Without knowing that background, though, “Run This Town” simply comes across like a minor-level attempt at the rhythms of Aaron Sorkin, filled with colorful conversations and walk-and-talk sequences that never feel like more than the sum of their parts. Robyn Doolittle, the recent university grad who broke the story in real life, is replaced here by a fictional male reporter aimlessly floating about early adulthood - a questionable choice. ![]() “Run This Town” chronicles the final year of former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s time in office, back when a video of a politician smoking crack cocaine could still derail their career. In this case, though, both chemical efforts fizzle. But the test of these sorts of films is whether you want the bickering pair to eventually get together, not whether or not the mystery plot works. Their investigations - separately and together - unearth a plot involving, no kidding, bovine hormones. Nolte and Roberts play rival reporters at Chicago dailies who collide when covering a train wreck. But here she can’t create sparks between Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts, nor can she and director Charles Shyer navigate the delicate balance of romance and thrills. Screenwriter Nancy Meyers hit sweet spots before and after with “Baby Boom,” “Father of the Bride” and “The Parent Trap” (which she also directed). A nice smattering of screwball comedy presages other, better roles in the actress’s future while the lackadaisical pace and one-note characters also, unfortunately, preview Allen’s later work. The ethos “anything for the story” rules, but Allen’s script mostly defines it as Johansson using her looks to get ahead - or not. After receiving a tip from a ghost (Ian McShane, a standout), intrepid journalism student Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson) attempts to seduce billionaire socialite Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), who may be a murderer. Upon its 2006 release, “Scoop” was reviewed as one of writer-director Woody Allen’s lesser efforts and time has not been kind. Christopher Lambert and Kelly Le Brock appear, for no clear purpose besides their names, in supporting roles. Nellie Bly’s pioneering undercover investigation of asylum conditions deserves better than this flop, which barely cracked five figures at the box office. In between is an earnest but painfully amateur you-go-girl flick that looks like it was shot by people who couldn’t get work making those bio-docs for the History Channel. It opens with a bloody scene out of a grade Z horror film and ends with one of the worst original songs ever heard in a movie. Bob Mackie’s costumes provide the only interest. ![]() But after sitting on the shelf for years because of rights issues, the film, starring Brooke Shields, disappeared quickly - with good reason. The comic strip about the gutsy reporter lasted from 1940 to 2011. Reviewers: AC = Aly Caviness, ED = Evan Dossey, LH = Lou Harry, MR = Mitch Ringenberg, NR = Nick Rogers SW = Sam Watermeierġ70. And let us know if we’re missing anything. What’s left, we hope, is a list that will spark discussion, encourage debate, and provide you with some ideas for the next time you can’t find anything interesting in your Netflix queue.Ĭhime in down in the comments section with your thoughts on any of them. “The Last Time I Saw Paris,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and a load of romantic comedies). Trimmed out were flicks where the journalism milieu was minimal (i.e. As noted above, we have been expanding the list ever since.Ĭaveat: To make this ambitious project (relatively) manageable, the list was limited to English-language films that were theatrically released. In celebration of the 110 th anniversary of SPJ, Quill Editor Lou Harry teamed up with the critics from to watch, review and rank 110 journalism-related films. They’ve been heroic, dangerous, and sometimes very funny. ![]() And journalism is no exception.įrom “Citizen Kane” to “The Post” and from “Libeled Lady” to “All the President’s Men,” reporters have clashed with editors, danced on both sides of the ethical line, and otherwise populated hits and duds on the silver screen. Hollywood helps define just about everything in America. ![]() So what started as “110 Journalism Movies, Ranked” has morphed into “170 Journalism Movies Ranked.” And we have no intention of stopping. Note: The popularity of this story prompted us to treat it as a dynamic document, adding more reviews as appropriate movies are released or discovered.
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