van Sant’s least weird film since GOOD WILL HUNTING. It’s a terrific movie, with great performances from James Franco and Josh Brolin in support, while Penn is superb. Only some annoying directorial tricks stop this from ranking higher on this list. It’s hard now to believe that many thought that Penn should have been beaten to the award by Mickey Rourke.

23) ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL
Directed by Sacha Gervasi

Brilliant film this, one where you’re not entirely sure for much of the duration how seriously you’re supposed to take it. There’s definitely more than one moment when you feel like this story simply can’t be true. But true it is, and Anvil, an unsuccessful heavy metal band are among the year’s most engaging screen stories. By turns, this is funny, moving and brilliant.

22) SUGAR
Directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden

HALF NELSON, the debut film from co-directors Fleck and Boden, suggested a coupling of great promise, promise that has been fulfilled by their follow-up: SUGAR. SUGAR is a quiet and brilliant film about a young Dominican baseball player who is moved to the US by the major league franchise that has signed him, and has to cope in a new country. It’s sympathetic, heartfelt filmmaking, which surpasses their debut.

21) THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD
Directed by Ji-Woon Kim

Kim has had a great decade (A BITTERSWEET LIFE is a highlight), and he ends it with his most entertaining film to date. THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD is a Korean spaghetti Western, which is convinced of nothing other than it’s own insatiable need to entertain. It doesn’t make massive amounts of sense, but, quite frankly, what does that matter?

20) INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Directed by Quentin Tarantino

A bravura piece of work, by one of Hollywood’s most interesting filmmakers. I reviewed it here, and my memory hasn’t diminished it at all. There are flaws aplenty (Eli Roth, the Basterds are the least interesting characters in the movie, it’s too long), but the opening scene alone is worth anything that could have followed it. Worth commending two outstanding performances as well, from Christopher Waltz (who will win an Oscar) and Melanie Laurent, who, sadly, won’t.

19) TOKYO SONATA
Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s (no relation) film is an odd, charming and captivating film about family, obligation and recrimination. It’s also very funny, occasionally shocking and quite beautiful. It’s been a good year for Japanese drama, although the best Japanese film I saw last year (STILL WALKING) isn’t out in the UK for a couple of weeks. As such, TOKYO SONATA is the best Japanese film of the year.

18) SHIFTY
Directed by Eran Creevy

Eran Creevy’s film is one of the best British films of the year, and further evidence that the British film industry is in rude health. Daniel Mays and Riz Ahmed play former friends who have drifted apart, but are reunited for one day. Ahmed is a small-time drug dealer, and Mays accompanies him on his rounds. That may sound like the sort of hackneyed start to a British crime thriller that we all came to hate in the aftermath of Guy Ritchie’s early films, but this has much more in common with the films of Shane Meadows.

17) ADVENTURELAND
Directed by Greg Mottola

In a world where (500) DAYS OF SUMMER can take money, and be regarded as vastly more than it is, the sense of injustice isn’t helped when a film like ADVENTURELAND (in every single way it’s superior) disappears from cinema screens almost immediately. It’s a superb film, with great work from the cast, Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart are great as the leads, but the support from Bill Hader, Ryan Reynolds and the goddess that is Kristen Wiig is flawless. This is sad, funny and emotionally raw. It’s as good an evocation of teenaged life as Hollywood has produced in years.

16) STAR TREK
Directed by JJ Abrams

I suppose that at this stage of the list you could quite easily think that this is a list aimed only at people who don’t watch popular films. Only AVATAR and INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, so far, have taken more than £10m at the UK box office. However, STAR TREK is the best blockbuster of the year. Funny, exciting and so, so much fun, this isn’t like the STAR TREK films that I grew up on. I’m fairly sure that in my old house the VHS tape of THE MOTION PICTURE that my dad showed me twenty odd years ago still hasn’t finished. This, though, is terrific, and very highly recommended to those, like me, who have no affinity with the franchise.

15) THE HANGOVER
Directed by Todd Phillips

And now the hits keep on coming. I reviewed this here, and since then the film has become even more of a sensation; it’s the highest grossing R rated comedy of all time in the USA, which is even more remarkable because it’s a film where the most famous face belonged to Bradley Cooper (aside from Mike Tyson’s that is). What The Hangover is, is a smartly written, brilliantly played comedy that adroitly follow the lesson that you should leave your audience laughing. Chances are, anyone who you’ve spoken to about the film has told you how much they loved the end credits? Still any film that sends some love the way of the ‘nard dog is ok by me, and I don’t think I had a better time in the cinema all year.

14) AWAY WE GO
Directed by Sam Mendes

Ok, so Revolutionary Road’s reign as my favourite Mendes film lasted for, approximately, six months. AWAY WE GO is the least theatrical of Mendes’ film work, and as such, the most alive. It’s a funny and moving film, with really appealing lead performances by the great John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, while the likes of Paul Schneider (also brilliant this year in BRIGHT STAR), Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney, Catherine O’Hara and, especially, Melanie Lynskey, give great support. It’s a little indie-by-numbers, but the best indie-by-numbers film of the year.

13) A CHRISTMAS TALE
Directed by Arnaud Desplechin

Desplechin is one of the best filmmakers in Europe. That much is obvious when comparing just his last two features, KINGS AND QUEEN, which is far from the finished article but is so brave, and assured, that it beggars belief, and this, A CHRISTMAS TALE, which is incredibly close to being a masterpiece. A rewatch might have pushed this higher in the list, but even without it stands out as being one of the best films of the year, and one of the best films about family, of the decade. It stands comparison with Olivier Assayas’ SUMMER HOURS or Abdel Kechiche’s COUSCOUS. There are terrific performances as well from Catherine Deneuve, Mathieu Amalric, Melvil Poupaud and Anne Consigny. Quite simply, it’s brilliant.

12) THE COVE
Directed by Louis Psihoyos

Unquestionably the year’s most required viewing. This is a horrifying documentary about the way that whales are systematically butchered in a small fishing community in coastal Japan. The film is set up in such a way that it documents these terrible actions, and the efforts of a small group of activists who attempt to highlight the problem, and put as many obstacles as possible in the fishermen’s way. It’s a brave and brilliant film, never weighed down by the seriousness and harrowing nature of its subject. It’s grisly, but absolutely essential viewing.

11) LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Directed by Tomas Alfredsson

And, now, we come to the year’s best vampire movie. Stylish, atmospheric and truly unsettling, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN is a sumptuous and brilliant film. It truly understands, and elucidates what it means to be an outcast at a young age, with seemingly your whole future mapped out in front of you. The best Swedish film since Lukas Moodysson’s brilliant SHOW ME LOVE, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN has already been fast-tracked for a remake (due out later this year). You owe it to yourself, however, to see the original, and it is a true original, first.

2009 in Review: Part One

2009 isn’t likely to be remembered as a great year for cinema. Despite many of the world’s best directors releasing films this year, it’s hard to see more than a handful of the films released remaining in people’s lists of favourites for very long. Filmmakers such as Michael Mann, Wes Anderson, Pedro Almodovar and Werner Herzog failed to live up to their usual high standards, although each of their films (PUBLIC ENEMIES, FANTASTIC MR FOX, BROKEN EMBRACES and ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, respectively were all among the years 50 best).

Meanwhile, Joe Wright, whose previous two films I loved, directed one of the year’s worst in THE SOLOIST. Wright was something of an outlier, though, among British directors, as several British films were among the year’s best, from Eran Creevy’s outstanding debut SHIFTY to Andrea Arnold’s excellent FISH TANK, with Duane Hopkins’ BETTER THINGS potentially the most impressive of the three, from a stylistic point of view, at the very least. Sam Mendes made his best two films to date (although both were American films: REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and AWAY WE GO), while the two best British films: BRIGHT STAR and AN EDUCATION were directed by foreign-born directors, the New Zealander Jane Campion, and the Dane Lone Scherfig, respectively.

There were a handful of hugely impressive European films, from Laurent Cantet’s THE CLASS to Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s THREE MONKEYS. Special seasonal mention should go to Arnaud Desplechin’s A CHRISTMAS TALE, which featured some of the best acting of the year. Michael Haneke should, probably, be worried, as THE WHITE RIBBON is the first film of his that I could bear to even contemplate watching again, it’s a full-blown masterpiece, one of just four from this year, (to learn the others, you’ll have to wait for the full list – due on New Year’s Day).

Commercially speaking, the year was depressing. The worst film of the year may end up it’s most successful – TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN. Only three blockbusters were truly great, UP, THE HANGOVER and STAR TREK (the year’s most pleasant surprise), although INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, Tarantino’s best film for a decade, took an awful lot of money considering it is three hours long and in a foreign language.

Special word, comes at the end, for the Man of the Year. You read a lot of articles about how difficult it is to make films, which is why we have to wait so long for new films from Paul Thomas Anderson et al. So I’d have enormous respect for STEVEN SODERBERGH even if all of his four new films released in 2009 had been terrible. As it is, two were great, one was very, very good, and the fourth an interesting experiment that doesn’t quite work. The latter is THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE, a brave film, featuring an equally courageous performance from adult film star Sasha Grey. Meanwhile, THE INFORMANT! once more proved how talented and dependable a star Matt Damon is. A salacious expose of American corporate culture, it’s a funny and offbeat delight. As for greatness, though, it’s apt that the greatest films of Soderbergh’s career came from his exploration of a man who has had the title of greatness bestowed upon him. Soderbergh’s THE ARGENTINE and GUERRILLA – known from here on in as CHE, and counted as one film, are yet another massive step away from his comfort zone from the American director most eager to push himself into areas and subjects massively different from each other.

Find out where the Soderberghs, and all of the other films of 2009 rank on New Year’s Day. And, of course, have a wonderful Christmas and a terrific New Year.

Review: Avatar

There are acres of the internet dedicated to explaining just how expensive James Cameron's follow-up to the world-conquering TITANIC has proven to be. My estimate is that, once distribution and marketing costs have been added to a mammoth production budget, you're looking at a film that has cost nearly $600m to bring to the screen.

Of course, one of the costs has been the sheer lengthiness of the project. For the last four years, Cameron has been in the various stages of the production process, including using a brand new camera, in order to make the film look the way he wanted. This new camera has made quite the difference, this is by far the most impressive looking 3D film to date.

What Cameron has done, in a way that at least equals the achievement of Peter Jackson's THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, is create a world that is so real and so believable that you are completely transported. AVATAR is a towering technological achievement, and a sumptuous, visual delight.

It's not without flaws, though. The film is 164 minutes long, and while this is less of an issue than might have been feared, there are moments when it drags. The dialogue is, on occasion, Lucas-esque and the focus on environmental issues is woolly, and abandoned somewhat for the money shots (isn't nature great? Well, yeah, but look how much greater it is when we blow the living shit out of it!)

It's probably best to compare it to some of the films that have been the best or biggest blockbusters since TITANIC. It's infinitely better than any of the Star Wars prequels, for example, but not as good as any of the LORD OF THE RINGS films.

You could argue that the balance of the film is askew, there's about 65% of it that could, uncharitably, be described as bollocks. On the flip-side, though, the other 35% is marvellous, more than good enough to make the film a captivating, and compelling watch. In fact, so brilliant is Cameron's film, when in full flow, that it would be easy to proclaim it as more than it is: a genuine, visual marvel, with a story borrowed from several places (most notably the legend of Pocahontas), some dodgy acting and shonky moments, levied by moments of genuine brilliance.

Review: A Serious Man

A SERIOUS MAN is the fourteenth feature film collaboration between Joel and Ethan Coen. The Coen brothers have been critical darlings ever since their debut, the brilliant BLOOD SIMPLE. They won their first Academy Awards with FARGO in 1996, and their two latest films, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and BURN AFTER READING have been their most commercially successful.

It's been a strange career path, one which probably only features one film universally regarded as a failure; the ill-advised remake of THE LADYKILLERS (although INTOLERABLE CRUELTY is unjustly held in low regard by many), but has seen their last decade of work be seen as inferior by most reviewers.

Looking through their filmography, this is probably the case, but only because their 'nineties' were so great. In addition to FARGO, they created stone-cold masterpieces MILLER'S CROSSING, BARTON FINK, THE HUDSUCKER PROXY and THE BIG LEBOWSKI. In comparison, the likes of THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, INTOLERABLE CRUELTY and BURN AFTER READING can't help but feel slight.

Slightness is something that has been attributed to A SERIOUS MAN; albeit wrongly. This is an intensely intimate film, one which asks questions of man's ability to live in a world without levity. Our hero is Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg), a midwestern professor whose wife is preparing to leave him, and whose children are laws unto themselves. He suffers a small crisis of faith, which in addition to an unwell brother (a terrific Richard Kind [cousin Andy from CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM) and problems at work lead him to the brink of a breakdown.

Stuhlbarg delivers a knockout performance. Larry is a sympathetic character, a man unable to see humour in anything in his life. It strikes me that this film is about men like this. Men who allow each slight to compound the previous one. Getting inside the mindset of Larry is no easy task, so filmmakers and actor deserve credit for the breadth of the character study. That the film has little time for any other character aside from as a reflection of Larry is true (the same could be argued of BARTON FINK, of course), but this is no bad thing. It's Larry's world we're inhabiting, and a diversion from it would lessen the impact, although on this note, the film's extended prologue, which takes place many years, and miles away from the main narrative is a delight.

Review: Bright Star

It would be fair to say that Jane Campion and I don’t really get on, cinematically. Someone only has to play a piano for me to begin to have a panic attack. It’s with great surprise then, that BRIGHT STAR will doubtless end up as one of my favourite films of the year. It’s a simple, and brilliant film, graceful, beautiful and profoundly moving.

BRIGHT STAR is the story of the love affair between poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish, superb). Shot with immense care and eye for beauty, Bright Star is far and away Campion’s best, and richest film. She has elicited terrific performances, not just from Cornish who is the standout, but from the supporting cast, including Paul Schneider and Kerry Fox.

It is, though, the central relationship that is, as it should be, at the film’s core. Whishaw and Cornish are a hugely appealing couple, and it’s impossible to not have sympathy for their plight as their tentative love affair runs into obstacles such as class, money and social acceptance. While Campion has painstakingly created an atmosphere in which you feel transported back to the nineteenth century, she has thrillingly also managed to make a love story as timeless as it is perfect.

Review: The Men Who Stare at Goats

An all-star cast delivers plenty of laughs but little substance in this comedy that suffers from a crisis of identity.

Grant Heslov's directorial debut is an adaptation of Jon Ronson's comic memoir of his time spent in Iraq in the build up to the invasion by the Allied Forces. Ewan McGregor plays journalist Bob Wilton, who heads to Iraq determined to prove himself as a writer and as a man (he's recently been cuckolded by his boss).

When in Iraq, he meets up with Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a self-proclaimed psychic soldier who recounts the story of his life in the US Army, while the two attempt to enter Iraq and find the action each seeks for different reasons.

The film is funny, both leads give good performances, and they are ably supported by Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey, but the film loses it's way badly in the final third. What had been an irreverent comedy becomes something more conventional, something in need of closure for characters, which as they were set up, could never have achieved it. As such, it's hard to truly recommend Heslov's film as anything other than a mild diversion.