Below are Mini Reviews from Cineman Syndicate for two films opening on March 20, 2009. 

DUPLICITY. Champagne will put you in the mood for Tony Gilroy's clever and sophisticated thriller, but beware of over-imbibing in case it impairs your ability to follow the elaborate con. Quaffing the bubbly doesn't appear to have dulled the senses of spies played by Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. The lovers forsake government work to engage in corporate espionage for the feuding CEOs (Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson) of two consumer products conglomerates. Though awkwardly structured and in danger of outwitting itself, Gilroy's follow-up to Michael Clayton is a smart, clean, adult movie in which droll repartee and smoldering chemistry take the place of cursing and violence. (PG-13) GOOD THRILLER. Director - Tony Gilroy; Lead - Julia Roberts; Running Time - 125 minutes. Capsule review by John P. McCarthy.

I LOVE YOU, MAN. To know the premise of this bro-mantic comedy is to know the whole story. Upon getting engaged, a mild-mannered real estate agent (Paul Rudd) realizes he doesn't have a close friend he can ask to be his best man. While embarking on "man dates" to find a platonic soul mate, he meets an uninhibited beach bum (Jason Segel) who coaxes him out of his shell. Rudd's a likable guy, and he clicks with Segel. But this is a movie of set-ups that forgets to deliver a payoff. As expected, it's more interested in generating Apatow-lite laughs than honestly venturing into uncomfortable emotional territory. (R) FAIR COMEDY.  Director - John Hamburg;  Lead - Paul Rudd; Running Time - 110 minutes. Capsule review by Sean O'Connell.

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