*The following review is in no way an endorsement of Mark Cuban, statements made by Mark Cuban and especially not basketball teams owned by Mark Cuban. Mark Cuban, the Dallas Mavericks and all associated parties remain the embodiment of the forces of darkness in my eyes.
Good Night, and Good Luck is an unusual film, a little off putting. The film chronicles Edward R. Murrow brilliantly played by David Strathairn and his staff as they take on Senator Joseph McCarthy and his committees on Communism in the United States government. As dramatic as that sounds, there never really is the amount of tension you might expect for such a dramatic moment in American history. I think this is intentional, thanks to co-writer/director George Clooney (written along with Grant Heslov), the idea is that McCarthy tries to get people wrapped up in fear, whereas Murrow and company rely on reason and intellect, daring to throw McCarthy's words back at him, which is pretty sweet. But there's never any melodrama, no theatrics, just the sense that these guys are just going to do their job, which they see as taking on McCarthy. It's all the more powerful because of it. There are also moments of levity such as Murrow's expression after having interviewed Liberace about his quest to find the perfect girl. By the way, they have DVDs of Murrow's Person to Person and they are just brilliant to watch. There's one where Charlton Heston just keeps plugging The Ten Commandments and it's like, "Dude, we know you're Moses, okay?" Also, one with newlyweds Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward who admit they pretty much pushed all their crap behind the cameras for the interview. Also, you can hear Paul bitch about having lost his electric orange juice squeezer in the move.
The cast is rounded out by Clooney himself, Robert Downey Jr., Patricia Clarkson, Frank Langella and Jeff Daniels. Ray Wise also makes an appearance as a depressed and despondent CBS anchor, who kills himself after being accused of being a Communist. There's also a pretty sweet Jazz soundtrack by Dianne Reeves, which is worth listening to on its own.
Now, the Mark Cuban comment. Mark Cuban put up some of the money for this movie. Why? I don't know, he's obviously bent on world domination and should be stopped, or maybe the refs weren't taking his checks that year and he needed somewhere else to put it. I don't like Mark Cuban, okay? I wouldn't take money from Mark Cuban. Someone would have to be dying before I would consider any situation in which I would take money from him. He just sits there and pouts during the games and looks like a jackass. I'm kind of sad I was giving him money when I saw this movie and that time I went to the American Airlines Center for NBA All Star Weekend, but I was only there because of DeJuan Blair! It is a nice arena, but you have to remember it is where evil lives and plays. Never forget that.
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