"The Adjustment Bureau" Has Slightly Christian Take on Philip K. Dick

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 67 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexuality and a violent image
DIRECTOR: George Nolfi
WRITER: George Nolfi (based upon the short story, “Adjustment Team” by Philip K. Dick)
PRODUCERS: Bill Carraro, Michael Hackett, Chris Moore, and George Nolfi
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Toll
EDITOR: Jay Rabinowitz
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman

FANTASY/SCI-FI/DRAMA/ROMANCE/THRILLER

Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Terrence Stamp, Michael Kelly, and Anthony Ruivivar

The Adjustment Bureau is a 2011 fantasy drama and romantic thriller starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. The film is based upon “Adjustment Team,” a short story by Philip K. Dick first published in 1954 (in Orbit Science Fiction magazine). The film tells the story of a romance between a politician and a ballerina imperiled by a group of men determined to keep them apart.

David Norris (Matt Damon) is a rising political star who hits a bump on his road to glory, but this disappointment causes him to meet, Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt), a contemporary ballet dancer. Entranced by her, David is sure that he and Elise were meant to be together. It is then that he meets a group of mysterious men in hats conspiring to keep them apart.

The men work for The Adjustment Bureau, and these agents of Fate want David to quit Elise and accept a predetermined path they have set for him. They are going to do everything in their considerable powers to stop David and Elise from being together. But David is willing to risk everything to be with Elise, and an unusual member of The Adjustment Bureau named Harry Mitchell (Anthony Mackie) may be the only one who can help David determine his own fate.

The Adjustment Bureau has some interesting ideas, being part metaphysical science fiction with religious themes throughout. Philip K. Dick’s original story was a parable about how defenseless and helpless man is when he goes up against the “Grand Design” or fate. The Adjustment Bureau takes that idea and gives it a somewhat Christian spin and pits that age-old battle of man’s free will against the grand design of God, called “The Chairman” in this movie.

For all its philosophical ambitions, The Adjustment Bureau is a film that seems to be going through the motions for much of the movie. The film doesn’t spring to life until the last half hour when the central conflict stops being philosophical and theoretical and becomes actual conflict. In fact, it is that last half hour that takes this film from average to good.

The Adjustment Bureau has a talented cast. Matt Damon and Emily Blunt not only deliver solid performances, but they also actually have good chemistry and are a convincing screen couple. Anthony Mackie gives a layered, thoughtful performance as Harry Mitchell; whenever he is onscreen, The Adjustment Bureau is at its best.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

Spielberg Tries Visionary Take on Philip K. Dick's "Minority Report"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 24 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Minority Report (2002)
Running time: 145 minutes (2 hours, 25 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violence, brief language, some sexuality and drug content
DIRECTOR: Steven Spielberg
WRITERS: Scott Frank and Jon Cohen (based upon a short story by Philip K. Dick)
PRODUCERS: Jan De Bont, Bonnie Curtis, Gerald R. Molen, and Walter F. Parkes
CINEMAPHOTOGRAPHER: Janusz Kaminski
EDITOR: Michael Kahn
COMPOSER: John Williams
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/ACTION/MYSTERY/THRILLER with elements of drama

Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow, Lois Smith, Peter Stormare, Tim Blake Nelson, and Anna Marie Horsford

When I saw director Steven Spielberg’s film, Minority Report, I realized that I was seeing a work by the man who directed Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Raiders of the Lost Ark when he was younger. This film is fun, inventive, and quite exciting, just like the aforementioned. This isn’t the work of the oh-so-serious director of such allegedly adult fare as Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, important films by a grown up director. In fact, Minority Report maintains it exuberance, unlike the fantastic A.I. Artificial Intelligence, which loses steam at the end.

In the year 2050, a Pre-Crime Unit arrests people for murders they will commit, but haven’t yet done so. “Precogs,” humans with the ability to see into the future predict the crime and through a series of high tech machines show it to officers in the Pre-Crime Unit. The officers sweep in and arrest the would-be murderer before he murders. One day, the precogs see a murder committed by the unit’s best officer, John Anderton (Tom Cruise). Determined to prove his innocence, John has to avoid the clutches of his comrades in arms and an ambitious federal agent (Colin Farrell) who are determined to bring him in before he murders his intended victim, a man Anderton doesn’t even know exists.

Visually, Minority Report gives you an eyeful of gadgets and future tech, and a view of a future world. At times, it’s a bit jumbled; some of the ideas about the future seem dead on – rampant, out of control, targeted advertising and public monitoring of civilians; other ideas seem a bit much – the highway system for one. However, when Spielberg puts it all together it makes for a delightful futuristic gumbo of action, thriller, and crime drama.

The script is very good. It’s an engaging story, one of those professional jobs that tie everything together because most of the major film players are related by their fictional pasts. It makes for a good murder mystery, and the execution keeps the mind humming. Although the visuals are sometimes over the top, the story is quite subtle in delivering its philosophical and social viewpoints. It’s smart eye candy.

Watching this film, I get the idea that Spielberg is absorbing some of famed director Stanley Kubrick’s style. The film occasionally has Kubrick’s cool intellectual detachment, which Spielberg showed in A.I., but Spielberg remains true to himself. He knows how to manipulate an audience. He can still control your emotions and keep the heart pumping and the mind attentive. That’s good because it means he still has the magician’s touch he’ll need for the next Indy movie.

I certainly enjoyed Minority Report. It’s an excellent science fiction film, the kind that relates not only to a probably future, but also to how humans might live in that future. And like the best sci-fi, this film makes a subtle connection to our present lives. This is good work, the most thoughtful SF since The Matrix.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2003 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Sound Editing” (Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom)

2003 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects” (Scott Farrar, Michael Lantieri, Nathan McGuinness, and Henry LaBounta)

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"Mars Needs Moms" Arrives on DVD August 9th

MARS NEEDS MOMS: This Fall, families will not want to miss the chance to own MARS NEEDS MOMS, the story of a young boy‘s intergalactic adventure to find his Martian-nabbed mother as it arrives into living rooms across the country in a Blu-ray™ Combo Pack with 3D, DVD, Movie Download and On-Demand August 9, 2011. From Disney and Academy Award®-winner Robert Zemeckis (Best Director, Forrest Gump, 1994), comes the craziest adventure in the galaxy— complete with out-of this world special effects and jam packed with bonus features, it‘s a thrilling journey that‘s pure fun.

Uniquely packaged with families top of mind, MARS NEEDS MOMS will be available for purchase as a 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray 3D™ + Blu-ray 2D + DVD + Digital Copy) for the suggested retail price of $49.99 US/ $56.99 Canada; a 2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray 2D + DVD) for $39.99 US/ $46.99 Canada; a 1-Disc DVD for $29.99 US/ $35.99 Canada; a High Definition Movie Download for the suggested retail price of $39.99 U.S./45.99 Canada; a Standard Definition Movie Download for the suggested retail price of $29.99 U.S./$35.99 Canada; and/or On-Demand (for additional information and pricing, please contact your television provider or favorite digital retailer. Bonus features are not offered with On-Demand).

The Disney Blu-ray Combo Packs provide families with an enhanced entertainment experience – offering the flexibility to enjoy the film at home, in the car and on portable devices, in several platforms of choice (i.e., Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray 2D, DVD + Digital Copy) and comes packaged complete with never-before-scene bonus features, including deleted scenes, a special featurette and more. To learn more, fans are invited to visit www.disney.com/marsneedsmoms.

MARS NEEDS MOMS is brought to life by the performances of Seth Green (TV‘s "Family Guy") as Milo, Joan Cusack (Toy Story 2 & 3) as Milo‘s Mom, Dan Fogler (Kung Fu Panda, Robot Chicken) as Gribble and Elizabeth Harnois (A Single Man, TV‘s "90210") as Ki and is directed by Simon Wells (The Time Machine, The Prince of Egypt) and produced by Robert Zemeckis (Disney‘s A Christmas Carol, Forrest Gump).

Review: Star and Director Go Strong in "Monster" (Happy B'day, Charlize Theron)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 89 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Monster (2003)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and sexual content, and for pervasive language
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Patty Jenkins
PRODUCERS: Mark Damon, Donald Kushner, Clark Peterson, Charlize Theron, and Brad Wyman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Steven Bernstein (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Arthur Coburn and Jane Kurson
COMPOSER: BT
Academy Award winner

DRAMA/ROMANCE/CRIME with elements of a thriller

Starring: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Lee Tergesen, Annie Corley, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Brett Rice, Kaitlin Riley, Cree Ivey, and Rus Blackwell

Charlize Theron won the “Best Actress in a Leading Role” Oscar® for her performance in the film, Monster. Directed by indie filmmaker Petty Jenkins, Monster is a biopic about Aileen Carol Wuornos (Charlize Theron), a highway prostitute whom the state of Florida executed in 2002 for murdering several men.

An abused child who had become a prostitute and pregnant by the time she was 13, Wuornos left her home in Michigan and moved to Florida where she continued to hook, servicing mainly truck drivers. After being beaten and raped by a client, she goes on a killing spree, killing any “John” she believed would rape her. The film focuses on the nine-month period from 1989 to 1990 when Aileen began murdering her clientele and also began a disturbing and peculiar romance with a woman named Shelby (Christina Ricci), a closet lesbian from a strict, religious family.

The film is brutal and unflinching, and ultimately hard to watch. It has very little entertainment value, similar to a film like Nil by Mouth, but not as bad as Oprah Winfrey’s Beloved. It’s great filmmaking, but ultimately “too real.” Tragic stories are fine, but such tales, that are too much like an exact copy of something from everyday life, are unpleasing. In the end, that’s what keeps Monster from being one of those “best ever” films.

One reason to definitely not miss this film is Ms. Theron’s virtuoso performance as Aileen. It’s one of the best film performances I’ve ever seen; in fact, I’d have to go back to Meryl Streep in Sophie’s Choice to find something so complex, so layered, so deep. Ms. Theron literally becomes someone else, totally alien to her public persona and prior performances. As good as Ms. Ricci is, Ms. Theron (an actress in whom I had very little interest) is a supernova, and though Monster isn’t one of the greatest, her performance is.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Charlize Theron)

2005 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role” (Charlize Theron)

2004 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Charlize Theron)

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Negromancer News Bits and Bites August 6 2011 - Catwoman and R.I.P. Bubba Smith

News and notes:

First, I must note the recent passing of Charles Aaron Smith, better known as Bubba Smith, the NFL defensive linesman and prolific actor.  Smith played 9 seasons in the NFL and was on the Baltimore Colts team that won Super Bowl V (over the Dallas Cowboys), but lost Super Bowl III (to Joe Namath and the New York Jets).  As an actor, Smith is best known for Moses Hightower, the tall floriest turned cop in the Police Academy films.  The New York Times has a nice obituary of Smith.  Rest in peace, Bubba Smith.

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My! We certainly are confident.  Entertainment Weekly informs us that Sony Pictures has scheduled "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" for May 2, 2014.  Yes, that would be the sequel to the Spider-Man film franchise reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, which won't hit theatres until May 2012.

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According to TV Line, ABC will soon announce that the 2011-12 season will be the final for Desperate Housewives.

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Total Film says Jesse Eisenberg will take on the lead and dual role in the film, "The Double," for hot director Richard Ayoade (Submarine).

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THE DARK KNIGHT RISES HOT STUFF:

Total Film has the official first picture of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman.

But Slash Film ain't playing that!  They have spy photos of Catwoman from the film's set.

Henry Cavill as Superman Revealed

“Man of Steel” Revealed

Much-Anticipated First Look at Star Henry Cavill as Superman

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures have provided the first look at the new “Man of Steel,” revealing star Henry Cavill as Superman in the film from director Zack Snyder.

The film also stars three-time Oscar® nominee Amy Adams (“The Fighter”) as Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane, and Oscar® nominee Laurence Fishburne (“What’s Love Got to Do with It”) as her editor-in-chief, Perry White. Starring as Clark Kent’s adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent, are Oscar® nominee Diane Lane (“Unfaithful”) and Academy Award® winner Kevin Costner (“Dances with Wolves”).

Squaring off against the superhero are two other surviving Kryptonians, the villainous General Zod, played by Oscar® nominee Michael Shannon (“Revolutionary Road”), and Faora, Zod’s evil partner, played by Antje Traue. Also from Superman’s native Krypton are Lara Lor-Van, Superman’s mother, played by Julia Ormond, and Superman’s father, Jor-El, portrayed by Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”).

Rounding out the cast are Harry Lennix as U.S. military man General Swanwick, as well as Christopher Meloni as Colonel Hardy.

“Man of Steel” is being produced by Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan and Deborah Snyder. The screenplay was written by David S. Goyer, from a story by Goyer and Nolan, based upon Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. Thomas Tull and Lloyd Phillips are serving as executive producers.

Currently in production, “Man of Steel” is slated for release on June 14, 2013 and will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

"Ice Age 4" Cast Members Revealed

Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios Announce ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT Casting

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios today announced the voice cast for ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT, the fourth entry in Blue Sky’s blockbuster franchise, which has grossed over $4 billion in all media.

RAY ROMANO is back as Manny, the woolly mammoth and the herd’s “Big Daddy”; QUEEN LATIFAH returns as Ellie -- Manny’s significant other; DENIS LEARY rejoins the herd as the saber-toothed tiger Diego; JOHN LEGUIZAMO is at it again as the terminally goofy sloth, Sid; and SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT and JOSH PECK reprise possums Crash & Eddie.

Joining the ever-growing Ice Age family for Continental Drift is a stellar lineup, including JEREMY RENNER, an Academy Award nominee for The Hurt Locker and The Town (and whose upcoming films include Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and The Bourne Legacy), who portrays Gutt, a self-styled master of the high seas who’s determined to make Manny, Sid and Diego part of his crew; WANDA SYKES as Sid’s stowaway Granny, who causes all sorts of problems for our heroes; AZIZ ANSARI as Squint, a prehistoric rabbit who fancies himself a tough guy; actress-pop music star KEKE PALMER as Peaches, Manny and Ellie’s headstrong teenage daughter; hip hop sensation DRAKE as Ethan, a handsome young woolly mammoth who has his eye on Peaches – and JENNIFER LOPEZ as Shira, a sabre-toothed tigress who melts Diego’s heart.

Also taking on starring roles are HEATHER MORRIS, JOY BEHAR, NICKI MINAJ, JOSH GAD, ALAN TUDYK, NICK FROST, KUNAL NAYYAR, ALAIN CHABAT and JB SMOOVE.

Also returning is Scrat (again voiced by CHRIS WEDGE), who in the first Ice Age emerged as a movie icon. In ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT, Scrat’s nutty pursuit of the cursed acorn, which he’s been after since the dawn of time, has world-changing consequences -- a continental cataclysm that triggers the greatest adventure of all for Manny, Diego and Sid. In the wake of these earth-shattering upheavals, Sid reunites with his long lost family, and the gang encounters a ragtag menagerie of colorful new characters determined to stop them from returning home.

ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT is directed by Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier, and produced by Lori Forte and John Donkin.

Twentieth Century Fox releases the animated comedy event, in 3D, on July 13, 2012.


About Fox Filmed Entertainment
One of the world’s largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.