Movie Review: Iron Man 2

I might've enjoyed watching the superhero genre be mercilessly mocked in "Kick-Ass," but I'm no hater. I've been anticipating "Iron Man 2" ever since the moment the first movie ended. This one comes with some minor disappointments and a few major promises. While I can certainly recommend "Iron Man 2," there isn't enough to truly give it flat out praise.

"Iron Man 2" leaves off directly where the first one left off, with weapons connoisseur Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) admitting to the media that he's Iron Man. The world has changed since then. Thanks to Stark's design, the world is now safer. For now at least. The movie catches Stark at something of a crossroads in his life: he's more successful than ever, yet the same technology that's kept him alive is now turning against him. He becomes more and more narcissistic than ever.

While Stark remains in denial that the Iron Man technology can ever be doubled, someone looks to do just that. There's Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), an even more smug version of Stark who's looking for a job in the Pentagon, and psychotic Russian physicist Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) who's seeking revenge on Stark for past injustice.

One thing I must hand it to director Jon Favreau for doing is putting his own comedy background into an action film. His natural eye for comedy always adds a good extra entertainment value to the "Iron Man" films. The brand of humor he incorporates here probably wouldn't be a good fit for a Batman or Spider-Man film. However, this particular story involves a character who's CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world, yet he's still willing to call a senator a jackass.

In Favreau's strength, unfortunately, lies his weakness. While he knows his way around humor, he just couldn't quite nail a lot of the action here. Strangely though, he seemed to know what he was doing in the first movie. In "Iron Man," some of the war sequences had an odd sense of realism while the scenes where Stark was just mastering his suit were sometime even quite graceful. Here, much of the action was either too silly to take seriously or too quick to ever appreciate. I call it the "Quantum of Solace" complex: a sequel to a great action film which looses hold of the great action of the original.

Take for example, the final battle. I'll do my best to spare the details. What I will say is that for a battle built up so much, in a location so tight, it turns out to be a major letdown. It's as if the whole scene, the whole plot line, was simply to end with a giant laugh.

One of the main factors that keeps "Iron Man 2" from falling apart is its superb cast. Downey is almost too perfect for the part. Only a free spirit like him could portray a free spirit like Tony Stark. But unlike the first film, "Iron Man 2" adds a level of emotional vulnerability to Stark. He's certainly not the Messiah he once thought he was. Downey manages to balance that fine line, without turning Stark into a total contradiction.

Then there are a few supporting actors truly worthy of recognition. While this film suffers from a loss of The Dude, it makes up for it with the presence of Mickey Rourke. Call it a stretch, but his performance reminded me somewhat of The Joker with more motivation. He always seemed to take such ease in being such a psychopath. While I can sometimes be annoyed by too much backstory for a villain, here it's used simply to show motivation rather than to create unnecessary sympathy.

But I digress. Rourke shows here why he's such a great actor. He is an actor who needs no direction. All he needs is a character description, and he makes it into his own (his odd relationship to his bird was all his idea). The only problem is that Rourke is given such limited screen time. Maybe with a little more freedom, and a little more time, Ivan Vanko would've been even more of a villain to remember.

Yet another scene stealer is the even better Sam Rockwell. He taps into all the anger, frustration, and even dark comedy that define his other performances (especially in "Moon"). His character differs from most other villains of superhero mythology because he doesn't achieve evil through highly advanced weapons or murder. Rather, he is so creepy because he's such an egomaniac that he will resort to literally any means to get to the top. View him as a much less intelligent version of Hans Landa.

While the cast is sprawling, one problem is that many are either underutilized, or are just plain useless. No offense at all to Gwyneth Paltrow, but her performance mainly consists of her yelling "Stop!" and "Don't!" at Tony. While Scarlett Johansson's Natalie Rushman certainly has a little more purpose than that, her role in the film would've been better in another sequel.

Again, "Iron Man 2" is a film I can recommend, but only give slight praise to. It can be hard to give a movie a passing grade for entertainment value alone, but "Iron Man 2" manages to deliver a solid two hours that never has a dull moment. Yet, with the high standard set by recent comic book films ("Spider-Man 2," "X-Men," "The Dark Knight," "Sin City"), "Iron Man 2" could've been a lot more. And with the extreme likelihood of a third film, Favreau and the "Iron Man" crew should stick to the factors that made the first film great rather than the ones that made the sequel decently mediocre.

Movie Review: Kick-Ass

Remember those people that always said that you should never be the hero? They never told you why: because you might get knifed repeatedly before being mixed up with a bazooka and some samurai swords. Thank you for that valuable lesson, "Kick-Ass."

All joking aside, "Kick-Ass" is a grand new addition to a genre of meta satire where the story becomes both satire and the subject in which it is actually satirizing (on purpose, of course).

The subject being satirized in "Kick-Ass" is a hybrid of the worlds of both comic books and movies. In order to dive into this world, "Kick-Ass" uses Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson). Dave is the archetypal comic book hero pre-transformation: he's a nerdy teenage outcast with girl troubles. Dave escapes his miserable, almost meaningless existence through an extreme comic book obsession.

Dave's obsession goes a little too far when he believes being a hero is as easy as putting on a costume, so he sets out to rid the streets of crime. Despite becoming a pop culture phenomenon, his super hero name is Kick-Ass not because he wins every fight but rather because he always seems to get beaten to a pulp.

"Kick-Ass" has what is almost two interwoven plots. The two plots serve as the two separate films "Kick-Ass" strives to be: a comic book movie, and a comic book satire. Dave's transformation into Kick-Ass serves most of the film's satirical moments. These moments serve to tell us that the great heroes such as Spider-Man, Superman, and Batman were kept flat on the page for a reason. These heroes served as fantasies for a reason. That reason is that they're not supposed to exist in reality.

There is another part of "Kick-Ass" that always remains funny, yet also tries to be like a true comic book. The film gives us the dynamic duo of the young, foul-mouthed, and very skilled Hit-Girl (Chloe Moretz) and her weapon-loving father Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage). Wherever they fight crime, they leave an extremely gory trail behind.

"Kick-Ass" has generated a lot of controversy for its sometimes less-than-serious look at ultra violence. To simply dismiss it as a product of violence-loving culture would be to totally miss the point. "Kick-Ass" comments on a society enamored by superheroes and explosions by in a way, becoming a very product of it as well. For example, Hit-Girl's shocking fighting techniques might produce laughter. This isn't because the act of murder is supposed to be funny but rather because these moves are all carried out by such a young child. One of the most important rules of comedy is breaking away from the expected. Then again, the often humorous view shows how little the characters understand reality.

Not all of the violence in "Kick-Ass" is pure humor. Director Matthew Vaughn has a Tarantinoesque ability to balance out over-the-top violence with much more realistic (and even dramatic) violence. Nobody gets injured and then heals instantaneously. Vaughn never neglects to remind the audience that in the end, these are just a bunch of inexperienced kids fighting people with guns.

"Kick-Ass" is supported by a flawless cast. Johnson creates a neurotic persona so awkward that it manages to rival the reputation for awkwardness created by co-star Christopher Mintz-Plasse. It was nice to see Nic Cage actually acting for once, or better yet actually playing a character fine-tuned to his own personality. He's had too long of a streak playing characters abusing women while wearing a bear costume.

Of all the cast, the biggest standout was the most inexperienced actress. Moretz handled such a gutsy role with such gusto. She gave off the sort of ease and believability that only a pro could ever pull off. Despite having such a small role, Moretz turns Hit-Girl into the funniest and most memorable character of the film. She's even worthy enough of her own spinoff.

The reason that "Kick-Ass" is my favorite film so far this year is because of how courageous it truly is. In this day, it's hard to make a movie that truly feels daring, that feels as if societal norms were broken in order to make it. "Kick-Ass" is that rare film that seems like a shock that anyone ever produced it. It contains violence that is at times uncomfortably gruesome and at other times uncomfortably funny. It even uses a four-letter word that is still taboo to say.

Yet, the film is never shocking for the sake of shock value. It is shocking because it earns the right to be shocking. It's shocking because parts of it feel like the kind of story you'd hear on the local news at 11, and then later watch it become a YouTube phenomenon. It's daring in both its hardcore violence and its storytelling. Vaughn carefully balances both realism and jet pack absurdity into one film. It's stylish and ridiculous at the same time.

In a world where people can watch movies on laptops and phones, "Kick-Ass" feels like the kind of film that was made to be see in a theater. Its unique story is worthy of a variety of responses. One scene can make some happy, and others angry. It's also shot well, and contains some humor that works best in collectivized laughter. "Kick-Ass" has something to say and something to give. It's both a disturbing look at the world, and a hilarious comic book fantasy. Genius couldn't have come in a more stylish, more fascinating package.

Temporary Vacancy

It's that time of year again. This time around, I'll be heading south of the border to Peru until the 25th. While I'm there, I will not have access to either internet or a movie theater. That means this site will be vacant for the time being.

Unfortunately, this means I won't be able to get an opening weekend review of "Kick-Ass" or another of that copy of "La Dolce Vita" that's been sitting on my shelf for far too long. And I also promise to reboot "That One Scene" and finally write a review of the best comedy currently on TV, "Modern Family." I hope some of you have made an effort to go see either "Greenberg" or "Hot Tub Time Machine." Or better yet, both.

In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy everything else my blog has to offer until I return. Until that happens, I say, happy moviegoing.

For a little extra film-related entertainment, check out this trailer for a recent film called "Birdemic." It's awful beyond any level of the imagination yet, it's so watchable at the same time. Something tells me that "The Room" has finally caught on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnNvBucoNSY

Movie Review: Trainspotting

At this point, I should not be surprised to see a Danny Boyle film that starts and begins with action. Or, in the case of "Trainspotting," begins in the middle of action. That's the pace of the film, the mood of the film, and the setting of the film, all introduced in a few short seconds. If you can't keep up, you were never meant to watch this film. If you can, be prepared for one of the most rewarding viewing experience you might ever have.

"Trainspotting" was the breakthrough film of the energized British mind of Danny Boyle, perhaps best known for "Slumdog Millionaire." Here, the slums of Mumbai are replaced by the drug scene of Edinburgh, Scotland. Boyle focuses on a small group of heroin addicts, who live as a small, twisted, alternate family.

The circle of friends include the timid Spud (Ewen Bremner), honest Tommy (Kevin McKidd), almost pensive Sick Boy (Jonny Lee Miller), borderline psychotic Begbie (Robert Carlyle), and Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor). Renton is the film's central character. The film mainly follows his quest from junkie to ordinary man. His conflict is to make it to sobriety without being pulled back into the past.

"Trainspotting" proves that Boyle brings a level of energy and thrill to cinema that few directors nowadays can match. He can achieve this high level of energy simply by tilting a camera, or adding a little light to a room. It might just be a way to shine a little bit of hope into a hopeless world. However, this doesn't mean Boyle is attempting to beautify horror. He never justifies his characters' actions. The film is meant to portray the world inside the mind of a heroin addict, and maybe one person might just beauty in their own mind where others see trash.

Boyle will always remain in my mind a brilliant visual director. He just truly knows what a good image would look like. And while some visual directors opt forr long stretches of silence, Boyle can let soliloquies run long over stunning images with no sense of distraction. Both of these things make one of those combos that just inexplicably work so well together. Boyle is the rare director who can be in-your-face without being annoyingly intrusive.

While Boyle is overwhelmingly a visual director, he still can stay in touch with emotion. Through many odd, trippy sequences, Boyle explicitly shows the inner workings of a drug experience. Then, he shows how these experiences have the power to dehumanize and tear people apart.

Of all the characters in the large ensemble of "Trainspotting," Renton is without a doubt the most important, and the most deep. He is the one character the audience can cling onto emotionally because he is the only one seems to have the ability to change. Renton is extremely dark; he rejects every aspect of materialism along with his own heritage. He doesn't seem to do drugs out of addiction but rather out of the pure thrill of life. He definitely adheres to the quote that opens up "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas": "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man."

The inner pains of Renton are brought out by the outstanding performance of McGregor. He disappears into his role and never steps out of it. He shows an untrustworthy inner demon. Yet, his capacity to change is utterly believable.

Some might compare "Trainspotting" to a modern film about the effects of drugs such as "Requiem for a Dream." However, I will instead compare it to one of cinema's greatest masterworks: "A Clockwork Orange." I am not saying "Trainspotting" is as good as "A Clockwork Orange," but I can feel that Boyle was trying to emulate Kubrick's classic and he does so well. The large white walls that engulf characters, the aloof parents, and the endless graffiti feels totally reminiscent of the world of Alex DeLarge.

Like "A Clockwork Orange," "Trainspotting" is about the possibility or impossibility of change in a world that's in a constant state of moral decay. This is a film that tells the typical anti-drug fable with a hip new eye. Sometimes that's just what the greatest movies are, they ones that tell the stories we've heard millions of times before and makes them brand new. Oh, and in the case of "Trainspotting," simply brilliant.

Movie Review: Greenberg

Sometimes when you're angry at the world, it's not the world you should be angry at, but rather, at yourself. It takes a lot to portray subtle self-loathing. "Greenberg" does just that.

Despite what you may think, "Greenberg" is far away from being a comedy. Yet with a director like Noah Baumbach, there are still traces of humor in the air.

Another surprising thing about "Greenberg" is that it's title character, and the one seen on every poster, is not quite the main character. Who may be our real protagonist (or in my view, the first protagonist), is the character seen first in the movie. The first protagonist is Florence (Greta Gerwig). Florence is the nanny of the Greenberg family. She has potential but barely utilizes it. She seems pretty content with herself.

As the Greenberg family heads on vacation, the father's brother Roger (Ben Stiller) comes to stay at the house after having recently been let out of a mental hospital. He's not actually insane, he can just act like it sometimes.

With "Greenberg," Baumbach leaves his hometown of Brooklyn and replaced it with sprawling, smog-crowded Los Angeles. While the characters of his film "The Squid and the Whale" could seem so distant even though they were always so close, the characters of "Greenberg" seem so incredibly distant both physically and emotionally. Baumbach is a great director in utilizing setting for substance. He uses it not only to show emotional distance but also to later disprove the practicality of Greenberg's lifestyle, which is a philosophy of doing absolutely nothing.

Baumbach has also proved himself an excellent director by pulling off the littlest things with such great care. He has a few excellent shot choices that last just seconds yet are still effective. One of those might be that directly behind the ears shot of a dog walking, with the afternoon light glowing down overhead. Baumbach can also pick an excellent soundtrack.

Oh, and he's a fantastic writer. He's a lot like a Wes Anderson clone, in a good way. He excellently tackles egotism by showing certain people's self-centered lives in relation to the world they inhabit. Most directors might portray narcissism through a first person perspective, but Baumbach is too creative for stooping to that.

Baumbach achieves this by telling the story loosely from Florence's perspective. I say loosely because she doesn't inhabit every scene and we don't even get narration from her. She's never as developed as Roger yet she always seems to be an overwhelming presence in the film. He even manages to balance out her own presence by adding in the perspectives of the other people involved in Roger's life. That, there, is how you can develop a full cast of characters in under two hours.

Even with the varied cast, and even with a different title character, I am always drawn back to Florence. This is mostly because of Gerwig's performance. She's been in so little before this but I already think she deserves an Oscar nomination. Her character is made up of awkwardness and quirks. Yet, she avoids turning Florence into an M.P.D.G. (manic Pixie dream girl), and instead turns her into someone filled with deep pain that we'll just never understand. Sometimes, she feels almost too real to be acting.

Then, of course, there's Stiller. It would be dumb to say that this is his big triumphant foray into dramatic acting. Frankly, his performance as Greenberg is very similar to his performance in "The Royal Tenenbaums." I mean nothing negative by saying this. I think though what Stiller's performance here proves is why comedians are perfect for drama: the most important things in life are usually just too funny to take seriously. For example, Adam Sandler took all the rage he used for laughs in "The Waterboy" and just made it more serious in "Punch Drunk Love." Stiller is always funniest when he is portraying unexplained narcissism and resentment. Here, Stiller is doing what he's always done in movies such as "Zoolander," "Tropic Thunder," and even "Heavyweights." This time, it's just shown from a more mature angle.

What I also enjoyed about "Greenberg" is how Baumbach connects these two characters. They both just seem to be two parts of the same person. However, a little more depth is given to Roger. He is such an unlikeable character. He projects the kind of hatefulness that only an antagonist should show. Baumbach never attempts to justify his actions, but just simply show he might just learn and become a better person from the terrible things he does.

"Greenberg" is a great redemption story because a character is shown who truly needs redemption more than anyone else. However, the world around the character is never shown as being moral or flawless either. Everyone is equipped with their own set of problems. When everyone is dragged down to the same level, it is then that sympathy can be felt for an unlikeable character.

With "Greenberg," Baumbach shows that he's a great story teller simply because he can take the right story, and utilize it in the right way. A good film isn't just about the story, but about how that story is handled. When it comes to turning narcissism into self-hatred and cliches into originality, look no further than the creativeness of this fine auteur.

If You Liked This Movie, You'll Also Like: The Squid and the Whale, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, The Graduate, Rachel Getting Married, Sideways

Movie Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

In his review of "Shutter Island," the New Yorker's Anthony Lane drew upon a quote from Umberto Eco: "Two cliches make us laugh but a hundred cliches move us, because we sense dimly that the cliches are talking among themselves, celebrating a reunion." Lane was using this to describe a totally different movie, but I think it fits even more perfectly into "Hot Tub Time Machine."

"Hot Tub Time Machine" is the 1980s comedy made for 2010, both stylistically and literally. It begins in the modern day. The film's anti-heros, three best friends who've hit some rocky times, are typical everyday schlubs. Adam (John Cusack) has to deal with both a recent breakup and his reclusive nephew (Clark Duke) who lives with him. Nick (Craig Robinson) is a burnt out musician, and Lou (Rob Corddry) is an alcoholic who has just hit rock bottom.

Well, the first half of the premise probably made this movie sound a little too serious. Just wait until you hear the next part. The four head up to a now decrepit ski resort to try and relive their glory days. After a night of too much to drink, the boys' hot tub sends them back to the 1980s. There, they relive all the greatest moments of their life, and those they tried to totally forget about.

"Hot Tub Time Machine" can be described as a different kind of nostalgia. It's a nostalgic tone that's both a little mocking, and a little reminiscent. Unlike some other previous homage films such as "Black Dynamite," "Hot Tub Time Machine" wouldn't totally fit in as a film in the 1980s. It does contain everything we love about an 80s classic, but with the wisdom of someone living in the year 2010.

However, this isn't to say that "Hot Tub Time Machine" doesn't evoke its era well. When it does go back in time, it does everything it can to put you into the year 1986 from the music people listened to, to the kind of shoes they wore. Then, it crams in about a million different 80s movie cliches. There's the upper class bully, the losing-your-virginity story, and of course, some anti-Communist paranoia. "Red Dawn" style.

It really does feel like all of these different cliches are having a reunion together. It could be that the writers, director, and actors were actually having a fun time with it all, or that this era of filmmaking had a little more depth than ever imagined. Maybe this was just an era where people were making films about the world they wished they lived in, rather than what it actually was.

Even for a film that's unapologetically dirty (consider this a warning), there is still something very smart behind its stupidity. The film's humor is a mix of gross out and tongue-in-cheek.

Perhaps the one moment in the film that could actually be described as brilliant comes after the characters have been transferred back to the 80s. Robinson remarks, "must be a...hot tub time machine." Then he just stares at the camera. Not only have the filmmakers broken the fourth wall, but they've also managed to make fun of how films try to incorporate their titles into their dialogue while at the same time creating one of the best title tie-ins I've seen in a movie.

"Hot Tub Time Machine" would definitely have been a failure had it not been for a cast and crew who actually knows their way around the subject. I would like to point out that co-writer Sean Anders, who also wrote the awful "Sex Drive," manages to succeed here by actually putting funny words on a page.

I think the cast really helped make the film even better. You can feel that they took control and made it their film as well. Corddry finally got the breakout role he deserved, and he's certainly gotten the a-hole personality down well. Robinson always incorporates his smooth talking, but sometimes very angry, personality and turns it into laughs.

Then, of course, there's Cusack. Here, Cusack seems to play a bit more of a demented version of Lloyd Dobler and any other romantic he played during the 80s. There's something about his personality that is so endearing. Maybe it's that he never seems happy yet he's never a killjoy. I think it might be a little closer to his performance than "Better Off Dead" than in "Say Anything..." What I really want to say here is that I hope Cusack takes more roles like "Hot Tub Time Machine" and less like "2012."

There is one thing I've thought about complaining about in "Hot Tub Time Machine." However, I can't bring myself to because it actually works here. That one thing is how much the premise resembles "The Hangover." It's also about the result of a night of debauchery and contains the same archetypal characters. But as long as this premise keeps working, I will keep seeing movies just like it. This premise might one day become the cliche to define the 2000s.

"Hot Tub Time Machine" broke the fourth wall in more ways than mentioned before. The sum of the film and its characters is not just homage to the films of the 80s, but rather both the characters and the filmmakers looking back at what that era meant. It fits the style of the 80s into the style of the present. Oh, and most importantly, it's just the kind of film that you see, laugh at, and then keep laughing at long after it ends.

80s Movies That Likely Inspired Hot Tub Time Machine: Back to the Future, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, One Crazy Summer, The Breakfast Club, Say Anything..., Red Dawn, Sixteen Candles, Better Off Dead, Weird Science, Encino Man (Not 80s, but close enough)

Movie Review: The Ghost Writer

During the preceding months, much of the buzz about Roman Polanski has been focused more on his twisted personal life, rather than his twisted new film, "The Ghost Writer."

"The Ghost Writer" combines contemporary political intrigue with the two things Polanski does best: mysterious thriller, and the utter darkness that humanity is capable of. It begins with a struggling British writer (Ewan McGregor). He's never given a name, he's simply referred to as "The Ghost." It's fitting, as his character seems more like a spirit than an actual human beings to the rest of the characters.

Anyway, McGregor's writer accepts a high paying job to be a ghost writer on the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). Lang is forced to live in the United States after being convicted of war crimes for ordering the torture of several terror suspects. The Ghost is brought in after Lang's previous ghost writer is found dead on the beach. As The Ghost finds out more about Lang's strange life and personality, he unravels a shocking and dangerous mystery.

"The Ghost Writer" comes out at the heals of another fascinating psychological thriller from a legendary director: "Shutter Island." "The Ghost Writer," however, is one that exists much more in reality. Yet, they both deal with characters we would've seen in films by these directors during their finest hours. The Ghost is the typical Polanski lead: he is the good guy who tries to do good in a world filled with wrong. However, his good intentions always go awry.

Polanski is the rare director who fully incorporates both his life experience and world views into his work. Over 40 years on, and he is still capable of producing some of the darkest visions that will ever hit your local cinema.

"The Ghost Writer" is raised up by a trifecta of brilliant male leads. McGregor not only plays The Ghost, but he transforms himself into a true ghost of a man. He never seems content with his situation as he quite simply floats through life. He always contains the restless, red-eyed look of a disheveled insomniac.

Meanwhile, two of the films character whom can be classified as villains fit into the Polanski category of the "genial villain": that bad guy who hides their evil under a mask of false kindness. In just a few scenes, Brosnan stole the show and totally erased his Bond image. You may be tricked by his humor and good personality, but he never lets you forget why he's on trial in the first place.

The other scene stealer is the always dependable Tom Wilkinson. He also has a talent for obscuring what may be bad intentions. The scenes in which The Ghost converses with Lang and Paul Emmett (Wilkinson) gave me a strong vibe of Polanski's masterpiece "Chinatown," specifically the scene where Jake questions Noah Cross. In that scene, we all know Cross is a guilty, despicable human being; but Polanski chooses not to show him behave that way. In this way, both Wilkinson and Brosnon channel John Huston fully. It also brings out Polanski's theme that most times, evil prevails because evil can disguise itself.

Despite the great performances, this is entirely Polanski's film. He turns what could've been a trashy thriller into intriguing film noir. The mystery is great because we never give up on it, we want to know what the answer is up to the film's very final frame.

Polanski's voice is ever present. He uses both sight and sound perfectly to emphasize mood. Dark shadows mixed with a creepy score heighten the mystery, while the film's often oddly cheery musical beats will mislead you into thinking things might just be going right for once. Don't believe that. The film also takes full advantage of the camera, as it heightens tension with the use of longshots. The longshot is key turning an edge-of-your-seat chase scene as well as one pivotal scene at the film's end.

"The Ghost Writer" is one of those films that doesn't leave you after you've finished it. You'll talk about the twist, and you'll likely talk about the modern political worldview the film opens up. You'll see that things just might work in ways you never even imagined.

After this film was released, many have been harsh toward it because of Polanski's personal struggles with the law. While his actions in real life may be deplorable, they must remain separate from the artist. Art should not be judged on morality. However, it does seem to be that personal conflict is often what inspires people most in their art. Polanski's dark films are likely inspired from the unimaginably dark events that have shaped his life. Perhaps without this struggle, without this intrigue, without Polanski, "The Ghost Writer" would not have been the great film that it truly is.