Now Playing: Michael Clayton

New quest undertaken for the holidays: watch all 2007 Golden Globe best picture nominees (drama). To that end, today I watched Michael Clayton.

Full Disclosure: not a fan of George Clooney - I find his "trademark" swagger and smirk seem to bleed through every character he plays. I didn't like him on ER, but what really put me over the top was his horrible turn at Batman... Batman and Robin was a terrible movie, but he did nothing to alleviate that. I shall try to look past my own biases and judge the movie on its own merits.

Plot: storyline was okay, if lacking a little originality. There were some plot twists and turns, but nothing very memorable. It was the presentation of the story that made this movie stand out - the directing really made the script pop. It was an interesting setup. I did find the pacing a bit slow and there were several times i thought to myself "okay, get on with it."

The cast was superb. Tom Wilkinson makes playing crazy look easy: his portrayal of Eden's bipolar disorder was simply uncanny. But it was Tilda Swinton who stole the movie for me. She was fantastic: I found her portrayal of Crowder to be subtle and nuanced and full of layers, infusing the character with a depth that could have easily been overlooked (kudos to Gilroy for not letting it end up on the cutting room floor). From the practicing of interview questions to picking the right pair of stockings, Crowder's motivations for her actions become multi-faceted and, at times, almost sympathetic.

All in all: a well-earned 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Since the golden globe nominees were just announced I can't help but compare this movie to No Country for Old Men... pound for pound in the entertainment department? NC4OM wins hand down. My first reactions from Flixster:

No Country for Old Men: most. suspense. ever. Bardem has just raised the bar on badassery (how I hated and loved his character) and Brolin was the perfect foil. The Coens paced the film perfectly, relishing every frightened gasp and tense exchange; the choice to go without soundtrack was just brilliant (no ridiculous swells in music; no hokey harmonicas). As close to perfect as a movie is going to get this year. 5 out of 5 stars.

Eastern Promises: wow - that was good. that fight scene in the bath house was enough to .. well, if you've seen it, you know what it makes most people want to do. Very well done! so, why not 5 stars? Watts was a bit flat for me and I thought the end was a tad contrived. However, I can look past these minor annoyances and promise you a good time if you watch it! 4 out of 5 stars.