Review: "Suburbicon" is Messy and Mean-Spirited Satire With Fleeting Moments of Inspiration

Scene from Suburbicon

When one thinks of the 1950's American suburbs, there's a certain image that comes to mind. It's the land of TV shows like Leave It To Beaver, where conflicts are so pedestrian that one would be forgiven for thinking that baby boomers were wimps. It's an image that has been satirized both loving and mawkishly, and director George Clooney is the latest to throw his name into the ring with a film that not only subverts the suburban mentality, but attempts to explore it through a modern political prism. The film isn't as funny as its Joel and Ethan Coen script (also co-penned by Clooney and frequent partner Grant Heslov) would suggest, but it's one of the year's more interesting messes that attempts to take fake conservatism down a peg with a liberal agenda that is as obvious as it is prescient in 2017. The film is a mess, but at least Clooney keeps it interesting.

Theory Thursday: "The Ides of March" is George Clooney's Best Movie

Scene from The Ides of March

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

Super Delegates: Mike Morris in "The Ides of March" (2011)

George Clooney

Welcome to Super Delegates, a bi-monthly column released on Tuesdays and are done in part to recognize politics on film, specifically in regards to Oscar-nominated works. With this being an election year in the United States, it feels like a good time to revisit film history's vast relationship with politicians of any era and determine what makes them interesting while potentially connecting them to the modern era. The series plans to run until the end of this 2016 election cycle, so stay tuned for every installment and feel free to share your thoughts on films worthy of discussion in the comments section.

Birthday Take: Grant Heslov in "The Ides of March" (2011)

Ryan Gosling in The Ides of March

Welcome to The Birthday Take, a column dedicated to celebrating Oscar nominees and winners' birthdays by paying tribute to the work that got them noticed. This isn't meant to be an exhaustive retrospective, but more of a highlight of one nominated work that makes them noteworthy. The column will run whenever there is a birthday and will hopefully give a dense exploration of the finest performances and techniques applied to film. So please join me as we blow out the candles and dig into the delicious substance.

Review: "The Monuments Men" is a Safe Look at Art's Influence on Culture

George Clooney

After being moved to 2014 due to need for more post-production work, director George Clooney's The Monuments Men finally opened this month. It is in the midst of an Oscar season that it was once in the discussion of, which may be problematic for its chances next year. As evident by the past, films opening before June (and this year: October) are doomed to not even receive any recognition. While it could be that the largely competitors of the time are throwaway cash cows, it is also just because it is too early in any given year to be thinking about next year's ceremony. This isn't so much a problem for Clooney, whose prestige within the Academy has recently been recognized with a producer win for Argo. However, his star-studded World War II film is another story and one that does open the debate for next year's ceremony.

"The Monuments Men" Debuts with an Exciting, Star-Studded Trailer

Left to right: Matt Damon and George Clooney

It seems like we're in a recent winning streak with trailers right now. In the past week alone, we have gotten stuff for American Hustle, Her, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and now one of the surefire Oscar contenders: director George Clooney's The Monuments Men. While it has been hyped since January as one of the films of the year, it is largely because Clooney is one of the biggest threats to competitors in general. As we'll discuss later on, he may not be the most decorated Oscar nominee/winner, but his presence and contribution is fascinating and the fact that this looks to be another strong entry only makes it harder to deny his charisma.