Beware of quick political fixes - "Ides of March" review

Drama - USA - 101 mins
Release Nov 2011
Directed by George Clooney
Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov

 A friend once said "Words, words, words... only just words - show me your heart by your actions". Nothing could be truer than in the game of politics. This film had me hmm-ing all the way through it! It seems the political system is forecasted to continue as it always has - new leader, same words, corrupt action - a snapshot of the current world political leaders set in a microcosm of the USA. Will "we" ever learn to discriminate hype from policy?


A brilliant script by Clooney et al, and naturally brilliantly acted by Clooney as soon-to-be destined President of United States Mike Morris and naive presidential believer Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling). Phillip Seymour Hoffman as political adviser Paul Zara and Paul Giamatti as opposition candidate adviser Tom Duffy also play definitive roles in this way too believable story arc.

To say I loved this film would be wrong - it made me sad. It is, however a powerful awakening to really listen to what is being put "out there" from global leaders.

Showing nationally, Dendy and Palace Cinemas.

Midnight in Paris - for intelligent audiences

For the Romantic at Heart
94 min  -  Comedy - Fantasy - "Magic Realism" - Romance
Written and Directed by Woody Allen
2011 USA

As a writer, isn't it everyone's fantasy to meet the literary greats? Throw in the heady mix of Picasso, Monet, Dali, a surrealist and philosopher or two, 1920s Golden Age of music, wine and dance and you've got yourself one heck of a wild imaginal trip!

Gil (Owen Wilson) is a Hollywood screenwriter and considers himself a "hack". He's on a journey to write a truly inspired literary novel though is having immense difficulty. Inez (Rachel McAdams) his fiance isn't exactly supportive, along with her "old moneyed" parents (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy). 




In classic Woody Allen style, it's clear Gil and Inez aren't meant for each other... though insecure, and perhaps naive Gil persists with the relationship while the whole time dreaming about walking in the Parisian rain and being born into the wrong era. 

Lost in the streets of Paris one evening the clock chimes midnight and suddenly a vintage yellow Rolls Royce comes to his rescue - inside are of course F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald.

Owen Wilson plays this character perfectly! And for those who have remarked Australian audiences are lazy (sorry Margaret P)... I challenge you to indulge in this wonderful fantasy and witty dialogue. 

It's one of those film scripts you wish you had of written - if only you'd thought of it first. Loved every minute of it. Showing Nationally now.