Michael Kelly

Went to see “Fair Game” in the cinema. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a disappointment. It felt like the filmmakers couldn’t really decide on what kind of movie they are making. There is a bit of a spy movie, which sucked. There is a bit of political conspiracy interlinked with a bit of documentary. That sucked too. There was a brilliant part of family drama. But it was only a small fraction of the film without really being linked to the rest of it.

The film is not really fulfilling. After all that time watching it, I had to ask myself – “what did I really get out of this film?”. And unfortunately I had to answer – “Nothing”. It’s not entertaining. It’s not thought-provoking. It’s not education. It’s not emotional.

That’s too bad really. Because both Naomi Watts and Sean Pean were involved and acting, trying to make this film better. But there was just no base for their acting. The storytelling was so bad. What is even more surprising is that the director of this film – Doug Liman – for sure knows how to make good movies. He proved that with directing both “Bourne Identity” and “Mr. And Mrs. Smith”.

Overall, I’d give this film a 3 out of 5. If you really want to see it, don’t waste your money on the cinema. There is nothing there that you won’t see on a smaller screen, in the comfort of your home.

I deliberately avoided going to the cinema to see “Changeling“. Why? Because, I probably knew too much about it and whatever I didn’t know, I assumed. What I knew was that this film was a drama about missing children, directed by one of the most dramatic directors ever – Clint Eastwood, and starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich. While I do appreciate drama, it’s had for me sometimes to take all the sadness in the film, especially when there is a beautiful woman who is sad.

With missing children somewhere in the story, I thought, it was almost guaranteed that Angelina Jolie would be sad for a significant chunk of the screen time. That’s hard to watch on its own. Multiply that by Clint Eastwood’s directing, and add to that John Malkovich, who is a sort of actor that can multiply anything happening on the screen ten-folds, and the result would be something so sad that it would border with depressing. That’s why I was trying to avoid this film a bit. But I knew that I’d watch it anyway. And so I did.

This film is a beautiful piece of art. It is an interesting, slowly unfolding, story. It’s an authentic look back at Los Angeles during 1920-1930’s. It’s an excellent cast, with some really talented actors. And its an excellent directorship.

It is a sad movie, yes. But not as sad as I thought it would be. It is in sad in a very sensible way. Plus, it gives a lot to think about. The film brings topics of family, humanity, social responsibility and bureaucracy.

Overall, highly recommended. My rating: 5 stars.