The Words
Directed by: Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Jeremy Irons, Zoe Saldana
When struggling writer Cooper comes across an old novel manuscript, he retypes it and passes it off as his own. The book goes on to become a bestseller, with Cooper enjoying his fame until he is approached by the real author, Irons.
The above story is actually the plot of Quaid's character's latest acclaimed novel, meaning we get not just a story within a story, but a story within a story within another story, thanks to the flashback sequences which detail the circumstances under which Irons wrote the original novel. The addition of Quaid is a pointless one which adds to the running time unnecessarily. The dilemma Cooper finds himself in is interesting enough but never really gets explored fully. Antonio Calvache's cinematography is at times stunning and Irons steals the show in his handful of scenes but, overall, 'The Words' is a bit of a bore.
5/10
The Paperboy
Directed by: Lee Daniels
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack, Zac Efron, David Oyelowo, Macy Gray
Infatuated with death-row inmate Cusack, small-town Florida resident Kidman calls on two reporters, McConaughey and Oyelowo, from the Miami Times to investigate the case. McConaughey's kid brother, Efron, becomes obsessed with Kidman who constantly teases the young man.
The director of 'Precious' returns with another misjudged turkey. To describe it as the bastard child of Tennessee Williams and David Lynch is to give the film far too much credit but this seems to be what Daniels is aiming for. Instead, it resembles an uncomfortable collaboration between John Waters and John Grisham. A quality cast embarrass themselves with bad Southern accents and the director seems intent on shocking us with moments of extreme violence and sexuality which merely feel like the work of a juvenile creator.
3/10
John Dies at the End
Directed by: Don Coscarelli
Starring: Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Angus Scrimm
A pair of slackers, Williamson and Mayes, discover a new drug which sends its users through time and space, sometimes returning in alien form.
Horror and comedy are probably the two most difficult genres to pull off. Combining the two is generally a recipe for disaster and that's the case here. Coscarelli, known mostly for his fun debut 'Phantasm', achieved a good balance between the two recently with 'Bubba Ho-Tep' but fails to make it work in his latest effort. 'JDATE' can be best described as 'Men In Black' for stoners and is every bit as bad as that sounds. Giamatti, a huge 'Phantasm' fan, had wanted to work with Coscarelli for years. It's a shame their collaboration had to be this garbage. John may die at the end but that's further than most viewers will make it.
2/10
The Movie Waffler