masterblaster1975 An upgright guy working for a political campaign makes a few mistakes under stress and sacrifices his integrity to keep his career. Everybody has to pay for his decision. Gut wrenching drama. First class acting all around. A treat to watch, though hard towards the end.

lakshya Overall, this movie is good, and a one time watch, but it has a weird leftover taste to it, which doesn't settle. There just is something that with this movie that doesn't make one give it more than 3 stars. It's kind of a like-it but not-a-fan or not-too-interesting relationship going in the mind of the user after the movie.So I'm going to review this movie starting with what went good. The acting by all the lead actors is of course good, and that's not something one can bring this movie down really. With a strong A-list cast, it was bound to have some good performances. And Gosling, Clooney, Hoffman make sure you are not disappointed in that regard. Clooney even did a good job directing, and one can't feel that he really could have directed this. Clooney comes of looking good as and realistic and a presidential candidate and Gosling looks very convincing as the very idealistic Campaign Manager who slowly faces the "et Tu, brute" situation and realizing that not everything is as good as it looks, is forced to change himself. So, overall, there are some good performances in this movie.The cinematography, style of shooting, visual effects, and the catchy soundtrack add to creating that thrilling police air for the movie, which again make it gripping and interesting to watch. It keeps the viewer hooked that something interesting is going to happen soon.But alas, that's where the movie fails. Suddenly you realize the movie's over and that was it. Nothing that "big" happened. The Big groundbreaking scandal you were expecting, is not a love affair of a candidate with the intern. Maybe in the old times, but the current times when you have Trump running, with even wilder stuff for presidential candidates coming and going, where you hear political senators from the US engaging in all kinds of weird sexual acts and other scandalous items, this seems very small. There's that all this for that much? Question left when you are finished watching. You realize the some good acting was just wasted there on something that could have turned out to be really good.It's not the script, the movie has good dialogues and and quotes and the talks seem real. It's the overall story that has the fault. It's not as gripping and as much of polecat thriller as it wanted (or was trying) to be.The reason for Gosling to switch from the good to the "take-revenge" mode just didn't seem that strong enough. It wasn't presented well. There's so much that he could have done to prevent but no, it was just a mess with many loopholes. The movie starts of being very realistic, but when it mixes too much emotion all of a sudden, the reality the movie was going for, suddenly becomes less and brings the whole movie down. Overall, the story is pretty straightforward, and the message that the movie is trying to convey is quite simple, and thus puts a lot of pressure on the lead of the movie (gosling) to make it engaging or thrilling, but unfortunately, the character played by him isn't able to deliver that meat of the story required. The story lacks character development. It lacks the heart and soul it required from its protagonist and antagonist which could have made it a fierce completion and an edge of the seat thriller. The competition/fight/race to outshine each other between Clooney and Gosling's character just doesn't seem something actually worth getting into a rivalry for and doesn't seem to reach the intense heights it could have.And it's definitely not intellectual. It's not a smart movie. It doesn't make you think anything towards the end. It doesn't make the users feel connected to the characters. I couldn't feel myself in anyone's shows in the entire movie. Not a single character that could connect with he audience. You don't seem to learn anything new out of all that drama. Just the same old, same old.Overall, its not a bad movie, pretty enjoyable for a one time watch, but cannot make it to anyone's list of all-time favorites. It's not dull, but also not as sharp and exciting as it could have been. It's polished and refined, but the message isn't really clear.

Python Hyena The Ides of March (2011): Dir: George Clooney / Cast: Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei: George Clooney is an impressive director whose films often centre around males struggling with inner deception. Here Ryan Gosling plays a campaign liar whose candidate Clooney is Governor Morris. Gosling prides himself in his ability to render his subject as positive despite any media interference, but one mistake has him talking to the campaign manager of the opponent, which has him spotlighted as a liability and fired. Upon seducing an intern he comes to learn more than intended when her phone rings in the dead of night. Clooney allows his actors to shine but he is also very good as the Governor whose closet has skeletons. Two excellent supporting roles come from Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti who play opposing campaign managers. Hoffman is all about loyalty and Gosling wants his job. Giamatti is slick and knew how to play Gosling by getting him eliminated. As he stated, either way, he wins. Marisa Tomei has a nifty little role as a New York Times reporter out to get the details. Clooney has directed provocative films before such as Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Good Night and Good Luck. He addresses material where a loner is involved yet isolated mentally from everyone. The final shot is a closeup of Gosling's face, which can render two things, which viewers are more or less given their vote. It is an individual of dangerous devices and an agenda that will play out one way or another. Score: 10 / 10

jc-osms I'm a big fan of the award-winning "House Of Cards" TV series starring Kevin Spacey as the stop-at-nothing U.S. politician determined to get into the White House and so wasn't surprised to see that programme's main writer and show-runner Beau Willimon credited as one of the writers here. George Clooney stars, produces, co-writes and directs too but yet this behind-the-scenes look behind-the-scenes of the sometimes ruthless campaigning which gives on in the race for the White House had more the imprimatur of Willimon id venture to say.Which means you can expect a twisting, turning narrative, taking in the usual mix of sex, lies, morals, ambition and in particular power-games as we follow the journey of leading Democratic candidate co-campaign manager Ryan Gosling striving to get his hero, Clooney into power. To do so he has to turn a losing position in the key Ohio primary to a winning one. Along the way, as ever, innocents get hurt, victory is clawed from the jaws of defeat and in the end consciences are wiped clean all the time nothing really changes in the way the country is governed.Gosling and not Clooney is the epicentre of the film. He starts off as an idealistic and enthusiastic spin doctor for his man Clooney but comes to learn that naïveté is weakness and that to survive in the bear-pit of Washington good guys finish last. Even if some of the main events and indeed the ending were predictable, the film entertains with its realism, sharp dialogue and recognisable read-across to the American political scene of the present and recent past.Gosling is excellent in depicting his character's development from youthful enthusiast to cynical power-broker, while Clooney reminded me of another pretty-boy-with-brains Robert Redford in a similar part from a different Hollywood generation in "The Candidate" from the early 1970's. The late Philip Seymour-Hoffman is wholly credible as Gosling's there-to-be- shot-at senior colleague and rival, while the several supporting parts as one would expect are realistically portrayed. I personally think "House of Cards" depicts this sort of thing better, but concede that over 30 or more episodes, like of course "The West Wing " too, it had greater scope for deeper character and plot development. Nevertheless this well-edited contemporary political thriller is the best of its type to come out of Hollywood for some time and draws the viewer in tighter and tighter as it progresses. I'm sure that any resemblance to real-life characters particularly in the last 20 years or so, wasn't entirely uncoincidental.