Ant-Man (8/10): Surprisingly better than Age of Ultron.

“Imagine a soldier the size of an insect, the ultimate secret weapon.”

I wasn’t too excited about this film considering the premise of a hero who can shrink to the size of an ant and telepathically communicate with them seemed a bit too far fetched even for a Marvel film. That and the fact that Edgar Wright decided to back down from the director’s chair after a dispute with Disney; it looked as if everything was set out for failure. Despite not being a huge fan I’ve enjoyed all the Marvel films, but I have become increasingly weary of them as well. The Thor films and the first Captain America being my least favorites, I was sure this one was going to rank somewhere among them. I definitely wasn’t expecting Ant-Man to be better than Age of Ultron, but I have to admit that the light tone worked here and this movie was much more entertaining. So, how did they pull it off? They got Peyton Reed to fill in for Wright as the director, and continued to build on Wright’s screenplay. If Reed was able to make a film about High School cheerleaders entertaining, than this Ant-Man premise would be a piece of cake for him. By lowering the stakes, approaching the material with a lot of tongue in cheek humor, and aiming at being a crowd pleaser, Ant-Man ended up being a fun and entertaining film. I wouldn’t go as far as saying this was as clever as Guardians of the Galaxy in its approach to humor and pop culture references, but it did come close. Perhaps it helped that I went in to it with very low expectations, but I walked out of the movie with a smile on my face. For once this felt like an origin story that worked on its own and didn’t have to be a gigantic setup for the next Avengers films. The premise is silly and stupid at times, but the film is big on laughs.

One of the main reasons why Ant-Man worked so well was because of Paul Reed’s lead performance as the titular character. Rudd delivers with his usual charm and perfect comedic timing. He embodies the character almost as well as Robert Downey Jr. does with Iron Man. With his smirky and cocky delivery, Downey Jr. makes Tony Stark more entertaining than when he’s wearing the actual suit, and that felt very similar with Rudd here as Scott Lang. He plays a con-man who is trying to make an honest living, but finding it incredibly difficult due to his criminal record. He has a seven year old daughter, Claire (played by the adorable Abby Ryder Fortson), who he isn’t allowed to visit until he can find stability and provide for her. Dr. Hank Pam (Michael Douglas) has kept a close eye on Scott and seems to have big plans for him. Hank has developed a special suit which allows him to shrink a man to the size of an ant and also increase his strength. Hank is too old for the suit now, but he believes Long is the ideal man for the job. He begins mentoring Scott, although his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) believes she should wear the suit. Ever since his wife died, Hank has had a terrible relationship with his daughter, but she has approached him after discovering that his former protege, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), has developed a similar technology and wants to sell the formula to the wrong people. Scott’s mission is to infiltrate Cross’s building and destroy what he has been working on before it is too late. 

Although it does follow a similar structure as most superhero films, Ant-Man feels at times more like a comedic heist movie. Of course due to the subject matter it also reminded me a lot of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (which also seems to be very fond of ants by the way). These elements gave the film a more breezy and light touch. Even in the final act of the film where the superhero movies tend to go big with a climactic battle scene, there are some great comedic moments involving a Thomas the train track and so forth, which continually downplay the film and lighten the mood. It is definitely a huge change of tone from Age of Ultron and The Winter Soldier, so it manages to stand out on its own as a superhero movie although it still shares some of its generic flaws. Despite the great visual effects during the shrinking scenes, there are still some structural elements that don’t work as well. The family dynamic between Hope and her father and between Lang and his ex (played by Judy Greer) seem to be recycled and silly at times. Hank waits for too long in the film to explain what happened to his wife, which was more of a plot convenience than anything else. However, Paul Rudd’s comedic performance elevate this film, as do the supporting cast. Michael Peña as Rudd’s sidekick, stands out during his scenes (especially during his monologues) and he delivered some of the funniest moments of the film. Lilly also proved to be a strong female character, while Douglas is someone you can always bank on as a solid actor. Stoll wasn’t a very menacing villain, and that seems to be a common flaw in most Marvel films, but considering the stakes were much lower here it wasn’t that much of a letdown. Ant-Man was a pleasant surprise despite its silly premise and I’m actually looking forward to what Rudd can bring to the Marvel franchise.       

My Review: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (8/10)

"Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists. The ones that do call him the Winter Soldier. He's a ghost, you'll never find him."

The film opens with an action sequence in a freighter that made me worry I was going to be let down as I was with the first Captain America. Out of all the Marvel films the first Captain America film was my least favorite. This sequel opened with some shaky camera work and quick editing cuts, but once the story began to get going I was pleasantly surprised. This is very different from the rest of the Marvel films that relied heavily on CGI and light storytelling, The Winter Soldier is a bit more serious and tells an interesting story. At times you forget you are watching a superhero movie and it turns into an interesting espionage thriller. Even Captain America became much more interesting in this film and I'm sure fans will appreciate this sequel directed by Joe and Anthony Russo (You, Me and Dupree) much more than they did the first. Not only is this the best Captain America film, it also is the best film of Phase 2 (post The Avengers) for Marvel. The story is really entertaining and gripping, the film also looks really good considering it has much more live action scenes than CGI. After the disappointing opening sequence, the rest of the action scenes completely worked and they managed to keep me invested in what was going on. Sure the twists were a bit predictable, but the story was really well developed and the framework for the next sequel has been set. The new characters in this film also added a lot more to this franchise and I really enjoyed the pacing of this movie. This sequel delivered thanks to a gripping and suspenseful story and well developed characters.

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely teamed up again for the adaptation of this sequel which takes place some time after the events of The Avengers. Captain America (Chris Evans) is now in Washington DC as he continues struggling to adjust to the present while working for SHIELD under the guidance of Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson). It's a different world now and Captain America realizes that there are enemies disguised as friends even inside SHIELD headquarters. With very few people he can trust, Captain America teams up with Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) to try to expose the conspiracy and traitors in the department before the world is attacked yet again. As they begin to dig deeper, a professional assassin known as the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is sent to stop them. Knowing that they can't expose the conspiracy on their own, Captain America finds an ally in Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), a veteran who knows where Steve is coming from. He becomes the Falcon and together they begin to expose the corruption in SHIELD.

Chris Evans is comfortable yet again playing one of the most beloved comic book superheroes. Captain America might be the simplest of the heroes from the Marvel films, but he doesn't negotiate his values and is true to his word. Someone with his morals is hard to come across with in the present and that is why he finds it so difficult to establish meaningful relationships. Scarlett Johansson is great once again as the Black Widow and it's always great to see her fighting off the bad guys. As for the new characters I really enjoyed Anthony Mackie's performance as the Falcon. He really has great chemistry with Chris Evans and both their characters have similar values. Mackie also delivers some of the funniest lines in the movie in an otherwise pretty serious thriller. Sebastian Stan is also impressive as the Winter Soldier. His character is very interesting although I think he did try a little to hard at times to look cool. His posture and attitude reminded me of a rock star, but I still enjoyed his character very much and though he was a great addition to this film. Like the other Marvel films, you should stay for the credits as there are two short but interesting scenes. This was a huge upgrade for Captain America and it is my favorite film of 2014 so far. The climax is formulaic and we know what we are going to get, but the journey getting there is what made this film such a wonderful experience for me. This film actually had some interesting character development and it wasn't just an excuse to run from one incoherent and noisy action scene to the next like some other recent superhero films.

My Review: The Fifth Estate (6/10)

"If you want to know the truth... no one is going to tell you the truth. They're only going to tell you their version. So, if you want the truth, you have to seek it out for yourself."

The Fifth Estate is an engaging political thriller based on real events involving the popular and questionable internet site, WikiLeaks, which intended to work as a sort of watchdog site exposing the corrupt actions of powerful organizations and governments. Despite all the media attention this got all over the news, audiences didn't seem too interested in checking out this film. If you've basically kept up with the news about WikiLeaks than this film doesn't offer much more than a dramatic story focusing on the main characters. In the end this film only tells its own version of the truth, but if you really want to know what happened you will need to investigate more on your own. The Fifth Estate raises some interest towards the subject, but it never really informs much about it. Despite being a bit one sided and exposing Assange as an egocentric and obsessive character, it still managed to raise interesting questions. The film focuses more on the relationship between Assange and Daniel Berg who teamed up to build the site than on the actual events themselves. It is worth watching for the dynamic relationship between the two, perfectly played by Benedict Cumberbatch and Daniel Bruhl, two actors that weren't on my radar before 2013, but have had an impressive year.

The Fifth Estate was based on Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website) and David Leigh's books (WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy) and the screenplay was adapted by Josh Singer (The West Wing) which focused on the relationship between WikiLeak founder, Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and Daniel Berg (Daniel Bruhl) who teamed up with him to guarantee that the website would protect the anonymity of the whistleblowers that were exposing corruption and dark secrets of powerful organizations such as banks or dictatorships. Thus the site began exposing corporate crimes and other government secrets at a very fast pace. However when the site receives thousands of confidential US military and government documents, Assange and Berg differ in how they should deal with this sensitive material. 

The lack of public interest in the WikiLeak scandals kind of hurt this film, but the truth is that with everything that went on it's hard to decipher what the intentions of the producers of this film truly are. It might be one sided, but it still presents some interesting points and it is left to the viewer to keep on searching for the truth on their own. The focus of the film is on the relationship between the two main characters and I was fine with that because the performances were strong. Alicia Vikander, Laura Linney, Anthony Mackie, and Stanley Tucci aren't given much to do with their characters considering the plot kept on jamming a lot of information in a short period of time and they really didn't stand out, but it was still nice to see some of these talented actors here. Vikander is gorgeous and I'm glad she's getting more roles after her great performance in the danish film, A Royal Affair. Bill Condon is a talented director (Gods and Monsters, Kinsey, Dreamgirls), but The Fifth Estate is a flawed film. We never learn much about the secrets that were being uncovered, since the film focused more on the relationship between Assange and Berg. It's more interested in the characters and exposing Assange's flaws than in telling the actual story. Cumberbatch and Bruhl save this film and make it watchable.

My Review: Runner Runner (3/10)

"I'll be happy to tell my boss that you are not happy."

If what you are looking for is an action thriller that doesn't thrill or have any action scenes then Runner Runner is the film for you. If you are looking for a one dimensional attractive cast with no character depth whatsoever, then Runner Runner is the film for you: Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, and Gemma Arterton all look extremely good in this film as long as you don't listen to what they are saying. Ten minutes into this movie you realize that Runner Runner has nothing new to say and the characters are so unremarkable that you forget who they are before the end of the film. I can't say that the movie was predictable, because I really didn't care what it had to say, and half of the plot elements made little sense. The women in this film were only put there for eye candy, and they had no other purpose. At only 90 minutes the film still feels overlong and it drags because somehow it seems as if you are watching an incomplete film, like if some important scenes were edited out. There is no doubt in my mind that if Ben Affleck directed this movie instead of starring in it this could have been a great film, but he was just in this to cash his check so there was no need to put any effort in this. I was surprised how terrible this film ended up being considering it was directed by Brad Furman who directed the solid The Lincoln Lawyer a couple years ago. The script was written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, but this was nowhere near as good as their first film, The Rounders. Runner Runner is one of the worst films of the year, run away from this mess of a movie.

The plot is pretty simple: Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake) is a Princeton grad student who has been paying his tuition by getting other students to sign up to online betting sites. After the dean confronts Richie for his actions, he is forced to bet all his money on an online poker game. Convinced he has been cheated on, he decides to travel to Costa Rica in order to confront the mysterious entrepreneur in charge of the gambling site he lost his money on. In Costa Rica, Richie begins making acquaintances and he's invited to a party hosted by the gambling tycoon: Ivan Block (Ben Affleck) by his right hand partner, Rebecca (Gemma Arterton). Here Richie confronts Ivan and instead of sending him off, Ivan invites Richie to work for him in Costa Rica. Seduced by the easy money, Richie accepts the offer and begins living the life he has dreamed of, until he is kidnaped by FBI agent Shavers (Anthony Mackie) and asked to help bring down Ivan, who seems to be running things illegally. This is where the double crossings begin and the film gets all messy.

There is nothing positive I can say about Runner Runner because it is a complete mess with very lackluster performances. There is no denying there is a lot of talent involved here, but somewhere along the way something was lost. Furman proved he could direct a strong and intelligent film in The Lincoln Lawyer, but Runner Runner is nowhere close to what he had achieved in the past. We all know what Ben Affleck is capable of; he just came off with an Oscar for his work in Argo, but in this film his performances was completely uninspired. Gemma Arterton had nothing to work with here, but she accomplished what she was signed up for: looking good on camera. Justin Timberlake couldn't save this film either despite trying to put some effort into his role and trying to look believable. He has done some great work in the past, but this just might be the role that makes him stick to music from now on (or taking secondary roles). Runner Runner is a waste of talent and a waste of time for the audience. You will completely forget about this film the moment you walk out of the theater because there is nothing engaging about it. It doesn't move you or touch you in any way. If fails to draw you in to their world and there is no suspense whatsoever.

My Review: Pain & Gain (5/10)

"The event you are about to see took place in Miami Florida between October 1994 and June 95. Unfortunately, this is a true story."

Michael Bay decided to take a break from his latest big budget movies (Transformers, Armageddon, and Pearl Harbor) and pursue something much smaller. Pain and Gain is based on a true story, but it adds all the Hollywood condiments to make it suitable for moviegoers. First off all you get three likable actors like Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), and Anthony Mackie to play three criminals who really don't look anything like the real people involved in these crimes. I guess Bay was trying to get us to sympathize a little with these people despite their horrific acts. There's another thing Bay always does in his movies (big or small) and that is to include a gorgeous actress. In this case he got Bar Paly to play an inexistent role or at least I really never understood what she was doing here or why these men needed her. Bay also turns the victim here into a very unlikable character. I wonder how he or his family feel about this movie considering his kidnappers were just portrayed as some dumb bodybuilders who just wanted to take a shortcut to achieve the American dream. I really didn't have a problem with any of this, I just don't like the way Hollywood keeps on claiming films are based on true stories when they are only inspired by them. This dark criminal comedy didn't really work for me despite the strong cast. One of my major issues had to do with the length of the film; it just seems to drag forever. This would've worked much better as a 90 minute movie. The second problem is that the more you are reminded that the film is based on a true story (it reminds us midway though the film) the less funny and more messed up it gets. I'm not a Michael Bay hater, I liked Armageddon, The Island, Pearl Harbor, and the first Transformer, but I just didn't seem to care too much about this movie. I think Wahlberg and Johnson are great actors, but they didn't really seem to fit the part here. 

Pain and Gain starts off by introducing us to Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), a personal fitness trainer at a Miami gym. He is all about achieving the American dream and being patriotic. Somehow he sees himself as better than most Americans because of the way he has built his body. What he has in muscles, he seems to lack in brains. Although he has tripled the amount of customers that go to his boss's (Rob Corddry) gym so he seems to know a thing or two about business. His other partners at the gym, Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) are even dumber. Adrian has used so much steroids that he is now suffering from the side effects, and Doyle is a former coke addict who is trying to reform his life. Daniel is so desperate to live the American dream that he convinces Adrian and Paul to kidnap a client at the gym (played by Tony Shalhoub) and steal his possessions. He believes they can get away with it, but things begin to get out of hand for these amateurs so the plot begins to get more and more complicated as the film moves on.

The incompetence of these criminals and the incompetence of the Miami police force is really what Bay is trying to make fun of here, but considering there were real victims involved it is hard to laugh at what is going on. As likable as Wahlberg and Johnson are, and as hateful as their victim is you kind of want them to get away with the crime. Bay kind of tries to pull our strings here because what these three men actually did is nothing we should be rooting for. Insisting that it is a real story only makes things more difficult for the viewer because somehow you feel sorry for these criminals because of how inept and dumb they are. The voiceover narrations that Bay implements in the story with every character doesn't work either (he should take some notes from Scorsese). The entire tone of the film just didn't work for me. I thought the film began well but just went downhill from then on. Skip this. 

Rating: 5,6/10

My Review: Gangster Squad (6/10)

¨I always knew I’d die in Burbank¨

Gangster Squad walks a really thin line between being a terrible film and an entertaining one. First of all it has a really great and talented cast; it also has a good production design and is very stylized reminding us of some epic gangster films. On the other hand the film only looks gangster-like on the surface; it is not really a serious neo-noir gangster film but more of a light comedic gangster movie. This is director Ruben Fleisher’s follow up to his hit comedy Zombieland, and in a way it does feel like a satire of sorts of gangster films, but in some strange way it fails to find its own personality. You never know if you’re supposed to take the movie seriously or not because something is missing in the mix between drama and comedy. One critic defined the film better than I could by claiming it is ¨LA Confidential without the script.¨ It has the look and the tone of a serious gangster film, but the script which was loosely adapted by Will Beall from Paul Lieberman’s book just fails and the dialogues seem cartoonish at times. The violence is pretty heavy as there are plenty of glamorized gunfight scenes and a large body count. Sean Penn plays the villain a little over the top, but it works if you view the film as this sort of spoof of the gangster genre. And really in my opinion this approach is what works best because it is entertaining if taken lightly as a spoof. I feel sorry for those who went into this film with high expectations because they will mostly be disappointed, unless they can live with a mindless popcorn action flick with some good performances.

The story takes place in 1949 Los Angeles where Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), a mob king from Chicago, has taken over the city and is planning on controlling all criminal activities there with the help of corrupt officers and judges. He will eliminate whoever stands in his path. Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) on the other hand is a WWII veteran who is determined to do what he can to clean up the city. When Chief Parker (Nick Nolte) hears about O’Mara’s heroics he decides to assign him with a special underground task: to form an elite squad of police officers that will take down the mob King. Thus O’Mara begins his quest to find the right officers for his special team with the help of his wife Connie (Mireille Enos) who is worried about his wellbeing and wants him to be protected as best as possible. O’Mara chooses Officer Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie), Max Kennard (Robert Patrick) and his partner Navidad Ramirez (Michael Peña), Conway Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi) who’s the brains in the operation, and finally Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) who decides to accept O’Mara’s proposal after a member of the mob kills a kid he knew from the streets. Together these officers begin to try to intercept and disrupt Cohen’s operations working as an underground hit squad. Wooters also happens to be having an affair with Cohen’s love interest, Grace (Emma Stone), which could or could not be a good thing. And so the action begins as the squad tries to disrupt Cohen’s reign and clean up the city.

As I mentioned before this is an entertaining film which sometimes borderlines on the bad side considering it does have some pretty bad writing and underdeveloped characters. But it did work for me as a sort of spoof and light hearted film with a very stylized look to it. It has some fun action sequences with some strong performances, especially from the always reliable Ryan Gosling who continues to reinvent himself in every movie. I absolutely loved him here once again. Josh Brolin gives a pretty solid performance when he is not asked to do the voice over bit (it was a bit annoying at the beginning giving it a sort of fake Sin City vibe to it). The rest of the cast is pretty good although not getting enough screen time or storylines to develop their characters. Sean Penn plays the stereotypical bad guy a little over the top, but I enjoyed his performance as well (it wouldn’t have worked if you were expecting a serious gangster drama film). In the end Gangster Squad did work for me and I was entertained with this shoot-em up gangster film, but I know it isn’t for everyone.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

My Review: Man on a Ledge (6/10)

¨Today is the day when everything changes. One way or another. ¨

Man on a Ledge is the latest thriller starring Sam Worthington who has made a name for himself in several blockbuster action films like Terminator Salvation, Avatar, and Wrath of the Titans. These films have been box office hits, but he still hasn`t managed to make it among the A-list actors in my opinion. This was a lower budget film and it had its flaws, but it was still an interesting and entertaining thriller. Sam actually chose this role because he liked the script and wanted to face his fear of heights since most of the film takes place on the ledge of a 200 foot building. This is Asger Leth`s first feature film, since he previously had only directed a documentary, and Pablo Fenjves wrote this original script which is actually his first screenplay as well since his previous work had been for television movies. I was surprised these guys got so many talented actors on board for this film, but I guess Sam`s presence helped. The script is interesting and it has some good thrills, but there are several plot holes in the heist that takes place, and many elements seemed borrowed from other famous thrillers we`ve seen before. Man on a Ledge lacks some originality, but the film still manages to entertain for most part. There is an interesting secondary cast and Worthington does a decent job as the lead although he doesn’t have much space to work with. Be warned this film could give you some goose bumps if you`re afraid of heights.

The film opens with a man renting a Hotel room under a fake name and then writing a suicide note before he opens the window and climbs to the ledge of the 200 foot building in Manhattan. Someone spots him from the street and calls the police. Soon the police arrive, and so do the firefighters and SWAT team. There is a flashback where we see the same man in prison. His real name is Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) and he is talking to one of his visitors, his ex partner in the police force, Mike (Anthony Mackie) who is telling him that the case seems lost and he will have to spend 25 more years in prison. Nick claims to be innocent and escapes from prison when he is allowed to attend his father`s funeral. He has a discussion with his younger brother Joey (Jamie Bell) and when the police officers are distracted he escapes. This is what takes us to the present event, but now Nick is on the ledge of the building and asks for a high profile negotiator named Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks). As the movie goes on we begin to discover new things about Nick and his case. There is more to the simple suicide attempt than meets the eye; Nick is really trying to clear his name and prove his innocence while a heist is going on across another building.

Genesis Rodriguez, Edward Burns, Kyra Sedgwick, and Ed Harris are also among the talented cast. Rodriguez and Bell sort of have the funnier and lighter dialogues although I didn’t think it worked out really well. The film works thanks to a good performance from Worthington who always has you feeling like if you were on the ledge with him. Banks is also good in her role, while the rest of the cast really have no screen time. The heist scene is very interesting at first, but it begins to have too many plot holes and too many things have to go their way in order for it to really work. It wasn`t very believable, but it still was entertaining and had me at the edge of my seat at times. I really didn’t like how the end of the movie played out, but I can`t judge the film entirely based on the ending. I have to admit I had a good time during most of the movie so I can`t say this was a bad movie. If you are into thrillers then you will probably like this film. Man on a Ledge isn’t memorable or original, but it entertains and has some strong moments.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com

My Review: The Adjustment Bureau (9/10)

¨All I have are the choices I make, and I choose her, come what may.¨

Ever since Adam and Eve we`ve never liked to be told what to do, but what would happen if all our decisions were somehow manipulated by some sort of power to make us act in a certain way without us not even realizing it? In other words, we think we have free will and we believe we make our own choices, but what if someone was making small adjustments behind our backs to make sure we followed a certain path? Those are the questions The Adjustment Bureau raises in this science-fiction romantic movie. Rookie director, George Nolfi (known for writing Ocean`s Twelve and adapting the screenplay for The Bourne Ultimatum), does a great job at combining two unrelated genres such as science-fiction and romance and meshing them together to create this thought provoking film. The Adjustment Bureau is without a doubt the best romantic film I`ve seen this year (and I never expected to be saying this after watching the trailers for this movie). The film is actually based on a short story written by Phillip K. Dick (who is better known for his other short story ¨Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ¨ which was adapted into a movie you might have heard of: Blade Runner). The movie is not perfect, but I enjoyed every second of it thanks to the great chemistry between Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. There is just something about forbidden love that makes you root for both these characters because it somehow feels wrong that outside forces can be a factor in their lives. Any normal human being would understand that these two people were meant for each other.

Matt Damon plays a young politician named David Norris, running for Senator in New York. On election night while he is preparing his defeat speech he runs into Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) in the men`s restroom. There is a strong instant chemistry between them and they share a passionate kiss together, but are suddenly interrupted by security guards who were looking for Elise because she got caught crashing a wedding in the same building. David is so inspired by the kiss that he gives one of his best and most authentic speeches ever, but he can`t stop thinking of Elise. Everything isn’t what it seems and there are some mysterious people behind the scenes making sure everyone is following the right path. Richardson (John Slattery) and Harry (Anthony Mackie) have been following David everywhere and seem to know what decisions he is going to make and they try to manipulate them. We later find out that they work for a mysterious agency known as the Adjustment Bureau, who make adjustments in order to keep people on track so they won`t deviate from the intended plan. David and Elise are not intended to be with each other, it isn’t written on the books for them so Harry is ordered to keep him away from her so he will continue on the ¨right path.¨ Something goes wrong and the two meet again, only this time the agents have to make amends and end up telling David who they really are. David isn’t willing to go along with the plan because he believes in free will, so the agency has to bring out their big gun, Thompson (Terence Stamp), in order for the pair to break up. The question now is: can love conquer predestination?

The movie isn’t deep, but it does manage to leave you thinking quite a bit, and that is always a plus. This could be called the Inception for couples although it is a much lighter movie, but it is way better than most romantic films that have come out recently. It is original and intense. It also raises questions about free will, fate, soul mates, and predestination. We`d like to believe that all our decisions are based entirely on our free will, but even we admit that sometimes coincidences take place: for example we get on the wrong bus and run into someone we haven’t seen in a long time. The Adjustment Bureau claims these ¨accidents¨ are actually planned most of the time and they serve to keep their subjects on the right path in order to fulfill their purpose. David is willing to fight this system, like any other human would because we can`t accept the fact that our destinies are already predetermined. He discovers that love after all does conquer all things. The success of the movie doesn’t actually rely on trying to answer the question whether or not we control our destiny or if we are manipulated by outside forces, the true success of the film relies on the chemistry between Damon and Blunt. The two of them are great together, and the film worked better for me at this romantic level than it did with all the science fiction. I absolutely recommend this movie.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

My Review: The Hurt Locker (10/10)

¨There's enough bang in there to blow us all to Jesus. If I'm gonna die, I want to die comfortable.¨

The Hurt Locker grabs your attention from the very opening scene. It is thrilling and full of excitement. Director Kathryn Bigelow (James Cameron´s ex wife who directed Point Break, the cult classic film for surfers around the world) does an excellent job of putting the viewer right in the middle of the Iraq war. Kathryn doesn´t waste time at introducing the characters, it just puts us right in the middle of a tense situation in where a bomb squad is trying to disarm an explosive device in the middle of an Iraqi street. The tension is felt from that very opening scene and doesn`t stop during the two hours the film lasts. This is without a doubt one of the best movies of the year and recently won best picture at the Critics Awards. This was one of my favorite films of the year along with Inglorious Basterds and Kathryn Bigelow is just as well as deserving as Tarantino for the best director award because she does an excellent job with this war movie. She will have a lot of competition however from her ex-husband Cameron who just made the biggest box office hit of the year with Avatar. I think Bigelow is much more deserving however because she took a genre that has been overused and made an excellent thriller out of it. I know most audiences are tired of watching movies about the Iraq war, but trust me The Hurt Locker is worth your time and will grab your attention from the first minute. I think it is the best war movie made in recent years and I really loved the ending which connects perfectly with the opening quotes the movie presents.

The film is set in Iraq and we are introduced to the action immediately where an American Army Bomb squad is trying to deactivate an explosive device in the middle of a populated Iraqi street. The squad is formed by Sgt. Matt Thompson (played by Guy Pierce from Memento) who has the very difficult task of trying to deactivate the bomb, Sgt. JT Sanborn (played by Anthony Mackie) who is Thompson`s eyes in the mission and is in charge of protecting him from the very hostile environment, and Spc. Owen Eldridge (played by Brian Geraghty) who assists both Sanborn and Thompson in the mission. The team first sends a robotic box to try to disarm the bomb, but things go wrong so Thompson has to go in himself. Thompson isn`t able to disable the bomb in time and it explodes taking his life in the process. The team is devastated by the loss, especially Owen who has to see a shrink, but in war there is no time to lose and they have to continue with their mission. They are introduced to the new replacement, Sgt. William James (played by Jeremy Renner from S.W.A.T.) who proves to be nothing like Thompson. In the team`s first assignment he acts recklessly and disables a bomb with a fearless attitude and wastes no time in listening to his teammates. He has an alternative approach and the team will just have to adapt to his new methods. Jeremy Renner gives a terrific performance and one of my favorite of the year. The success of the movie coincides with his performance and the character he personifies. Ralph Fiennes has a small role in the movie along with David Morse and Evangeline Lilly (from the Lost series), but the less known actors are the ones who have more screen time and they all give great performances.

The success of this movie relies on several factors: Kathryn Bigelow`s direction that allowed her to make a great film out of an overused genre, Renner`s cool performance which allowed the audience to identify and care for the character he created and experience how war had become an addiction for him, and Mark Boal`s original screenplay (he had only written one other movie in the past, In The Valley of Elah) which allowed for some good dialogues. These three elements combined perfectly together to make this one of the best films of the year. Another positive aspect about The Hurt Locker is that it combined several different filming techniques allowing for some documentary style shots at times which gave it a more realistic feeling. I`m a sucker for films that have a good ending and I absolutely loved the ending in this movie which tied nicely to the opening quote of the movie which stated: ¨The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.¨ We find this to be true for Renner`s character after the final conversation he has with his baby. The Hurt Locker is also one of my favorite war movies so I highly recommend this film to all. I guarantee you that it will have you at the edge of your seat during the entire two hours. It is an excellent and near perfect thriller.