Charlie’s Cousin Adam reviews the new George Clooney political thriller:

Rated R – 1h41

George Clooney delivers what is a really weighty political thriller in his new work The Ides Of March, or as I like to call it “How to become cynical with the political process in one hour and forty-one minutes.”

The film is a fictional account of a Democratic presidential primary, set in current times, but makes use of the real news media. Is it a metaphor that the real media Is following a fake election? Probably not.

Ryan Gosling, or as I like to call him “the new George Clooney” plays Stephen Myers , a likable, suave and idealistic top political staffer for Democratic presidential candidate Governor Mike Morris ( Clooney). Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is the campaign manager. Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) i s the rival democratic candidate campaign manager as both side battle in the Ohio primary.

After Tom tries to recruit Stephen to the other side, a series of events that includes more cruel intentioned double crossings and back stabbings than one could imagine happens. At times, The Ides of March becomes the type of political thriller that only happens in movies, because the details of the misdoings are just too juicy.

Clooney directs and writes the screenplay for the film that also credits Leo DiCaprio with Executive producer credits. With DiCaprio playing J. Edgar Hoover in “J. Edgar,” due out in November, this creates a little buzz. In all though, the story in The Ides of March is strong and the cast all equally deliver command performances.

The good thing about this production is that it is not really a partisan movie. I’m not sure anybody comes out looking good. This is more about strategy and the thrill of the game. I don’t think anyone is going to be surprised by the dark secrets that lurk in our political process, I just hope that someday I don’t become as cynical as some of these characters.

5. Mischa Barton has been filming a guest spot on NBC’s “Law & Order:  SVU” but it has been a complete nightmare. An onset source says Mischa only had seven lines to shoot on Tuesday and she flubbed them every time. It ended up taking 10 hours to shoot one scene! Mariska Hargitay had to keep prompting her, “It’s your line, Mischa.” But to her credit, Mischa did apologize every time she screwed up. Still, she wasn’t winning any freinds on the show.

4. George Clooney has been busy lining up A-list celebrities to join him Friday night for a huge telethon to benefit the relief efforts in Haiti. Joining George in LA for “Hope for Haiti” are Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Dave Mathews, John Legend, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow. Wyclef Jean will host in NY and joining him will be Sting, Bruce Springsteen, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson and Shakira. And in London, the lineup includes Rihanna, Bono, The Edge, Coldplay and Jay-Z. Behind the scenes, Sandra Bullock and Angelina Jolie have each donated a million dollars to relief efforts. And Olivia Wilde, Gerard Butler, Meryl Streep and other celebrities are auctioning off their Golden Globe outfits through Artists for Peace and Justice. John Travolta chartered a plane to fly doctors, volunteers and supplies to Haiti. He said he hopes to inspire others to help.

3. Angelina Jolie reportedly is packing up for an extended stay in Europe and she’s planning to adopt another child — without Brad Pitt. A source says during a particularly ugly argument earlier this month, Brad demanded Angelina get professional help for her emotional and physical problems. She refused, so that’s when they decided it was time to end their relationship. The source says Angelina is preparing herself for life without Brad. She’s already packing up her kids’ clothes and her belongings for an extended stay in Europe, where she will soon begin filming the spy thriller, “The Tourist.” She’s also going to rely on her brother, James, to help her during her next adoption.

2. Britney Spears’ dad is worried that his daughter seems to be regressing. Jamie Spears reportedly told her he’s have her committed to a mental ward if she continues to spiral out of control. Sources say she’s recently been throwing tantrums and she’s been pulling out her hair in clumps. Why is she so upset? Britney believed that after her world tour ended, her dad would end his conservatorship. But that wasn’t the case. And after she found out her dad had no intention of giving up control of her personal and business life for the next three years, she fell into a deep depression. It got so ugly that Britney told her dad she was going to kill herself, and he just told her to keep up that kind of talk and he’d have her committed. Britney responded by checking into the Mondrian hotel in West Hollywood for more than a week where she reportedly pulled out her hair, cut it,and then called someone to come put hair extensions back in.

1. Selena Gomez has been following Nick Jonas around on his concert tour. She was at the big kickoff concert in Dallas and she was at his show in Detroit and Chicago, where she spent a lot of time on his tour bus. In fact, one girl says Selena was sitting directly in front of her at Nick’s concert in Detroit and when he started singing “Stay,” Selena kept covering her face and shaking her head because she couldn’t stop crying. What about these lyrics would have her so upset? “It’s hard to believe where we are now. Your hand in mine, babe, feels right somehow. But now its okay, so don’t make a sound, ’cause its almost perfect. So, baby, don’t you look down. We’ve had our past, leave that behind ’cause none of it lasts. All that we have is tonight.”

Charlie’s Cousin Adam reviews the new George Clooney movie “Up In The Air.”

Rated R – 1h49 -

That feeling of limbo is one of the worst feelings there are, but we can all relate. That’s why Up In The Air is deserving of of the best of 2one009.

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is a hired hitman. That is to say he’s hired by companies to fire people. He takes pride in his work that racks up frequent flier miles like nobody’s business, but also keeps him disconnected from any real emotional attachments, including his family.

What’s best about this movie is the feeling of authenticity, real human emotion, is captured in a way that hits home. The fired are told there is nothing personal about their position being eliminated, but what is more personal than the work you do? This is a film for these days of downsizing, which is why anyone who watches it will feel connected.

Alex happens upon Alex (Vera Farmiga) in a airport bar of all places. She’s a sexually charged and dark female foil who’s impressed by his elite flying status and seems to be his perfect match. After making a connection with her, he starts to question whether its time for him to stop flying away.

At work, the young up-and-comer Natalie (Anna Kendrick) has devised a plan to save the company money, by firing via a video web conference. She’s new to the game, so Ryan has to show her the ropes first. She quickly finds the harsh reality of their business and the toll it takes.

It’s a harsh and seemingly cruel business convincing a person that their job loss is a “transition” instead of a painful ripping out of your heart can do that. At least business is good.

Director Jason Reitman, who also brought a similarly realistic feel from “Juno,” knows how to tap human emotion. He’s the son of one of the greats; Ivan Reitman (Animal House, Stripes, Ghostbusters) and it’s: like father, like son.

Charlie’s Cousin Adam reviews the new animated Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Rated PG – 1h27 -

In the new world of all digital animation, Fantastic Mr. Fox stands out as a unique and clever tail.

Based on a kids book of the same name, the story is about a sly fox, who gives up his chicken hunting days and gets domesticated. I couldn’t say he is a completely honorable hero, because his main job is stealing. So goes the life of a fox. Twelve years after his son is born, Mr. Fox (George Clooney) feels his wild animals instincts kick in and needs to make one more chicken raid.

That one last score, escalates into an all-out battle between the farmers and Mr. Fox, which threatens his family and his animal friends. It forces Mr. Fox to use his quick wits to save the day.

Backed up by an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe and Owen Wilson, the dialogue is almost as strong as the animation. I felt some of it got lost in the mix, because of the film’s quick pace.

It’s also good to note the continuity and non-sugar coating of the animals. They are, wild animals. They hunt, kill and don’t always show their scruples. Then again, the humans in the story are not exactly honorable either. They use automatic weapons, explosives and destroy nature in the midst of the hunt.

Knowing the process behind the painstakingly lengthy effort of stop motion animation, gave the feeling that you are watching art in motion. Still, it’s a double-edged sword. Its unfortunate that the work gets hidden in the story, but it’s necessary to blend it in, so we believe the characters are real. And we do believe the realness, right down to the fur moving on their face when the animals talk.

Fantastic Mr. Fox feels more like a kids movie than one for adults, even though the director Wes Anderson is know for his quirky and smarter-than-thou selections. I found the charming and low-key humor entertaining. It should rank in the top five of best animated films of the year.

Rated R – 1h33 -

I think I liked the journey of this one, even though I didn’t get the feeling we were really going anywhere.

Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) is a journalist during the Iraq War, who goes searching for a story and finds a covert military program that trains psychic spies. Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) was the top spy from the program. The two meet by chance and Cassady takes Wilton on a journey through Iraq to complete an assignment that may or may not be real.

Jeff Bridges plays the military leader that came up with the psychic soldiers idea after he tuned in, turned off and dropped a lot of LSD in the 60’s. He’s clearly “Dude-esque,” just as he was in The Big Lebowski.

Playing on McGregor’s role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels, references to the psychic spies and Jedis are fluent. Fortunately, the novelty wasn’t overdone. The connections to the actors and other roles they’ve played is blatant, but not distracting.

Some of the sillier moments come with the use of animals in the film including the goats, which can be killed by the Jedis, simply by staring. You are constantly guessing if the powers are real, or if these soldiers are just really big subscribers to Oprah’s “The Secret.”

Either way, it may not matter. The film is laced with some humorous moments and I appreciated the message. Its good to keep hope alive that there are always other ways to resolve conflict.

“You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you have the Facts of Life”…so true Mrs. G, so true.

Pretty dudes beware of the facial hair.