My August Rundown

Sorry about the long wait for new reviews, folks. The decision to move from my former apartment to the new one was sudden and not entirely my decision. For three weeks, I barely had time to SEE any movies, let alone review them in a timely manner. And to top it all off, when I arrived at the new place, it took a week just to get the internet up and running. I'm just not one of those types who can pull out his phone and post from there. Typing just doesn't feel natural unless I'm sitting at my desk or in bed with the laptop. But since I DO want to get back into the swing of things, I'm just going to jot down my impressions of the movies I watched in August, a month with blessed few titles I actually cared to see. I'll include a brief synopsis, my findings, and a final score, based on an A+ to F ratings system. There were certainly a number of movies I wish I hadn't missed, but most of those, like The Spectacular Now or The Butler, are still out there. Sadly, so are many that I'm glad I didn't see. I'll catch up on them eventually, but for the moment I present to you what I would like to call... my August.

2 Guns is exactly the kind of gun-toting wise-crackery you would expect from a film that stars Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. In this buddy-cop formula, the two actors play a DEA agent and a Naval Intelligence Officer, respectively, who go undercover without knowledge of the other, in an attempt to take down a vicious Mexican drug cartel. After they successfully rob a bank in an effort to solve the case, they discover one-another's true identities, as well as the fact that they have unwittingly ripped off a corrupt cell of the CIA. With the money lost in the wind and three whole organizations calling for their blood, two men who simply do not trust one another are forced to work together just to survive.

As I mentioned before, 2 Guns is definitely derivative of the buddy-cop formula that has existed in Hollywood for decades. Adding an international flavor with the Mexican drug angle helps, as does the easy chemistry between the film's stars, and the trio of heavyweights coming after them (played well by Edward James Olmos, Bill Paxton and James Marsden). Director Baltasar Kormakur (Contraband) knows how to film action, even if his directing as a whole is uneven and at times excessively violent. Still, the humorous edge does work wonders, causing the film to rise well above where it ought to have been. However, his is no game-changer for either Washington or Wahlberg. Despite their pairing, 2 Guns was never meant to be anything more than a flash in the pan. The story at times does get pretty bright, but other than some crisp dialogue the whole thing is barely memorable.

Score: B-

I'd been long awaiting Elysium, the sophomore entry from District 9 director Neill Blomkamp, and not just because District 9 was one of the best science fiction films of the past decade, if not all time. You had Matt Damon, who looked to kick the most ass since leaving the Jason Bourne franchise, and Jodie Foster, a talented actress who is just starting to get back into mainstream films after almost a decade of independents and laying low. The story takes place on a ravaged and over-populated Earth and follows Max (Damon), a former car thief trying to keep his life on the straight and narrow when a work incident exposes him to a lethal dose of radiation that will end his life in a manner of days. His only chance is to escape to Elysium, a wondrous man-made satellite that is the home of the rich and powerful, orbiting the Earth while leaving the sick and dying planet to the poor. There, and only there, they have the state-of-the-art medical facilities that can heal him. Hacked into an experimental exoskeleton designed to keep him alive, Max seeks to take over Elysium and change the class system forever.

In retrospect, it's easy to see how Elysium fails to live up to the bar set by its predecessor. District 9 had an amazing and believable universe set around its alien refugee invasion plot, and the story was subtle and nuanced leading up to its explosive-packed ending. Elysium lacks that same subtlety, and while the action never gets dull, Blomkamp's curious use of shaky cam makes the fights confusing, really taking you out of the story. The acting is also all over the place; while Damon is solid and Sharlto Copley's appearance as an evil mercenary is downright scary, Foster turns in a throwaway performance that is almost cartoonishly bad. You'll certainly enjoy yourself watching this, especially with the gorgeous visuals projected onto the big screen, but with such an obvious 99% message hammered down your throat, it's hard to get fully behind this otherwise-innovative tale.

Score: B

The concept behind We're the Millers was simply too good NOT to be true. When a low-level drug dealer (Jason Sudeikis) is forced to smuggle marijuana across the border from Mexico in order to pay off his blood-thirsty boss, he is unsure as of how to pull it off without getting caught. Desperate, he hires a broke stripper (Jennifer Aniston) and two local youngsters (Emma Roberts and Will Poulter) to play his "family", and the group travel down south to pick up the package. But two things happen: first, things get complicated as the gang discovers they haven't completed a transaction so much as they've stolen from a ruthless drug lord. The second is that, despite their initial dislike of one another, the four begin to grow into something resembling a family unit. But despite their growth, will these four people who are not as they outwardly appear be the victims of violence when that drug lord eventually catches up?

To the point, We're the Millers is way, WAY funnier than it ought to be. This is partially due to the work of Dodgeball director Rawson Marshall Thurber in keeping the pace and jokes flying, but especially thanks to the cast. While Sudeikis perhaps is the weakest link here, everyone else has chances to shine, especially British actor Poulter as a virginal teenager. Aniston also proves that she can still pull off angry well, and though her range is rather limited she does a great job of picking roles that let her tap into that vein. But perhaps the biggest scene-stealers are Nick Offerman and Kathryn Hahn as the parental units of another traveling family to whom the "Millers" become acquainted. While some of the jokes miss, far more hit that sweet spot perfectly, and when that 110 minutes has passed you'll wish you could stay for more of that great humor. We're the Millers is easily one of the funniest R-rated comedies in recent memory, and while that's really not saying much, it's a platitude well deserved.

Score: A-

I saw Blue Jasmine more out of respect for its director than for thinking it would be a great movie. Woody Allen is a legendary filmmaker whose efforts have largely been lauded in the industry even as they have often failed to garner a mainstream audience. His biggest hit in recent memory was easily Midnight in Paris, and it also happens to be my favorite of his films. After the mediocrity that was To Rome with Love, however, I remain convinced that Midnight will remain his high point for the distant future. Still, with a strong cast and strong Oscar buzz for Cate Blanchett, I figured I could spare a couple of hours and give this one a try. It follows Jasmine Francis (Blanchett), a former big-time society wife whose multimillionaire husband was a crooked financier, getting himself arrested and soon afterward dead in prison. Penniless and humiliated, Jasmine moves across country to San Francisco, moving in with her sister and hoping to turn her life around. But no matter what she does, whether it's getting a receptionist job, returning to school or meeting a romantic interest, she cannot escape the truth about where she came from and the mental instability that threatens to crack her soul at any second.

As I mentioned before, the cast is absolutely spectacular. Blanchett is especially divine, the marriage of Jasmine's demure personality to Allen's dialogue as expert a performance as you're likely to see this year. And there's more as well, as the group of actors includes standout performances by Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Sally Hawkins. But while the cast is first-rate, the pacing is a bit slow, and the characters a bit too numerous. Jasmine makes for an excellent character study, but the others - while certainly well-acted - are written as relative one-notes and given a bit too much to do. Blue Jasmine is a bit closer to Vicky Cristina Barcelona than it is to Midnight in Paris, and so it's better off as a future DVD rental than as a trip to the movies right now.

Score: B

With four wide releases coming out the weekend of August 18'th, Paranoia was the choice of my faithful movie-going sidekick Anne. I guarantee it wasn't the story of a war between two old tech giants that enticed her, but the starring role going to Liam Hemsworth, younger brother of Thor and up-and-coming Hollywood hunk. Oh, well, at least I get Amber Heard as part of the package.

Paranoia is the story of Adam Cassidy (Hemsworth), a blue-collar computer expert who finds himself trapped in a trade war between cell phone magnates Nicholas Wyatt (Gary Oldman) and Jock Goddard (Harrison Ford). Forced to spy on Goddard on behalf of Wyatt, Adam hopes to at least come out making enough money to take care of his dad. But when things go from shady to outright deadly, it'll take everything Adam and his precious few allies have to overcome and take down these seemingly untouchable forces.

As a brainless diversion, Paranoia has opportunities to be passable entertainment, and for the most part it takes them. There's equal parts humor, tension and action, and the story itself is decent, if laughably edited and entirely predictable. Director Robert Luketic (Killers, 21) isn't the best director out there, which should have been the first clue as to Paranoia's true potential. The acting and dialogue are also second-rate, and while Oldman and Heard really try their hardest to make the material work, Hemsworth is entirely vanilla. Worse, Ford puts in the kind of ham-fisted, paycheck-seeking performance that reminds you that without Han Solo and Indiana Jones, his career would be far less memorable. Despite a few smart choices, it's mostly wasted potential, and there's really not that much about Paranoia that makes me excited to see its eventual DVD release.

Score: C-

I've been awaiting Kick-Ass 2 for nearly three years. That was when the original Kick-Ass hit theaters with it's bizarre blend of ultra-violence and dry, bathroom humor. And for the most part, it worked. It heralded the rise of actors Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloe Grace Moretz and brought something radically different to the big screen. Expecting anything different from the sequel would be a mistake, especially considering the smaller budget and change of directors (from X-Men First Class' Matthew Vaughn to Jeff Wadlow, whose biggest movie to date is American martial arts flick Never Back Down). Kick-Ass 2 continues the story of every-man turned brawling hero Dave Lizewski as he adjusts to a world in which it's becoming cool to dress up in cool costumes and fight crime when the sun goes down. Kick-Ass soon finds himself surrounded by like-minded citizens determined to keep the streets safe. But when Chris D'Amico demands revenge on the hero for the death of his father, he puts together a gang of super-villains with one goal in mind; humiliate and kill Kick-Ass.

Frankly, if you liked the first movie back in 2010, there's absolutely no reason not to like this sequel. Despite the change of creative heads, Kick-Ass 2 is strikingly similar to its predecessor that you'd be certain they were made by the same filmmakers. There is the new emphasis over super-groups over the individual, and Wadlow does a good job expanding the universe that had already been set in the last go-around. And if I had the room there would be no end of praise for Moretz, whose character undergoes such an epic, identity-seeking journey that sets in nicely - if apart - from the rest of the story. There are some quibbles: Jim Carey is a bit misused (though genuinely unrecognizable) and doesn't quite fill the void left by the first movie's Nicolas Cage, and the special effects are a bit of a step back, though to be fair they looked worse in previews than they did in the final big screen product. Kick-Ass 2 is not a total package, but does a better job of reminding viewers why the first one was so good, feeling remarkably similar to the first Kick-Ass while still establishing it as a film all its own.

Score: B

The wait is finally over. The World's End is the final entry in director Edgar Wright's so-called "Cornetto Trilogy", following cult hits Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the films that made Simon Pegg and Nick Frost household names. The World's End takes five grown men who were friends since childhood (Pegg, Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, and Eddie Marsan), as they travel back to their hometown of Newton Haven at the urging of Pegg's alcoholic miscreant, in order to complete the "Golden Mile", a pub crawl spanning twelve bars across the village. What they discover along the way is that most of the townspeople have changed since they left; not in the normal ways, but replaced by human-like, blue-blooded robots from outer space. With no hope of escape and no discernible plan, the five friends can do only one thing: reach the final pub on the way, the "World's End", and hope for the best.

In the end, this might be considered the best of Wright's loosely-associated trilogy. The film pumps all of the character development and plot progression into the opening sequence, which would seem odd anywhere else but here allows the film to pace itself perfectly, as the lads go from location to location without having to stop and explain themselves. We largely understand their motivations from moment one, and it allows them to do what they do without causing confusion for the audience. It's great to see Frost play straight man off the wonderfully-irreverent Pegg (it's usually the other way around), and the humor hits on all cylinders, while still finding some room for some appropriate melodramatics when they're called for. The supporting cast also helps immeasurably, which is far different from the two-man shows that were Shaun and Hot Fuzz. The ending is a bit drawn-out, but The World's End is still a relative masterstroke by its creators, as Wright, Pegg and Frost put together an "End of the World" movie that handily beats the similar efforts that have been released the past few years.

Score: A

I realize now that logically I should have concluded with The World's End, but I of course blindly went in order of viewing. So we finish up with You're Next, a low-budget horror flick from Adam Wingard, perhaps best known for his additions to the V/H/S series of horror compilations. It's a familiar horror trope; an often-contentious family gets together for the first time in a while to celebrate their parents' wedding anniversary at their remote family summer home. Suddenly, and without warning, they are attacked and hunted by a group of mask-wearing killers intent on slaughtering the entire family. But this is no random attack; there's a reason these things are happening, and if anybody wants to survive, they'll have to find out who these attackers are, and why they're doing this.

You're Next starts off with cervical bruising (there, I said it), and for a while you're not sure if it will ever get any better. The trope has been done to death (home invasion horror is nothing new) and even horrible fare such as The Purge manages to include something new to the formula once in a while. Top that off with the acting, which ranges from stilted to just plain bad (the one exception is Australian lead Sharni Vinson, who is wonderful). Then, just as the film begins to veer into the point of no return, You're Next begins to emerge as something of a black comedy, riffing on the very genre it's emulating. Yes, the twists become obvious and the gore is pointless, but some of the deaths are actually pretty inventive and you actually get some glee out of watching little-loved or poorly-developed characters get offed in humorous ways. It's not as good as it could have been, but horror fans may enjoy it, even if absolutely nobody else will.

Score: B-

That, folks, was my August. As you can tell, eight movies is a little under my usual monthly average, and I'll be sure to catch up on Percy Jackson, The Mortal Instruments, The Butler, Getaway, Closed Circuit, Planes and more in the coming months, though whether I'll see them in the theater or on DVD remains to be seen. Thanks for your patience, and I'm looking forward to getting back to a regular posting schedule from now on!

Animal Kingdom

Well, here we are, still waiting for the big releases of 2012 to rear their ugly heads. I'm now two and a half weeks into the new year, and I'm still catching up on 2011's major releases. That's okay, though, as Hollywood assumes you're doing the exact same thing. This coming weekend is far more likely to be dominated by the 3D re-release of Disney animated classic (and one of my top 5 all-time) Beauty and the Beast than it is by the latest Mark Wahlberg crime drama. The industry knows that you're likely more interested in catching up on the December glut of award-nominated titles than anything else they will show you this month. It's sad but true: if Hollywood thought you cared about Contraband, they wouldn't release it in early January. Business on new movies is likely to pick up next week, as a trio of new releases look to actually compete for box office bank, and that might end the hope for titles like Iron Lady or War Horse to receive that one last push to box office success. Still, when there are plenty of quality films like We Bought a Zoo still open for business, that new stuff can wait just a little longer.

Matt Damon shouldn't be allowed to self-promote

Directed by Cameron Crowe, We Bought a Zoo stars Matt Damon as real-life writer Benjamin Mee. Mee, whose career as a respected journalist has come to an end at the hands of the failing newspaper industry, is also grieving over the loss of his wife and the mother of his two children just six months prior. Desperate for a change, Benjamin's plans to relocate his family intersect the needs of a zoo down on its luck. The closed animal sanctuary is looking for a buyer to take care of the land and animals before drastic measures must be taken, and Benjamin is enraptured with the idea of a new adventure for him and his kids. This does create some new problems, most notably a strain on both his bank account and his relationship with his teenage son Dylan (Colin Ford), who is angered at having been forced to move away from all his friends. With the help of his older brother Duncan (Thomas Hayden Church) and a dedicated zoo crew led by lead zookeeper Kelly Foster (Scarlett Johansson), Benjamin is focused and determined to re-open this zoo to the public and heal the wounds caused by his wife's tragic passing.

Frankly, I'm just waiting for her to kick ass Avengers-style

We Bought a Zoo returns director Cameron Crowe to mainstream relevance after a period of relative downtime since 2005's water-treader Elizabethtown. Crowe was a big deal in the late '90's and early 2000's, with hits Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous and Vanilla Sky beefing up an impressive resume. Since then he has laid low, making music documentaries and a Pearl Jam music video, but seeing this film reminds you why you were impressed with his work so long ago. Don't get me wrong: We Bought a Zoo is no Almost Famous, but there are enough similarities in the tone and raw film talent that you can forgive it while marveling at what elements have remained after so long a time. For one, Crowe remains a master at manipulating emotions, subtly predicting just how you the audience will react to a certain scene, cleverly ramping up the juice to build on the momentum or wisely cutting back to let your poor tear ducts recover. I specifically remember thinking that I was doing so well for so many of the film's more emotionally-driven scenes, only to nearly break down during the film's final act and cursing Crowe's name for making me cry in front of a friend who had agreed to see the thing with me.

"Hey, remember me? Award-winning actor in Sideways? I'm still relevant!"

Of course, the acting is Crowe's best way to engage viewers to what is happening in the film, and while there are no Kate Hudson's here (okay, I promise that was my last Almost Famous reference), the film is packed with enough genuine talent that even minor missteps are forgivable. Matt Damon is thankfully refreshing after a down 2010, and he combines honesty, kindness and just enough subtle flaws for a pitch-perfect performance as the lead. Benjamin Mee might not be a perfect person, but he's close enough and obviously tries his hardest to do the best he can be. While not as perfectly cast as Damon, Scarlett Johansson does more than enough to remind people why she was once one of the most sought after actresses in Hollywood. Sure, boiled down this is a typical romantic interest part, but Kelly's overall competence means that she'll never be mistaken for a dumb blond in this century. The wide net of talent manages to produce some very unconventional performances from the main duo's co-stars. Colin Ford and Maggie Elizabeth Jones especially stand out as Benjamin's children. Ford has more to do as older son Dylan, a shy and troubled teen with a fascination with death that manifests in his artwork. Ford's main job through the movie is to clash with the other personalities, especially in an adversarial tone with Damon. While perhaps flirting with the melodramatic, he does a good overall job with the material given. Jones, at seven years of age, doesn't need to be overly talented to work as an actress in a role that doesn't require much more than general cuteness.. However, she has a natural charisma that makes her a centerpiece of many scenes, and her line delivery and sense of comic timing is perfect. Thomas Hayden Church also makes a nice appearance as Benjamin's pragmatic older brother, and the relationship between Church and Damon is natural and fluid. Angus MacFayden makes a perfect eccentric, a zoo carpenter with an axe to grind and both mean and kind streaks that allow him to steal many scenes. And Elle Fanning is understated as a home-schooled assistant. Fanning, who in the past year has proven herself to be on par talent-wise with her sister Dakota Fanning, is a blend of awkward and shyness that fits perfectly with the character's history, and while her character feels more a means to an end than a real contribution to the story, it's good to see her still getting challenging parts like this on a regular basis.

Yup, you'll be smiling too

Of course, even such a well-cast, well-directed story can have its flaws. For one, there sure is a lot of swearing for a PG rated film, not something I expected going in. I know, swearing is a very real factor in everyday life, but the sheer volume used in We Bought a Zoo is curious for a family film, most notably in the usage by and around the children in the story. Sometimes it's used to comedic effect. Sometimes it's emotionally effective. Most of the time though it just feels unnecessary, and doesn't inspire me to recommend it for your kids. The tale is also extremely schmaltzy at times, to the point of being dangerously over-saccharine. I can't help but feel that this is intentional, but Crowe only barely crosses the line of believability on a few occasions (one of which had the entire audience gasping a breath through an obviously fictional faux pas).

It's a symbol of man's inhumanity against man! Get it?

And that's We Bought a Zoo's main problem; that it's a finely tuned set piece that leaves no loose threads and is almost unbelievable in its execution. For those errors, however, it is still a very engaging piece, and slowly learning how and why these people (especially Benjamin Mee) came to their current ideas and circumstances is a fun and thoroughly entertaining afternoon's delight. While far from perfect, this film makes for a nice return for Cameron Crowe to the big time, and is a solid, heart-warming film that you can enjoy with your family, albeit those you don't mind hearing select four-letter words. If you're burned out on dark, emotionally scarring works like The Devil Inside or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, this is a title that will set your heart aflutter and remind you why you used to love movies as a kid.

Sick Day

Trusty film sidekick Anne and I have had a running joke in recent weeks. On the days or nights when we would go to the theater, we would inevitably see a trailer for the new Steven Soderbergh thriller Contagion. No matter how many times we came across it, our thoughts were the same: "It's the film that stars EVERYONE!" This isn't a generalization on our parts, either; besides the big-name stars like Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard and Laurence Fishburne, the trailer alone was full of recognizable actors from Just Shoot Me's Enrico Colantoni to Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston to Winter's Bone's Acadamy Award nominee John Hawkes. Despite the topical deadly virus story being sold, it was obvious in just under three minutes what the problem with Contagion would be, as the only reason so many big names actors would be rolled out was to camouflage a story that itself was not worth the paper on which it was written. Still, it had an enormously successful opening weekend, and you just can't ignore a film with such a huge pedigree behind it. While Anne hung back in the Reel Cave with a plate of fruit and a looping BSG marathon running, I braved the crowds and elements to find out whether Contagion was SARS come to invade our cinema or a mere throat bug.

Rule #1 of surviving a virus outbreak: avoid hospitals

While returning home from a business trip to China, Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) comes down with what she and everyone else assumes is jet lag. The next day, when she collapses at home, a visit to the hospital eventually confirms that it is not jet lag, but an advanced variation on bird flu that has contaminated her body. Highly infectious, this soon becomes a global epidemic, with cities all over the world suffering the deadly effects of this new disease. The Center for Disease Control, led by Dr. Ellis Cheever (Fishburne), attempt to isolate, contain and cure the outbreak, and the Department of Homeland Security is worried that the virus is the product of a terrorist attack. The race is on to save humanity as a whole, but the question is not whether the mysteries of the virus will be solved, but how much politics and red tape will prevent that from happening.

The least-sexy plastic suit of all time

This is definitely as talented a group of actors as you can expect to find attached to any movie title. With legitimate stars like Damon, Kate Winslet et al, you expect that they'll be at the top of their game. This is true in almost every instance, but the problem with Contagion is that the characters these big stars are hired to play are barely people at all, only suits and skirts designed to fulfill narrative obligations. Each person barely display more than one motivation, and often if they change their minds it is in the most inane way possible. For all the hard work Damon and Fishburne pour into their performances, their characters are remarkably one-noted and interesting only in their intensity. Jude Law taps into his asshole quotient nicely, though his independent reporter making a name (and more than a few bucks) on the back of this epidemic is not a stretch from his usual boring roles. I've only ever liked Law in Sherlock Holmes, and I think he needs to work across from superior actors to force him to raise his game to their level. That isn't present here, and he never really shares the screen with the more talented members of the cast. Paltrow and Winslet are completely wasted in bit parts with no lasting impact on the main story, and I was speaking of Cotillard's character when I was complaining of inane character choices. Some of the smaller roles actually work out well, as Colantoni, Cranston, Hawkes and Elliott Gould do some good in a small amount of time. While there are several talented actors in this film, the best character belonged to somebody you may not recognize, as Jennifer Ehle runs away from the pack as a risk-taking lab doctor who kicks ass in just about every imaginable way.

As if things weren't bad enough, Winslet just learned about the Netflix price restructuring

Of course, Soderbergh only intended one character to be multifaceted, and that was the virus itself. Learning, mutating, growing; this virus did more than any single character in the entire film could claim to have accomplished. In reality, Soderbergh's story can be simply described as dropping the virus in amongst a group and studying what happened. In this you can see the best of his work, as its obvious he left no stone unturned in determining what would happen if person A became sick but did this, this and this before meeting person B. It's almost like looking back at Soderbergh's earlier career when similar films Traffic and Erin Brockovich were mega-hits following other topical situations, garnering critical acclaim and box office records in the process. Since that time Soderbergh hasn't exactly had a lot of success getting either of those, with only the Oceans 11 remake and its subsequent sequels being the obvious exceptions. If Contagion is successful, that might be more remembered than any actual detail of the story herein.

At the Apocalypse, don't worry! Cell reception will be as strong as ever

That's because unfortunately the story tends to get as flat as its characters. For the entirety of the film we're being told that this is a bad thing, and to make sure you are careful with what you interact, otherwise there could be deadly consequences. Reasonable enough, but that this message goes on uninterrupted for just under two hours gets quite a bit boring, and since the film portrays an extreme case situation this message probably won't be heeded by most viewers anyway. Sure there's a little bit in there about the evils and flaws of man in a time of crisis, but that is almost glossed over under the seemingly mistaken impression that these are not problems we can fix. On top of that, after going the entire film without having it revealed what caused the virus in the first place, the finale features Soderbergh going right back to day one to spell out exactly how it happened, making borderline racist commentary in the process. It was a completely unnecessary gesture, one which was probably suggested by brain dead test audiences or confused studio executives rather than anything resembling a logical process.

Well, what can I say? Jude Law isn't a great actor

In the end, I managed to make it through almost the entire screening without being too bothered by the flaws, which was far better than I had expected. Only the ending and the poor character design were serious bummers, though the story as a whole wasn't helped much otherwise. A merely okay film, this is hardly the stellar Soderbergh many people seem to think it is. Instead of a riveting biological drama, it's a political and societal statement, one barely interesting or even intellectually argued. I'm not sure I can recommend Contagion to anyone to see in the theater, though it certainly deserves more attention than the latest entries in the Scream, Pirates of the Caribbean or Transformers franchises, all of which I enjoyed to some degree. Contagion carries itself firmly to the middle of the pack as far as 2011 goes, another forgettable film in a year of epically forgettable films.

Prepare for Adjustment

With four new releases this past week, it's taken a lot of timing to make sure I don't miss anything I want to see in the theaters. For this occasion, I made sure to get a ticket to The Adjustment Bureau, the directorial debut of George Nolfi starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. If you're like me, you were of two minds after seeing the trailer to this film in the preceding months. Mind One: "Wow, this looks AMAZING! Damon and Blunt are outstanding performers, the plot (adapted from Philip K. Dick's short story The Adjustment Team) is interesting enough to be entertaining, and it looks like there's excitement around every turn!" Mind two: "Wow, this looks CONFUSING! Damon and Blunt are outstanding performers, but the trailer seems to be full of contradictory scenes, cliched boogeymen, and a bit too much exposition." Mind two was one of the reasons I chose the same-day release Rango for first watch this week, but Mind One was still prevalent enough to ensure it wouldn't be long before I took in this enigmatic thriller myself.

Now raise your hands if you're $%@&ing Matt Damon!

After a college reunion prank turns into a scandal that derails his campaign to become the next Senator from New York, Congressman David Norris (Matt Damon) prepares his post-election speech when he meets Elise (Emily Blunt) seemingly by accident. The pair immediately hit it off, but part suddenly before David is able to obtain her last name or phone number. One month later, the now-retired Congressman is on his way to work when he manages to run into Elise again, this time on the morning bus. He manages to get her phone number, but afterwards he runs into an impossibility: strange men have infiltrated his workplace, freezing his co-workers in time and their minds in the process of being adjusted. Soon captured by these men, David is held and told that the men who have him are agents of the Adjustment Bureau, an organization that monitors the world and ensures that things happen according to a plan, one conceived by the unseen "Chairman". The agents warn David not to reveal their existence to the world, or else his mind will be reset (lobotomised). Oh, and you know that girl Elise? He can't see her again, either, since their being together doesn't allow the plan to work..

Damon accidentally wanders in to a Don Draper convention

The Adjustment Bureau raises some interesting ideas, most notably the role of the organization in world affairs. According to the history of the Adjustment Bureau, they try to guide the civilizations of the world down the proper path, leading them to the peak of the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, and other great moments in history. Then they take the leash off to see if humanity can keep it up. The results have been the same: dark ages, World Wars, global conflicts. Finally, the Bureau has decided to clamp down and run the world in secret, and while David points out to one that the world is not such a great place, the response is that the world is still THERE, which it might not be if it hadn't been for their intervention. The agents of the Bureau have apparently been known by "other names." That the agents and their Chairman could be pseudonyms for Angels and God is an intriguing proposition, albeit not without the film's apparent contradictions, such as an agent who falls asleep at his post.

Fancy meeting you... in the men's bathroom...

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to see this film was the quality of the actors involved. After a 2010 that disappointed with two poor films (The over-the-top Green Zone and the underwhelming Hereafter), Damon rebounded with the great supporting role in True Grit before coming back into his own here. As David Norris's aspiring politician, Damon is charming, funny, smart, and everything else he needs to perfectly fit the part. Always one to pick his roles intelligently, Damon made a slam dunk here and continues to impress. Blunt is less of a known quantity; the Golden Globe winner's career rose sharply after her starring turn in 2006's The Devil Wears Prada, and this might be her biggest role since then. She makes the most of it, being intriguing, mysterious and charismatic, and as impossible for the audience to ignore as she is to David. The best parts of the film are their scenes together, the chemistry between them as close to perfection as can be. I'm not scared to proclaim that if their character interactions hadn't worked, the film would have gone with it; The Adjustment Bureau owes much to these two talents. Other stars make their mark, though none as emphatically as the two leads. The Hurt Locker's Anthony Mackie is among those actors to watch out for (as supposed by his appearance on the cover of the Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair) and does a great job as Harry Mitchell, an Agent assigned to David who harbors questions as to whether the plan is right or just. John Slattery doesn't stray far from type as another agent named Richardson. Slattery to me will always be Mad Men's Roger Sterling, and he doesn't do much here to distinguish between the roles. If anything, I'd bet the role was written with him in mind. Michael Kelly is good if uninteresting as David's campaign manager and friend, and Terrence Stamp chews scenery with the best as an upper-level agent unafraid to do whatever it takes to keep the star-crossed lovers apart.

Memorizing line can be a challenge when the Plan is always changing

While certainly an interesting concept, the film is marred in a few places. While the film certainly aims to ask questions by placing the Beureau and its Chairman in vague religious contexts, that still doesn't quite amend for the fact that you had a supernatural Agent FALL ASLEEP ON THE JOB. I guess the lesson is that even the agents are only human? Another oversight, even if it might at first seem minor: no female Agents? Really? I know it's not a major topic in the film, but that seems like a strange thing to miss.Perhaps Nolfi didn't want to extend the metaphor TOO far from religious thematic sources, in which Angels are usually portrayed as male in gender. And that might be the film's biggest problem; for all the concepts the director introduces, including the ideas of free will and predestination, the film doesn't explore these themes enough. This results in a film that could have expanded its religious themes being rendered into a simple - albeit extremely well-done - chase and romance thriller. This can be probably be attributed to Nolfi's inexperience as a director, but on the other hand you can never be sure where the studio stepped in and said "enough," either. Finally, while the script is sweet and smart, there are a few unintentionally funny moments that suddenly jar the viewer out of the film, though these are quickly rectified.

The Bureau has accepted Affirmative Action, but not equal employment for women?

All these problems still didn't ruin the experience for me, however. Perhaps due to the trailer not doing the film justice, The Adjustment Bureau outstripped even my highest expectations. Led by the amazing duo of Damon and Blunt, a good supporting cast, a strong story and a great message on the fighting for what you love, The Adjustment Bureau is my new #1 Film of 2011. I suppose that should really come as no surprise, but it was the best time I've had in a theater so far this year, and while I'd like to simply attribute that to the two stars, the film is the most solid overall piece I've seen to this point.

True Disappointment

John Wayne is no longer the definitive Rooster Cogburn. There, I said it.

Some of my older readers may remember my stint as a comics reviewer a few years back. In the comments field for this review, a discussion began on what actors were the "definitive" versions of the characters they played on screen. The commentators, including several friendly blog authors, bandied about several names, including Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman, George Reeves as Superman and Patrick Warburton as the Tick. Then came the comment of The Opinioness (who went by a different moniker back then), recommending the legendary cowboy actor John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn. My first reaction was obvious: "Who the bleep's Rooster Cogburn?"

Marshall, the best picture award got away!

Backtrack and rewind to 1969, when True Grit was adapted for the silver screen from the novel by Charles Portis. A classic western film, True Grit told the story of US Marshall Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn, a one-eyed, overweight drunk who is supposed to have "grit", or a fearless nature that makes him not one to be messed with. Played by the legendary cowboy actor John Wayne, the film won him his only Academy Award and the movie itself is considered one of the greatest westerns of all time. With any such classic, a retelling would warrant quite a bit of skepticism from anyone wishing to see it, as remakes are often lacking in the same intangibles that made the originals so great. Even with the recent modernized westerns such as 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford showing such promise, there's still room for doubt. So despite the great trailers preceding this film's release, it was with a bit of uneasiness (and memories of the bitter pill that was the final act of the Coen Brothers' 2008 film, No Country for Old Men) that I went into the theaters Christmas day (keeping a family tradition alive). I was hopeful that what I was about to see would be good, but you can never be sure of anything, even if it's trailer uses Johnny Cash to great effect.

I'm %#@&ing Matt Damon!

Following more closely the story from the book than the original film, True Grit tells the story of Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), a fourteen-year-old girl in 1800's rural west, whose father was killed by by one of his hired hands while on a business trip. Ross decides to hire  the services of Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), because she's convinced he has "true grit", to hunt down the lowlife Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) since she believes otherwise that justice won't come for the crime of her father's death. With the insistence that she go along, and the unwanted help from a Texas Ranger named La Boeuf (Matt Damon), the hunt for Tom Chaney is on, with a wild frontier and a nasty assortment of bandits in between the trio and justice.

If the hat doesn't fit, you must acquit!

For the first three quarters of the film, all you can do is sit back and let the experience of viewing the film wash over you. If you've seen the original film, you can appreciate how some scenes in the new version are complete different than before, and how some scenes were surprisingly untouched. Having never read the book, I'm inclined to think that these changes were to make the story more along the lines of the novel, since that was the Coens' stated intention. The script is also appropriately funny in places. While much of the humor is Rooster's drunken ramblings or the occasional quip from La Boeuf, there are some scenes - like one in which Mattie negotiates to sell back the ponies her father had bought to the original seller to raise money to hire Cogburn - are intentionally gut-bustingly funny. That of course is not to say that this western film has been turned into a situation comedy, just that the Coens still have a good grasp on how and when to use humor effectively.

Rooster needs a smoky smoke to make Mattie more bearable

What was probably the biggest challenge would be recasting the inimitable Cogburn, whose prior performer John Wayne created a permanent retinal image for many a western fan. Nabbing Academy Award winner Bridges was surely not difficult, since he'd worked with the Coens before in 1998's The Big Lebowski, but matching Wayne blow for blow would surely be folly. That's why it's great to see this Rooster Cogburn as less sympathetic and more surly than his earlier contemporary. The original film made Cogburn out to be heroic despite his personal failings while the remake shows him to be more true bastard than true grit. Here, his drinking has real consequences, and while he does worry somewhat about the well-being of Mattie, it's often overshadowed by his demons and violent streak. Bridges, to his credit, never tries to make Rooster too likable to the audience, and his personal faults create a divide between him and his allies almost as deep as those between he and his enemies.

Someone's True Grit is spilling out on the ground as we speak...

The rest of the cast put on notable performances, though none near as effectively as Bridges. Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, daughter of "Body by" Jake Steinfeld, is the best of the rest, spunky and resourceful as young teenager Mattie Ross. While purposely annoying at times to the elder characters in the film, Ross's single-minded determination to see justice brought to her father's killer despite the hardships involved is admirable, and Steinfeld's performance conveys everything that is good and right about the character. Texas Ranger La Boeuf has far less focus here than he did in the original film, but it does nothing to lessen Matt Damon's performance as the Ranger hunting Chaney for his own reasons. Damon brings a sense of humor and spirit of adventure to the role, and while it's not his best performance, he does enough to keep the story moving forward and his role is actually more believable here than in the first film's tale. I wasn't sure what to expect from Tom Chaney in this film, if the Coens would decide to make him more vicious, but thankfully Josh Brolin is just as mewling as Jeff Corey was in the original. The fact that Chaney was more pathetic than anything made him surprisingly a more effective villain, and the Coens thankfully realized this as well. Barry Pepper rounds out the cast as "Lucky Ned" Pepper (no relation, I'm guessing), the surprisingly-noble bandit who Chaney throws down with after escaping into no-man's land. Pepper in his small role is believable, though perhaps his character is somewhat less so as a supposedly-ruthless gang leader who seems to at least treat Mattie with some respect when the two characters meet late in the tale.

Like La Beuf with his poor aim, Damon has no shot at an acting award this year

Unfortunately, all the good ideas that appears in the film are halted immediately entering the film's final act. Suddenly this movie becomes dull, lifeless, needlessly dark and practically another story rather than an ending to the one we've been watching to this point. I also didn't like the narration from Mattie Ross's older self, as I thought it was unnecessary and didn't add anything to the story. The ending of the original film might have been a bit hokey, but at least it was a satisfying conclusion, of which we have none here. Even more than the aforementioned No Country for Old Men, the film ends in a most unsavory manner, upending all the good that had happened before it.

"I'm just going to close my eyes now. You just keep on talking"

Of course, unlike that somewhat overrated 2008 film, True Grit was snubbed completely at this year's Golden Globe nominations, despite overwhelming critical acclaim. While Bridges should probably still be recognized for his performance of the legendary US Marshall, it's hard to argue with the results. To be completely honest, True Grit didn't need to be remade, and while the slick modern camerawork, excellent acting by Bridges, good performances by everybody else, and tremendous storytelling all come together for a true visual experience for much of the film, it's the depressingly poor ending that ruins that same experience for us the viewers. When you look at the films instead being nominated for the Best Picture category - The Fighter, Black Swan, The King's Speech, Inception and even The Social Network - I would be severely hard-pressed to argue any of these out to make room for True Grit, especially when I feel The Town was a superior film that had been snubbed. Another disappointment from the Coen Brothers, from whom I haven't seen a truly enjoyable film in years, and who will have to perhaps go back to their roots to rediscover what made their earlier films so great. In the end, while John Wayne may no longer be the definitive Rooster Cogburn, his 1969 film is still the definitive True Grit.

Move Along, There's No Oscar to See Here

Eastwood. It's a name synonymous with hard work, dedication and strength, both without and within. For nearly sixty years, Clint Eastwood has molded himself into one of the more celebrated and acclaimed performers of his or any time. His acting roles are iconic. Since winning his first Academy Awards for Unforgiven in 1992, he's become something of an Oscar darling, with his films garnering both critical and commercial success. Million Dollar Baby might be one day considered one of Hollywood's finest films ever. People still say he was snubbed for Gran Torino in 2008. In the past two decades he's simply become one of Hollywood's most important people, and even that isn't a stretch from where he had been before that. When he makes a movie, people see it.

You know he's unhappy because he can't sleep

So when I first saw the trailer for Hereafter, I was hooked. Matt Damon playing a man with a psychic connection to the afterlife who wants nothing to do with his mysterious power, as well as a narrative on our fear and beliefs concerning death, was a very interesting concept. Infinitely unique and anchored by Damon, the film looked sure to be one of the season's obvious award-winners. So when my friend Shannon invited me along to see this film opening weekend, I jumped at the opportunity to catch the film early and see one of my more anticipated films this season.

I see dead people

As I already mentioned, Damon plays former psychic George Lonegan. George, who somehow can communicate with souls in the afterlife, gave up his trade long ago when he decided that living a life surrounded by death simply wasn't for him. He's content working as a factory worker for much less pay than he'd made before, and considers his "gift" a curse, avoiding his brother's (Jay Mohr) attempts to get him back into the business. But George isn't the only main character in this film, as it is actually split into three concurrent storylines, the second of which involves a young British boy named Marcus (Frankie McLaren) who must cope with the tragic death of his twin brother Jason (George McLaren) and his mother's addiction to alcohol and heroin. Finally, French journalist Marie Lelay (Cecile de France) survives a tsunami while in Thailand and "dies" briefly, before being resurrected by rescuers. She feels that she made a connection to the afterlife, however, and wants to write a book about her experience, wondering what happens after we leave our mortal coils.

Psychics: Untold online dangers for kids

I mention that the film is in fact three stories happening simultaneously, though you know that with movies like this, the three characters will eventually meet somewhere towards the end of the story. However, before we reach that point, we sit through all this story in which each story has little to do with the other stories besides death being the contributing plotline. The film also features a very clockwork way of telling the story, where we take X amount of time to learn about Marie, then an equal time focusing on Jason before turning to George, then repeated ad infinitum. You start to notice this about halfway through, and that's when you start taking bets to see if the director will change tack and switch it around (he doesn't). Eastwood, while certainly talented, has never been a terribly original director, with his talents based on those before and around him. He makes great films, he just happens to make them in the same way everybody does.

Aww, a happy moment. Too bad they're French

Matt Damon retains the aura of greatness he's acquired in recent years, putting together a magnificent performance in the process. When George does his seance "thing", it's one hundred percent believable, and even when he's not, his character melds into the world trying to better himself, to be a better person than he believes his talent allows him to be. In fact, scenes between he and an attempted romance in Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard) are some of the best scenes in the film. In respect to fairness, however, the biggest journey is actually covered by de France's character. Marie is haunted by her near-death experience but the journalist in her drives her to seek out and research the idea of an afterlife that sees her going against ideas she's carried her whole life with. Death is a taboo topic, she learns, but never stops her journey to spread what she learns. Though de France is a talented actress (and thankfully, most of her dialogue is in her native French with subtitles), she would have to be as domineering of the screen as Damon to keep our attention for long, and sadly, while she has the best story of the three, she simply doesn't have Damon's chops. Neither of the McLaren twins are particularly good actors, but since neither are trained performers this can be mostly overlooked and Eastwood definitely picked the more talented twin to play Marcus. Grieving for his brother and suffering in a foster home while his mother is in rehab, Marcus is incredibly lost and unable to move on with his life, trying any which way to reconnect with Jason. Though the least interesting of the three storylines, it does have some good moments, including one in which divine intervention seems to protect Marcus from being on the Underground rail when a bomb detonates on the train he failed to get on, saving his life. Good secondary performances by Howard, Richard Kind, Lyndsey Marshall and Thierry Neuvic, among a few others, round out a series of solid acting performances helmed solely and rightfully by Damon.

Why yes, I am @#^$ing Matt Damon

The story does vary the characters' unique interactions with the concept of death well, but it's still a concept that only goes so far. Besides the fact that you know by the end that the main characters will be meeting and interacting with one another, the film introduces many ideas that it never resolves. Indeed, for a film questioning life after death, it gives the barest of glimpses into the actual concept, instead wrapping a small version of it around Damon's visions and Marie's experience. Some of the more paranormal bits, though few, are a little overdone, and the ending is a mess, with no real conclusion, or at least not a satisfying one.

Okay, awkwaaard...

Clint Eastwood won't be snubbed at this year's award shows. Hereafter simply isn't a film good enough on it's own merits, let alone on the standards set by Million Dollar Baby, Unforgiven or even Changeling. Damon's award-worthy performance aside, it's a mediocre movie at best, taking an interesting idea and handicapping it by telling it with a story not quite worth the paper it's written on. Of his latest films, this one is by far the weakest (worse even than Letters from Iwo Jima), and is simply not Clint at his best. It's a shame to spoil a movie with so much potential. But hey, we can't all be lucky, punk.

Green With Envy

It's hard to believe that it's been thirteen years since Matt Damon, along with running buddy Ben Affleck, won an Academy Award for the screenplay they wrote for the Harvard-based drama Good Will Hunting, way back in 1997. Since that time, while Affleck was originally thought to be the film's breakout star, moving quickly from role to role, especially action flicks like Daredevil, Damon at first had the more subdued career. but has churned out a superior career including Saving Private Ryan, The Departed, the Oceans series, and the extremely popular Bourne series, the films of which are not only some of the best action movies of the new millennium and are inspire most new films of the genre, but also cemented Damon's star status and made any movie in which he starred one that instantly garnered major public interest. So when Damon stars in Green Zone, a film that promises the love child of the Bourne movies and last year's Oscar darling, The Hurt Locker, it begs to be seen.

The story, based on the popular book Imperial Life in the Emerald City by journalist Ravij Chandrasekaran, revolves around a familiar news item to anyone over the age of twenty, the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and the military's failure to locate these weapons. Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller, played by Damon, is the leader of a squad of soldiers who are constantly being sent to suspected WMD sites, with orders to capture and secure this mythical ordinance. Every time they reach and secure a site, many of which still harbor enemy combatants, they discover that the location in fact holds no such bounty. The sources pointing to these sites come through the office of Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear), a Pentagon Special Intelligence officer who claims the locations are from an anonymous source, codenamed "Magellan". Miller decides to go "off reservation" to find out not only why he and his team are sent into empty sites, but also to capture the "Jack of Clubs", General Mohammed Al-Rawi (Yigal Naor), and bring him to justice.

"Wait... was that my credibility?"

The acting here is pretty good, though not nearly as good as it could have been. While Damon is the meat and gristle of the film, there's not an enormous amount of depth to his character. A competent leader, Miller has no trouble questioning authority when it leads him to location after empty location. While others around him don't care about the fact that they haven't found anything yet, Miller is the only one to question why. Damon plays all this well, but lack of a background makes him fairly anonymous compared to other, more famous military-based characters. Kinnear is fine as a slimy suit, but it's not much of a stretch for him. At least this movie with Matt Damon isn't Stuck on You. Another fantastic actor, Amy Ryan, is sorely underused here. As a Wall Street Journal reporter who writes the stories based on what Poundstone supplies her, Ryan should have been better. She's been one of the best undervalued actresses in this century, from HBO's The Wire to her stint on The Office to her Oscar-nominated role in Gone Baby Gone, and this stock character is the best she can be provided with. It's a real shame. Another underutilized actor is Jason Isaacs, who can be a brilliant performer when given half a chance. Here, as a Special Forces Major who clashes with Miller, he's dry and vaguely uninteresting, his take on American bravado here almost looking as false as his ridiculous fu manchu. Speaking of talent, Brendan Gleeson is yet another actor who doesn't get enough to really make his character interesting, though he comes out better than most of the others, Damon included. As the CIA's bureau cheif in Baghdad, he briefly recruits Miller to find out what's going on with the WMD hunt.

"Yeah, I've got another Bourne movie coming out next year."

Actually, the best actors are those portrayed as living in the country our forces are occupying. As one of the film's main antagonists, Naor (who played the country's former ruler two years ago in BBC and HBO's House of Saddam), is elegant and strong in his portrayal of an exiled Iraqi General who plots to unite Iraq's scattered and hidden military to drive out the Americans. But the real star of the film may be Khalid Abdalla, who plays an informant by the name of Freddie. Freddie doesn't love the Americans invading his homeland, but he hates more the villains and traitors who ignored and harmed the people of their own country. Abdalla puts forth a brilliant performance as one who can't quite bring himself to trust Miller or the Americans, but has put himself in somewhat of a tricky situation, with the alternative being the rule by his evil-minded kinfolk. He's by far the reason to watch this film.

Wow, this must be a good movie if they're in it... not.

The film could be used as a cynic's guide to why the War on Terror was a sham, especially as many of the events pictured, at least early on in the film, are based on true events, especially big, familiar events such as the first Shock and Awe bombings of Baghdad, and the adaptation of real locations (such as the safe, secured "Green Zone" for which the movie is named) and people (despite the usual disclaimers that the characters are fictional and not based on anyone, many have pointed out the obvious real-life people the characters are based on). It's probably Hollywood's first and last attempt to accurately depict the War on Terror, as the film did quite poorly, especially for it's big budget. It's not surprising, since the film is inaccurately portrayed as an action film, while anyone actually watching it would be entertained by the constant view of the Americans fucking everything up. It's probably a little too picky for it's own good, as it garnered many an anti-American and Anti-military label, a death-knell for the box office.

Isaacs and Damon search for a better film to make

My above statement of the Bourne movies and The Hurt Locker making sweet, sweet procreation seems to bear fruit. While the film seems to paint a true picture of life and combat during the War on Terror, it contains much more action than last year's Best Picture winner, culminating in a huge, over-the-top end battle where all the main protagonists and antagonists duke it out. This is about the point where the film jumps the shark, as while it's not out of the realm of possibility to have action sequences in a war movie, the scene is so overblown that it feels like a complete other movie, with only the related characters being any bridge between the two.

Woot, action scene!

By the time the whole thing is over, you're reminded that 90% of the reason you went to see this movie was the ten minutes spent on the action sequences, the studios obviously not putting much faith in the film's cynical view of the US Military and fearing perhaps a backlash from those in power. It's a shame for director Paul Greenglass, who's previous work on The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, and United 93 were far superior that this film performs poorly and did so well at the box office. However, someone has to be put on the spot for casting so many brilliant actors and letting them fall flat on their faces with bland drivel that would make Gregory Peck look like a rank amateur. As far as Green Zone goes, you can safely skip it and just pick up last year's deserving Oscar winner instead.

"I'm %&#^$ Matt Damon"

A final note, thanks again to my readers: Yesterday, The Latest Issue put together it's 2000'th official hit, and I owe it all to your dedicated readership! I hope you continue to enjoy my reviews, as I love writing them for you! Enjoy.