The Adjustment Bureau

One of the most compelling movies I’ve seen in a long time (since last years Inception) was “The Adjustment Bureau” starring Matt Damon and the vulnerable Emily Blunt. When I saw the trailer I was intrigued but it really sold the movie short and that may have been its undoing. This movie is a thinking person’s movie and the trailer did not give anyone the impression (at least it didn’t give me the impression) that the movie is as deep as it is and trust me, it’s a deep movie. Written and directed by first time director George Nolfi with a story adapted the short story “The Adjustment Team” by the master Phillip K. Dick, “The Adjustment Bureau” deals with the questions of fate and free will and how we on this planet THINK we have free will and how we THINK we are moved by fate. In reality however every step we take and every decision we make is already mapped out for us by someone known as “The Chairman”. That’s usually not subject matter that interests me or excites me but this movie had an excellent story and what was even more impressive was its execution in relaying that story to the screen.

The story follows Damon’s character David Norris as he runs for the senate seat of New York. He’s ahead in the polls but then a picture is run in a daily rag showing Norris in an embarrassing light and he loses the race in fantastic fashion. While in the men’s room crafting his concession speech he meets Blunts character “Elise” who is in the men’s room ducking from security for crashing a wedding. The two hit it off immediately and the chemistry is electric between them and it’s that chemistry that the movie spins off of. Time passes and David and Elise haven’t seen each other in almost over a year, that chance encounter in the men’s room amounted to nothing other than keeping each other on their minds. David has been trailed by an agent of the Bureau, Harry Mitchell played by Anthony Mackie for pretty much all of his life and Harold had an assignment to delay David from catching his morning bus. Harold fails and the wheels of his missed assignment causes huge ripples in their plans because just by chance Elise is on that bus and The Chairman wants them to be kept apart. Apart they can accomplish amazing things in the world, together they go nowhere.

The cast of this movie is impressive on its own. Outside of Damon, Blunt, and Mackie there’s “Mad Men” star John Slattery and an imposing and sometimes creepy Terence Stamp. The list of cameos is far too numerous to mention them all but there Michael Bloomberg (yes that Bloomberg), John Stewart, and James Carville just to name a few. The look of the movie is easy on the eyes and it was shot entirely on location in Manhattan and Brooklyn. There’s nothing like watching a movie and knowing where that spot is or that building is and speaking of buildings if the Met Life building interior was actually used and not some sets built in some sound stage then that is an amazingly beautiful building inside as well as out. Scored by Thomas Newman his music gives this movie more of an edge at times but not enough times. Newman strikes me as an artist that relies on what he knows works instead of stepping out and challenging himself because to me all of his scores sound the same. If you’ve heard “Road to Perdition” and "American Beauty" and "Revolutionary Road" then you’ve heard this score. There are a few standouts like the theme for Elise and when David is told man doesn’t really have free will, just the impression of it but overall to me the score was just average.

Overall though I thoroughly enjoyed “The Adjustment Bureau” and highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s worth the price of admission. See you at the theater.

Battle: LA

It’s been obvious that I haven’t been to the movies lately and most of you know why. A week in the hospital will put a sever crimp in ones social activities but upon my parole from patient prison and nurse hell I was able to drag myself to the theater. I braved these mean city streets (a five minute cab ride from my house to the multiplex down the block) to see “Battle: LA” and I have to admit that it as worth the cab ride. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman (a director whose previous works did NOT impress me) and starring Aaron Eckhart as Sergeant Michael Nance this movie takes you on a ride from one hair raising situation to another once the action starts and it doesn’t take long for that to happen.

Now admittedly I cringe when I see Ne-Yo cast in any movie and because I haven't really been fond of Liebesman's work I was sort of skeptical going in but I was chose to see it because I loved the premise and enjoyed the trailer. Plus I’m actually starting to respect Aaron Ekhart’s acting abilities. Good thing too because he’s in almost every shot of this alien invasion movie (can you say vanity project?). Normally I wouldn’t think Aaron would be the first choice for this kind of role which in fact makes him perfect to carry this movie. He represents the everyday guy, playing a Marine who while in Pakistan got his whole platoon killed and now wants out of the service. Unfortunately the moment his papers are signed those damn aliens show up and throw a wrench in the program.

It starts off pretty much like any other movie where the hero is dealing with a crisis of epic proportions. Nance is a loner now and when doing his morning run on the beach he gets past embarrassingly easy by the younger Marines he knows his “shelf life” as a Marine has pretty much expired. There’s no wife to go home to, no children waiting to see him, all Nance knows is the Corp. and he states that once his papers are signed. Meanwhile you get to meet the new platoon Nance will be a part of later down the line. It’s a cast of character actors, some familiar faces (Ne-Yo for instance), some new and none of them trust Nance since he’s the sole survivor of his time in Pakistan. Leading the platoon this time around is 2nd Lieutenant William Martinez played by Ramon Rodriguez (he was Sam Witwicky's roomate in Transformers 2, remember Kitten Calenders? Yeah, that guy). Fresh out of officers school and itching to lead his men he also knows of Nance’s reputation but he seemingly withholds judgement and Nance seems perfectly fine getting orders from some wet behind the ear officer who’s never seen combat of any kind. This dynamic is an interesting one and the two actors play extremely well off one another. The best part of the cast however happens to be the civilians played by the lovely Bridget Moynahan, the talented Michael Pena and relative newcomer Bryce Cass who plays Pena's son. They give this movie the emotional impact it needs (although there is one corny scene between Nance and Moynahan's character where they do an autopsy and all I could think of was "spare me"). Bryce Cass however impressed me to no end and for a thirteen year old to do that is saying something.

The platoon’s orders are to evacuate some civilians stuck in a police station behind enemy lines and get them back to the deployed operating base or the D.O.B. before the air force bombs the area with everything they have. Now my two biggest issues with this movie are that the aliens are nowhere near as scary and as frightening as you hope them to be. They could have come up with something more nightmare inducing than the bobble heads that land on our shores. My second beef is the camera work. Director of Photography usually works hand in hand with the director so I'm going to place all the blame for the annoying camera work on the director. It was "Saving Private Ryan" but without the skill of Spielberg. At least he knew when enough was enough. Here however the camera is always right there in the middle of the action and the lack of steady cam, herky jerky, quick pan movements would have been a good touch had it not been done for the entire movie. Shot entirely in Louisianna and put together with the help of at least eight digital effects company (at least that's how many I counted when the credits rolled) this movie really was put together well. I just wish the camera work was better.

Now I ripped this man a new one when I reviewed that horrible movie "The Expendables" and commented on his score. This time around Brian Tyler redeems himself. I really enjoyed the music and thought it was the perfect match for this film. It had moments where it sounded like the group "Explosions In The Sky" (thankfully I like their sound) and most other times it showered the images with great heroic themes. It was a job well done.

This movie helped me forget my issues and what I'm currently going through health wise and it really was just what the doctor ordered. I would recommend it if you want a good time at the movies and you need to get away for a bit. See you at the theater!