State of Play (2009)

I am not the first, nor will I be the last, to mention the connection between The Soloist and State of Play: each features sequences of newspapers running through presses and being mechanically printed on actual paper. In this age of newspapers' downsizing, moving to internet-only, and being eliminated altogether, these images were particularly striking and may make some of us nostalgic. Like the documentary Earth, State of Play is based on a British TV series (though this one was only 6 episodes long). 

Scottish Director Kevin Macdonald made the excellent The Last King of Scotland in 2006, as well as other fact-based and documentary work, after other directors turned it down. I think he did a good job, keeping the pace moving and letting the fine ensemble do its work: Russell Crowe (Oscar recognized him for Gladiator (won-2000), A Beautiful Mind (nom-2002), and The Insider (nom-2000), but he came to my attention in 1997 in L.A. Confidential), Ben Affleck (my favorite of his movies: Hollywoodland (2006), my most hated: Reindeer Games (2000)), Rachel McAdams (I haven't seen The Lucky Ones (2008) or The Notebook (2004) but I liked Wedding Crashers (2005) and Mean Girls (2004) a lot), Helen Mirren (she's had many great performances but I love her for saying she was glad she hadn't fallen "ass over tits" at the 2006 Emmy Awards), Robin Wright Penn (The Princess Bride (1987), Forrest Gump (1994), White Oleander (2002), and her performance as the annoyed wife in What Just Happened (2008) most resembled this one), Jason Bateman (Juno (2007), 2003 Golden Globe winner for the hilarious series Arrested Development on Fox), Josh Mostel (son of Zero, character parts in everything from Sophie's Choice (1982) to Little Man Tate (1991) to Billy Madison (1995) to Rounders (1998)), Michael Weston (forever in my head as the scary guy in 4 episodes of HBO's Six Feet Under, but also a Zach Braff cohort on NBC's Scrubs and the movies Garden State (2004) and Last Kiss (2006)), and, in a cameo as a medical examiner, Viola Davis, who was nominated for an Oscar for her snotty scene in Doubt.