NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH  (2008)  ***  Journalist Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale) turns Washington on its ear when she outs a casual acquaintance (Vera Farmiga) as a CIA agent. The government's formidable prosecutor (Matt Dillon) sends Rachel to jail for contempt, where she discovers the true impact of her decision. David Schwimmer, Alan Alda, Angela Bassett, Noah Wyle and Courtney B. Vance co-star in this drama from Rod Lurie, the politically savvy filmmaker behind The Contender and "Commander in Chief."

My Review: The excellent performances from the ensemble cast are the top reasons to check out this very topical drama.  Kate Beckinsale and Alan Alda in particular put in excellent work here.  It's a serious film about real issues made for adults and that's a very good thing.  Unfortunately, the script sometimes regards the characters as mouthpieces for various moral issues rather than human beings - so it's a good thing when a particularly good bit of character development or a wicked dialogue exchange snaps us back into caring about them.  Another problem is that the big final twist is obviously intended as a bombshell, but I saw it coming less than 30 minutes in.  Still, the cast is excellent (especially when the script lets them be people) and it's good for after-viewing debate.  "State Of Play" is way better, though.

ADORATION  (2009)  ***  Assigned to translate a terrorism-related news story for his French class, teen Simon (Devon Bostick) weaves personal details into his tale, which soon leaves the Internet swirling with rumors that Simon's dead father was an actual terrorist. Acclaimed auteur Atom Egoyan's haunting and lyrical drama -- cleverly structured as a mystery -- also stars Scott Speedman as Simon's caretaker uncle and Arsinée Khanjian as Simon's persistent teacher.

My Review: It is somewhat unlikely that Atom Egoyan will ever top his 1995 masterpiece "The Sweet Hereafter", but I will always be in line for his unique, atmospheric (and often bravely politicized) puzzle-piece mysteries of chance and fate.  "Adoration" is no different, an intriguing, fractured fable about family and regret (as well as about a thousand other things) that features a stand-out performance by Scott Speedman.  I have a feeling that if I were to really think about it, all the pieces of this particular Egoyan puzzle may not quite fit together, but at the very least it's still a spellbinding, thought-provoking film with some great performances.

On Monday, my bro needed some short-notice babysitting so me and Chris headed over to Roseville.  It was a lot of fun for all of us - here's some pictures!