Well, said I would do writing on my holiday, so first day of it will be movies, because I watched some movies.
The Mechanic - This movie is a mess. It is a bit of fun, but it meanders all over the place. I watched it because it had Jason Statham in it and that gave me what I wanted. The premise is that he kills his mentor because the mentor sold out his assassin company. Then he trains up the mentor's kid in assassination missions because he is directionless and is a loose cannon. Then there is like 20 minutes of training montage or some shit. There is just way to much of that. By 3/4 of the way through the movie Statham has killed like 2 people. Then after training montage the kid goes on 2 missions. Straight up fucks up the first one, turning what could have looked like an overdose on something into a violent break and enter murder while planting the drugs on the body sending a pretty crazy hard message to the company the target worked for. Then they are asked to kill another guy. Careful plan goes to shit and turns into a fire fight. Statham is not really called out for either of these. The second one isn't the kid's fault really, but he certainly helped escalate the situation into a big full blown gun fight.
Then the last quarter of the movie is a straight revenge flick when Statham has talked about how it isn't about revenge. He certainly went on a big killing spree after fucking up 2 important missions for no monetary gain. Then the kid kills Statham with Statham accepting it all. The kid says revenge was always the mission blah blah. Goes back to Statham's house and takes the old car he had been working on. Oh snap Statham trapped it and blew the kid up, then we find out Statham got out of the trap the kid setup.
Like the last part is a big dumb action movie with LOL TWIST at the end, which is fine. I just have no fucking idea how this guy is ever meant to find work again. It is a real slow burner after a fun opening then ends with a bang. It isn't an explosive bang though, it is a bang of the plot being dropped on the floor and shattered to a thousand pieces. Fun movie, but not good. Watch Snatch instead for good Statham action.
THIS IS SPOILERS FOR A GOOD MOVIE, I AM SKIPPING OVER THINGS THAT REALLY TIE THE MOVIE TOGETHER. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AM SPOILING TO TRY AND INTRIGUE ON THE LARGER PARTS OF THE MOVIE.
The Adjustment Bureau - Now this. This was really damned good. I am glad I caught that it is based on a Phillip K Dick piece because that makes the whole thing make sense and is the only reason I watched it. The description of it is how Matt Damon and the heroines love is so great that they won't be kept apart because of a big conspiracy.
That is total bullshit and the story is fucking nothing like that. What it is about is Free Will, like straight up Cartesian shit right here. The bureaucracy are Angels the enforce God's plan by modifying minor events and directing decision making of people. So you have a divine bureaucracy that is run by angels that wear 3 piece suits, hats (important plot point) and go everywhere at a fairly leisurely stroll. These Angels follow their maps for how things should be going along completely blindly and
have no idea what the divine plan is and why they are doing the things they do. This is pure Phillip K Dick stuff here and it is pretty fantastic.
There is a case worker specifically assigned to Matt Damon. He is chock full of regret. More on this later. He screws up one day and Matt Damon meets Emily Blunt after he was never supposed to see her again and rocks up to work on day while the Bureau is recalibrating his best friend's opinion (on investing deeply into Solar Panels, so he will do that). So Matt Damon finds out about the Angel dudes that he shouldn't. They can't wipe his memory so they make him swear to never expose them to anyone or be lobotomised.
So the plot of his undying love in the face of a conspiracy? Matt Damon loves Emily Blunt because the divine plan changed years ago and he was no longer supposed to marry her and be happy for life. He keeps fighting in his way to be with her without revealing the presence of the Bureau. This takes place over a period of about 4 years, it is pretty awesome. Just huge time jumps where he was entirely unable to do anything about it (had no idea who Emily Blunt even was...). So anyway, they ultimately end up together and the divine plan changes to let them stay together. Which is kind of hilarious in that
this was originally the divine plan anyway. You still have a triumphant story about free will though on the human side anyway. The Chairman sees how far Matt Damon will go and just goes yep sounds good (omnscient and omnipotent being that you never see is the Chairman). So a bit of a smart arse move there. It could be because of sloppy writing in the screenplay that this is what happens, but I love it anyway for the shades of Voltaire in it.
The real strong part of Free Will though I think comes from the Angel that is filled with regret because of the ways that he had to shape Matt Damon's life. He had to do things that he didn't like doing to people that he thought didn't deserve it. He is questioning the divine plan even though he is a being born entirely to uphold it. He sees the course taken as extremely wasteful and regretful. Ultimately he chooses to help Matt Damon. With a few small exercises of breaking protocol I think he has made a far more grand statement about Free Will than the four year long story of Matt Damon trying to find his lost love (bonus points for it taking place over 2 generations off camera, just nicely handled). It is a small act on his part that has huge ramifications resulting in the ultimate changes to the divine plan. All from an Angel who is in a Bureaucratic system that represses his personal choices because they are defined for him. So we are racking up shades of Descartes, Voltaire and rage against corporate workplaces. No wonder I loved this movie.
Another point where the marketting fails, it gets referred to as an action movie. There is action sequences of people running around. Like away from Angels that walk at a brisk stroll. It is a far smarter movie than it is marketted as.
A few quick finishing things, I love the costuming again. Another movie that knows how good a three piece or four piece suit is. Pretty much every Agent is dressed immaculately and looks great. The main few look great. The higher up on the food chain they get the more oppulent the costuming is. The special agent man they bring in to ultimately try and break up the relationship steps it up with a very fine long coat and scarf. My favourite part is when you see some of the really high up guys and they are dressed like 80s stockbroker stereotypes. Bracers, slick backed hair, bold solid coloured shirts even from memory. Just great fun there. Also the Regret Angel guy, dresses nicely and rocks his trilby at a rakish angle. Looks fucking great. Just to show, he is played by
Anthony Mackie.
Just a ton of fun for a gigantic nerd like me.
