Review: The Paperboy (2012) is a messy and disjointed, but superbly acted piece of southern film noir.

The Paperboy

2012
106 minutes
rated R

by Scott Mendelson

Lee Daniels's The Paperboy is a movie that frankly skirts by purely on the good will of its actors.  The story is pretty much a wash, even if its mundane nature wins points for probable realism.  The narrative is mostly drained of pulse-quickening melodrama, but with little of substance to take its place.  And the third act simply lounges about before halfheartedly building to a seemingly arbitrary conclusion.  Despite all of these demerits, the picture is mostly entertaining, and pretty much full credit should go to its cast.  Nearly every major cast-member is somewhat playing against type, and the film qualifies in the end as a modest acting treat.  It's not a good film and it barely qualifies as a good movie, but as a showcase of some surprisingly nuanced acting, it merits a viewing and a token recommendation.

Make war, not love. Why do we mock actors who romance while lionizing those who do violence?

It's worth noting the deluge of praise that has greeted Matthew McConaughy over the last 18 months as he's basically cast off the high-profile romantic comedies of the last decade in favor of theoretically more serious work.  When Matthew McConaughy appeared in mainstream romantic comedies, he was a sell-out movie star, not a real actor.  Regardless of whether he was actually effective in said films (Yes - How to Lose A Guy In Ten Days and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past; No - The Wedding Planner, Failure To Launch, and  Fool's Gold), the idea that McConaughy was headlining relatively popular and often profitable entertainments was considered a net loss because he was using his talents in a disreputable genre.  But now that he's appearing in legal thrillers (The Lincoln Lawyer), male-centric dramas (Magic Mike), and ultra-violent crime pictures (Killer Joe), *now* he's being proclaimed as a real actor worthy of discussion. In short, McConaughy made films that were embraced by mostly female audiences and was derided for it.  Yet when he moved into male-centric genres, he's suddenly a respectable actor turning over a new leaf.

Not exactly what I meant... ABC to turn The Lincoln Lawyer into a TV series.

When I said that I wanted The Lincoln Lawyer (based on one of five Mickey Haller novels penned by Michael Connelly) to become the first in a series, I was referring to a big-screen franchise.  Still, the apparent choice of ABC and Lionsgate to turn the relatively successful Matthew McConaughey drama into a television series is a pretty smart one.  And frankly, as I find myself watching less and less network television, it is good to know that there will be at least one network drama I can attach myself to in the next couple years.  Still, this feels like a missed opportunity.  The film industry could use a franchise or two of this nature: R-rated, starring adults, intended for adults, etc.  While I have no love for the original films or the marketing campaign thus far, I am indeed rooting for David Fincher's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for just this reason.  Without going into spoilers, things are definitely left open for an ongoing franchise at the conclusion of The Lincoln Lawyer.  Most, if not all (that would be telling) of the major stars (which included McConaughey, William H. Macy, Bryan Cranston, Josh Lucas, and Marisa Tomei) are left in a position to return for a would-be sequel.

Weekend Box Office (03/20/11): Adult genre fare cannibalize each other as Limitless, Lincoln Lawyer and Paul all open 'okay'.

I often complain about the lack of big-studio adult genre pictures while pointing out that the few such entries generally do well due to the paucity of such things in the marketplace. Alas, this weekend was a comparative embarrassment of riches, with three genre pictures, all starring adults, two rated R, and none costing more than $40 million. Ironically, all three films did moderately well, but at least two of them would likely have done even better without direct demo competition. The number one film of the weekend was Limitless. The Bradley Cooper/Robert De Niro thriller grossed $19 million, and proving a major win for the struggling Relatively. This was a real test of Bradley Cooper's star power and he delivered. The film benefited from an easily-explained high-concept (a pill that makes you the smartest man on Earth). The film played 52% female and 60% over-25. Since the relatively-well reviewed picture cost just $27 million, this is an easy win for everyone involved.

Review: The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

The Lincoln Lawyer
2011
119 minutes
rated R

by Scott Mendelson

Oh sweet glorious legal thriller, how I've missed you... In a different time (10-15 years ago), The Lincoln Lawyer would merely be a solid Friday night at the movies. But in this day and age, when the adult-driven genre picture seems to come along only a few times a year, it is indeed cause for celebration. So let us celebrate the real-world settings, the flawed hero, and the crusty character actors doing exquisite character turns. Brad Furman's picture plays like a high-class HBO pilot for the adventures of Los Angeles defense attorney Mick Haller. But if that were true, I would gladly watch each and every episode.

Artistic Comeback? He never left. A look at Matthew McConaughey's best films, post-stardom.

Much of the babbling over this weekends The Lincoln Lawyer has been about the idea that the well-reviewed legal thriller represents some kind of artistic reawakening for Mr. Matthew McConaughey. As is the case with many old-school movie stars, the critics and the pundits have a habit of ignoring McConaughey's more interesting films while highlighting his lesser mainstream fare and then reaching the conclusion that he is not but a paycheck hack. While McConaughey is certainly guilty of some questionable artistic choices, there does seem to be a whiff of genre-bias around this newest entry. It's seems that much of the praise is not so much that The Lincoln Lawyer is allegedly a pretty good movie (I'm waiting until Friday night so the wife can come along) but it is the fact that McConaughey is once again playing in a 'respectable' genre (the legal thriller) as opposed to those 'lesser' romantic comedies that he has starred in from time to time. But, without further ado, let us recount a handful of genuinely good, if not great, films that happen to star Matthew McConaughey. Oh, and this list will only cover from 1996-2009. This is for two reasons: McConaughey became a genuine movie star after A Time To Kill in 1996 and... um... I've never gotten around to see Dazed and Confused from 1993 (I know, I know...). Anyway, onward and upward...