Now Playing Review – The Adjustment Bureau

With the success of a film like Inception last year that perfectly blends action and a thinking man’s story, it isn’t hard to fathom that many more films will attempt to beat this same path.  At least a girl can dream.  Though it is by no means as high concept, The Adjustment Bureau is yet another step in this direction that will further inspire more films like this to come.  Or at least inspire people to bring back the fedora.  It could go either way…

Keeping that in mind, The Adjustment Bureau is definitely a film in which the less you know going in the better.  So here’s to keeping it vague: The story follows David Norris, a young politician running for senator.  Along the way he meets Elise Sellas and the sparks fly instantly.  However, even an instant and deep connection such as this can be tested by forces much greater.  Vague enough?  Good. [Read more...]

Review: Valkyrie

Tom Cruise and Bryan Singer team up for a solid suspense thriller that surrounds the conspiring, attempt, and fallout of the final assassination attempt on Adolph Hitler during WWII.
Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) is a member of the Nazi army and after his stint in North Africa, in late 1944 Stauffenberg becomes more concerned about his soldiers lives then the mission of the Nazi party. He also quickly finds that he is not alone and that there is a bit of a underground resistance building in an attempt to try and figure out how they can help Germany to save face as well as they can after this the war. To do this, they plot to assassinate Hitler and the scheming and the attempts to recruit, stay secret, and hopefully finally succeed after their last failed attempt is what this film focuses on. Stauffenberg enters the resistance’s ranks as a recruiter of sorts but quickly ascends the ranks as his dedication is proven to be to the end. Stauffenberg lost his eye, two fingers, and a hand in Africa and is risking himself and his families lives by betraying Hitler and to some the country. [Read more...]

Review: Yes Man

Jim Carrey’s latest isn’t a wholly original piece of work, but it is funny, with a joke never really falling flat for this viewer.
Carrey plays a Carl, loan approver at bank and has no sign of upward mobility in his job, Carl avoids his friends, and says ‘no’ to just about everything. Enter a chance occurrence with a friend from his past who he finds is living life to its fullest. How you might ask, by simply saying yes to anything and everything. Carrey decides to attend the friends recommended seminar and we are introduced to the mastermind of the yes man program. He gets after Carrey a bit and gets him to agree to give the program a try. Carrey is quickly given a crash course in the program when a homeless man outside the convention center begins asking him for a ludicrous list of requests. Though, this little mis-adventure also happens to introduce him to Zooey Dechanel’s [Read more...]

Review: Wanted

Timur Bekmambetov brings Mark Millar’s graphic novel to life in a visually stunning and entertaining film that comes off a bit rushed and short changed on material.
Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) is going no where in life. His girlfriend is cheating on him with his best friend, he hates his job, and he hates his boss all while having no direction for the future at all. This is in contrast to a member of the Brotherhood, one of which is his father who we see killed after leaping out a window taking out a number of would be assassins as he jumps out one building to another (he makes the jump, it’s a bullet that gets him). Wesley is quickly finds a brash change in his life when he is approached by Fox (Angelina Jolie) who is both recruiting him to the brotherhood as well as protecting him from his fathers assassin Cross (Thomas Kretschmann). The two go on a whirlwind chase around Chicago as they are chased by Cross performing super unrealistic, but stylish, moves in Fox’s corvette all while Wesley is nearly shitting himself. Upon escape, Wesley is introduced to Sloan (Morgan Freeman), the leader of the Brotherhood, who says Wesley has inherited all of his father’s assets and is destined to be a hit man of the Brotherhood. Upon Wesley’s release he awakes as if from a dream but quickly realizes his reality and begins down a path to a life he never thought he had. [Read more...]

Review: Get Smart

Steve Carell stars as Maxwell Smart in this classic TV show adaptation that falls fairly flat unless a joke or gag involves the lead character.
Maxwell Smart is an analyst for the secret government organization, Control, which monitors and international activity, especially that of Chaos, which has plans for world domination. Max finally has a high enough score to make field agent after his 8th try, but the Chief (Alan Arkin) needs him to stay an analyst; as he is the best. Circumstances change after Chaos breaches Control, which they don’t show at all oddly, and all of the agents are compromised, moving Max into the role of agent. [Read more...]