Leighton Trent (Glove86)

This is not the "great film" everyone is saying it is, far from it, but it does have a lot going for it - mostly its themes of media, celebrity, etc. But, I think first and foremost, what it has going for it is Jennifer Lawrence. She gives her best performance since Winter's Bone and gives a compelling, magnetic piece of work. She's electric; you can't take your eyes off of her the whole two and half hours. We don't get great or even good leading roles in blockbusters much anymore, but this one here goes a long way to helping this film and some of the flaws it has.
Though the themes, which are taken even further visually than they are used in the book, scour the surface of the way our media machines run these days, it's some of the technical aspects (among others) of the film that sort of let it down. Ross's overkinetic shaky-cam/rapid editing proved to be more annoying that anything and showed that he really didn't have the individual style, confidence to direct something like this. As well, I would say the visual effects looked subpar, poor for a film with a budget like this; there's no real excuse for that. As well, the casting is questionable at times, though having read the book, some like Lawrence and Kravitz work really well. The below the line work with makeup, costumes, set-design, is all top-notch though, and goes a long way to helping the film realize its universe.
I'm not disappointed, but not exactly moved or inspired either. The book had the makings of truly terrific film adaptation in it, and while they got some things right, I think using a director with a lack of personal visual flair really hurt it in the end.

Crass, crude, and funny, this a nicely updated meta 21st century version of the idea for the 80's tv show. Tatum and Hill, an unlikely duo, show great chemistry together and both are funny throughout. While it veers off the rails a little in its second half, at least the gags keep coming at 100 mph and you don't really notice.
All hail Korean Jesus.