"Paul" --- Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman

Nick turned me onto this movie.   I had not even heard of it until we did the Big Spring Preview show.  I must confess, at the time, it really didn't do much for me.  For the record - Nick, you were right on this one !

"Paul" is the hilarious story of two British Sci-Fi/Comic nerds (Pegg & Frost) who are on their first holiday to America.  The trip starts off with a visit to Comic-Con in San Diego and is then going to turn into a road trip via Winnebago through America's southwest to see all of the alien encounter tourist sites i.e. Area 51, Roswell, etc.  Along the way they meet Paul, a foul-mouthed, pot smoking alien who has been imprisoned on Earth since his UFO crashed in 1947 and has recently escaped and is trying to get home.

What follows is a hilarious, part buddy film - part action romp as this unlikely trio race across the Big Sky states constantly being pursued by the Men In Black (?) played by Jason Bateman, Bill Hader, and Joe Lo Truglio and several other oddball locals they encounter along the way.  Bateman convincingly plays the bad cop to Hader and Truglio who stumble along providing laugh after laugh in the good cop role.

This movie is fun from start to finish.  Predictable, yes.  Worth seeing, definitely.  And I would be remiss without giving special kudos to Steven Spielberg.  Apparently Mr. Spielberg has a helluva sense of humor or there is no way this movie could have happened, let alone have a cameo from Spielberg himself.  Suffice to say, if you want to get all the jokes and punchlines - you might want to make sure you have seen the following Spielberg classics:

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
"ET: The Extra Terrestrial"
"Jaws" (yes, I said Jaws)

*** 3 out of 4 stars

John M. Dunlap
The Hollywood Outsiders

"Battle: Los Angeles" --- Aaron Eckhart

Ok, here's the bottom line on this movie ... Take elements of "Independence Day", "Cloverfield", and "The Sands of Iwo Jima" and add in some fantastic special effects and you've got "Battle: Los Angeles".

That sounds like a bad start to a review.  It is not.  This is actually a very good, well-paced action film.  Let's be real.  The number of films hitting the big screen that can be defined as 100% original are few and far between anymore.  If you are looking for original, well thought out stories, Hollywood is not the place to turn.  You need to be checking out indie festivals that don't get hyped on Entertainment Tonight for that.

"Battle: Los Angeles" opens up in the thick of the action, automatically inserting the audience into a first person perspective.  If you did not like the hand held camera work of "Cloverfield" - this is not the film for you.  If you enjoy the way a director will pull you into the film with this technique, proceed.  A'la "Independence Day" we learn quickly that an advanced alien intelligence has surrounded the Earth and is commencing an attack that can only mean one thing - the extermination of humanity.  Whereas ID4 goes off and gives up different perspectives of the event through multiple plotlines starring nothing but A-list actors, this movie starts and finishes with how this event is effecting the lives of one small group of people.  This is a much more effective story-telling style because the audience is not being spoon fed information.  You are learning what is going on just as the characters are finding out.

In this case, the small group is a USMC platoon - reluctantly led by Aaron Eckhart and reluctantly followed by a young group of Marines.  As the story progresses, we learn the source of the conflict between the rookies and the veteran is more than just old versus new.  It is a plotline straight out of the John Wayne classic, "The Sands of Iwo Jima".  

The other redeeming quality is that the story we are following is its own chapter in this much larger event.  The alien invasion and all the ensuing destruction of national landmarks is all backdrop to the story these characters are experiencing.  They have a simple mission.  With all this chaos and carnage surrounding them, this one Marine platoon is charged with the duty of going behind enemy lines and rescuing an unknown amount of civilians that are trapped inside a Santa Monica police station.  They have three hours to succeed or they all perish as the Air Force is set to level Los Angeles in the hopes of stopping the advance of the alien attack.  That is the story we follow and they do not deviate.

I have mentioned repeatedly how this film borrows, and at times blatantly steals, from three other films.  At one point in this film, Eckhart's character almost goes verbatim to Robert Loggia's great line in ID4, "Get on the wire, tell them how to bring those sons of bitches down."   Normally this is an immediate turnoff to a film.

It is, however, one of the greatest strengths of "Battle: Los Angeles".  This is because these ideas and conventions from other films are used so effectively in telling this story you don't mind the fact that the filmmakers are doing it.  I went into seeing this film expecting the basic big explosions, super F/X, feel-good American Summertime action yarn.  I got what I came for.

The unexpected surprise is that this film is so much more than that.  The story is well-defined.  Aaron Eckhart's performance as the gruff, veteran Marine is top drawer.  This is one of those performances where you quickly forget you are watching Aaron Eckhart and instead become emotionally attached to his character, Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz.  The performances from the rest of the cast are well-delivered as well.  This leads me to the only drawback of the film.  By NOT using a cast of A-list actors, you are left with only knowing or recognizing them by the characters they portray and in this case, the supporting characters could have been developed more effectively as to bring the same level of attachment to them as well.  As it stands, you're rooting for Nantz and worried he's going to be get blown up at any given moment.  Your suspense level is raised if you feel this same attachment to the rest of these guys - but we don't get the chance.

Overall, this is a great movie to see on the big screen and the storyline and character study will keep it relevant and interesting by the time most people see it at home on DVD.

*** 3 out of 4 Stars

John M. Dunlap
The Hollywood Outsiders

"The Adjustment Bureau" - Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Terence Stamp

Do we live our lives as the result of our decisions based from our own free will, or are we merely moving through the motions of some grand, master plan pre-determined by an unseen, unknown  higher power?  That is the question central to the plot of this film.  "The Adjustment Bureau" stars Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Terrence Stamp, and a host of other talented character actors.  The film is an interesting blend of psychological thriller and romance.  I've seen it listed as a science fiction piece.  This is incorrect and misleading.

This film explores these questions through the lives of the main character, a young up and coming politician, David Norris (Damon) and a dancer, Elise Sellas (Blunt) he repeatedly encounters through chance meetings.  At every encounter they feel drawn to each other, perfectly connected, as if they were meeting their soulmate for the first time.  For reasons we learn about as the film progresses, this is of great concern to the men known as "The Adjustment Bureau" - a group of mysterious men charged with the duty of making sure everything goes according to plan.

Who's plan?  The answer to that is one of the strengths of the film.  While never seen, nor directly referred to by any one name (other than "The Chairman"), it is obvious this film is tackling age old questions of faith - from any denomination.   It is also interesting that while these men are an obvious obstacle that Damon and Blunt must overcome, they are not necessarily the "bad guy".  Really, as revealed in a great monologue moment by one of the leaders of the Bureau, "Thompson" (Terrence Stamp), if there is a villain in this film it is man himself.  He offers a historical answer to Norris' question of free will that leaves you wondering whether or not free will is such a great thing for mankind.

Overall, the film works well on many different levels.  It works well as a psychological thriller, a romance, and in several moments - both.  Matt Damon and Emily Blunt turn in quality performances.  Terrence Stamp is amazing.  This film is also a fine example of how often times the most well told stories are from people who fill both jobs of writer, and director.  This is the case for this film.  Although better known for his screenwriting credits (Oceans 12, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Sentinel), this film marks the beginning of another chapter in George Nolfi's career - as director.

This is an entertaining film - definitely great for a date movie.  He gets the action, thrills and Emily Blunt.  She gets the romance, the intrigue, and Matt Damon.  Audiences everywhere get a great moviegoing experience that in many ways feels like a good old fashioned Hitchcock thriller.

* * * * 4 Star Film (out of possible four)

John M. Dunlap
The Hollywood Outsiders