lucchi-44984 One of the few stand out films of recent years. Certainly, for observation it is of the highest order. The performances are faultless, the camera work outstanding. It is troubling, bleak, cynical, and also, seemingly, very, very real. I have never lived in 60s deep south but for a short time I believe I was there. The sexual sub plots are a seedy, dispassionate, but gripping and essential, backdrop to the actual story - racial, class and cultural chasms held loosely together in a bitter, sweaty, Louisiana type soup. The caring black servant as narrator works really well, the depiction of the main character, naively intelligent, unlikely and involuntary hero, has a warmth and honesty that contrasts well with the films themes, it also provides just enough solid ground to withstand the unfolding plot, and the ending. Grabs you and whirls you through a time and place like no other film I've seen. A brave film to make and deserves high praise.

adonis98-743-186503 Eldest son Ward Jansen is a star reporter for a Miami newspaper and has returned home with close friend Yardley to investigate a racial murder case. Younger brother Jack Jansen has returned home after a failed stint at university as a star swimmer. To help give his life some direction, Ward gives Jack a job on their investigation as their driver. But into the mix comes the fiancée of the imprisoned convict who stirs up confusing feelings of love and lust for the young Jack. Meanwhile, Ward and Yardley's investigation stirs up deep-rooted issues of race and acceptance which could cause serious consequences for everyone involved. Easily one of the worst films Matthew McConaughey has starred in it gets really over the top at times and the 3rd act really ruined the movie for me so many great actors in a film that is just disappointing at best.

Screen_Blitz Upon watching this sordid dark comedy, it is quite difficult to comprehend where director Lee Daniels' ambition for the film flew off. From his highly acclaimed efforts in the 2009 picture 'Precious', you would expect Daniels to uproot something with powerful cinematic efforts, especially for an A-list cast starring Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, David Oyelowo, and John Cusask. Compared to the aforementioned film, this one feels like a harsh chore to sit through, particularly for those who grow uncomfortable with sweaty Florida natives with a thirst of sex and intimacy or gross-out imagery. There is one scene of a character getting urinated on, another scene of a man eviscerating an alligator, the list goes on. This is film is set in the late 1960s in Moat county, Florida. Zac Efron plays Jack Wansen, an aimless young man in his early twenties who is taken care by his old house wife Anita Chester (played by Madi Gray) after he's expelled from college for a reckless stunt. His mother is dead, and his stepfather is residing away in Arizona, and worse he's got nothing go on in his life other than delivering the morning newspaper. This is until his older brother Ward (played by Matthew McConaughey) returns to town to investigate a murder of a local sheriff by a crocodile hunter Hillary Van Wetter (played by John Cusack), hiring Jack and his friend Yardley (played by David Oyelowo) in the process. They soon make an unwise choice of trusting local sex junkie Charlett Bless (played by Nicole Kidman) who happens to be dating the convict. As they dive deeper into the case, violence and sexual tensions unexpectedly arise between the four.The plot of the film already sordid enough, but with powerful directorial efforts by Lee Daniels the concept could have worked. Unfortunately, it becomes soiled with a messy direction and a vastly uninspiring script by Peter Dexter, all of which results in a 107 minutes of tedium. The plot fails to be interesting or thoughtful in anyway, and this much is due to the soulless (sometimes bizarre) execution it endures. Not only does it suffer from a lack of emotional investment, it is very uneven to the point of reassembling a collection of short films put together than one with a coherent plot. While the premise does an okay job at setting up the story, the plot development stops not long before then. There are definitely some moments destined to shock or disgust such as a "sexually-charged interrogation scene with John Cusack in the jailhouse or the aforementioned urination scene on the beach, but nothing to amuse or leave an emotional impact. The performances may be the only aspect that keep the film from hitting ground zero. Matthew McConaughey is somewhat compelling in his role as the main character's older brother. Nicole Kidman delivers a off-putting vibe as the horny sex addict who adds some slight comic relief to the inane plot. Maci Gray does a fine job as the narrator as well as a supporting character who shares only a handful of screen time. The rest of the cast including Zac Efron, David Oyelowo, and John Cusack aren't bad but there characters are so one-dimensional they are given little to work with. By the end, it is hard to identify any memorable characters. The Paperboy is a botched cinematic piece with no substance and very redeeming value to offer. From the disappointing execution, to the mundane screenplay, to the overall soiled direction, the film leads vet little to be desired. The result is an forgettable picture that fails on nearly every level.

moonspinner55 From Peter Dexter's novel about the investigation into the stabbing murder of a racist sheriff in a small Florida town in 1969; a suspect has already been convicted and sentenced to die, but a newspaper reporter and his colleague from the Big City aren't so certain he's guilty. Framed in flashback by testimony from the mouthy black maid who works for the reporter's family, the scenario is filled with nothing but one-dimensional people--caricatures substituting for characters--nasty, racially-hostile dialogue and ugly scenes such as bleach-blonde Nicole Kidman bringing her prisoner-crush to orgasm during visitor's hours (she also urinates on paper-delivering drop-out Zac Efron after he's stung by a jellyfish!). Adapted by Dexter and director Lee Daniels, the film may be considered brave (or bravely outré) for its 'colorful' examination of racial hatred, but as a tale of murder it surely falls short. It's also a failure as a starring vehicle for the likes of Kidman, Efron, John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey as the reporter and David Oyelowo as his partner. Oyelowo, as a black British man in America's south at the end of the 1960s, appears to have no clue as to how this impossibly-conceived role should be played, and Daniels gives him absolutely no help. Watching Oyelowo and the rest of the cast struggle on-screen is painful to witness. One of the worst-directed, written and edited pictures of the last 10 years. NO STARS from ****