Recently watched:
The Adjustment Bureau
Like Hereafter, I thought this film had a great deal of potential with a highly original story and a solid cast. Unfortunately, also like Hereafter, I found it left far too many unanswered questions on the table and spent too much time on the love story component and too little on the thinkin' man's part of the plot - e.g., what the hell is the Adjustment Bureau, where did it come from, why is it here, etc. etc. I felt thoroughly unsatisfied leaving the theater having invested my time thinking possible solutions to those questions, only to realize the producers of the film did not care enough (or did not have the capacity) to address them. Imagine if the creators of LOST had ended that series without giving us any definitive answers...how frustrated would you be about that??? Over a full year later???
Matt Damon is a great actor and has a knack for picking interesting, intellectually-driven movies. But he is falling behind DiCaprio in applying the cerebral/visceral formula to winning films. Shutter Island and Inception focused on a singular, never-seen-before concept (e.g., crazy dude and crazy dreams, respectfully) with minimal distractions. In both films, the character lost his (tangent creating) love interest, and it was his quest for redemption, to fulfill his character arc that drew us, as the audience, in. We invested in his success, yet found equal satisfaction in his eventual failure. DiCaprio's films exist in a finite universe, a vacuum of meaning, and as a result of this existential limitation are that much more compelling. Damon attempts to transcend this and find greater meaning in life...things like 'love', and all the necessary melodrama that comes with it. It is not surprising, in retrospect, that in both Adjustment Bureau and Hereafter, we are left with closing shots showing Damon and (insert random moderately but not distractingly attractive actress here) kissing or hugging or holding hands or something that probably made your gf/wife squeeze your hand a little tighter, but did nothing for you. The more I think about it the, more disappointed I am - this film had such potential and I was looking forward to it (rare given how cynical I am), but the next time I want to be jerked around for two hours and leave feeling unsatisfied, well...nevermind.
True Grit
What a great film. Was worried at first that it would crumple under the weight of expectation but I really enjoyed this movie. Hailee Steinfeld steals every scene she is in and, along with Chloe Moretz ((500) Days of Summer, Kick-Ass), is a representative of the new wave of highly articulate, pre-pubescent supporting ladies. True Grit is very much a dialogue driven film, and while the back and forth gets somewhat unbelievable at times given context (particularly during Josh Brolin's brief appearance), I really enjoyed listening to these actors intellectualize rustic speech. Bang up movie, along with The King's Speech one of the best of the past few years.
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