The Adjustment of Desire

**** (4.5 stars)

Film makers have been enamoured with love and life lost since the beginning of film. Whether it be Chaplin's Little Tramp in "City Lights" or Goddard's tragic prostitute, the sacrifice's we as a people make for the love of another or even ourselves has lead to our greatest triumph's and most horrible loses.

While watching "The Adjustment Bureau" yesterday, I kept thinking about those themes as well as Wim Wenders "Wings of Desire" and subsequent American remake "City of Angels". Remember when Nicholas Cage was good?

Wender's "Wings of Desire" (available on beautiful Criterion) is about a "melancholy" angel named Damiel who watches over Berlin, Germany; listening in on the populations thoughts. Eventually, he finds himself drawn to an equally lonely circus performer and makes the decision to become human. It is then that he begins to understand the subjects he has been observing and what it means to be alive. In the American version, the trapeze artist is a doctor played by Meg Ryan. It is refreshing to see a an American film that does not feature a happy ending, particularly a romantic one. Here, the love story ends tragically, as life often does; but the lessons and life lived by the Angel, even in such a short period of time, will forever change him. When asked if he would do it all again, knowing the outcome would be tragic, would he? The answer is immediately, "yes". To quote Nat King Cole and Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge"- "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return".

"The Adjustment Bureau" takes a slightly different, more sci-fi than metaphysical approach to the same themes. Matt Damon plays a young, up and coming politician in New York who seems to have everything until he loses the big race. It is then that he meets a beautiful and mysterious stranger, the equally mesmerizing Emily Blunt, who instantly charms him with her laissez-faire attitude and provides the spark he needs to get back into his life. But, it's supposed to end there, in the Men's bathroom just before he gives his speech of defeat. Chance intervenes and they meet again, except they were never supposed to. Someone was sleeping on the job, literally. A group of mean dressed like J. Edgar Hoover's G-Men, are tasked with carrying out a master plan that involves preempting chance and keeping the world and human choice in balance. Once Damon sees behind the curtain, his life is forever changed.

Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick (love him!), it's a hard film to summarize without giving too much away. It's the kind of movie you want your friends to see so you can discuss and analyze it more fully. I do not envy the man who's job it was to cut the trailer! This is an important movie about life, love, destiny, and choice. It ponders the questions philosophers have been asking or aeon's- What is free will? Is there such a thing as destiny? Who created and controls the universe?

Veteran writer and first time director George Nolfi ("Ocean's Twelve", "The Bourne Ultimatum"), does an amazing job keeping the balance between action and emotion. Fast paced car chases dissolve into personally touching moments. One that will stick with me forever comes after Damon has been lectured by the Second in Command (How do I love thee, Terence Stamp). He reveals "The Plan" to Damon in hopes he will give up on his quest for the girl he shouldn't have and get back on the track his life is supposed to take. Like many of us when faced with hard truths, he is stubborn and runs from his planned destiny to see Blunt dance with her modern ballet company. It is after he see's her there that Stamp reveals the other half of The Plan- That everything we do, our choices effect those around us. Can we be unselfish enough to give up our own desires if we know it will kill someone elses? Can love conquer all? The answer awaits you at the end of this film and I won't spoil it here. Needless to say, I'm totally blaming the wine for why I became a slobbering mess by the end. A must see!

Backyard Movie Making: Super 8

**** (4.5 stars)

Sometimes I think it would be nice to relive old memories. The ones from childhood you often think about in times when being an adult is rough. There's my first birthday party to see "The Land Before Time", or the homemade Twister game at my Kindergarten Halloween party. The year I was Catwoman for Halloween, or when a deer walked within three feet of me at my Grandmother's house. It seems obvious that is exactly what writer/director J.J. Abrams and producer Steven Spielberg were doing when they conceived of "Super 8".

Set in 1979-1980, a group of boys entertain themselves in small town Ohio by making 8mm movies about zombies. What none of them expect is that the fantasy world they've created will suddenly show up on their door step. After witnessing a horrific train crash, their sleepy town of Lillian undergoes several strange events from lost phone lines, to missing car engines, to missing people. The U.S. Air Force shows up to take control of the wreckage as well as the town. The fate of the people lie in the youthful audacity and curiosity that only children have. What they find is at times funny, moving, scary, and cheesy.

It would be unfair to say too much about this movie. The trailers, some of the best in recent years, have done a good job of building suspense and excitement for the film without giving anything away. The audience I was with jumped three times, but laughed along with the jokes twice as often. And, that's the thing. This isn't really a sci-fi film, it's a coming of age movie that everyone regardless of how they grew up can relate. In the band of geeks, there's the chubby one, the dictator, the quiet one, the crazy one, the passive one, and the hot one. These actors, many of whom have few to zero credits to their names, capture what it was like to be adolescent. The dialog rings true because they were free to ad lib where need be. Another testament to Abrams power as a director. I would love to see him dial it back a bit and make a really personal (even more so) film. Something that reminds us this is the guy who created "Felicity". It's time for his "first feature" and not another blockbuster. Of course, with the estimated earnings of this movie, that dream will probably never come to pass.

It's easy to make comparisons to Speilberg's early work, especially "E.T." and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", but that really diminishes the film that is Abrams creation. Certainly he was influenced by these films, but what filmmaker working in this genre isn't? There was a lovely quote by Spielberg in this weeks "Entertainment Weekly" that talked about how all films influence us and it's impossible to make a movie that doesn't draw on those influences, whether it be a complete rip off, homage, or tone. [side note: I wish I had the article with me, it was really good, but I'm writing this away from the house so I suggest you just go out and get you a copy!] Someone should wake up M. Night Shamylan and tell him this is how you make a movie.

I'm not sure this is the summer movie to trump all summer movies, but it is enjoyable on many levels that other blockbusters are not. A perfect double feature: "X-Men: First Class" and "Super 8". We could subtitle it: "A lesson in what the summer could be".

The Legacy Continues

**** (4 stars)

I so rarely get to sit down and type out my review immediatly following the movie, but I am today. Please bare with me and keep that in mind if some of this doesn't make a lot of sense. I'm just too excited to wait!

The original "Tron" was a massive failure. Still, on video and at countless midnight showings across the country it is considered a forgotten gem, a camp classic for the ages. Now, almost 30 years later it is getting a reboot in the form of a continuation story. "Tron: Legacy" picks up almost where the original left off. After getting sucked into his own computer program, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) sends a message through the ethos to his son Sam (Garrett Hedlund). Soon, Sam finds himself trapped in the grid amidst an ancient battle between Flynn's alter ego Clu and his father. With the help of Quorra (Olivia Wilde), another program and Flynn's protege, they must rescue Flynn and return home before Clu can cross over and reek havoc on Earth.

The first thing that hits you while watching "Legacy" is the look. Gone are the fuzzy, almost pastel lights and sound stages. Here is a whole world created with the magic of CG and the technology unavailable in the early 80s. This is a movie that was screaming for a remake! Thank you Hollywood. Bridges plays both his current aged self and the ageless Clu, ssimilar to "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", and the FX team must have crossed themselves since they had access to footage of Bridges from the original movie. While in the grid universe, this copy and paste technique works wonderfully. Everything has that slick, wet look and the light suits and weapons cast a similar glow to all the actors. It is truly amazing. However, a brief scene in the beginning of the film was misguided. It totally removed me from the story to see a shiny, happy Bridges talking to his young son. Oh well, we can't win all the time.

Kevin Ishioka ("Avatar", "Chronicles of Riddick") does an amazing job with the art direction of the film. Usually, talking at length about how good a film looks would be the kiss of death, but "Legacy" relies on the sets, the FX, the costumes, to bring this world to life. If we don't buy it, it's just "Tron: Redux". I can't say enough about how great and consuming the overall look of the film was. The 3D was also pretty good. It wasn't campy or trying to hard. It just gave depth to the computer world and breathed life into it. If 3D was used this consciously in every movie, maybe I wouldn't have such a huge problem with it.

This new "Tron" also has a nice script by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz (the writers/producers of "Lost" TV series, "Birds of Prey"). They seamlessly weaved in the recap of the first movie without making it seem like an afterthought. Quorra has some really nice lines and the relationships between all the characters is well developed. If there is a weak point, it's in James Haygood's editing. At 129 minutes, it's just a tad too long. Some scenes seem like they were thrown in last second (or more realistically, after a bad screening). During a lovely conversation between reunited father and son, we jump cut to Clu in his lair for the ubiquitous and meaningless "I'm gonna get you Kevin Flynn" moment, then jump back to the dinner table conversation. What was the point? We know he's out to get him. That's what they're talking about at the table! I wish more movies could leave a bit to the audience to imagine (great case in point- the sparse "Black Swan"). It could have been much tighter. The score by techno-legends Daft Punk is very good though a bit overwhelming in places. It's as if the director and editor didn't know what to do so they just layered a loud piece of music over the scene. It's not really Joseph Kosinski's fault, or really anything to blame. Far worse has occurred in other director's first films and I'm sure he will have a long career if he wants it.

The action scenes and fights are really fun to watch, especially the grid battle between teams of light cycles. I nominate David Leitch ("300", "Fight Club") for a Stuntman Award. His coordination of the films stunts is great and we never give the stuntmen and coordinator enough credit. Applause!! My buddy who went with me and I both agreed that the sound was off the charts! How nice to see a movie that finds that perfect pitch of quiet and loud. A certain Oscar contender.

If it is possible to love Olivia Wilde more, it is after seeing this movie. I never watched "The O.C.", but I really liked her in "Alpha Dog", the short lived "The Black Donnelly's", and she was certainly the best thing about "Turistas". "House" also picked up once she was cast as 13. In "Legacy", she gets to play something totally different- a girl. Not someone tough and jaded or guarded, but a strong young woman who finds humor in the smallest places. I highly recommend reading the interview she gave to /film where she talks about fleshing out the character and the importance that she not be just another pretty face (which she certainly is). I just loved her!

Bridges is best when it's actually him acting and not his CGI morphed face on another actor's body, but that's a bit to be expected. Hedlund (the upcoming "Country Strong", "Eragon") does a fine though somewhat flat job as Sam. He is at his best when acting opposite Wilde and in the more tender moments between himself and Bridges. I'm certainly curious to see more from him, though am reserving love or hate for later.

If you have any interest in seeing "Tron: Legacy", you must see it in the theatre and I recommend in 3D.

PS- Someone get me a light cycle!!

Skyline

** (2 stars)

Thursday night my friend Jennie and I went to a screening of "Skyline". I really like these late night shows (it was slated to start at 10 PM) because they give me a chance to unwind from the day and make dinner instead of stuffing my gourde with nachos.

There is nothing new about "Skyline". Aliens have descended on Los Angeles and begin collecting people and destroying buildings. A group of douche bag survivors are holed up in their penthouse trying to figure out a way to escape (my apologize to the director, I understand it's his house) . Did I mention the aliens produce this blue light that apparently boils your blood causing your veins to pop to the surface of your skin and mesmerizes you into coming closer to them so they can eat you? No?

Directed by The Brothers Strauss (Collin and Greg) and starring Eric Balfour ("Haven", "Six Feet Under"), Donald Faison ("scrubs"), Brittany Daniel (I always think of her from "Sweet Valley High"), David Zayas ("Dexter"), and Scottie Thompson (mostly TV guest spots but she was Nero's wife in "Star Trek"). This is The Brothers sophomore effort after directing "Alien vs Predator- Requiem". They got their start doing Special FX and own their own company, Hydraulx. You may have seen some of their work in a little movie called "Avatar", as well as "2012", "X-Men Origins: Wolverine", "Fantastic Four", and "Titanic".

It's this background that provides the only good thing in the movie. The FX are dazzling. In particular, the veins that appear on the characters faces when the look into the blue light (have they been watching "The Vampire Diaries"? Very similar). The aliens interact well with the actors and the destruction is sure enough. The scene hinted at in the trailer that takes place in a parking garage is really good and the only bit of fright in the whole pic. I gave the movie an extra star for that sequence alone.

The biggest flaw with the movie is the script. Written by FX guys (and Hydraulx employees) Joshua Cordes and Liam O'Donnell, it's clear these guys have never written anything before. I would be surprised if they've even read a good script, and no; I'm not counting Scriptwriting for Dummies. The dialogue that comes out of the actors mouths is unintentionally hilarious. In particular, David Zayas' super is a mash up of discarded one liners from "Miami Vice" or "NYPD Blues". I'm not sure why he only talks in cop speak, but it's really distracting. Why is he so angry? Who put him in charge? What a douche! I expected very little from our female leads and was not let down, but Balfour was a real disappointment. I've really enjoyed him on the Syfy original series "Haven" (helps to have awesome writers) and hope that this lifts the curse he seems to have over the fate of TV shows. It seems like every show he stars in gets cancelled or ends it's run. I hope this is not the case with "Haven". The first season was so good and there are so many unanswered questions! But I'm distracted, where was I? Oh yes, the acting is horrible. Hideous may be a better word.

I laughed several times during the movie, sometimes when I was supposed to, but I didn't jump once. Shouldn't a horror movie be scary? The ending is so ridiculous I'm tempted to blow it for you here but I won't. Let's just say it's what happens when a novice writer gets stuck in his own work. It makes no sense and the whole film should have ended 5 minutes earlier. However, the movie is only 93 minutes, so that's another plus.

I would wait and rent this movie if you're really interested in it, but I would not pay $10.

Dream Is But A Dream: Inception

***** (5 stars)

On immediately exiting the theatre, I sent the following text:

"Inception is one of the greatest films of all time"

Now, this may be an oversight, but in reality I think it is just another piece of evidence that Christopher Nolan is the new Hitchcock. A man well poised to become the face and name of this generation of film making. Even his lesser works (I'm looking at you "Insomnia") offer something more than the usual Hollywood blockbuster. That he was able to resurrect the Batman franchise with a nod most notably to Tim Burton's original vision as well as the direction the comic has taken under the Frank Miller titles, is nothing short of genius. Basically, if I ever met Mr. Nolan on the street, I would slap him in the face and yell, "Fuck you Christopher Nolan! You've mind fucked me for the last time!" However, unlike when I do the same thing to M. Night Shymalan, I won't actually mean it. Nolan can do anything he wants to my mind and I will happily pay for it.

It's hard to talk about "Inception" without giving anything away. I started hearing about this movie over a year ago, got super excite, watched the first teaser trailer, then instituted a media blackout in the hopes I would not spoil the movie. It worked, but I understand that may not be everyone's cup of tea. With that in mind, if you would like to go into this movie fresh faced and scrubbed clean of any incriminating information, please skip the next paragraph. If you are one of the many who was frustrated by the lack of information given on the plot, keep reading.

"Inception" refers to the act of planting a piece of information or an idea deep into a person's subconscious. The government has developed a formula that allows people to dream share and step into one another's subconscious. This technology has been misappropriated by thieves hoping to gain access to your inner most secrets and thoughts. Leonardo DiCaprio leads a team of misfits into the mind of Cillian Murphy, hoping not to steal company secrets, but instead to perform inception and plant the seed of knowledge that will eventually blossom into an idea the mark will assume he had all along. DiCaprio is blackmailed into the employ of Ken Watanabe (I love him. Where has he been?) along with his right-hand man, Joseph Gordon-Levitt (One of the most talented actors of this generation). He is my secret, well not so much anymore, movie crush). Rounding out the gang is: a forger who can mimic and impersonate the dreamers projections (Tom Hardy), a chemist who creates the cocktail they use to enter the mind (Dileep Rao), and an architect who designs the dreams (Ellen Page). The dream becomes the dream becomes the dream and we are left wondering, along with the characters, what is real and what is fantasy?

The film has a lot of things going for it. It is beautifully shot, the FX blend seamlessly (check out the scene in Paris with DiCaprio and Page), the scoring pulls you further into the film instead of trying to overtake your concentration, and it is wonderfully written. I laughed, I cringed, my hands were held up below my chin on more than one occasion. I must have whispered, "That is so cool" at least three times. Many have made Page's narration of events into a negative, but we must realize this always happens in a heist film. Sometimes it's at the end like a "who-done-it?" (see: Scooby Doo) or "how'd-he-do-it?" (see: any Bond Movie), but it happens in the middle, and sometimes it happens throughout (see: any Guy Richie film). Page is the audience; her inexperience lends itself beautifully to our own. I don't think he ever over explained things. There were certainly times when he chose to show you rather than tell you, and I think that is the beauty of the filmmaker- to vary his own style within the film.

There are a lot of dream truths in the film as well, as I call them. Have you ever tried to over take your dream and re-shape it? You wake up right? Have you ever had that sense you were falling only to wake up right before you hit bottom? Of course you have. The reality element to the dream is purposeful when you are trying to get the mark to not know he is dreaming. Otherwise, the dream collapses.

The acting in the film is really good, with DiCaprio, Gordon-Levitt, Watanabe, and Marion Cotillard (playing DiCaprio's wife Mal and saboteur) leading the pack. DiCaprio plays a similar character in "Shutter Island", not so much in the architecture as the tone. I cannot for the life of me understand why every guy I know hates him. I have my ideas (jealousy, inadequacy, latent homosexuality) but nothing concrete. For me, the actor before us shows the history of this life ("Growing Pains", "What's Eating Gilbert Grape") while forever reminding us that he is a grown man, an adult, and actor ("Aviator", "The Departed"). His portrait of the tortured artist is understated, raw only when it needs to be, and in control (the major departure from what he did in "Shutter Island"). I cannot say enough things about Gordon-Levitt except to say I hope he continues to make the same interesting, bold, and challenging choices that he has in the past 5 years. I heart him. Watanabe gives good face, as I like to say. Perhaps it is because he got his start in Japanese television, but the man can just stare and you think he's looking through the screen and at you. He is understated, calm, and perfect. I first saw Cotillard in 2003s "Love Me If You Dare/Jeux d'Enfants", a kind of cat and mouse game between two long time friends, though she has been very active in her native France. She then rose to international attention with her amazing turn as Edith Piaf in "Ma Vie en Rose" (seriously, Netflix it). Her Mal is one of the most well drawn characters in the film- at times manic, repressed, funny, scorned, bitter, loved. No one can cry as beautifully or as on queue as Cotillard.

[side note: What's up Pete Postlethwaite!!]

Leaving the theatre, I was quiet and pensive. "I liked it." "I liked it a lot" "It may be the best movie ever" "Say something!" (This last part to word of the day Jennie). I found myself wanting to talk about it but being unable; the ideas where too big or too close to my own personal truth. It's a movie that is staying with me and I cannot wait to see it again, maybe in a couple weeks, and really watch it again as if for the first time.