The Adjustment Bureau DVD review

It's Tuesday, and if you're a movie fan like me, you're probably going to head to your local electronic store and pick up a movie or two.  Today, the new release is The Adjustment Bureau, starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, directed by George Nolfi.  The movie is about choosing your own destiny, even as others try to stand in your way.

Matt Damon is an up and coming politician, he meets Emily Blunt's character by chance and it threatens to redirect his future.  The adjustment bureau steps in to keep the two apart to ensure Damon's future is what they want it to be.  It's the battle of free will against destiny.  Let's get right in to the likes and dislikes.

What I liked about the movie:
The Actors

Matt Damon is, and has been considered a great talent in Hollywood for years now.  He is versatile and dynamic, he can do it all.  Emily Blunt is also a respected actor in Hollywood.  I really enjoy her work anytime I see her in something.  The two have a great chemistry together.  As an audience, we can easily see why the two characters are attracted to each other.

There is enough to make the audience believe the two should stick together while eluding the adjustment bureau. 

The Premise
I enjoyed the idea that a bureau of men wanted to change the course of Damon's life.  It was interesting to see how they could bend the rules if you will, to make Damon stay the course they wanted him to.  The premise is one thing, unfortunately, the execution is far off.  I'm not really sure how the movie scored a 70+% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it did.  Let me begin my list of dislikes. 


What I didn't like about the movie:
The Adjustment Bureau staff

They're mobsters?  No wait, Government agents?  Angles perhaps (more on that later)?  Who are these annoy ass guys that can't catch a politician and his girlfriend in a foot race.  My main problem is they never really came off like a threat.  I was thinking to myself, I would do whatever I want in that situation and not listen to them.  There was nothing to fear.


The Religious Implications

I don't consider myself a religious man by any means, nor do I balk at a movies with religious themes; but this movie was just too much.  It was a mess.  The script intended on giving winks about the implications, but it just becomes so blatantly obvious what they're trying to reference, it has no payoff.  I disliked all of it; the destiny, the people-angels reference, all that nonsense.

The Doors

I seriously thought I was watching a live-action Monsters Inc.  The doors are a huge part of the film.  I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the doors are used to basically teleport the main characters from one place to another.  The heroes use the doors in their plot against the adjustment bureau.  The storyline doesn't work at all.  Visually, they pulled off the effect, but it just about ends there. 


The Verdict:
Watch Monsters Inc. or Serendipity instead

Exactly what the title says.  Monsters Inc. uses the "door trick" in a much more creative way than this film does.  Monsters Inc. was an animated film, fine, but it was a lot more creative than this trip to church.  I'd much rather have put my DVD of Monsters Inc. in than The Adjustment Bureau.  Just saying.

And if you want to ditch the "thriller" aspect of facing destiny, and turn it in for a romantic comedy version instead, rent Serendipity.  It stars John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale as a couple that are destined to be together.  It's much better than this film.  Trust me.


The Blu-ray/DVD combo:
Fans of the movie will love it
If you liked the film, you'll like the features.  Here is a list from Bluray.com:

• Feature Commentary by Writer-Director George Nolfi. This is a somewhat haltingly delivered, but overall interesting, commentary that gives a goodly amount of background information on adapting the Dick story as well as the filming, including the rigors of all the location work in New York City.
• Deleted and Extended Scenes (HD; 6:54). Seven scenes are included, several with a supposedly comic Adjustment Bureau character named Henderson who was completely cut out of the final film.
• Labyrinth of Doors (HD; 33:57 total). This interesting but cumbersome supplement starts with a Google Earth map of Manhattan, with several Adjustment Bureau doors highlighted. Clicking on any door then zooms to a close-up of that location, with a "wormhole" option that takes you to another (often far flung) door, or allows you to view either a film clip or a behind the scenes segment associated with that location.
• Leaping Through New York (1080i; 7:36) is a nice featurette dealing with the location shooting in The Big Apple.
• Destined to Be (1080i; 4:51) has Damon and Blunt talking about their characters and the film's central love story.
• Becoming Elise (1080i; 7:08) should appeal to those who wonder if Blunt had any dancing experience before she took on this role.
• DVD Copy, Dbox and BD Live Enabled

I don't know what else to say really.  I didn't like the film (that's MY free will at work), and I'm willing to discuss it with anyone who did.  Let me know what you thought of the film?

For fun, just to make me smile

Joe Johnson Apologizes for "Wolfman," Explains His Prep on "Captain America"

Who saw the Wolfman by Joe Johnson? It was a disaster to say the least. I was sort of surprised he got Captain America after the disaster that was Wolfman. There was rumor after rumor about the quality of the film, onset fights, etc. Well, I saw the film and am a bit sad. Sad because I know it could have been so much more. The actors were in place (Benicio Del Toro, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt). The style Johnson was shooting for was unique and modern, but the story fell so flat no one cared what the movie looked like.

So Johnson is now apologizing for the movie, and basically taking the blame. This is from Joblo via ComicBookMovie. Read the excerpts and my thoughts after the jump.
Here is Johnson's explanation as to why he took the movie and what little time he had to prep:

I had three weeks of prep on WOLFMAN, a ridiculously inadequate amount of time to try to bring together the fractured and scattered pieces of the production. I had taken the job mostly because I had a cash flow problem, the only time in my career I’ve ever let finances enter into the decision process.

Money is always the wrong reason for doing something that requires passionate devotion. The production was a leaky, rudderless ship in a perfect storm suffering from bad decisions, infighting, reluctance of the powers-that-be to take responsibility, and too many under-qualified cooks in the kitchen. The good news and bad news about directing is that when the picture works you’re showered with all the credit and when it doesn’t work you’re dumped on with all the blame. Both scenarios are undeserved. I take full responsibility for THE WOLFMAN not working because it goes with the territory.

He's correct in one thing... money should never ever be a motivator for an artist! I say it SHOULD never, but we all know too well it often times is the ONLY motivator for an artist. If he really only had three weeks to prep, I can see why the movie turned out the way that it did. There was no time to brush up the script or anything like that. So he's taken the blame for Wolfman, what about Captain America: The First Avenger? Rest assured, here's what Johnson had to say about good 'ol Cap:

I had thirty weeks of prep on CAPTAIN AMERICA. I have a small team of qualified, supportive, creative producers who are actually helping me achieve my vision of the film. I had a dream cast headed by Chris Evans. I had the best designers, artists, sculptors, craftspeople…a creative team that could design, build and photograph anything and have it look amazing and beautiful. We had unbelievable luck with the weather wherever we shot in England. The weather was so good we were compelled to make it rain for a couple of sequences just for some variety. At times I felt as if the gods were saying, “Ahem, sorry about that wolfman thing…let us make it up to you.” CAPTAIN AMERICA was probably the most universally positive experience I’ve had in this mad business.

This is somewhat good news. He had a lot of time to prep, etc. etc. But that doesn't mean anything. People have a year to prep and the movie could still turn out poorly. I'm not jumping on Johnson's case to be mean, I'm just saying ample time preparing for a movie doesn't necessarily guarantee a great film. What are your thoughts?

Quickie: Gulliver's Travels trailer; Emily Blunt turned down Iron Man 2 for this?

Here's the trailer below for the new Jack Black "comedy"... Gulliver's Travels. Gulliver's Travels is of course a retelling of Jonathan Swift's classic novel. Read below the trailer, I have a few things to say.

The only reason I knew this movie was real, or that I cared it was real... was because of Emily Blunt. She was set to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2, but had to pull out due to her contract for 'Travels'. Don't get me wrong, I liked Scarlett Johansson as her replacement. But c'mon! Emily Blunt looks EXACTLY like Black Widow, and is a higher caliber actress than Johansson. So why my rant? Just because... I wish Blunt could have done the movie and we would be seeing her in The Avengers, not Johansson.

Tony: Sunshine Cleaning DVD review

Hello everyone; based on the number of hits, our DVD reviews are becoming more and more popular with every post. So here's the latest addition to one's DVD collection; Sunshine Cleaning. The movie stars Amy Adams, Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin. Adams and Blunt play sisters, and Arkin plays their father. The sisters, are very different, and share a common bond brought on by a tragic event, that you will see in the movie. They are different, but are both broke. They start a new business where they have to clean up crime scenes, suicides, etc. The comedy is in the situations they're put into, but that's not what the movie is about. The heart of the story is how the girls are affected by the stories behind the crime scenes. How they try to comfort those who lost loved ones; that's the true heart of the story.

The movie had a limited release, it was written by Megan Holley and directed by Christine Jeffs. With a very modest budget of $5 million, the movie went on to gross $15 million nationwide. I loved the acting/characters in this movie. Adams plays a single mom torn between her self-respect and the love of a married man. Blunt plays "the screw up" sister that never amounted to anything. You quickly find out that they lost their mother at a young age and had their father raise them. What I loved was the tension between the three main characters. The sisters and father avoid talking about what happened to their mother to the point of discomfort. Watching Adams become a stronger person was a treat. And watching Blunt "grow up" was amazing. I have to say this performance was neglected by the Academy. The pain and torment this character feels comes across Blunts expressions so well, it could bring an audience to tears.

Arkin is reminiscent of Little Miss Sunshine with his quirky behavior and his "get rich quick" schemes. The movie does well in all departments until the third act. The first two acts build up the business, give it a really tough hurdle to overcome, and then it feels like the production ran out of money. The third act takes only about 10 minutes before the movie is over. It's so abrupt I thought when the screen faded to black, they were coming for more.

Overall I am telling people this is a must rent. There were a few events and a few characters I think the movie could have done without, but overall, most of the material was necessary in progressing the story. The acting and the story were top notch. Please watch this movie and let us know what you thought.

Quickie: Wolfman trailer... whoa

We haven't talked to you much about this one, but here goes. The movie stars Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving and the always beautiful Emily Blunt. It has a very interesting look and style I think you will all like, enjoy!