My Review: Runner Runner (3/10)

"I'll be happy to tell my boss that you are not happy."

If what you are looking for is an action thriller that doesn't thrill or have any action scenes then Runner Runner is the film for you. If you are looking for a one dimensional attractive cast with no character depth whatsoever, then Runner Runner is the film for you: Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, and Gemma Arterton all look extremely good in this film as long as you don't listen to what they are saying. Ten minutes into this movie you realize that Runner Runner has nothing new to say and the characters are so unremarkable that you forget who they are before the end of the film. I can't say that the movie was predictable, because I really didn't care what it had to say, and half of the plot elements made little sense. The women in this film were only put there for eye candy, and they had no other purpose. At only 90 minutes the film still feels overlong and it drags because somehow it seems as if you are watching an incomplete film, like if some important scenes were edited out. There is no doubt in my mind that if Ben Affleck directed this movie instead of starring in it this could have been a great film, but he was just in this to cash his check so there was no need to put any effort in this. I was surprised how terrible this film ended up being considering it was directed by Brad Furman who directed the solid The Lincoln Lawyer a couple years ago. The script was written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, but this was nowhere near as good as their first film, The Rounders. Runner Runner is one of the worst films of the year, run away from this mess of a movie.

The plot is pretty simple: Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake) is a Princeton grad student who has been paying his tuition by getting other students to sign up to online betting sites. After the dean confronts Richie for his actions, he is forced to bet all his money on an online poker game. Convinced he has been cheated on, he decides to travel to Costa Rica in order to confront the mysterious entrepreneur in charge of the gambling site he lost his money on. In Costa Rica, Richie begins making acquaintances and he's invited to a party hosted by the gambling tycoon: Ivan Block (Ben Affleck) by his right hand partner, Rebecca (Gemma Arterton). Here Richie confronts Ivan and instead of sending him off, Ivan invites Richie to work for him in Costa Rica. Seduced by the easy money, Richie accepts the offer and begins living the life he has dreamed of, until he is kidnaped by FBI agent Shavers (Anthony Mackie) and asked to help bring down Ivan, who seems to be running things illegally. This is where the double crossings begin and the film gets all messy.

There is nothing positive I can say about Runner Runner because it is a complete mess with very lackluster performances. There is no denying there is a lot of talent involved here, but somewhere along the way something was lost. Furman proved he could direct a strong and intelligent film in The Lincoln Lawyer, but Runner Runner is nowhere close to what he had achieved in the past. We all know what Ben Affleck is capable of; he just came off with an Oscar for his work in Argo, but in this film his performances was completely uninspired. Gemma Arterton had nothing to work with here, but she accomplished what she was signed up for: looking good on camera. Justin Timberlake couldn't save this film either despite trying to put some effort into his role and trying to look believable. He has done some great work in the past, but this just might be the role that makes him stick to music from now on (or taking secondary roles). Runner Runner is a waste of talent and a waste of time for the audience. You will completely forget about this film the moment you walk out of the theater because there is nothing engaging about it. It doesn't move you or touch you in any way. If fails to draw you in to their world and there is no suspense whatsoever.

My Review: The Lincoln Lawyer (8/10)

¨I checked the list of people I trust and your name ain`t on it.¨

The Lincoln Lawyer reminded me of one of those Grisham novels, but this thrilling drama was actually based on a Michael Connelly novel (as was Clint Eastwood`s Blood Work). The film has a lot of twists and surprises, but the true success of the movie relies on Matthew McConaughey`s performance. His charisma and spark are what make this film work, and he didn’t even have to take his t-shirt off this time. Relatively unknown director, Brad Furman, has made one of the best thrillers of the year. The script was adapted really well by John Romano as he handles all the twists really well. The court room scenes were actually intense and reminded me of other great lawyer films as Primal Fear. The movie begins pretty slow, it takes a while before it picks up. I had no idea where the film was going to go after it presented one twist and turn after another. I actually appreciated that the most from this movie because I couldn’t predict what was going to happen next. The plot seemed so simple at first, but once we get to the halfway point it’s hard to know what direction the story is going to take. Even at the end so many things came together so every piece of the puzzle fit in nicely. I really enjoyed this film; it`s a smart, intelligent thriller with a strong and reliable performance from Matthew McConaughey.

The title gets its name from the Lincoln Town car that defense lawyer, Mick Haller (Matthew McConaughey), operates from. He spends most of his time in the vehicle with his chauffer Earl (Laurence Mason) so he uses it as his personal office. Mick is a smart lawyer who actually learned all the shortcuts in his profession. He is street smart and doesn’t mind if his clients are actually innocent or not. He gets a huge break when a young realtor named Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe) asks him to defend his case after being charged for raping and beating a prostitute. Louis claims to be innocent and says the whole thing was a setup since his family is very wealthy. Mick doesn’t care if he`s innocent or not, what he wants are all the facts so that he can defend the case against prosecutor Ted Minton (Josh Lucas). Along with his private investigator, Frank Levin (William H. Macy), Mick discovers that there is more to this case than what Louis is telling them. He links this case to a previous one he had years ago where he just now realizes has sent an innocent man to jail. His name was Jesus Martinez (Michael Peña) and Mick was his defense attorney who made him plead guilty so he would get a reduced sentence instead. The film begins to take several twists and turns from this point on and it picks up in intensity. There is another subplot to this story involving Mick`s relationship with his ex wife, Maggie (Marisa Tomei), a prosecutor, but the story isn’t developed really well as it focuses more on Haller and the case.

I guess the subplot was introduced because you can`t waist the talents of such a great actress as Marisa Tomei. She`s great in the few scenes she has in this film, but her story and relationship with Mick isn’t developed very well. John Leguizamo and Bryan Cranston also have secondary roles, but we`ve seen them do better work in the past. The true star of the film is Matthew McConaughey and he carries the movie with the help of some good performances from Ryan Phillippe and William H. Macy. So yes, there is an interesting cast in The Lincoln Lawyer, but the success is mostly thanks to a great outstanding performance from McConaughey. The movie is intense, has interesting twists, and the court room scenes felt authentic. We can see these characters as real lawyers and the situations are very plausible. That is why I was reminded so much of a Grisham novel because the situations felt real. It`s hard to find interesting and smart films, so I was pleased with this movie because it isn’t only intelligent, it`s also entertaining and has some decent thrills; it`s complete.

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