Hanna

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Plot: Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) is a sixteen year old who was raised entirely in a northern forest by her father (Eric Bana). Her father taught her four languages, an encyclopedia of knowledge, and fighting skills. Her father gives her a mission to kill Marissa (Cate Blanchett), who is a CIA spy -- perhaps a rogue spy -- we don't know. When the CIA find her, they lock her up in Morocco, but she kills some people and escapes.

Review:  Hanna the character was mysterious and engaging. Hanna the movie has some outstanding images and artfully staged scenes. The chase scenes are really fun -- they are all on foot and with a Chemical Brother's soundtrack .

The movies best scenes are at the beginning in the woods, and the early scenes when she is escaping. There are a lot of scenes of Hanna running, which gives the movie a sense of motion. The later scenes with the adult actors are not engaging. There is a high body count in the later scenes -- almost like video game killing. 


Hanna meets a girl her age, Sophie (Jessica Barden), who helps Hanna adjust to the world, and gets her a date. The kissing scene with the boy is priceless. The pillow talk scene is also tops.


Ronan and Blanchett's acting was servicable. Bana was empty and dull. Barden stole her scenes. 


The big gapping weakness is the ending, which Hanna simply doesn't have. None of the story lines are resolved. When the ending credits roll, I felt like " Wow a great ride, Why did it end now?"

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett

Directed by: Joe Wright

Rating: 3.0 stars; Would have been 3.5 but there was no ending.

More: "I just missed your heart."

Even More: The forest scenes were in Finland where it was as cold as - 33C/-28F.

Yet More: The Brother's Grimm Amusement Park Scenes are from Spreepark, near Berlin.

Still More:  See this interesting speculation on a re-write that is more true to the fairy tale theme.

Source Code

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Plot: Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) is sent back in time to a bombing incident on a train so he can catch the terrorist. He does not catch the terrorist first try, and he has to do it over and over Groundhog Day style. Eventually we learn that he is working on a military research project. His contact at headquarters is Captain Collen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga,) and most of the dialog is between them over a grainy TV.


On the doomed train, Colter eventually meets the passengers including cuty Christina (Michelle Monaghan) whom he gradually falls for.

Review: Source Code's real strength are the three main actors, Gyllenhaal, Farmiga and Monaghan. Gyllenhaal plays with intensity and a range of emotion unlike many action stars. I loved the awkwardness that Farmiga shows as she explains to Colter what he needs to do; good enough for an Oscar nomination. Monaghan is very likable and does good facial acting. 


The repeated scenes are not boringly repetitive unlike similar movies, and director Jones compresses the trips back to keep the story moving. 


At the end the movie engages the question whether Colter has any rights  -- like the movie RoboCop, the song Iron Man, or countless Star Trek Next Generation episodes. 


The movie was enjoyable but not super-fun to watch. It was easy to relate to the peril Coulter was in.

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Vera Farmiga, Michelle Monaghan

Directed by: Duncan Jones

Rating: 3.0 stars; probably only deserves 2.5, but why not?

More: Nice shots of Chicago

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The Tourist

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Plot:  A woman who is apparently married to a criminal fugitive is told to hook up with a tourist on a train to distract police and other criminals from the husband. The movie follows the tourist and the woman as they run from gangsters and MI-6.

Review: The Tourist is highly stylized and and Angelina spends a lot of time posing. It is as much a spoof of spy movies as it is a romantic comedy where the tourist and glamourous girl gradually fall in love. Johny Depp is engaging, although he is too grubby. Angelina could spend less time posing, and more time being likable.

This movie is just for fun.

Cast: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt

Directed by: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Rating: 2.5 stars; decent entertainment; not high cinema. I saw it on a plane, and it was decent enough.

More: The ending was fun, but it does not fit with the action from the beginning of the movie.

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Paul

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Plot:  Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost) are UFO enthusiasts, and while they are touring the USA, and they meet an space alien named Paul (computer animated and voiced by Seth Rogen.) They are chased by three federal agents through small towns and farm houses.

Review: Paul starts out strong. Graeme and Clive are at ComicCon with some interesting banter and amusing jokes. Next we meet Paul, who he speaks in an over-written stoner patter, and he takes them on a road trip. 


The movie soars as Graeme gets used to the idea having an alien with them, and Paul does harmless pranks. 


They meet bible-believing fundamentalists Ruth (Kristen Wiig) and Moses (John Carroll Lynch) and this sequence has the best dialog and jokes of the movie as Ruth integrates an alien into her world view. 


Sadly the movie goes down here from there with low rent car chases, simple-minded sit-com setups, and a dull, sleepy ending.  The character of Paul was good initially, but I got tired of him. Paul was ultimately unlikable and I wished he'd hurry up and go away. The end credits were better than the ending scene. 


Cast: Simon Pegg, Steve Forest, Kristen Wiig, Seth Rogan (voice only)

Directed by: Greg Mottola

Rating: 2.0 stars; Early the movie was flirting with three stars, but it nose-dives and overall I wish I had seen something else.

More:  A highlight was all the references to old science-fiction films. I saw lots of them.

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Limitless

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Plot:  Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) gets a bag of pills from a friend that unlocks his inner potential, and he become widely successful instantly. He gets a job with tycoon Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro), and gets back his old girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish.) Sadly the pill has some side effects, and other pill-using people are desperate to get more for themselves.

Review: I like the premise of Limitless, and I'm surprised mental performance drugs arn't more popular.  This drug isn't very realistic, but maybe a drug like this will day be available. 


I like how the down-and-out Eddie became successful, and then how the implications of his success worked their way through his life. 


Bradley Cooper gave a good subtle performance, and the dialog was strong too. The directing was creative. I liked the use of duplicate characters and telescoping camera views to tell the story. The opening telescoping camera sequence is one of the best opening credits I've seen in years. The directing and quick pace made the movie more fun. 


I like De Niro, but his character did not make much sense. He does give some good speeches though.  Gennady the thug does not make sense either. The bad guys seem just too powerful.  


This movie was fun to watch, and although Limitless is just for fun with no deep meaning -- that is OK. 

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro and Abbie Cornish

Directed by:  Neil Burger, based on the novel Alan Glynn

Rating: 3.0 stars

More: The story is very much like Flowers for Algernon.

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Battle: Los Angeles

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Plot:  Evil space aliens have come to earth with their army, and they are taking over Los Angeles, and other cities, but this movie focuses on one LA-based platoon of Marines and their struggle against the alien invader. Sargent Michael Nantz (Aaron Eckhart) with his platoon rescues some civilians, and then takes them to safety, which turns out to be hard because of the advancing aliens. Once the civilians are safe, Nantz turns his attention to defeating the aliens -- rather like Independence Day, the movie from 1996.

Review: First the good parts, the special effects were pretty good -- way better than Independence Day. Second, the individual soldiers had names and back stories which I liked, but once the battle started the soldiers blurred together -- except for Lieutenant Martenez  (Ramon Rodriguez) who is a stereotyped green, wimpy officier that manly Sargent Nantz had to inspire. Third, it is nice to see American soldiers  defending America, and finally there is a nice feel-good ending. 


The bad parts include the dull middle which seemed like endless rifle battles with nearly indestructible alien soldiers. There was an unendurable scene where Sargent Nantz proved his devotion to his men by reciting their serial numbers from memory while standing nose-to-nose with some poor Marine -- it just went on forever. I actually closed my eyes to get some rest while I waited for it to end. Aaron Eckhart looks like a soldier, but his performance was not good enough to carry the movie. His part was written for classical 'John Wayne' tough guy, and is not a contemporary hero.  Finally and most importantly this movie was not fun-to-watch; I can forgive a lot if a film is enjoyable. This movie was dreary. 


The real message of Battle: LA is how tough Americans can be when challenged. 

Cast:  Aaron Eckhart 

Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman

Rating: 2.0 stars (maybe less) My wife liked it alot; she even clapped at the end. 

More: The invasion occurs in April, but the announcer says Pacific Standard Time -- actually it would be daylight time. 

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The Adjustment Bureau

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Plot: Congressman David Norris (Matt Damon) is running for Senate, but he loses. Before he gives his concession speech he meets Elise (Emily Blunt) and they have an immediate cosmic connection -- then he gives a memorable and inspirational speech that canupults him into office the next time. Soon David sees his associates having their memories erased by mysterious men like from Men in Black. Next David mets Harry (Anthony Mackie) and the rest of the Adjustment Bureau, and they tell him to follow the preordained plan -- forget Elise, and stick to politics. David and Elise can't do that, and they fight to save their love against the considerable supernatural powers of the Adjustment Bureau.

Review: This is a clever story about lovers fighting against fate to stay together, and the hand of fate is wielded by guys in suits and hats. Matt Damon is wonderfully likeable, and the 1:1 scenes between Damon and Emily Blunt are emotional and interesting. There was not much dialog between them, and much was about Action Movie dialog about staying ahead of the bad guys. The bad guys are mysterious and powerful, especially as we learn more about the yet more mysterious Chairman.

There are dozens of cameos by newspeople and politicians, which was fun and added realism, but was also distracting. There were great images of New York City throughout -- enough that the producers should be getting paid by the NYC tourist bureau.

The sound track is strong -- I bought three songs when I got home. 


The film takes on the big issue of predestination and freewill. Clearly the world of the movie has very limited freewill, and supernatural beings push the world back into plan when it strays. This is interesting in itself, but I am not sure that is being presented as a serious model of how the world really works -- just as the basis for a story. The movie really is about following your heart and doing the right thing.

Cast: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt

Written (screen play) and directed by: George Nolfi; Based on the short story by the great Phillip K Dick.

Rating: 3.0 stars; strong performances, good story, enjoyable, but not super fun-to-watch. Good engagement of serious issues.

More: At the end Harry tells us to fight for the sake of free will, and that sounds like good advice -- but I am not sure what that means. I think he means follow your heart.

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