![State of Play [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51C61vbeP0L.jpg) |   Format : AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen Publisher : Universal Studios Company : Universal Studios List Price: Our Price: $12.00 You Save: $14.98 (56%) Used Price : $7.69 |
Product Description
Academy Award®-winner Russell Crowe leads an all-star cast, including Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams & Helen Mirren in the blistering thriller about deception, manipulation & corruption. When D.C. Reporter Cal McCaffrey (Crowe) is assigned to investigate the murder of an assistant to an up-and-coming politician (Affleck), he uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to bring down the nation’s power structures. In a town of spin-doctors and wealthy power brokers, he will discover one truth: when fortunes are at stake, no one’s integrity, love or life is safe. From director Kevin Macdonald of The Last King of Scotland, State of Play brings together gripping performances, riveting suspense and is “sophisticated, intelligent and powerful” (Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV).Amazon.com
The superlative British miniseries becomes a smart, soap opera-free film courtesy The Last King of Scotland's Kevin Macdonald. His writers, including Tony Gilroy (the Bourne series) and Billy Ray (Breach), haven't simply condensed and Americanized the six-hour series--they've reinvented it. Now set in Washington D.C., veteran journalist Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe, replacing Brad Pitt, who dropped out over script changes) still collaborates with editor Cameron Lynne (a delectably imperious Helen Mirren) and junior reporter Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) on a story involving Cal's politico pal, Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), but there's a new subtext behind their plunge into sex scandals and corporate malfeasance, since this State of Play also eulogizes old-school beat reporting, and in interviews, Macdonald has acknowledged the influence of newsprint classics like All the President's Men (the Watergate Hotel even shows up as a location). So, while Cal and Della, the Globe’s blogger, try to determine whether the congressman’s aide Sonia (with whom he was having an affair) died at her own hands or the hands of another, they're also fighting for their careers and the survival of their ailing paper. Stephen's political rival Senator Fergus (Jeff Daniels), does his best to stymie their efforts, but PR flack Dominic Foy (Jason Bateman) becomes a reluctant ally. Though fans of the series may miss a few characters, like Cameron's son (played by James McAvoy in the BBC version), Oscar-winning documentarian-turned-filmmaker Macdonald remains true to its spirit. Be sure to stay through the poignant end credits, during which he returns to his doc roots. --Kathleen C. FennessyStills from State of Play (Click for larger image)
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Customer reviews
Finally a great adult suspense movie 
by .. J. White (OH USA)
Finally a great adult suspense film about several timely subjects . It 's about the dying newspapers and political corruption.
Russell Crowe is excellent as an overweight ,slightly shabby journalist ,who is flawed personally,but an excellent journalist.
Helen Mirren is good as his stressed boss.Ben Afflek is surprisingly good as his old friend and US congressman. Rachel
McAdams is fine as the new face of the news,a blogger for the newspaper. There is suspense, that grabs you and holds you til the end. I saw it with friends and discussed it through and after dinner. Always a sign of a good movie. How in the world does Crowe manage to be so appealing in messy clothes and overweight? I highly recommend this movie.
Edgy Thriller by .. Joseph J. Slevin (Carlsbad, CA United States)
You are taken on quite a ride with 'State of Play' where Ben Affleck and Russell Crow play friends, Affleck a very involved Congressman and Crow a very active Journalist who seems on the last legs of a career with the paper he works for going more to the web. His editor, who is attempting to squeeze every dollar out of the paper gets more and more delirious about McAffrey (Crow) as he tries to track down the truth behind a scandal involving congressman Collins (Affleck).
There are a few twists and you get a feel of the issues that the News Media faces with balancing getting the story, versus getting the truth. (See the Book 'Losing the News'). Then you have a congressman who is overseeing the committee for reviewing a new national security consulting firm. The plot thickens as McAffrey pulls back the layers of information using all of the sources he can dig up. Great bit on investigative journalism. I think it gives a little of a sense of what went on in the Watergate era with Deep Throat and Woodward and Burnstein.
The junior reporter/blogger Della Frye, played by Rachel McAdams, is vying for getting noticed in her career giving us a sense of play between Generation X and the quickly getting behind the times Baby Boom Generation.
You have a couple of interesting threads blending marvelously into one, issues of Government and corruption, Journalistic excellence and the current state of the News Print medium and internal generational differences.
This really makes for keeping you on the edge of your seat and having to really stay in tune with what is going on. Interestingly, everyone is questioning everyone elses integrity throughout and you really feel for McAffrey when everyone questions his motives for his approach in digging and digging for the truth.
Definately one of my favorites for 2009, State of Play is a must for the DVD library.
State of Play by .. Arnita D. Brown (USA)
A solid entertaining, mature thriller. As usual Crowe and Mirren are their absolute best. McAdams and a surprising Affleck are also good. Some good plot twists, an interesting story, exceptional acting, and witty dialogue make this a winner through and through.
I just wish all summer blockbusters were this smart... by .. Andrew Ellington (I'm kind of everywhere)
Take an excellent cast, a smart director and an accomplished screen writer, throw them into a room and let them go at it and you'd swear you'll walk away with a masterpiece, right. Well, a masterpiece `State of Play' is not, but what it is is a very, very good movie; a great movie even. With noteworthy performances, a tightly woven plot and engaging camera work that keeps us glued throughout, `State of Play' did more than just hold my attention; it grabbed it and flung it across the room.
I knew I was going to see this movie before I knew anything about it; I am that devoted to Russell Crowe. Then I read that it was a remake of a BBC min-series. I still have as of yet to see that, but I will now that I've seen this film.
I don't want to spoil too much of the movie, since Tony Gilroy worked real hard to make this an engaging and exciting thrill ride with twists and turns that are not predictable (even if you think they are). All I'll say is that it starts with a murder, and then a presumed suicide. Reporter Cal McAffrey is working on the murders, while blog reporter Della Frye is working on the suicide. The suicide happens to be of a woman who worked for Congressman Stephen Collins, an old college buddy of Cal's. When Cal starts to look into the young woman's death he unveils that the murder he is working on and this `suicide' seem to be related; but it goes much deeper than that.
Like I said, I really don't want to give too much away.
The acting here is spot on across the board. Crowe is always a reliable source for quality entertainment, and he doesn't disappoint here. He also doesn't out act his co-stars (which wouldn't be hard for him to do when matched with McAdams or Affleck), so the film never seems uneven. This isn't to say that he drops the ball, for he is always in character and acting his tail off (just watch the way he processes information, that look on his face), but he knows the type of film he's in and the type of performance needed to sell this.
A pleasant surprise is the fact that some actors who are less than brilliant really up their game here and deliver wonderfully.
Ben Affleck shocked me with his ability to really `act', something I've rarely, if ever, seen him do. Rachel McAdams is one of the most beautiful women on the planet (seriously) and she has shown much potential in her career. She doesn't blow anything out of the box here, but she is consistent and believable. Helen Mirren is a firecracker and steals her every scene. Robin Wright Penn is touching and moving, yet forgettable. Jeff Daniels was a nice touch, and his final confrontation with Crowe was stellar ("SON!"). For me though, this movie belongs to Jason Bateman, an actor I am not very familiar with who just blazes the screen in his few short scenes. He is witty, charming (in a very creepy sort of way) and wholly believable. I just wish they had written him into a few more scenes.
Like I said, this is not a masterpiece, but it is an enthralling and captivating political thriller that makes good use of its cast and its timeframe, injecting a rapid fire pace that keeps us glued to the screen, never wavering for a second or losing our interest long enough for us to get confused or give up.
love the plot twists by .. K. S. Fries ()
We don't buy a lot of videos after we watch them-once is usually enough- but this has been added to our library. Russell Crowe fills the journalist role so completely, reminding me of the typical hard-driving journalist with a nose for news and a golden pen who can barely make himself publicly presentable and pushes on for the truth of a story even as it promises to bring down those closest to him. The charmingly corrupt politician is played well by Ben Affleck and is food for thought regarding the self-destruction of a political career.