MOVIE REVIEW: “EDGE OF TOMORROW” (2014)

“EDGE OF TOMORROW” (2014) MOVIE REVIEW

The headline hollers : “LIVE. DIE. REPEAT”.

And it says enough to sum up the crux of this movie.

It beckons you into a time loop, where close encounters are repeatedly occurring over and over again,to drain you out, physically and emotionally.

This is a futuristic film about mankind gearing up for confrontational warfare versus a formidable alien race called mimics.

Where did I read that Tom Cruise’s latest  movie”EDGE OF TOMORROW” is destined to be this summer’s first big-budget bomb?

A case of not generating sufficient buzz in the West?

Tom Cruise has myriad(s) of cinematic followers in all parts of Asia.

His brand positioning is always of the dashing, fearless, dauntless hero.

It’s not easy to kill a strong, established product.

“EDGE OF TOMORROW” is a sci-fi that is all bold and solid on the outer crust.

Then it peaks and storms at a cracking pace as a blockbuster, headlong into stiff competitions from Godzilla and X-Men at the box office, giving all these a run for their money.

In the movie, Cruise plays the arrogant Major William Cage who is a unbendable “straight jacket”.  His cushy  job is to cajole and recruit new soldiers on national television. No, Major Cage has never been in any real life combat.

Therefore he roared with extreme displeasure when he is trooped up in an apparent suicide mission to fight the deadly aliens called Mimics.

Cage’s insubordination lands him in the infantry of a sure-lose battle. He is dead within minutes. 

Strangely he wakes up (again) with amazement, as if the day has never happened.

He remembers last that he was at the barracks the day before the battle.

He is oblivious to what else is milling around him, but before long he is thrown back onto the beach, into the battle, and he dies one more time.

 Cage soon discovers he’s not the first victim for this time loop-game.

However, with each time-loop, he harnesses the magnificent power of observation. Because this time round he’s  fully prepared that the happenings are going to manifest themselves. And the entire process is going to be repeated again, yet in another time-loop.

Finally he meets Special Forces warrior Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt) and together they set out to defeat the aliens. What happens after this, you really have to see the movie for answers.

The director is Doug Liman and he has delivered a deliciously demented flick. Kudos. 

Tom Cruise’s star power shines in action as well as his confrontations with the fearsome extraterrestrial monsters.

The plot is  based on a Japanese novel called “All You Need is Kill” by Hiroshi Sakurazaka.

This smart and unsettling movie is certainly worth a watch for all its hard work.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5

Local distributor: Warner Bros Pictures

“LOOPER” MOVIE REVIEW. What’s goes around comes around in karmic style.

 

“LOOPER” PRESS PREVIEW

Frankly I’ve never been a big fan of time travel flicks, but honestly, this one looks promising.

If you relish futuristic sci-fi yarns, then don’t miss it.

It is cleverly written and directed by RIAN JOHNSON.

But take your time to digest the plot closely, lest you get lost in translation.

It stars JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT and BRUCE WILLIS and they both play the same character called Joe from different time zones, 30 years apart.

The genre here is labeled time travel, so kindly fine-tune your suspension of disbelief.

“LOOPER” actively transports you through the current future (2044) and further into 2074.

The year is 2044 and the globe is in a sorry state.

Hit men called Loopers exist at this time, and their tasks are to kill undesirable people sent from the future, 30 years ahead in time by a crime syndicate for elimination.

You don’t go round shooting people dead, therefore this time travel buzz is illegal.

The Loopers are well rewarded and live an envious life involving speedy cars, eye-dropping drugs and sexy women. Or so it seems.

JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT is one stone-faced looper living in 2044 under the name of Joe.

His older alter-ego takes the form of BRUCE WILLIS who exists in the futuristic year of 2074.

Joe takes killing instructions from his crime syndicate bosses 30 years ahead of time.

At an appointed time, he will show up promptly at a deserted rural spot.

The victim “from the future” will be delivered to him hooded, with a bag over his head, arms tied behind him and silver bars strapped to the body.

Joe then blasts him dead and claims the silver bars as his payment.

Forward to 2074, where the opportunity to mess with somebody’s present becomes a robust business.

A mob boss called the Rainmaker usurps this “time travel” scheme to despatch unwanted people back to 2044 for execution.

Lucrative job it may be, but what goes around comes around.

And karma has it that the loopers will have to face their own executions in the near future.

So much for spoilers and the rest, you have to see for yourself.

This sci-fic feature film has a potent potpourri mix: time travel, organized crime, death, loss, hope and redemption.

A-listers JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT and BRUCE WILLIS take center stage in this unusual story.

EMILY BLUNT appears in a supporting role to lend a feminine touch.

She plays Sara, a woman of mystery with child actor PIERCE CAGNON as her self-possessed 10-year-old son, Cid.

The premise is refreshing and is definitely worth a watch.

“THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU” Movie Review. Whatever the ODDS are, STOP in the NAME of LOVE.

“ADJUSTMENT BUREAU” PRESS PREVIEW

Your destiny is in your own hands?

Surely.

Will you readily accept whatever FATE lines up for you?

No?

Will you do anything, everything in the name of LOVE?

Yes?

Then let’s delve into this staccato type story about LOVE afflictions and the disjointed entanglements that come as part of a package.

A man ( MATT DAMON) ponders the future FATE has planned for him and realizes he cannot accept.

He is David Norris, a charismatic politician on the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate.

He has just met a beautiful ballet dancer Elise Sellas (EMILY BRUNT) and he is giddy-eyed.

He has fallen for her. Hard.

No, he will not give her up, ever.

But some mysterious strangers suddenly lurk and conspire to keep the two love birds apart.

These are powerful men from THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU who control your life and fate and decide where you should be and who you should be with.

Free will doesn’t exist and you can’t change your pre-determined FATE.

If you were David, would you put yourself through your own logic, declaring that “everything happens for a valid reason”?

Bullshit, right?

As in everything, it’s easier said than done.

David discovers that he has to deal with the agents of FATE itself – these men from THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU – who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together.

In the face of overwhelming odds, he must face a choice.

To let her go and accept the predetermined path.

Or risk everything to defy FATE and be with her.

This is where the story unravels.

Writer/producer/director GEORGE NOLFI intends “ADJUSTMENT BUREAU” as a sci-fi suspense thriller.

But the final product is essentially, a love that defies the divine order to become a heartfelt romance that you’ll root for.

An intriguing thriller with strong performances by MATT DAMON and EMILY BLUNT who share an affable on-screen chemistry in rhythm and tone.

The fascinating script takes us through the aesthetic maze of mystery and fantasy, but in the end we can safely expect that it’s a case of mind over matter, and that it is all well that ends well.

Whatever odds that are stacked against you, will you ever stop in the name of love?

Will you …

Or won’t you?