The Devil's Double (R)
Saddam Hussein's son -Uday- had a body double that followed him around in every one of his coked up, girl raping, partying ways. It was only a matter of time before a movie would come out about this spoiled, nonsensical brat. What director Lee Tamahori does here is run excess on everything. The gestures are over exaggerated, the violence is over the top and the sex is kinky. It's a wild, mind numbing time at the movies and should not be taken very seriously or as a true document of Uday. Which doesn't mean it's not trashy entertainment. Tamahori knows he's doing every scene over the top and with flashy style but it's not his direction that caters the movie through, It's Dominic Cooper's sensational double performance as both Uday and his body double Latif - the fact that you can tell both characters apart at all times is a testament to his talent. Watch Cooper - a firecrackingly good actor- run through his own portrayals of both good and evil in one of the best performances of the entire summer. ★★½
Our Idiot Brother (R)
Paul Rudd nearly saves this film. Notice, I said nearly. Rudd is one of the most underrated comey actors working today, especially when he's working with writer/director Judd Apatow. In Jesse Peretz' Our Idiot Brother, Apatow is nowhere to be found. This is a movie that blindly riffs off of the Coens' The Big Lebowski in all its hipster, trippy glory. Yet, I wouldn't even think twice about putting that cult classic alongside this rehashed, slight affair. Rudd plays the role of the hipster, naive brother perfectly but the rest of his female sisterly castmates can't compete. Zooey Deschanel -usually great- seems lost and Emily Mortimer -an indie Darling- tries her best in an underwritten role. The film premiered at Sundance earlier this year and continues the angering trend of having average Sundance favourites hit theatres over the past few years. It's turned into a festival that has replaced mavericks with sun-shined, holy business. Gone are the days of Memento and Reservoir Dogs. ★★
30 Minutes Or Less (R)
Fresh off his triumphant performance in The Social Network, Jesse Eisenberg decided to choose a Hollywood action thriller as his next project. In 30 Minutes Or Less the action comes out blazing at you in a relentless pace. The screenplay might be midly tired out but the cast makes it a vibrant, joyous 86 minute ride. (Loosely based) on real life true events that involved the kidnapping and bribing of a pizza delivery guy, the film boasts some of the better comedians out there at the moment. Aziz Anzari spurts out dialogue in such snazzy style and Danny Mcbride -fresh off the debacle of Your Highness- redeems himself in a performance that had me itching for more of his perverse, unscripted lines. In fact, the whole film feels like a loosely improvised treat. There's isn't much that stays with you once the lights dim up but here's a film that doesn't think too highly of itself and just want to have fun. ★★½