Screen Spotlight

Home / Movie Categories / Drama / Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer

Browse by Category

Hot New Movies

Box Office Numbers

$	55.6M	Marvel's The Avengers
$	25.5M	Battleship
$	17.4M	The Dictator
$	12.5M	Dark Shadows
$	10.5M	What to Expect When You're Expecting
As of May 21, 2012

Hollywood Gossip, Tidbits, and News

An office worker has been fired for her whistle, distracting nice boobs, figure and look at that...Maria Menounos gained 6 pounds on Dancing with the Has Beens. Kristen Stewart is number 15 on Maxim's 100 Hot List. I wonder how her acting ranks on the S*it List? These days Hugh Hefner spends more time in the kitchen than in the bedroom. John Mayer regrets dissing Jessica Simpson and Jen Aniston in interviews. We just regret John Mayer. Is Bar Rafaeli the hottest woman in the world? Dude, your girlfriend is the hottest woman in the world and don't you ever forget it! Justin Bieber is dating high school students? Man guys at that age are so impressionable. Kate Gosselin says she and Jon have made peace. Awww, that's special. Once their fame ran out they stopped cheating. That's really sweet. Why does Kelly Clarkson lose weight when she's only going to put it back on? Heidi Klum felt more special as a blond. Ah, the world's most profound questions answered as only a super model can.

A man has broken the world record for fist pumping by pumping for 17 hours. My god what an achievement, but we are overlooking how raw his penis must be. The President of Yahoo has been forced to resign because he made an inflated claim on his resume. Meanwhile, in other news, Barak Obama ate dog. Robert Pattinson is 27 going on 17, good for you RSchmuck, I mean RPutz. Are Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer an item again? Is Jessica Simpson's body still a wonderland? Yes, it's just we are wondering why her territory doubled in size. Is Jay-Z acting like a wild bachelor on the prowl? With a name like Jay-Z I don't think any of us really care. Drake is romancing two cougars? Man, dude's a zookeeper. Does Casper Smart enjoy his five minutes of fame? Is that all he lasts for? Lightweight. Rihanna was recently hospitalized for too much partying. It's ok though, let's keep the focus on Lindsay Lohan, she's white after all. Christina Aguilera is quitting The Voice. John Travolta is not gay, he just like's dudes.

Mariah and Nick renew their vows in Paris? I bet he showed her the Eiffel Tower. Truth be told, it might have been more like the leaning tower of Pisa. Gwyneth Paltrow has post partum depression. Me too, but it has been quite a while since I was in the womb. Kim K and Lindsay Lohan will attend the White House Correspondent's Dinner. I guess they wanted to see who has the best lines, and I'm not talking about comedy. Jessica Simpson has a baby shower? What is it like 2 feet tall and a tiny water head? Weirdo. Ellen DeGeneres is a Vegan? I thought she ate meat every night! Jenny McCarthy loves Botox. She loves silicon too. Richard Simmons has flammable shorts. Molly Ringwald drinks Kristen Stewart's blood. But alas it's not that time of the month yet. Want to see Taylor Lautner pics? Then go see Breaking Dawn Part 2. Lisa Rinna does advertisements for adult diapers. That's a coincidence because the first time I saw her naked I shit my pants!

Katy Perry dyes her hair purple. That's quite a change from the pink it was last week. Kelsey Grammar has proven you are never too old to get a tattoo or a Viagra prescription. Nicole Kidman does not mind being naked. Trust me when I tell you we don't mind either. Ashton Kutcher is having "intercourse" with Mila Kunis. One more time for those of you from Port Saint Lucie Florida, that's "intercourse". Who's is bigger Angelina's or Jennifer's? What are we talking about? Just ask Brad Pitt, he'll tell you! Seal has a new girlfriend and her name is whatshernameIdon'tcare. Will Pippa Middleton face arrest? Will switching to Progressive really give you better discounts? Taylor Armstrong is "so not ready to date yet". Wait, I don't speak moron, does that mean she wants to date or not? Bow Wow is no longer a wanted man but that doesn't answer the question who let the dogs out?

J-Lo bought Casper Smart a truck for his birthday. Hey, we already know where he likes to park it! Lamar Odom you are fired! Thanks for playing, next time leave the 500lb gorilla at home. Yeah, we are talking to you Kardashian. NBC's Rock Center has coverage more lopsided than Brian Williams' face. Miley Cyrus is not anorexic, she just eats lots of laxatives, get it? LOL? Ann Hathaway's hair is so short she looks like Jerry Seinfeld and there is nothing funny about that. Jennifer Hudson will appear at a murder trial. As a witness or as a defendant? Ah who keeps up with the Kardashians anyway. Khloe Kardashian says Lamar Odom deserved better from the Mavericks. Khloe, try running your fat ass up a basketball court and then you can talk. Is Lindsay Lohan guilty of assault? Only because she attacked my heart. Awwwww. Mila Kunis or Kate Upton? It depends, which one did Justin Timberlake already date? After being arrested for a DUI Amanda Bynes went back to her hotel bar. Maybe it's time she went back to acting because she sure plays a dumbass great in real life.

Hot New Movies

Screen Spotlight Featured Reviews

Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer

Written by Jonathan Jacobs

This film is based on the novel The Ghost by Robert Harris. The plot focuses on political rumors and intrigue, references to Tony Blair, and Roman Polanski's personal trials and tribulations. Brush it all under the carpet and watch the film.

First the cast; Ewan McGregor is the one dimensional Jedi, Pierce Brosnan plays the political tyrant or hero, Olivia Williams is the wife/marionette, Kim Cattrall portrays a Monica Lewinsky type, etc. The list goes on and all are worth their weight in gold, which quite frankly is priced very high these days.

Ewan McGregor is a cocky writer of other peoples’ thoughts and ideas. He quickly fast talks himself into ghost writing the political memoirs of Adam Lang (Brosnan) a former British Prime Minister. Ghost writing a ghost, in the heart of winter on a desolate Martha’s Vineyard is intriguing. Kudos to Pawel Edelman, a brilliant cinematographer, whose work is reminiscent of Christopher Gans’ in Brotherhood of the Wolf. As the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed, the ghost is blindsided by a trail of breadcrumbs left by his former ghost, mysteriously drowned. Adding fuel to the fire, Lang is accused of sanctioning kidnapping and torturing of terrorist suspects.

Now flailing with little access to an agitated and confrontational Lang, an overprotective aide Amelia (Kim Cattrall), and a smart disenchanted wife Ruth (Olivia Williams), McGregor is drowning onscreen, a virtual ghost to the political stage cast before him. I am continually seeing Hitchcock references in this film. Polanski is irrefutably brilliant. I had an odd thought to compare The Ghost Writer with "Hound of the Baskervilles" and Silent Hill. Both take us on an adventure into unfamiliar territory.

McGregor learns that Ruth and Lang met at Cambridge and she is the reason he got into politics. However, after discovering some photographs and dates in an envelope taped to the bottom of a drawer, the facts don’t match up. As his Hardy Boy instincts kick in, he digs further, investigates the death of the former Ghost, unravels the plot, and is meanwhile far too trusting of Ruth. In politics it is what you don't say, and trust no one. We learn of Lang's affair with Amelia, and perhaps the most ingenious part of the film, the acceptance by Ruth due to her own agenda. Lang himself becomes a ghost to the political machine, and as Napoleon has been noted as quoting, "we are all kings and pawns".

Polanski's film is a clever manipulation of suspense, mystery and harsh reality, based off of a political thriller of course. I am most pleased that Robert Harris and Roman Polanski worked together on this project, maintaining the integrity of the original body of work. Gadamer's "Hermeneutics" at their best. What lacks in blockbuster action, is made up for in purity of cinematography, musical score and body of work. A must see, not in 3D.