Often times when it comes to writing a review for a movie the temptation to write something profound and of high literary quality can be overpowering. To do so would be a waste of time in the case of the movie State of Play.

This movie had all the appearances of a blockbuster hit- the stars, the director, and with the marketing the studio was engaged in they must have been pretty confidant too.

Deservedly so; State of Play is a quality suspense/ drama movie unlike any Hollywood has turned out in recent years. Ben Affleck was well cast as the emotionless, clean cut politician and friend to journalist Russell Crowe.  Like every good politician he just can’t keep his private parts private.  An aide comes up dead that is eventually romantically linked to the married Congressman.

If that was it this movie would have been only okay.  Instead it turns out that the girl was a plant by a major private security company that was under investigation by a committee headed up by Affleck’s congressman.

When another murder gets linked to the death of the aide things really get interesting.  The more that Crowe investigate, along with the help of a young news blogger played by Rachel McAdams, the bigger the conspiracy appears to be.

The movie was well written and put together, keeping you on the edge of your seat as you wonder who else will be implicated or what Crowe and McAdams will dig up next.  What really makes this move good is that even when you do think the whole story has unraveled, it has not.

Rachel McAdams plays the young, pretty face well because she is young and well- a real babe.  It is easy to see how Crowe is able to so easily dismiss her as a waste of journalistic space until she proved her worth.

What impressed me even m ore about this movie is the modern day message that I quietly sends out.  Crowe’ editor is constantly pushing him to provide a story ASAP- the company needs to sell more papers!  She makes it clear that reporting the news is not nearly as important as it should be; media companies are more concerned with turning a profit.

The private security company in the movie parallels real life company Blackwater.  In the movie the company was looking to take over much of domestic security.  While Blackwater has yet to do that they are heavily contracted by the federal government abroad and domestically.  FEMA made use of their services after Hurricane Katrina; we all know how well that turned out.

The movie rarely slows down and when it does it is usually so we can enjoy the performance of actors like Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels, and Robin Wright Penn in supporting roles.   Otherwise the suspense, drama, and political intrigue will keep you riveted to you seat the whole time

Beer: It is a political movie so it seems only appropriate that Sam Adams be the one.