Movie Review: The Informant! (2009)

(As a note, I will not be using the "!" at the end of the film's title within the review. Too much grammatical hullabaloo for me, thank you very much).

Look at the poster for The Informant. Look at Matt Damon's mustache, the childlike bewilderment in his eyes, the painfully bright orange background, the giant letters spelling out the film's title. Although it tells you nothing directly about the movie, it's a great distillation of everything you'll find in The Informant minus any possible story/plot elements.

Although a movie about corporate corruption, The Informant takes a very unorthodox approach to telling the story. Although set in the early 1990's, director Steven Soderbergh has decided to wash everything in a 1970's orange glow and to tell us the time and place with giant 1970's lettering. Matt Damon, taking on the role of whistleblower/eccentric Mark Whitacre, sprinkles narration throughout, which may or may not have anything to do with what's actually going on in the movie at the time.

Sound confusing? For the first fifteen or twenty minutes, it's nearly impossible to really tell what's going on. Things happen, Whitacre gives random narration about corn, Japan and ideas for television shows. After deciding to tell an FBI agent (played, no less, by Scott Bakula) about his employer's corrupt price-fixing schemes, however, the movie picks up and doesn't let go until near the end.

In essence, the casting is what makes The Informant a success. Damon does an exquisite job as Whitacre, perfectly hitting that chord of seems-weird-but-can't-be-that-crazy-can-he that is necessary for the role. Bakula does a great job as the idealistic FBI agent who trusts Whitacre, even when it seems highly possible that Whitacre is going further and further off the deep end. Joel McHale, snarky commentator from "The Soup," plays Bakula's partner, and does a great job of making normal scenes absolutely hilarious (and shows off how he can stare at something for ten or fifteen seconds and not blink. Trust me, in the context of the movie, it might just be the funniest scene in the entire film).

Unfortunately, the story, which is based on true events, often seems rushed, as if a lot of expository information was left on the cutting room floor so that the movie could clock in at 108 minutes and not have to be cut into two films (Soderbergh's previous effort, Che). It doesn't derail the movie, but keeps it firmly in the realm of "very good" instead of "great."

Rating: 8/10

Music Review: Kid Cudi - The Man on the Moon (2009)

(I'm going to try going with shorter reviews for music than for movies. Let me know what you think).

Kid Cudi's debut album is a tough album to judge. On first listen, it paled in comparison to Cudi's mixtape work. The beats seemed sparse and unengaging, and Cudi's rapping seemed stale and, at times, bored. However, after listening through the album a couple of times, I realize it's actually a work of genius. An uneven, inexperienced work, but nonetheless has moments of greatness that point towards Cudi becoming something of a hero in both the worlds of hip-hop and of electronica and indie rock. Cudi's at his best when he's tackling issues close to his heart, like feeling out of touch with the world and being somewhat of a lost soul ("Soundtrack to My Life," "Day 'N' Night") and not when he's trying to weave sexual innuendo that's all too common in mainstream hip-hop ("Make Her Say"). His collaborations with indie rockers Ratatat and MGMT also come across as inventive and fresh, making me hope that, in the future, Kid Cudi decides to do more collaborations with indie rockers and lesser-known artists than with rap superstars (Kanye sounds surprisingly flat on "Maker Her Say").

Rating: 8/10
Standout Tracks: Day 'N' Night, Soundtrack to My Life, Alive (Nightmare)
Weak Links: Make Her Say, My World