Showing posts with label Anthony Mackie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Anthony Mackie. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The Adjustment Bureau




The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, and Anthony Mackie
Directed by: George Nolfi
Based on the Short Story "The Adjustment Team" by Philip K. Dick
SC= 5 V= 4 C=5
Grade: A

This was an enjoyable movie. Let's face it: any with Matt Damon in it is going to be. He's a great actor. I didn't like this one as much as the Bourne movies (really though...what action movie IS as good as the Bourne movies???) but I thought it was pretty good. I really liked Emily Blunt in this too. The only other movie I've seen her in (besides The Devil Wears Prada, which I have only seen half of) was Gulliver's Travels and she was infinitely more serious in this movie. (Which makes sense...) Anyway, this is about David Norris (Damon), a politician running for Senate. One day, before a big speech, he meets a dancer named Elise (Blunt) and falls for her. In this movie, our fate is arranged by "people" called The Adjustment Bureau. They make sure each person ends up with the "right" person. We have no say at all. So, when David meets Elise, she is supposed to inspire him to give a great speech after he loses that will make him even more popular with voters. But his "agent", who is supposed to make sure David and Elise never meet again, falls asleep and David makes it to the bus on time. On the bus, he sees Elise and he gets her phone number. They end up meeting several more times over the next couple of years, every time an agent jumping in to end it. Eventually, David meets the Adjustment Bureau. One agent, Harry Mitchell (Mackie), is tired of doing the "job" so he decides to help David be together with Elise - just like he was supposed to be in another version of reality.



Sunday, April 10, 2011

The Hurt Locker




The Hurt Locker (2008)
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Tagline: You don't have to be a hero to do this job. But it helps.
Grade: A++

Every Iraq war movie I've ever seen is very liberal, saying how we shouldn't be in this war...blah blah blah. But this one is very different. It focuses on the soldiers in the war, instead of the war itself. It focuses on a bomb disposal unit, one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. When a new sergeant, James (Renner), takes over one of these units, he surprises the other two men in the unit. While he is extremly skilled in disposing of the bombs, he puts their lives in danger with his recklessness every day. While he is dedicated to protecting them, he lives as if he will not die. This puts everyone under his command in danger.