Battle: Los Angeles

If the world were to be invaded today, would we be ready? Of course not. Could we learn, adapt and defeat? Of course we could, we're human. And in this movie, we see our strongest breed of human, the marine. We follow this platoon as they rescue a group of civilians trapped in a police station, and how they played their part in resisting an alien invasion.

Story:

In the beginning, we see the point of view of each marine in the story. A story we can each relate to, someone whose lost a loved one, a soon-to-be father, one psychologically being cleared into the field, the rookie, and the one who was close to retirement. When they're all called to report in, they see a newscast on the television. Eight meteors are each landing outside eight major cities, including Los Angeles.

Later, the marines are told that these are not meteors, that objects are slowing down. They're told to prepare for a combat situation. As the meeting breaks up, they again watch the news about the meteors on the television. A reporter is on the scene at the beach where one of the meteors falls into the ocean. After the waves calm, they see hundreds of dark figures walking towards the people on the beach. When people begin to run, shots and explosives are fired upon the beach as they are running away.

The platoon arrives at their base of operations. They're told that their holding a defense line along Santa Monica, and in three hours bombs are to be fired to level the area. They're given an assignment to find and rescue some civilians at a police station who had called for help.

They are to find and secure the civilians, and get out of the blast radius. But the new visitors don't make it so easy...

Review:

This movie would be more correctly defined as a military movie more than an alien movie. An alien movie what was I was expecting and hoping for, but it was still good. The entire point of view was through this marine platoon. I can't remember the last time, if ever, it took that point-of-view in an monster/alien catastrophe film. We've seen the generals, the president ones yes, but not the ones where it's the guy who's told to point and shoot, and they don't know as much as their leaders do.

Anyway, what made this movie special was how close to home the themes were about this group of soldiers. It reminds us how we still have men and women dying out there protecting our freedom, and that they will always do it, be it terrorists or aliens.

Now the aliens were dealt into the movie perfectly. They were very mysterious at the beginning. The first encounters with them, it's very difficult to get a good look at them. Because of that, it's easy to understand how the marine's feel when they are first fighting them. It's not until they finally find one barely alive, where that fear and uncertainty disappears. In order to find out how to kill these things, they literally tear one apart to figure how to kill it. When that's understood, you feel as the marines do. You know what it looks like, how to kill it, and so there's no need to be scared of it. Well, as scared of it.

Needless to say, there is lots o' alien gore in the movie. No human though, save a few acid burns and bullet wounds.

Cast:

No one really stands out in this movie. It's not centralized on one character, but everyone at once. The most recognized people would be Aaron Eckhart, Bridget Monyahan, Michelle Rodriguez and Ne-Yo.



I enjoyed it. Just be prepared for lots and lots of military talk.

The Adjustment Bureau

Ever wonder if you ever truly had free will? What if someone was actually had the power to make you reason towards a certain decision? What if they had the power to change your life? Those are the kind of things that go on in this movie. Another movie where you begin to question reality. Like how "The Matrix" or "Inception" made you wonder if you were actually in a constant dream state. This element is a good one to push to an audience, because they'll never forget it.

Story:

David Norris(Matt Damon) is running for New York Senator. Having been elected into the House of Representatives at the age of 24, he thought he was going to be the winner. Sadly, due to a photo of a college prank the day before the election, his opponent crushes him. David takes a break and goes to the restroom. After calling out to make sure no one was present in the stalls, he begins to rehearse is speech. When he's nearly finished, he hears the sound of keys dropping, and a voice quietly cursing under their breath. When the person finally reveals themselves, David is surprised to see it's a woman! She(Emily Blunt) explains she was hiding from security, because she had been caught crashing a wedding located a floor above. She felt awkward saying anything when he called out, because she was in the men's room after all.  After they talk awhile, they hit it off. They even kiss. By then security was approaching, and she had to split. David never even got her name.

The next morning, we see a group of men in ties and fedoras talking. One of them is Harry Mitchell(Anthony Mackie), and he is instructed to make sure that David Norris is to spill his coffee on his shirt before 7:05 in the morning.

Harry misses his cue, David doesn't spill the coffee on his shirt, and makes it on the bus before 7:05. As David walks down the aisle, he sees his mystery woman sitting by herself.  David is blown away at the coincidence and takes the seat next to her. Again they hit it off, like as if they already know each other. He finally learns her name, Elise.

When they depart, David goes to his new job at the law firm. As he wanders the halls, he fails to see how everyone is frozen. When he approaches the conference room. He sees men in suits and fedoras. He sees men dressed in riot armor, using hi-tech devices and doing something to his friend's head. When he asks them what they are doing, one of the men in the fedoras says, "Grab him."

After a long chase, they restrain him, and open one of the doors of the law office. Except what was behind the door, was not one of the other conference rooms. It's a large warehouse. There's a chair, and they set him down. They explain to him that he saw something that he was not supposed to see. That they were the men who made sure everything goes to plan, that they help every person stay on their destined path. And that his path was to continue what he was doing, but to never see Elise again. They say that he can not tell anyone of what he saw, otherwise they will have permission to wipe his mind clean. Clean of memories, personality, beliefs, everything. His mind would be a blank page.

But since when does a hero stay away from his love?

Review:
I loved this one. Like I said before it goes with the kind of movies like "Inception" and "The Matrix". One of those movies that makes you question reality. Unlike "Inception", the story was much easier to follow. Other than that, there's not really much else to say. It's an original story, you can follow it, it's nothing you've heard of before.

Cast:

There were about four noteworthy people here. Matt Damon played a politician that was very down to earth, and I don't think I would've liked the character as much if it was someone other than Matt Damon.  This was my favorite role of Emily's, but to be fair I haven't too many from her. I think this was the first time I've seen Anthony Mackie, and I really liked him. Terence Stamp is someone I think everyone has seen once, he's been around forever. He played Thompson, one of the more experienced member's of The Adjustment Bureau, and he was my most favorite actor in the movie.


This is a must see. Enough said.

A few upcoming projects from the mind of Steven King.

I've been a fan of Steven King for about... maybe a few years now. I've always loved his stories because of how they're never something you've never heard before, and with a paranormal element thrown in to increase the uncertainty. Since he's been writing these New York Times bestseller's, they've made a few movies here and there. Almost every story he's wrote has made it to the big screen, or the one on your living room television. As I watched these movies, I can't help but think how well they would look these days. Now that computers can keep up with his imagination, I tried to find a few upcoming projects.

Cell:

The story of a comic book artist witnessing everyone around him being fine one minute and then becoming zombie-like beings the next.

It might be a TV movie. Which is disappointing to me because it could make one chaotic Hollywood movie. Loved the book.

Under The Dome:

Everything is fine in this small town in rural Maine. Until from literally out of nowhere a transparent barrier surrounds the border of town. Preventing people from anyone going in, or out.

This one might be a TV series, which sounds like a great idea to me. It took ages for me to finish this book. This is one you could make last at least three years on television.  Throw in J.J. Abrams to make it just that more awesome.


 
Pet Semetery:
A man discovers an ancient graveyard that has the power to bring life back to the dead. When his son dies in a tragic accident, he brings him back. But his son isn't the same boy he was before.

This movie is as old as I am. So when I saw it, I was dissatisfied with the poor element of fear being portrayed in the movie. But with a modern touch, I think I would avoid it entirely.(It's a compliment)





 

The Talisman:
A boy must go to a parallel dimension to recover a talisman to save his dying mother.

This is the one I'm reading now. So I don't have any commentary.







 
The Stand:
When a highly infectious plague kills 99% of the world's population, the survivors must come together to face a great evil.

I loved this one, and I think I heard this was the average fan favorite. They made a TV mini-series in '94, which I'm halfway through finishing. So far I'm not a fan of it, but I think a remake with the new abilities in special effects could tell this story the way it was meant to be told.

Although it would've been nice for them to get the author's blessing...
The interview with Steven King about 'The Stand' remake here

 
The Dark Tower:
Roland Deschain is 'The Gunslinger'. He's pursuing 'the man in black'. He must find him, and the dark tower so that he can save the dying world.


I'm cheating on this one. I'm reading the comic books. Seven books of a series is just too much for me :) But this would be a very, very long string of movies. Like Harry Potter long, but I hear they're going to do it. And this will be a story that is uncommon nowadays, but I believe will be monumental.




Some of these are rumored, but most of them are legit. I would love to see all of them in all their Hollywood glory. Though none of them will be coming out this year... and none of them are finished.

Rango

It's been five and a half years since Johnny Depp has done a voice over in a movie. To me that's unsurprising, he must hate it or something. He's only done a voice one other time for "The Corpse Bride". This was also for a character that is VERY unlike his usual characters. It was this main character that made me had a problem for with the movie.

Story:
Rango. That's actually not his name at the beginning. Why not? I'll tell you. We see him in the first scene, narrating his play. The play takes place in a very sunny, very fake environment. His fellow actors are inanimate objects. The damsel in distress, is a barbie doll torso. The damsel's father is a dead cockroach. The character talks to them like they're actual people. He goes on with this until suddenly his whole environment shakes. You see he's actually in a tank, inside a car. The car swerves to avoid a truck and the tank goes flying out the rear window and shatters on the pavement.

He discovers he's in the middle of the desert, on a long stretch of road. You piece together it's the Mojave desert and the road would have to be I-15.  As he's walking around he hears the weak distant cry of someone calling out to him. It's an old armadillo, who had gotten ran over and needs help getting up. The armadillo tells him that there's a town farther out in the desert.

After a few minor events, he arrives into the town of "Dirt". His first stop is the town saloon. He enters the saloon, and instantly every eye is on him. They watch as he slowly steps to the bar. The bartender ignores him, until he quietly clears his throat. "Um, bartender? Could I have a glass of... water?" The saloon begins to roar with laughter. The town is in a drought. There is no water. One realizes he's not from around there and asks him what his name is. He realizes that he can change who he is, that he can become the man known as, "Rango."

Review:
I hated how pathetic this character was. This was not a typical Johnny Depp character. It was hard to watch. Especially in the opening scene, he's talking to all these inanimate objects. It conveys that he's a lonely guy, but it is sooo awkward. The character also lies throughout the entire movie about who he is. That was the thing that bugged me the most, how PATHETIC he was. The love interest is also a woman whose name is "Beans". This is a kid movie, and you name a character Beans? When I was a kid, I associated beans with farting and eating something I didn't want to eat. Poor choice for a character like her.

I didn't hate it, because I think I had the attitude that I was going to be as positive as I could about it. So when it came around the part when the character feels a change, is when I began to like the movie. That would mean I liked the ending. There were a few funny gags here and there, but this is one I think you could live without seeing.

This is one I saw with the family, so when my dad asked the family how they had liked the movie the answers came out as, "dumb" "weird" and "I didn't like it". That was from the sisters and the mother. I already told you how I felt.

Cast:
One of two animated characters for Johnny Depp, and this character was baaad. Stick to having your face on the screen. I liked Isla Fisher's character Beans, her voiced blended well with the character. If the movie was about her character it would've been better. Abigail Breslin's character Priscilla was around every once in awhile. She was alright. My favorite character was "Rattlesnake Jake", because he was the one with the most, i guess enthusiasm? Bill Nighy was just good at developing a good voice for the character. And the character looked really good, whatever animator modeled him made him look great.

Not the best Nickelodeon picture, though not many have been incredibly popular in the movie world. You can leave this one alone. I would've rather seen "The Adjustment Bureau" or something.

I Am Number Four

This one was a kind of unexpected feel to me. I felt like it was going to be something other than how it was portrayed in the trailer. I thought the movie was, I guess the best word would be, okay. I didn't get sucked into it. There were a lot of elements in the movie that that I think we, as an audience, are too familiar with.

Story:

It begins with a weekend party at the beach. It portrays John(Alex Pettyfer), as a very outgoing socialite. All the guys wanna be his friend, and all the girls simply just want him. After an invitation for a private swim with this girl, John feels a sharp pain in his leg. It intensifies to a burning sensation. When John looks down at his leg, he sees a bright glowing circle on the side of his calf. With the people at the party noticing his strange behavior, he runs off into the night.

The next day, John is awoken by his guardian Henri(Timothy Olyphant). The little show John had given his friends had blown their cover and they had to move. The thing with John is, he's not human. He's an alien being who's homeworld was overtaken by another alien race, the Mogadorians. He was one of nine sent to Earth. It was all their destiny to rise together to defeat the Mogadorians. So what the light show meant, was that another one of the nine had died. The third one. Leaving the next target to be John, number four.

Review:

To be honest I wasn't much of a fan of it. The whole atmosphere of it was high school. It had the high school problems, the stereotype "The jock who is loved by all, but is a complete jerk and treats his girlfriend badly". I've seen that character so much I could die the next time I see it. Enough, please. Speaking of which, I found much of the storyline kind of cheesy. For example, the mogadorians were more cheesy than a 1980's crime boss. It was awful to watch. Not to mention the way they hid their identity's is waaaaaay to suspicious to ignore. Whomever wrote this screenplay must have been cheating off everyone else's papers in film school. You've just seen the examples hundreds of times.

Now that I think of it, most of the storyline of this movie, could be 80 percent consistent with the first season of "Smallville". There was only one event in the movie which I found "real", and that scene I really liked. It'll be the one where he hangs out with the girl in her room, after family dinner.

The thing that irked me the most was the high school feel. It was a really bad setting. The atmosphere was a lot of gags you've seen elsewhere. The jock pickin' a fight, the prank on the nerd, or someone sitting in the principle's office. It was because of that, that I think someone in high school would enjoy the movie more than one who has "been there, done that". 


One suggestion, if you want the full effect from the movie, don't watch the trailer other than the one posted here. It reveals a character whom shouldn't have been revealed until her spot in the movie.  And both trailers show footage that is inaccurate to the movie, and shows footage that didn't occur in the movie.

Cast:

Alex Pettyfer's character was very emotionaless for a being that can love only one person their whole life. So if his acting got in the way of the development of the character, that's a shame.  In my opinion, he should have stuck with modeling.
I don't know if I'm qualified to give an opinion on Timothy Olyphant. Ever since he ruined Agent 47 in "Hitman", he kinda ruined my positive thinking toward him. But there was nothing to 'wow' you here.
Most of you would recognize Dianna Agron as Quinn from "Glee". This was the first time I've seen her in something and I thought she was the only good person in it.
Teresa Palmer's character was brought in really late, I think. It hit some points against the movie for me. And I thought her character was "bleh". I can't say why without ruining the plot.



So basically, I wouldn't recommend it. But if you're going to see it expect the high school drama, the misunderstood alien vibe, and something more cheesy than spray cheese. That's right, I said it. Sue me.