A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Director: Kim Ji-woon
Screenplay: Kim Ji-woon
Starring: Im Soo-jung, Moon Geun-young, Yeom Jeong-ah, Kim Kap-su

One-sentence summary: Two sisters, Su-mi and Su-yeon, return from the hospital only to have to deal not only with their new (and rather suspicious) stepmother but with a strange presence in their house.

Review: Some fairy tales are pretty horrific if you think about them. This isn't limited to just the ones from the Brothers Grimm--it's something that's found in other cultures as well. A Tale of Two Sisters is a loose adaptation of a Korean folktale, Rose Flower and Red Lotus, that does, yes, feature an evil stepmother. And people dying. And ghosts.

A Tale of Two Sisters takes the basic idea of the folktale (two sisters against an evil stepmother) and runs with it in a way that eventually the movie doesn't resemble the original folktale at all. This isn't a bad thing because there's a beautiful twist at the end, but I can't say I'm too happy with how the movie got there.

There are a lot of hints scattered throughout the movie that make sense only after you've seen the whole film, so it's a movie best experienced at least twice, but on the second viewing I'm not sure it holds up as well. The movie felt disjointed, particularly near the end when it felt like it kept going and going. If Kim Ji-woon had just moved some scenes around, maybe it wouldn't have felt so patchwork. I also think he could've held off on a couple of clues that would've made the reveal that much more shocking.

I think above all, this isn't a horror movie. It's marketed as one because it's easy to pull some choice ghost scenes from the movie and put them in the trailer, but that's not what the movie is really about. At the end of the day, the real stars are the family members, and the odd little haunting bits don't really seem to affect their day-to-day life all that much. The presence of ghosts (okay, and a couple of "scary" scenes) doesn't mean it should automatically be classified as a horror movie. There's a certain kind of atmosphere in horror, and I can't say that A Tale of Two Sisters really has that atmosphere, but it's okay because the movie, for all its faults, is a decent watch--horror or not.

Just think of it as a modern-day fairy tale, complete with an evil stepmother, and you've got yourself in the right mindset.

Final word: A Tale of Two Sisters is a decent film but questionable writing/directing decisions means that the movie is not as great as it could have been.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Director: Joe Johnston
Screenplay: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely
Starring: Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, Dominic Cooper, Samuel L. Jackson

One-sentence summary: During World War II, Steve Rogers is selected to undergo a process to create the world's first super-soldier.

Review: I'm going to be frank. I've never been particularly fond of Captain America as a character, mostly because I've felt like he stands for a particular brand of ultra-patriotism that isn't necessarily conducive to the kind of diplomatic relationships we need to foster today.

That said, I think it was pretty brave of Marvel to go ahead and commit to developing Captain America as a film franchise, and I think they did a great job of it. If nothing else, Captain America: The First Avenger sets up The Avengers beautifully, introducing the Tesseract/Cosmic Cube that we first saw in the stinger at the end of Thor.

But again, I'll be honest: I probably won't come back to the movie again.

Captain America: The First Avenger is a vital movie to the Marvel Cinematic Universe because it brings together seemingly disparate ideas already planted in Thor and contextualizes it in a way that doesn't make The Avengers seem haphazard. Not gonna lie, I geeked out when I realized that the entire beginning of the film was all about Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) getting his hands on the Tesseract, and he had this whole spiel about Odin and Yggdrasil and the power of the "gods."

That aside, it's not like Captain America: The First Avenger is a bad movie, it's just not up my alley. Yeah, the action sequences are great, and it's nice to understand why Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) was selected for the super-soldier experiment, and Stanley Tucci is awesome (as always). But something just felt a little off, and I think it was because I kept coming back to what Captain America stood for. The movie does a good job of employing tunnel vision and not reminding you of just what else was going on while Captain America was hunting down HYDRA, but it's hard to see a movie set in World War II and not think about what else was going on at the time. World War II is a downer.

Like I said earlier, I see Captain America as a relic of an age gone by, and he's not necessarily the hero we need anymore. However, I am fully prepared to see what they have in store for him in The Avengers and Captain America 2.

Final word: Captain America: The First Avenger is a good popcorn superhero flick with nothing inherently wrong but some may find it lays the patriotism on a little thick.

Bad Teacher (2011)

Bad Teacher (2011)
Director: Jake Kasdan
Screenplay: Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Jason Segel, Lucy Punch, Phyllis Smith, John Michael Higgins, Molly Shannon, Eric Stonestreet

One-sentence summary: Elizabeth Halsey is a teacher concerned only with marrying the richest man she can get her hands on, and soon decides to try to figure out ways to earn even more money to get a boob job (which will in turn attract potential suitors).

Review: When it comes to comedy films, sometimes you have to let things slide for the sake of allowing the humor to come through. I would say that Bad Teacher is one of those movies, but the problem here is that Bad Teacher isn't really that funny. I'm not sure I had a single laugh-out-loud moment the entire film, even with the great cast the movie has.

This isn't to say it's a completely terrible movie. I've certainly seen worser movies, and I'd sooner decide to watch Bad Teacher again than watch lesser films. I think that's an interesting conclusion to arrive at. Bad Teacher isn't funny, but it's got some sort of strange charm to it that keeps you watching. In that way, I guess it's sort of the perfect movie to put on at a party or a get-together with friends but then forget about as you start up conversations about topics completely unrelated to the film.

This isn't a movie about Elizabeth Halsey (Cameron Diaz) coming to some sort of life-changing epiphany. It's not about her coming to see the error of her ways. Nope, it's very one note: Elizabeth cares just about herself and her needs, but she's not really repulsive for it. I'm going to attribute that to Cameron Diaz's charm. I guess I've got to admit that I'm still wondering why she ends up with Russell Gettis (Jason Segel) in the end because it sort of goes against her character, but whatever.

Final word: Bad Teacher is a little bland but for some reason it never really feel like you're wasting your time watching it.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
Director: George Nolfi
Screenplay: George Nolfi
Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Terence Stamp

One-sentence summary: David Norris meets Elise Sellas and they feel an irresistable attraction to each other but higher powers intervene and try to keep them apart despite how "right" their budding romance feels to them.

Review: I think most of us would agree that we'd like to think our presence here means something. Whether it be to change the world or simply keep it running, we want our lives to have meaning. Some believe that our path in life is predetermined, some believe that it's entirely up to us to make our way in the world.

The Adjustment Bureau thinks we can have the best of both worlds.

The basic idea of The Adjustment Bureau is that there is the titular Adjustment Bureau that makes sure people don't deviate from the plans outlined for them by the "Chairman." They tail these individuals and, if necessary, course-correct in case any deviations occur. The main conflict of the film arises when David (Matt Damon) discovers that he was always meant to be with Elise (Emily Blunt) but then his plan changed; she was no longer a part of it. Despite that, the pull he feels towards her causes him to do whatever necessary to ensure that they can have a future together.

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt really sell you on the idea that David and Elise belong together. There's this cute chemistry when they're together that is a lot like the kind of chemistry you'd see in a good comedy movie, and it's not necessarily romantic chemistry from every angle. David and Elise are genuinely good together, even if you can't explain in concrete terms why. They just... work. It's been my experience that the really good relationships aren't always explainable. I had no problem accepting their romance.

The main reason I love the movie, however, is not because of Matt Damon and Emily Blunt (though it was hard not to be entertained when they had their cutesy moments together). It's its worldview. The movie posits the idea that from birth, everyone is set on a very specific path. Maybe it changes along the way, maybe it doesn't. Because of this path, you're given certain skills, abilities, and opportunities to ensure that you'll be successful in your endeavors. However, you still have the freedom to choose what to do with everything you've been given. We were given free will, and therefore we have the ability to exercise it. Will we follow what seems to be our preordained path, or will we forge a new path, possibly at the risk of losing what could be a very successful future?

Or is free will just an illusion and we were always meant to make the decision to deviate? Is the deviation a part of our path?

I leave it to you to answer these questions on your own.

And that's why I love the movie.

Final word: The Adjustment Bureau is an excellent film that makes you really think, and if that doesn't interest you, at least see it for the chance to see Matt Damon and Emily Blunt be really cute together.