I Love You Too, Dude.

Jason Segal and Paul Rudd hit it off in I Love You, Man

Romantic comedies are probably the most predictable genre in film.  The plots are straight forward:  boy gets (or has) girl, boy loses girl, boy learns lesson about life and/or love and gets girl back.  Everyone is happy, we all had a few laughs, and hey, that popcorn was pretty yummy as well.

Rom-coms are as polarized a genre as we have in the cinema.  Its films range from the great (When Harry Met Sally, Annie Hall, Bull Durham) to the pitiful (anything Ashton Kutcher, Ryan Reynolds, or Dane Cook has ever done.)  Between February and June, we are constantly hit over the head with a wide selection of rom-coms.  So what’s the big idea you ask?

Hollywood’s logic is sound.  The weather typically stinks (which means you aren’t going to the beach that weekend) and it’s in-between time for other studios to release their big blockbuster money-making films.  The assumption then that the average couple wants to see a schmaltzy predictable film that provides a few laughs is a wise one.  Romantic comedies that are released during this time do remarkably well at the box office and they typically have low to moderate budgets.  Cha-ching is right.

I Love You, Man is a by the book romantic comedy however, it offers up some pleasant surprises.  It suffers from the same problems most romantic comedies have: plot predictability, unnecessary gross out humor, and character development issues.  But be that as it may, I Love You, Man still has many redeemable qualities, particularly in its acting and premise.

Two Can Play At This Game

Clive and Julia keep things steamy in Duplicity.

After an impressive directorial debut with Michael Clayton, Tony Gilroy takes a much more jovial approach with Duplicity, a quirky, yet entertaining cavalcade of espionage where we are constantly left guessing as to who’s backstabbing who and whether or not two former spies can pull off a heist that will change their lives.

The film opens with Ray Koval (played by the debonair Clive Owen, but what else would you expect?) meeting Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) at a July 4th celebration at the US Embassy in Dubai.  Ray is dashing and his persistence with Claire sets a nice tone for the film.  It is their first of many encounters that you continually admire.  The chemistry between Owen and Roberts is spot on.  His aggressive charm is countered with her skeptic wit and as expected, one thing leads another and they end up in his hotel room.  Little does he know that she is an agent for the CIA and that she has drugged him.  This allows her to avoid all of the social discomfort that comes at the conclusion of the casual “one night stand.”  I wish it were that easy all the time.

Fluttering in the Knight

The Dark Knight was a global phenomenon.

Risking fierce unpopularity and knowing that I am in the distinct minority, I will make a rather bold statement: The Dark Knight is the most overrated film of all time.

Coming off of the critically and commercially successful Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan’s follow up was an ostentatious and overblown spectacle.  The Dark Knight is a film that is so impressed with itself, both technically and structurally, that it flirts with egomania.

Before I begin my dissection, let me make one consolation:  I do not think that The Dark Knight is a bad film.  It is good, but not great.  Entertaining, but not enthralling.  I wholeheartedly admit that I write this piece as a response to all of the “best film of the year” endorsements that The Dark Knight has received.  I simply cannot digest it.

TK’s Top Ten For 2008

In honor of this year’s Academy Awards, I’ve come out with my annual top ten list.

Poll: Best film of 2008