The title refers to the day Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators who feared his role as a dictator would forever destroy their constitutional government. Some of these senators were close friends of his which makes their actions all the more shocking. In the political arena then and now, you’d think those running for office would have their friends and loyal advisors to instill their trust in. But as history shows, the quest of power can tear friendships apart completely and corrupt the seemingly incorruptible. In William Shakespeare’s play of “Julius Caesar,” a soothsayer warns him before he is stabbed to death:

“Beware the Ides of March.”

George Clooney’s latest directorial effort is based on the play “Farragut North” by Beau Willimon, and it looks at how dangerous a political campaign can be for all those involved. They may not get stabbed in the back literally, but there is a lot of that to go around figuratively speaking. It all makes for an intense political thriller that never lets up.

Ryan Gosling stars as Stephen Meyers, a Junior Campaign Manager for Governor Mike Norris (Clooney) who is seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. As the movie opens, Norris is campaigning in Ohio where a win there will all but guarantee him the nomination. Meyers is a strong believer in Norris and what he stands for, but his belief in him and the world of politics is in for a rude awakening. After a secret meeting with the rival campaign manager Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti), trust becomes a precious commodity that’s in very short supply. Meyers also stumbles on an even bigger situation which could destroy the campaign for good.

This is Clooney’s fourth movie as a director, and the abilities he shows behind the camera are never in doubt. “The Ides of March” doesn’t necessarily break any new ground in the political movie genre, but he does great work in generating tension throughout as characters suddenly finds themselves on a precipice which threatens to fall out beneath them with little warning. He also gets great performances from the entire cast as they face off with each other like they’re playing a game of chess. Everyone is holding their cards close to their chest, and only the eyes can give them away in showing where they are most vulnerable.

Gosling is having a heck of a year in 2011 with this, “Crazy Stupid Love,” and “Drive.” As with the latter, he brings a smoldering intensity to his performance as he takes Meyers from a political idealist to one who sells out his values when things get rough. With one look he can let us inside his thoughts without saying a single word.

Two of my most favorite performances in “The Ides of March” come from two of the best character actors ever: Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti. Playing campaign managers for their individual candidates, they brilliantly bring out the moral complexities of each person as their agendas become clear throughout the story. Both also make what could have been convoluted actions or maneuvers appear completely believable as they try to get the upper hand in a fragile political environment. They essentially represent the cynical side of politics where idealism vanished a long time ago and the path Meyers may be forced to go down if he wants to continue working in this realm.

The fabulous Evan Rachel Wood is great as always as Molly Stearns, a campaign intern whose confidence collapses when her secret is realized. Seeing her go from a sexy seducer to the campaign’s most vulnerable employee is handled by her like a pro, and she makes us see Molly as a person while others view her as a crippling concern needing to be quickly and quietly removed. The cruelty of politics comes to hit her character the hardest.

And then there’s the equally fabulous Marisa Tomei who portrays New York Times reporter Ida Horowicz. She enjoys a friendly banter with Gosling from the start which draws us in on a more personal level. It’s there where Tomei traps not just Gosling but the audience as well. She provides us with a friendly face that is later revealed to be a manipulative journalist who wields more power than you might expect one to have. I have yet to see Tomei give a bad performance in anything she does.

What I really like about the screenplay of “The Ides of March” is that it’s not about good guys and bad guys. It’s all about shades of gray and how the hope in politics can be easily and quickly worn down to a cinder of what it once was. Some of the actions in the movie almost feel like something out of the “Saw” as they almost seem illogical and impossible to put together, but it makes sense in regards to the world it takes place in. This would make a great double feature with Mike Nichols’ “Primary Colors” as both deal with the moral compromises made in getting your man elected. But while “Primary Colors” sees something of a light at the end of the tunnel, “The Ides of March” doesn’t let the viewer off as easy.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

This movie came out on HBO several months ago, but I never got around to seeing it until now. How ironic, considering that we are now upon our country’s latest Presidential election and one of the most important ones at that. Still, the memories of hanging chads and confusing ballots permeate our consciousness 8 years after the heavily contested election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. We saw this played out on the networks with all their furious coverage, but now with “Recount,” we get a look at what went on in the campaign offices while this election fight went on to get what they each felt was fair and just.

How you view this movie might depend on what side of the political spectrum you see yourself on. I’m not sure how accurate this movie is to real events, but I imagine it is pretty close. Coming out of it, you may feel it values one candidate over the other. But in the end, “Recount” is not so much a movie about the fight to get candidates elected as it is about the fight for democracy. It is a fight for all the voters to be heard, and also a scary tale of how the fate of the Presidency can end up in the hands of a powerful few instead of America as a whole. Hopefully, this is something that we all collectively hope we never have to live through again.

“Recount” was directed by Jay Roach who is best known as the director of all the “Austin Powers” movies. Here, he directs a large cast of superlative actors who take the roles of many people we know well from the news, and gives us a strong case of why many still thank Al Gore was robbed of the Presidency (hence, it will probably alienate more conservative audiences). Both Gore and Bush are basically supporting players in this story, and we only see them from the backs of their heads (obviously portrayed by other actors) or in news footage of them during the campaign. The movie is more interested in what went on behind the scenes of the election, and of the different fights made to get to the truth of who won the Florida electoral votes.

Even though we all know how this ended up and who got elected, the movie is still riveting in the same way “Apollo 13” was. It is not so much interested in the general way things happened as it is the specifics of the issue. We see brilliantly shot examples of how chads in ballots could not be broken off as they were designed to be. The opening shot of the movie shows how easily confused some Florida residents are when they are trying to vote, and yet it is not altogether clear how to vote for Gore so that you don’t accidentally vote for Pat Buchannan. The moment where one of Gore’s campaign workers rushes up to him before he is about to make his concession speech on the night of that election is scary in that we all feel like we are running alongside him. This movie feels all the more stronger all these years later as we will finally be rid of Bush as President for once and for all. Even now, we have a strong emotional reaction to the thought of Gore conceding the election.

At the head of this star studded cast is Kevin Spacey who gives one of his best performances in quite some time as Ron Klain, Al Gore’s legal advisor on the campaign trail. The day before the election, it is presumed that Gore is going to win it, and Klain is offered a job in Gore’s new administration. Ron ends up turning it down, feeling that it is not the way he wants to spend the next 8 years of his life. But when it becomes clear that there are clear inconsistencies in the voting in certain Florida counties, Ron goes right into action to make sure that all the votes are recounted, as the margin of victory is only off by just over a thousand votes. Ron is aided by a large team of political strategists from Michael Whouley (Denis Leary) to Warren Christopher (John Hurt).

Spacey makes it clear from the start that Ron Klain is an idealist more than anything else about the way the political system works. What he does throughout the movie is not motivated by his desire to see Gore become President (he even admits in one scene that he is not even sure he likes Gore) as it is by the desire to see all the votes counted and to not have any of them thrown for different reasons like those rejected votes of people with similar names of convicted felons. Because the election was so close, we can see in Spacey’s eyes that this election is just much too important for certain votes to be cast aside.

We also get great performances from other actors like Ed Begley Jr. who plays David Boes who passionately fought for the recount to continue when testifying at the Supreme Court. Another great performance comes from the always reliable Tom Wilkinson (“Michael Clayton”) who plays James Baker who fights on behalf of George W. Bush to turn the election his way. Wilkinson plays Baker as being idealistic in his own way, and is almost as idealistic as Klain is for the democrats. Bruce McGill is also great here as Republican lobbyist Mac Stipanovich who is brought in to persuade Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris to stop the recount.

Speaking of Katherine Harris (who by the way wanted nothing to do with this film), she is played here in a brilliant performance by Laura Dern. With makeup to bring up harsh memories of Faye Dunaway from “Mommie Dearest,” Laura gives us a Katherine Harris who is not dumb, but who is oblivious to what is going on around her. She says she is following the law, but never really questions those around her as to what their true motives really are. Laura is one of the best actresses working today, and this movie is a good reminder of that. Her performance is frightening in how it shows

The other thing I wanted to note about “Recount” is that the actors do a great job of inhabiting their roles as opposed to impersonating people we have known for a long time in the political world. That is always the trap of playing characters we know from really life; many end up playing these people from the outside in instead of inside out. It takes a group of well trained actors to play these roles, and who are not mere impressionists or mimics. Mimicry is a cool art, but it doesn’t work in movies like this.

Director Jay Roach does a great job of literally putting you back in the year 2000, and he makes you're a witness to all the goings on to where even though you know how this race ended, you still hope and pray for a different outcome. Jay also shows how each Presidential candidate has to be grateful for all the dozens of people and hundreds of supporters who helped their candidate to where he (or eventually, she) is in the political landscape (and landmines) of America. Aside from “The West Wing,” we haven’t had too many movies that have looked at these people who work so hard for the politician they support, and this movie is a reminder of how those people need to be thanked for all that they do. They can’t stay behind the scenes forever. They need to be seen for who they are.

In the end, “Recount” is not so much a movie about how Gore got screwed out of an election he won the popular vote on. It’s not about if Gore lost the election. It is about how democracy was lost in that election, and of how many voices were rendered irrelevant for reasons that were not altogether justified. The final scene of the warehouse where all those uncounted votes is haunting, and it almost feels like an outtake of the scene from “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” where the Ark of the Covenant is being stored in a factory holding hundreds of boxes that all look alike. The real victim of that election was that all the voters were not heard, and that ended up leaving a shadow over George W. Bush’s Presidency that will never fully be erased.

It also serves as an important document of a moment of history that we can never forget. We need to remember what happened so that it never happens again. We have already seen history repeat itself, and now it’s time to learn from it so that it never happens again.

“Recount” shows how HBO continues to make some of the best and most important movies today. It’s one of the best movies I have seen in 2008.

**** out of ****

14 Women
Year: 2008
Director: Mary Lambert
Studio: Screen Media Films
Stars: Annette Bening
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 70 Mins
Official Website: http://www.14womenthemovie.com/

With the political season in full swing, it was appropriate for me to find a political documentary to talk about. I managed to have a title sitting at home that was recently released on DVD a couple of weeks ago.

“14 Women” focuses on 14 female Senators in the historic 109th congress, as the number of females’ skyrocked from nine to fourteen in 2002. The film goes into their struggles with balancing their homelife with relationships and their political party views. The film is directed by Mary Lambert (Pet Cemetery 2, The In-Crowd) and is produced by Nicole Boxer, daughter of Barbara Boxer, one of the female Senators, that’s featured in this film.

I was hoping to get a very interesting look at all fourteen Senators, but instead the film doesn’t to that to some extent. “14 Women” felt like it focused on the people we already know like Hillary Rodham Clinton, Elizabeth Dole, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstien. I would have liked to have known more about the other senators like Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski, who was in the Senate when there were only two females back in 1992, Missouri Senator Debbie Stabenow and Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu. It would have been interesting, because they weren’t household names unlike Clinton and Hutchison. It would have made the film more interesting for me, personally. Why didn't this happen? Well it has to do with the film’s major problem, the seventy minute running time. One of the things that a feature documentary has to do is explore all of the topics and subjects that are being presented in the film. To me, it’s didn’t do that because of the running time. If the film spends another half hour or so, then Director Mary Lambert would have spent more time on the other Senators, not just the household names then maybe all the Senators in the film would have been interesting, because some of their stories felt incomplete to me.

For the major grips that I have with this film, the film still has some good material. One of the things that the film did well was to explore the history of the female Senate and the backstory to the 109th Congress. You do get some interesting information on the Senate and a couple of the committees like the judicial committee and how the Clarence Thomas fiasco helped pave the way for some of these female Senators to run for office. Lambert does that by focusing on that event by going into the history of it and the interview of Senator and Vice Presidential candidate, Joe Biden. The Biden interview provided some insight to the judicial committee and his regret during those proceeding. She also goes into the election process from the behind the scenes of a campaign, from the conventions to the fundraising, which shows the hard work that’s done on the campaign trail. Mary Lambert, I thought, also did a good job getting a female perspective from the group of young female that she interviewed with their thoughts on women that are being Senators and the possible of a female president.

14 Women is a film that should have had more time invested on it’s subjects, but still is a good film if you are interested in women in the Senate, as it’s somewhat educational to people who are in interested in politics.

Review Rating: 3 Stars

DVD Extras:

Additional Scenes

DIRECTED BY
Danny Leiner (GTWC) & Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (EFGB)

STARRING
John Cho - Harold Lee
Kal Penn - Kumar Patel
Paula Garces - Maria
Neil Patrick Harris - Neil Patrick Harris
David Krumholtz - Goldstein
Eddie Kaye Thomas - Rosenberg
Christopher Meloni - Freakshow (GTWC) & KKK Grand Wizard (EFGB)
Ethan Embry - Billy Carver (GTWC)
Rob Corddry - Ron Fox (EFGB)
Danneel Harris - Vanessa (EFGB)
Eric Winter - Colton (EFGB)

GTWC - 4 Howls Outta 4
EFGB - 3.5 Howls Outta 4


Stoner comedies have become a beloved sub-genre in the film world of comedy. Ever since Cheech & Chong made being high not only cool, but funny as hell, other filmmakers have followed suit with their own stories of being under the influence of narcotics. Films like THE BIG LEBOWSKI, GRANDMA'S BOY, HALF BAKED, and DAZED AND CONFUSED have showcased the spectacle that is being a pot smoker, bringing laughs to those who know exactly what it feels like and to others who don't. And even though we still live in a very conservative time in our society, a certain stoner comedy has managed to capture the heart of many: HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE. While it wasn't a big success at the box office during 2005, it managed to gain a huge following on cable and especially on DVD. Harold and Kumar became the poster children for pot smokers everywhere with their wacky road trips and getting the girl at the end. The popularity of WHITE CASTLE led to the 2008 sequel, HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY. While the films will never win any Academy Awards or much love from uptight critics, the public loves these films and they both deserve a worthy spot on any "Top Stoner Films Ever Made" list.

PLOT
In HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE, Harold (John Cho) is an uptight corporate analyst who is pretty much used by his superiors and is infatuated with his beautiful neighbor Maria (Paula Garces). He lives with his best friend, Kumar (Kal Penn), who attempts to ruin any chance of going to med school to maintain a life of being a freeloader and slacker. One Friday night, Harold is given a ton of work to do by Billy Carver (Ethan Embry), who wants to party instead of work the entire weekend. Harold's problem ruins his and Kumar's plans of just lounging at their place and getting baked. The two do eventually begin to smoking the sweet leaf while watching television, spotting a commercial for White Castle burgers. Wanting to satisfy their cravings, Harold and Kumar decide to travel towards the nearest White Castle, which is many miles away. However, they get involved in crazy situations along the way, such as riding a cheetah, dealing with racist cops, hot British chicks with bowel problems, some mutant-looking tow truck driver, and a stoned and horny Neil Patrick Harris.

In HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE GUANTANAMO BAY, Harold & Kumar continue their adventure from White Castle by taking a trip to Amsterdam to meet up with Harold's love, Maria. However, things start to get wacky again when Harold claims he's being racially profiled at the airport during the security checkpoint search. He also meets up with his stunning ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Danneel Harris), who is about to get married to some right-wing big shot named Colton (Eric Winter). Kumar is reminded how much he wants to get back together with Vanessa and decides to fight for her. However, that plan is derailed when Kumar [being the genius that he is] decides to smoke a bong aboard the plane that is mistaken for a bomb. Some government dude named Ron Fox (Rob Corddry) is on the case, believing that Kumar works for Al-Queda and Harold is part of some North Korean terrorist faction. The two end up in prison at Guantanamo Bay, but escape pretty quickly. They end up in Florida with some illegal immigrants, eventually ending up on another road trip where they encounter a cyclops, some KKK members, George W. Bush, and Neil Patrick Harris again.

REVIEW
Both HAROLD & KUMAR films are more intelligent than most people give them credit for. WHITE CASTLE was a statement on racial stereotypes and how some people take advantage of that. GUANTANAMO BAY is more political driven, as if there's a statement on our stereotype that all Arabs [even though Kumar is INDIAN and not even Middle Eastern - shows how much we tend to assume via appearances] and Asians are all terrorists ready to destroy the United States because two high-profile people [Osama Bin Laden and Kim Jong-il] happen to be Arab and Asian respectively. Both films have a deep message underneath the stoner jokes and the wacky comedy, but it's hard to see that when you're laughing to the point where your stomach hurts and tears are running down your face due to the risque humor that pretty much contorts the R rating in ways that almost surprise me that these films, especially GUANTANAMO BAY, didn't receive an NC-17 rating.

These films both have a fairly simple plot that's expanded in the sake of presenting wacky situations that really don't have anything to do with one another except to push the envelope on one's personal sense of humor. Some people may be bothered by this, but when the jokes work and the script is really funny and clever, they really have no right to complain. While GO TO WHITE CASTLE is the better and funnier of the two films, both WHITE CASTLE and ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY are hilarious films from beginning to end and present great comedy to those who have or haven't lit a fatty up and experienced the euphoria that comes with it. What makes the film so funny is that while both are stoners, Harold and Kumar are two very different people personality wise. They remind me of The Odd Couple but if they did drugs [Harold is Felix while Kumar is definitely Oscar]. The two actors have great chemistry with each other and are very appealing to watch, which make their characters great to watch. The two play off of each other extremely well, making their friendship extremely believable. This helps root for them even when they [especially Kumar] do really stupid things. Without Penn and Cho in the leads, these films wouldn't work at all. They made a thin story seem more epic in scale due to their performances.

I think what makes these films so popular and so good are the situations Harold and Kumar put themselves in. In WHITE CASTLE, we get several classic moments like the whole Freakshow and his really hot wife scenerio. How many times have you heard a beautiful woman ask you to double stuff her in one of her holes or two? And her husband wants to join in on the fun! You don't have to be a pothead to know that's fuckin' funny. And seeing a cheetah exhale smoke out of his mouth is worth more than a chuckle. And what about that game of Battleship, but toilet style? I remember the first time I watched that and couldn't stop laughing for like 3 minutes. But my favorite scene is the "Crazy On You" by Heart montage, where Kumar has sex and marries his big bag of marijuana until the stress of marriage takes his toll on Kumar and becomes verbally abusive towards his grass. Just a great scene period that always makes me laugh to this day. ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY doesn't have that many classic scenes like that, but it does have wacky scenerios. I mean, we have an imbred cyclops person for Christ's sake. Who thinks this funny shit up? And that KKK sequence - yeah, having minorities in the deep racist South is either gonna make you feel uncomfortable or make you have fits of laughter. Plus seeing George W. Bush smoke a doobie just confirms that he's better at running a country under the influence than sober. I also enjoyed that flashback that showed how Harold and Kumar were like before they got hooked on drugs. That was pretty humorous to watch. Plus, any scene with Neil Patrick Harris in any of the films is worth watching. Seeing him play a drugged out and sex crazed version of himself is just addicting to watch. He's come a long way from DOOGIE HOWSER, M.D. and I'm glad for it. The guy is funny and talented as hell.

I do think GUANTANAMO BAY loses some stream after the first hour, as most of the working jokes are in that timeframe and things start being less funnier after that [although the G.W. Bush appearance is funny]. It just reminded me how much I wanted to watch GO TO WHITE CASTLE again because the laughs never stopped in that film. Plus this film is a lot more crude and gross-out than WHITE CASTLE, which I feel sacrificed the comedy for the most part for shocks and giggles. Still, GUANTANAMO BAY is still very funny and worth the price of admission in my opinion.

The direction for both films are very good, even though WHITE CASTLE is in much better hands with Danny Leiner at the helm. It's better paced and has more of a style than GUANTANAMO BAY does. Still, newcomers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg do a good job keeping up with the script. They know their audience and use the visuals to that advantage, creating a very slick film. Both films kind of use the green screen effect at certain times, but that only brings the charm of the film out even more. Personally, I have no complaints about the direction at all.

The acting is excellent in both films. John Cho and Kal Penn, like I mentioned before, are great as Harold and Kumar. Great chemistry, great comic timing, and the great achievement of making us believe them under these abnormal circumstances. Paula Garces doesn't do much in these films as Maria but whenever she does appear, she's spot on. She's also very hot. Grrrrr. Neil Patrick Harris is awesome as his Bizarro alter-ego. Watching him not take himself seriously by humping car seats, snorting coke off a chick's ass, and riding unicorns is a pleasure. I salute you, NPH. Watch after the end credits of GUANTANAMO BAY for more NPH goodness. Rob Corddry was very funny as the racist government agent who used every stereotype in the book about Arabs and Asians to make his points. Couldn't stop laughing at the extremes the man went to. Neither could the crowd I was sitting with. Danneel Harris is absolutely adorable and sexy as hell. She can play the bad girl extremely well, but she makes an appealing good girl as well. Eric Winter played a great jerk and nice foil to Kumar over Vanessa's affections. Plus the cameos you get in both films are insane. From Anthony Anderson, to a homoerotic Ryan Reynolds, to a mutated Chris Meloni, to good guy Roger Bart, to Beverly D'Angelo, to Grand KKK Wizard Chris Meloni, it's full of great talent.

THINGS I'VE LEARNED WHILE TELLING PEOPLE I TRIED POT BUT DIDN'T INHALE

- Paula Garces is smokin' hot. I didn't just learn that but I just wanted to say it again in case she ever happens to read this review and want to hook up. Call me, baby.

- Goldstein wants to eat out of Katie Holmes' ass. Too bad Tom Cruise and Xenu beat him to it. They just didn't want to wait for their lives to be over.

- Neil Patrick Harris is one horny, junkie actor. I really hope he didn't meet his boyfriend's mother in that state.

- Escaping from Guantanamo Bay is a lot easier than one would expect. If only escaping news about Paris Hilton and Heidi Montag could be as easy. Life is so unfair.

- Don't ever ride a cheetah. They're so fast that they'll run you into a tree branch and take you into the wrong direction. They can't be trusted. Some animals just don't seem to be able to change their spots.

- G.W. Bush enjoys doing pot. And people wonder why I've never bothered to try the stuff? Who's the cool one now? Ha!

THE FINAL HOWL
HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE is probably one of the funniest comedies of the decade so far. HAROLD AND KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY isn't as funny, but it's still the funniest film I've seen since SUPERBAD. It's definitely a worthy sequel and I believe that if you loved WHITE CASTLE, you'll love GUANTANAMO BAY as well. Personally I think GUANTANAMO BAY is the best anti-terror film I've seen in quite a while. And after what we've been seeing on the news for years, we definitely needed a film like this. Who knew stoners were so enlightened? Both films are definitely worth getting high over.