The Great George Clooney Showdown of Late 2011
Sunday October 23rd 2011
It’s a little known industry secret that Sandra Hebron and George Clooney have been engaged in an illicit affair for the best part of a decade and that, as such, she conspires to include at least two of his films in the program of the London Film Festival every year. This year’s pairing, political thriller The Ides of March and family drama The Descendants went head to head last week at their respective Gala Screenings. But which is MORE CLOONEY? Let’s find out …
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“An idealistic staffer for a newbie presidential candidate [THE CLOONS] gets a crash course on dirty politics whilst on the campaign trail.” | “A middle-aged land baron [THE CLOONS] tries to re-connect with his two daughters after his wife suffers a tragic boating accident.” | |
ROUND ONE: CLOONS IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA | ||
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The latest in a recent spate of ‘more challenging’ roles (The American, Michael Clayton, Spy Kids 3D) sees Clooney play a devoted husband and father — LOL HE’S A BACHELOR IN REAL LIFE — with all sorts of challenging emotional problems and familial issues. It’s quite literally his best performance in a while. | |
The Ides of March 0 – The Descendants 1 | ||
ROUND TWO: CLOONS BEHIND THE CAMERA | ||
This is a Clooney joint, suckaaa. Ides is his fourth directorial effort after Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Good Night and Good Luck and Leatherheads (lol wut?). And while it’s hardly revolutionising the world of political drama with its tale of sacrificed ethics and systemic corruption, you certainly can’t deny that it’s ENTIRELY COMPETENT FILMMAKING. | ![]() |
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The Ides of March 1 – The Descendants 1 | ||
ROUND THREE: PEOPLE WHO AREN’T CLOONS | ||
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As soon as I saw Matthew Lillard’s name on the cast list for The Descendants I figured it had its supporting cast on lock, but what I wasn’t prepared for is the fact that Lillard is apparently now an Old Man in Hollywood. Just seven short years after he made us laugh, cry and ask for our money back in Without a Paddle, he’s playing a walking mid-life crisis with a hairline receding into the distance faster than my memory of She’s All That. Bam! | |
The Ides of March 2 – The Descendants 1 | ||
ROUND FOUR: CLOONS PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTE | ||
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The Ides of March 2 – The Descendants 2 | ||
ROUND FIVE: CLOONS TRAILER SCREENGRAB | ||
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The Ides of March 2 – The Descendants 3 |
There we have it. Well, there we have something vaguely resembling it.