No One Asked For It, But Here Is My Review of State of Play Starring Russell Crowe

Why did I see this movie? The reason is because there was nothing else to see. All the movies I had planned on seeing somehow slipped through my fingers because Charlottesville movies have a short run. I don’t know if that’s really true or if it just seems that way. On to my review. Here’s what I’ll say: it was basically pretty good. I didn’t go in expecting much. I thought it was probably going to be unnecessarily confusing and ultimately kind of empty seeming with lots of one-note action. I was pleasantly surprised. Russell Crow was pretty good. Rachel McAdams was also pretty good. Helen Mirren was funny. Jason Bateman was hilarious. Jeff Daniels was in the movie. It’s not like I’m going around wishing to see more of Jeff Daniels or anything, but I wasn’t unhappy to see him, and he, too, was fine. The only weak link in this cast was one Ben Affleck. Something I realized while watching him is that although he seems like he’s not a bad guy, he’s not a very good actor. This may not come as a shock to the general public. But after having never really thought about it, it came as a tiny shock to me. When you’re watching someone trying to act and they’re just a hair off, like they can’t quite catch the wave, it makes you appreciate those who can – like Crowe and Mirren. Here is my final assessment of State of Play: if you can judge a movie by how little your mind wanders when you’re watching it, or by how little you start to think that our culture is some gross parody of a future dystopia, then State of Play doesn’t necessarily disappoint.