Back Seat Producers

In the early 90s, a transnational corporation ADM (Archer Daniels Midland) was investigated by the FBI into matters of price-fixing around the world (primarily around the use of the amino acid lysine in food production) and all of that came about through one very big whistle-blower by the name of Mark Whitacre, a very big wheel within the company who sees himself as saving the company in the end, but who has way more going on than either ADM or the FBI knows at the start of this…

The Informant! is the latest movie from director Steven Soderbergh (one of my personal favorites) and he’s got something here that’s really unique that takes it’s swings at both corporate greed and personal ambition, all through the eyes of a guy who’s pretty likable, but makes you question him more in just what the hell was he doing? It’s a dark comedy that’s actually pretty briskly paced, but with a lot to chew on still be it’s end. Now when I say “comedy” with this, don’t necessarily expect this to be something that delivers big laughs, but more smiles and chuckle at watching it’s events unfold…

The events themselves are pretty dry, and not necessarily something that you’d think would make for all that a compelling film, but what makes them work on film though are some pretty compelling performances and a really brilliant score from composer Marvin Hamlisch, who handles this just like he did with some movies he did for Woody Allen back in the day.

And the performances are terrific. Matt Damon takes the lead here as Mark Whitacre and no one has ever seen Damon like this in a movie before, his Whitacre is a smart and passioned guy, but as revealed through commentary voiceovers throughout the action, not necessarily as prioritized as he should be. His wife, Ginger, played by Melanie Lynskey (who was the “other” girl in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures) does a real nice job as being Mark’s support and in some ways the gateway to the paths that he takes here. And it’s really nice to see actor Scott Bakula as FBI agent Brian Shephard, a guy who really wants to do the right thing, but who gets just a little too emotionally involved with his subject in the puruit of this case. With the exception of Damon, this cast isn’t exactly typical for a Soderbergh movie and also includes such people as Joel McHale (best known for E!’s The Soup), comedians Rick Overton and Allen Havey, and yeah… there’s The Smothers Brothers in roles as well.

Now this is based from a book, and I don’t have any idea just how close to the book it is, and right at the start, before the credits even roll, they tell you that they’re monkeying with some of the situations for dramatic effect, and when it ends up being something that’s just this entertaining, that’s fine. It’s a very well done and well made movie with a real top-notch job from Matt Damon and it offers a lot to chew on… very much recommended…

At a United States science facility based in the Antarctic, U.S. Marshal, Carrie Stetko, who basically has a very routine job at the site, now all of a sudden has murder mystery at her hands, and must come to grips solving this murder right as a major arctic storm is about to enforce the evacuation of the same site.

That’s the basic premise to Whiteout, the latest comic book-to-film translation adapting the acclaimed series by creators Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber to the big screen. It’s also the return to the big screen for director Dominic Sena, who hasn’t been seen since Swordfish and the remake of Gone in 60 Seconds. And it’s a pretty darn good film, not spectacular, but a solid film.

I’ve not read the comic and out of the three of us that went to see this together, only one of us had read the book and according to that one, there are cosmetic changes from the original but for the most part, the movie did follow the book. For Dominic Sena, it seems that the time away from a big screen project has tempered him, and instead of opting for some of the higher energy of his earlier films, this is way more laid back in it’s visual presentation, and at least to me, perfectly fitting with the piece itself.

It’s a good and solid murder mystery, though not at all overtly flashy, but with some nicely drawn characters and a story that, again to me, doesn’t cheat in anyway, in other words, all of the pieces are there for this to come to it’s logical conclusion. I’ve heard that this is getting some bad reviews, with one in particular coming from Entertainment Weekly that also chastises this for some “gratuitous nudity” at the start of the film, that after seeing it myself makes me think that it must’ve been a slow news week for EW when this was reviewed and that it’s reviewer was just scraping for something to rail about, as what’s here is hardly gratuitous at all.

The thing Whiteout isn’t though, is it isn’t a big spectacle for the theatres, and it’s a hard sell for anyone other than those that know it’s roots and are predisposed to see it because of that- now I’m not complaining about that, I really enjoyed the film, and I give props to Warners and Dark Castle for making the movie and having something that’s a little different out there, though it’s disheartening that it can’t be recognized for that and in turn will only be judged by what it can turnover in it’s opening weekend.

There are really no big names at work here, Kate Beckinsale who plays Carrie is the most well known, but she’s hardly box office gold, but to me anyway, she’s totally right for the part and she does a decent job as Carrie Stetko, and has some weight behind the performance. She’s backed up with a solid performance from Tom Skerritt as her close friend and confidant on the base (and it’s been awhile since I’ve seen Skerritt in anything on the big screen as well) and Gabriel Macht (last seen as The Spirit) who’s playing one of the changed characters here, a UN agent sent in to help with this investigation, who’s also serving a dual purpose as someone to raise our suspicions over. I really liked Macht here, and as I was watching him, I thought he’d actually be a good choice for Marvel to pursue as Captain America for their upcoming film, but I digress…

In the end though, I think this is a pretty solid film and I would hope that fans of the original material will like it, I know my one friend who read the book did. But other than that, is it the sort of thing that’s going to get anyone else real excited to actually make the trip to a theatre to see it, especially in these current times, I don’t think so, and that’s really sad that most just won’t even give it that chance, but more opt for it later on when it hits DVD and more than likely on cable.