Bradley Cooper in Limitless

Quick Hits: Source Code, The Lincoln Lawyer, Limitless, The Adjustment Bureau, Battle: Los Angeles, Sucker Punch

Here’s a few quick hit reviews of movies I’ve seen in recent weeks…

The Lincoln LawyerThe Lincoln Lawyer – I LOVED this movie. It’s thrilling, it has a twisty-turny plot that keeps you guessing, and the music — including the opening tune ‘Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City’ sung by Bobby Bland — is truly awesome.

Matthew McConaughey plays Mick Haller, a lawyer who conducts business from the back of his Lincoln town car while representing high-profile clients in Beverly Hills. Then he gets involved in a case that’s more interesting than he originally thought. This movie is both smooth and edgy, which is probably what Michael Connelly was going for when he wrote the book.

Stellar cast includes Marisa Tomei as Mick’s ex-wife, William H. Macy as his P.I. friend Frank Levin, and Laurence Mason as his street-smart driver Earl. Trace Adkins, Frances Fisher, Michael Pena, John Leguizamo, Ryan Phillippe and Josh Lucas are also in the cast. More, please! Rated R for some violence, sexual content and language; 118 min.

Source Code– Also loved this movie, a gripping action-thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier who wakes up in the body of an unknown man and discovers he’s part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.

It’s directed by Duncan Jones, whom I became a huge fan of after seeing 2009’s ‘Moon.’ This movie has the same “what the heck am I watching” feel to it. Also stars Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright. Rated Pg-13 for some violence, including disturbing images, and for language; 93 min.

LimitlessLimitless – It’s an interesting premise. What would you do if you were able to use ALL of your brain power, instead of the low percentage we apparently use. That’s the question for Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper), who gets the chance to do just that in the form of an experimental drug.

This movie is more of a drama than I thought it would be (Eddie goes through some major psychological issues), but it’s still fun and a good watch. Also stars Robert De Niro and Abbie Cornish. Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving a drug, violence including disturbing images, sexuality and language.

The Adjustment Bureau – My buddy Brandon Williams over at 8 Days a Geek dubbed this “the movie about magical hats,” and he’s right. It’s all about the hats. They give people the power to cross over into alternate realities. Or something.

Anyway, it’s centered on an affair between a politician (Matt Damon) and a ballerina (Emily Blunt) who are NOT supposed to be together, according to the people who run ‘The Adjustment Bureau,’ which engineers everything and everyone because, apparently, we’re not doing a good enough job of that on our own.

Based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, it’s a really entertaining movie that makes you think about all that sci-fi stuff and whether there’s really people bending our fate to their will. Also stars John Slattery, because I guess he’s the go-to guy whenever you need someone in a ‘Mad Men’ hat. Rated PG-13 for brief strong language, some sexuality and a violent image; 106 min.

Battle: Los AngelesBattle: Los Angeles – Jeremy Jahns says this movie is like a lesser version of ‘Black Hawk Down,’ only with aliens. I still haven’t seen that movie (it’s on my list), so we’ll go with that. Aaron Eckhart plays a Marine Staff Sergeant who’s about to retire but finds himself back in action assisting a 2nd Lieutenant and his platoon as they fight to reclaim the city of Los Angeles from alien invaders.

It’s not an alien movie, though. It’s a war movie focused on the soldiers. It’s an ok movie, but I sort of forgot about it a day later. Rated PG-13 for sustained and intense sequences of war violence and destruction, and for language; 116 min.

Sucker Punch – A depressing but creative comic-book-type film by Zack Snyder that reminds me a lot of Snyder’s ‘Watchmen,’ only with girls instead of superheroes. Emily Browning plays ‘Baby Doll,’ a young girl who’s institutionalized by her abusive stepfather after her mother dies and she accidentally kills her beloved sister thinking she was killing him (see? depressing).

As a coping strategy, Baby retreats to an alternate reality, where she engineers an escape from the mental facility. I’d skip this one unless you’re really into darkish Snyder films. Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving sexuality, violence and combat sequences, and for language (I think it should have been rated R); 110 min.

Comments

6 responses to “Quick Hits: Source Code, The Lincoln Lawyer, Limitless, The Adjustment Bureau, Battle: Los Angeles, Sucker Punch”

  1. Vera Marie Badertscher Avatar

    Thanks for the reviews of this crop of action/adventure movies. I definitely have to see Lincoln Lawyer after your teasing review. No giving away the plot, here!!

  2. Melanie Avatar

    Ah, I wondered about The Adjustment Bureau when I saw the trailers because it sounded so much like a Philip K. Dick story. Now I know it is. Thanks for the inside scoop!

  3. Lill Avatar

    I heard ‘The Adjustment Bureau’ is good and now that I found out it’s based on a Philip K. Dick story, I’m sure gonna watch it. Thanks!

  4. michigan dui attorney Avatar

    While I have yet to see this movie, I wouldnt be suprised if the TownCar could act better than Mr.  McConaughey.

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