everettzenser

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a brilliant actor and delivers Snowden's flat timbre and character perfectly.

Unfortunately, this may be a case where the lead is too good of an actor.

Snowden's flat timbre and character is dull to the point of annoying and, in acting him to perfection, JGL injects dull annoyance into the film.

Whose to blame? JGL? Stone? Snowden himself? Hard to say, however, reality isn't always entertaining and "Snowden" may have been a better story for a documentary than a dramatic film.

This film gets 90-percent of the way there. As a story of the relationship between two brothers, during a stressful time in the life of one, it's poignant and wonderful. To a discerning eye Goat's setting in a fraternity will come across, through most of the film, merely as set dressing for the underlying story, rather than an indictment of fraternity life generally. And at that level it works beautifully. Unfortunately, the last twenty minutes of the film flips into an anti-fraternity rant that, while not exactly coming out of nowhere, could have been better left on the cutting room floor. Nonetheless, Goat is a powerful and emotional film that, in this reviewer's mind, is touching, as opposed to disturbing as some have called it.

The character development in Goat, beyond the two brothers, is minimal but the level of vague ambiguity it creates works perfectly in helping focus attention on their relationship.

Nick Jonas' acting chops were a wonderful surprise. Ben Schnetzer and Gus Halper also deliver unrelentingly powerful performances.

James Franco's sudden, albeit brief, appearance, is a little out-of-place and the presence of his character somewhat unrealistic.

Every actor who appears in "Superstore" - every regular, guest, and extra almost without exception - is extremely fat to an almost dangerous level. Ben and America are the two exceptions to this general rule, as is the "Cheyenne" character (and even Ben, while not fat per se, has an obviously stout frame when viewed in profile; what is sometimes diplomatically called "athletic").

The exceptional obesity present on-screen in "Superstore" is so noticeable that it almost seems like it might be part of the joke; a jab or commentary by the writers about big box store shoppers and employees. However, no allusion is ever made to this nor punchline offered.

This perspective on the unusual casting in "Superstore" is not intended to body shame the cast, nor is it designed to be a flippant comment. This is a comment directly related to the program's watchability. The fact is, the singularly unusual casting decision makes the program very difficult and distracting to watch. I find myself so mesmerized by the producers' decision to feature such a tightly meshed array of similarly unusual body types that it is often difficult to concentrate on the dialog. This is one of Superstore's most critical failings.