Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Informant! (2009)

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Topic: The Informant! (2009)

Sam Graham
AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues.

Posts: 1431
From: Waukee, IA
Registered: Dec 2004

posted 09-19-2009 06:09 PM

CINEMA: 13th Avenue Warren, Wichita, KS
AUDITORIUM: 14
PRESENTATION: Dolby Digital Cinema/THX
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Soft, bright image (likely director's choice)
RATING: Three stars (out of four)

I walk up to Frowning Concession Guy and say "Bogie, lots of butter, Pepsi". "Bogie" is Warren combo speak for a medium buttered popcorn and a large soda. While I'm getting my money out ($9.50?!?), he fills the popcorn tub 1/3 of the way and pumps butter. Pump pump pump pump..."Enough?" he asks.

"More."

(pump pump pump pump pump) "Good," I say.

He fills another third. (pump pump pump pump pump pump) "There."

Fills to the top. (pump pump pump pump pump) "You're the man."

Relatively slow business today. Some guy behind me..."Somebody FAT was sitting in this chair!" I have no idea what exactly prompted him to say that. Then he goes into a coughing fit. Great.

THE PLOT: A dumbass panics. Wackiness ensues.

This is apparently based on a true story. How much of what's portrayed specifically happened, I don't know. But WOW is this guy thick.

On the script alone, you may question whether or not this is supposed to be funny. Director Steven Soderbergh leans your opinion towards 'funny' by filling the soundtrack with keystone kops-like music. Sort of distracting, actually.

But Damon plays the crap out of this character. He's just awesome in this. Most everybody else wraps up the show nicely. Maybe not Scott Bakula. He just didn't seem to fit in. But the Smothers brothers got work out of it. That's nice.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 09-20-2009 07:51 PM

Today at Regal 15 in Eugene, #9, 35mm + SR•D. No issues other than the show started about 10 mins. late. (Since CineMedia obviously knows that there will be times when there's a delay between the end of the FirstLook preshow and the film starting, you'd think they'd have some more appropriate final image to display, instead of that frozen-in-motion last frame that has all the letters crooked etc. Also that final sequence should be formatted so that a change from flat to scope doesn't cut off the Regal logo etc. Duh! But I digress. That wasn't an issue for this show but it does happen.)

I liked this a lot. Agree with Sam that Matt Damon is awesome as "Mark Whitacre". I vaguely recall this story of ADM and price-fixing being in the news. The Smothers Brothers? Get out! I thought one of them was dead. Seriously. Why is Joel McHale in this? I mean he's ok hosting The Soup, but as a serious actor? (looks him up on imdb) He has some actual acting credits? Who knew?

Soderbergh has made a really good movie, notwithstanding his obsession with shooting on video using available light etc.

I give "The Informant!" a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

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Tom Mundell
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 120
From: Silver Spring, MD, USA
Registered: Nov 2007

posted 09-20-2009 08:39 PM

I saw this at AMC Tyson's Corner 16 in theater 11, 35mm & SR-D. This is one of two 500 seat rooms. Annoyingly the picture was out of frame; I should have complained, but was feeling kinda shy and also didn't want to lose my really good seat in a rapidly filling auditorium. Shoulda complained anyway, AMC is usually pretty good at fixing things. oh well.

I really enjoyed this; I also agree Matt Damon was excellent and rather liked that funny style soundtrack. Picture looked like crap though, I didn't like the overexposed video look. Available light or not, it seemed like there were a lot of scenes that should have looked better.

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Carol May
Film Handler

Posts: 48
From: los angeles, ca, usa
Registered: Nov 2006

posted 09-26-2009 08:37 PM

I saw this today at the Directors' Guild. I went in expecting nothing, and got a fair amount.

I thought Matt Damon was really good. It was his unsavory character, though, that made me like the movie less as it went along. Not his fault, but as the protagonist, he got very hard to sympathize with. All the actors did a good job.

The movie had a sense of humor, I liked the sort of late '60's, early 70's score, nice and lively. And 105 minutes was plenty, no one's ego went overboard with another 150 minute movie.

From a strictly social commentary POV, I was actually less astonished at the corporate price fixing shenanigans, and the rest that I don't want to give away, than I was shocked at how truly fake and manufactured our food is. Hello fruits and vegetables!!

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Chris Hipp
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1462
From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas)
Registered: Jul 2003

posted 09-26-2009 10:28 PM

It was a good movie. The payoff was not worth all the confusion though.

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