Martin and Claudia are lawyers -- and ex-lovers -- who find themselves put at risk after they join the defense team for an international terrorist's trial. From: IMDb.com

Guess that every film-maker would love to try and create their own "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" but does it ever result in any good movies? Barely, since the movies always seem to be lacking either the star-power or quality of writing for the movie to work out as a powerful and intriguing one.

And this movie is arguably lacking both. I'm not saying that any of the actors are horrible in this or the writing is absolutely terrible but it just isn't anything all that special to be honest.

So here we have a movie about 2 different couples, constantly bickering about a whole bunch of trivial stuff. I know these type of movies are made to relate to and I'm sure there also are a lot of couples out there who going to be able to identify themselves with this movie its characters and at least some of it situations. But still, is it all interesting enough as a movie? I just don't think so. There isn't a big or serious enough 'conflict' in the movie and to me it also certainly didn't feel like I was ever watching a movie in which its characters were growing and progressing. Same could be said for its story by the way.

It's obviously again one of those movies that got based on a stage-play, to which I'm always like, keep stuff like that in the theaters! The sort of dialog, storytelling and style of acting certainly belongs better in a stage-play and doesn't translate too well to film. It's too dry and repetitive, since it's mostly set at just a handful of different locations and only involves a handful of characters.

But really as far as these type of movies go, this really isn't a terrible one. It's still perfectly watchable, despite all criticism. Yes, it feels a bit pointless all but it's watchable nevertheless. The acting is pretty good as well, though as I mentioned before, this movie is missing a true big star and name in it, to lift the movie to greater heights, with all respect to Julia Stiles, Melissa George, Taye Diggs and David Harbour by the way, for all four of them did a more than capable job. Well, most of the time anyway!

It's watchable but not necessarily recommendable as well.

6/10

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Of course you shouldn't expect much form a movie like this and it simply is what it is. And that's a positive thing really, since it doesn't ever pretend to be more and the movie actually does have some charm to it.

It's the sort of feel good comedy, in which 2 persons, after meeting, help to change each other and become a better person and of course fall in love in the process. The one person is uptight and the other a bit too loose for his own good. The main character sort of starts off as an unsympathetic and cold character but once the movie progresses, your sympathy for her is supposed to grow, as she is slowly starting to become more 'human'. It's of course very predictable to watch all and you basically know how the movie is going to progress and eventual end, just by watching its first 5 minutes. But when watching a TV movie like this, you sort of go in expecting this and take everything more or less for granted. It doesn't make the movie any better but at least more tolerable to watch.

I can actually see people enjoying this movie for what it is but that still of course doesn't means its a good movie.

The movie works out as a far from realistic one, since it uses not only exaggerated moments in it but also some extremely exaggerated characters. The main character is extremely uptight and literate and the love interest is the extreme opposite of just that. You can tell that once the moment the David Walton character makes his entrance, he is the one that is going to get a 'makeover'. He has fake looking, long, unwashed hair, wears dirty, smelly looking clothes and he talks like a Hillbilly stroke victim. It's just a bit too obvious and forced all but the same could be said for basically every other character in this movie, who is either an extreme stereotype or has an extremely exaggerated personality.

Sure, this is all quite common for a comedy to feature but in this case the movie tries to be more of a feel-good movie, with also dramatic elements to it and even some serous messages. But how are you supposed to be taken by anything or take this movie even remotely serious when everything in it is so heavily exaggerated. It's impossible to do and the main reason why I just can't regard this as a good movie.

It might sound like I hated this movie but this strangely enough really wasn't the case. It's just still too harmless and insignificant all to hold an hate against this movie and it's also not without its charm. It's a lighthearted movie and yes, Julia Stiles definitely helps to take the movie to an higher level as well.

If these type of lighthearted and simplistic TV movies are your thing, you could still have some fun and a good time with it but there still no way you could convince me that this is a good movie as well.

4/10

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David O. Russell has established himself already as a great director of some great movies but so far his comedies hadn't been very successful yet, either financially or critically. Up until this movie! "Silver Linings Playbook" got received well, all across the board and even got nominated for numerous big awards, including 8 Oscar's.

It's one of those comedies with a more subtle approach it. A random slice of life if you will, with some very human-like characters and situations that work out as comical but aren't all too far fetched or exaggerated. The type of dramedy that got perfected by Alexander Payne. And here also lays a problem for me; If have seen many similar genre movies already, that did a much better job at handling its different genre elements.

In that regard it's also somewhat surprising to see the amount of praise this movie is getting. As far as the genre goes, nor the drama or comedy is the best or most involving, that you are ever likely to come across.

Of course I'm not saying that this movie is a bad or ineffective one but I still did wish I could feel somewhat more involved with the characters and drama in this movie. The way this movie constantly came across to me was as a more light and lesser version of an Alexander Payne movie. Perhaps it's not fair to compare this to a Payne movie but I just couldn't help it and the similarities are all definitely there. And also of course when I judge this movie on its own, I still keep having some problems with its story, drama and characters. It are all small, minor problems but together they became big enough to prevent me from falling in love with this movie, or regard it as one of the year's bests.

But lets focus on the positive for a while. It's definitely still a good genre movie, mostly because it manages to feel like both a cute and dramatic one, all at the same time. It's an entertaining movie, despite that it's about some heavy and serious subject as well.

But the thing that still stands out the most about this movie is its acting. It's definitely true Bradley Cooper never had been better, in any movie. I think that with this movie he showed the world that he's truly a great actor. And with actors such as Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lawrence, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker and Julia Stiles, it also has a great, solid supporting cast!

Good, cute and entertaining enough all. it however remains truly far from the best that the genre has to offer.

7/10

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After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: David O. Russell

Starring: Rradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and others

Current release date: November 21, 2012

After spending four years in a mental institution, a former teacher moves back in with his mother and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. From: IMDb.com

Directed by: David O. Russell

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro and others

Current release date: November 21, 2012

(Review originally written at 29 January 2008)

One thing that the Bourne movies also really learned us is that magazines, books and towels can be more lethal weapons than guns or knives. I mean with this that the Bourne movies mostly redefined the action genre by having the guts to be different and original.

Still I am glad it's the last out the Bourne series, also because this one is definitely the least out of the Bourne series. They with this movie obviously ran out of ideas and this movie is also mostly a rehash of the previous two Bourne movies. It's really more of the same and actually made me realize how much alike all of the Bourne movies actual really are to each other. The story is actually quite similar to the second movie, also because halve of this movie is set at the same time the second movie was set in (getting confusing?). There again is also an assassin on Jason's tail and his superiors once more want to see him dead to cover up illegal secret mission and.

Just because you have lots of shaking camera-work and fast editing doesn't mean you have a good action movie as well. It makes the movie fast paced but in my opinion they could had gone a bit more easy on its style. Paul Greengrass already sort of overused this with the previous movie "The Bourne Supremacy". The shaky cam and all works great for its action sequences and more realistic moments, such as in the other Paul Greengrass movie "Bloody Sunday" but making an entire action movie, with an obvious fictitious over-the-top action story is a whole other thing. The same goes for the overall same gritty visual style. This visually has as a result that Madrid looks absolutely the same as New York, New York looks like Moscow and Moscow looks like Tangiers. A reason why I think they could had gone a bit more easy on its consistent visual style.

As a matter of fact once you really start thinking about it, this movie isn't even really THAT action filled, in terms of having lots of fights, chases and explosions.

The main reason why this movie is in my opinion the least out of the Bourne series is simply because of its story. This movie has such an incredible simple storyline that it really seems that they simply pushed it entirely to the background and let the action instead tell the entire story on its own. Nothing wrong with it, since this definitely worked out for the movie but it of course is a very cheap way of film-making, that makes you get away with practically everything. And does this movie really reach a satisfying enough conclusion for the trilogy? In my opinion not really, since I don't really have the reason that lots have changed for Bourne. Somehow I don't think he picks up a normal quiet life after all he has been trough.

Matt Damon is perhaps the biggest winner after his three Bourne movies. Before these movies he sort of had a dull and very boyish, nerd like image. His career was already getting sort of slow, before he signed up for the first Bourne movie. He by now has officially been taking serious by lots of critics and movie goers all over the world and he has proved that he can actually handle action really well and is even a convincing action star. Joan Allen also luckily returns in this movie and so does Julia Stiles, though I have the feeling they should had dropped her two movies ago. David Strathairn, Scott Glenn and Albert Finney are some of the new welcome additions to the cast this time.

It's a real fancy and fast, slick looking action flick, that all in all forms a satisfying enough conclusion of the Bourne trilogy.

7/10