Newsflash!!! LEATHERHEADS never reaches full potential!

LEATHERHEADS marks the third directorial offering of Mr. George Clooney. The first being the spastic "CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND" followed by the outstanding "GOODNIGHT AND GOOD LUCK". If CONFESSIONS was the weird brother and GOODNIGHT was the good looking brother, LEATHERHEADS would be the brother who thinks he's funnier than he really is but we appreciate him anyway.

The movie plays like a football team just falling short of the winning touchdown. It's a strong heartfelt effort peppered with snappy wordplay and quick wit that never truly finds it's footing.

George Clooney stars as Dodge Connelly, an aging pro footballer trying to save his beloved league from financial demise. Clooney channels the ghostly legends of comics past like Chaplin, the Three Stooges, and Groucho Marx to bring his wildly oddball character to life.

John Krasinski (prankster Jim from THE OFFICE) plays the young famous future of football, Carter Rutherford. Dodge Connelly rides Carter's fame in elevating pro football in 1925 out of the farm fields of Duluth into massive stadiums. Krasinski handles the old school humour and golden heart his character portrays excellently.

The sub-plot revolves around Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellwegger), a smart-mouthed sharp-as-a-whip reporter of the Chicago Tribune, sent to uncover Carter's questionable past that led to his fame. Namely, Carter's agent's (played by the cunningly evil Jonathan Pryce) story about how Carter convinced a platoon of German soldiers during WWI with a few short words. (POST-SCRIPT: The flashback about what those words were is pure comedy gold!)

LEATHERHEADS will pratfall against your funny bone in parts while others will be an ol' stick-in-the-mud. Anyone familiar with 1920's style comedy will find this flick somewhat cliche but it's still a fun movie with some pacing problems. A worthwhile offering for the beginning of the Spring/Summer Ranking Season.

7.2 Bar-room Brawls out of 10

MICHAEL CLAYTON: George Clooney with a Twist

MICHAEL CLAYTON.

Not exactly a movie title that enthralls, excites, and gives you a cool shiver of anticipation. The movie poster even screams boring with George Clooney sporting a ash grey suit looking slightly distressed. But once you get past the bland exterior, you uncover an enjoyable legal thriller with twists that can be anticipated if you've read any John Grisham novels.

George Clooney plays an intelligent, quirky Everyman with a chiseled jawline and a disarming smile named Michael Clayton. If this description sounds familiar, it's because HE'S PLAYING HIMSELF!!!! Except he gets to wear a smart business suit and pretend he's a lawyer. And Clooney does play this character extremely well. So much so that you can't distinguish where Clooney ends and Clayton begins. (Hint: they're one and the same) What boggles my boggler is how Clooney ends up getting a Best Actor selection for playing himself. He didn't put on a prosthetic nose to look ugly (the Academy eats the Attractive-Person-Plays-Ug

ly-Person up like Chiclets). He didn't put on an accent or try to overcome a delibitating disease.

Unlike the other Best Actor nominees, Clooney doesn't even stretch himself outside his comfort zone. He wasn't a sadistic barber (Depp), an eccentric oil tycoon (Day-Lewis), a Russian immigrant caught up in crime (Mortensen), or...er...Tommy Lee Jones (ok I don't know what his character is all about but if Clooney and Jones are acting like themselves in an Acting War, I take Jones any day.) Bottom line, Clooney can act but I would've expected more from a Best Actor nominee.

Karen Crowder (the amazing Tilda Swinton of indie films like Thumbsucker and Broken Flowers) is a high powered corporate executive looking to protect her company's best interests at all costs. This puts her in direct opposition with Michael Clayton's crusade to fulfill his dead friend's mission to overthrow her company.

Who succeeds in the end? Therein lies the twist.

This is a good movie to sit down with your favourite copy of "Federal Jurisdiction in a Nutshell" by David P. Currie...or some other cozy legal read. If you like a smart thinking thriller, this tort's for you.


7 colour copies of damning evidence out of 10