SUCKER PUNCH

Sucker Punch stars Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung and Carla Gugino. Directed by Zack Snyder. Rated PG-13 with a running time of 2 hours. Studio: Warner Bros.

She has been locked away against her will, but Babydoll (Emily Browning) has not lost her will to survive. Determined to fight for her freedom, she urges four other young girls—the outspoken Rocket (Jena Malone), the street-smart Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), the fiercely loyal Amber (Jamie Chung) and the reluctant Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish)—to band together and try to escape their terrible fate at the hands of their captors, Blue (Oscar Isaac), Madam Gorski (Carla Gugino) and the High Roller.

Well this film is different to say the least. Zack Snyder is a very interesting director and you can tell that this was his movie and he really wanted to make it. He is a very stylistic director and he is very good with heavy special effects in which this movie has a lot. I just don't understand why he really wanted to make this movie. It is literally a group of girls running around and shooting guns at a different variety of creatures, soldiers and robots. There isn't any character development and so you don't care at all for these girls. The cast was fine although Vanessa Hudgens sticks out like a sore thumb. It's just that the main group of girls don't have to really act because most of the movie is like a long video game action scene.

I have enjoyed Snyder's previous films like 300 and even Watchmen, but I guess this movie wasn't for me. To me the whole concept is laughable. The reason to have the majority of the film take place in the mind of Babydoll is that so there can be a whole bunch of action scenes that have no boundaries. The action is the only good thing about this movie and it is very creative for sure and at least I was entertained during those scenes but it's not enough to save the movie.

Zack Snyder's next movie will be the next Superman reboot and I believe he will do a good job. Just the thought of his creative styles mixed in with Christopher Nolan producing it is pretty badass. I still have faith in Zack Snyder but Sucker Punch isn't for everyone and it wasn't for me. Cool action but a weak story and no real characters make a disappointing movie.

C-

BATTLE: LOS ANGELES

Battle: Los Angeles stars Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez, Bridget Moynahan, Michael Pena and Ramon Rodriguez. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman. Rated PG-13 with a running time of 1 hr. and 56 mins. Studio: Sony/Columbia.

Plot: As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to a Marine staff sergeant (Aaron Eckhart) and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever encountered before.

It's a shame Battle: LA didn't try to reinvent the alien invasion movie. Instead it just looks like a mix of Independence Day, District 9 and some Black Hawk Down thrown together. There are some amazing special effects and action and a decent job by Aaron Eckhart but besides that you have pretty much seen everything that is in Battle: LA. The biggest problem with the movie is the script. There was tons of bogus dialogue that made me want to chuckle. It's not that the acting was terrible it was just the lines they had to say that were terrible. Another thing that I didn't get was that a lot of the supporting cast that played the civilians were literally given nothing to do. They are basically just standing in the thick of battle and a lot of times they aren't even shown on camera. I found that to be very odd.

In the beginning of the movie it tries to introduce the characters and give you some background on them. It isn't done very well and you are sitting there waiting for the action to start so you really just don't care about their backgrounds. The idea of marines fighting aliens hasn't really been done before but it just looks and feels like every other alien invasion movie thats been made. The action scenes got very repetitive but for the most part they were still pretty entertaining. One thing that bothered me was that the entire film seemed to have a gray smokey film over it. I know it was LA and there were explosions and stuff but I mean come on show me some color!

If you have seen movies like Independence Day and District 9 then you have pretty much already seen Battle: LA. The action was good and Aaron Eckhart does a fine job but the script cheeses up the whole movie. The movie is definitely flawed but I think it is worthy as an action movie.

C+

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

The Adjustment Bureau stars Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery and Terence Stamp. Directed by George Nolfi. Rated PG-13 with a running time of 1 hr. and 39 minutes. Studio: Universal.

On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) a woman like none he's ever known. But just as he realizes he's falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself, the men of 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 either let her go and accept a predetermined path...or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her.

The Adjustment Bureau brings up some interesting questions about fate and free will. Do we make our own choices? Or are there forces out there that we can't even imagine that control what we do and when we do it? To me that is the most interesting part of the movie and that is was makes it work. FIrst off the cast is absolutely excellent. All the way down the board from John Slattery and Anthony Mackie to the delightfully eerie Terence Stamp and even the two leads Damon and Blunt. Their chemistry simply burst off the screen and you care for these people and find yourself rooting for them. You definitely root for Damon's character because what would you do if strange men told you that you cannot see the woman you love anymore just because its not part of the plan of the universe?

The movie had two main faults. The first being that the movie begins a bit slow but that wasn't enough for me to lose interest. The biggest weakness of the movie to me was the ending. With all the complexity and intensity the film starts out with the ending was way too simplistic and I just wasn't satisfied with it. I won't give it away but I think you will know what I mean if you see it.

The Adjustment Bureau is definitely worthy to check out because of all of the questions it raises. I simply found the subject fascinating but its just a shame that the ending wasn't nearly as promising as the rest of the movie. If the filmmakers perhaps took some risks and came up with something unique it would have been an even greater movie.

B-