American Ultra

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In the words of "SouthPark"s Towelie, 'You wanna get high?' Yes, I do want to get high on Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg, cinema's most awesome couple this year in American Ultra a movie that rocks my socks off. No better way to describe it than if Jason Bourne was a stoner. Scripted by Max Landis who gave us "Chronicle" and directed by Nima Nourizadeh who gave us "Project X," basically anything that could ever happen, happens in "American Ultra." From explosions and firepower, mental patients trained as killing machines, a young power-hungry CIA desk jockey who thinks he knows what's best for the agency, John Leguizamo, all the way to an irresistible beautiful but bloodied love story, this movie has it all, well.. except for ghosts, demons and the usual suspects, you catch my drift. To me, "American Ultra" brings that same fun that flicks like "Zombieland" and "Shoot 'Em Up" gave us, where you just want to see cool things happening all the time. And the story and the characters are still there, they're not neglected at all. The action sequences are elaborate and they serve to speak about the characters rather than the other way around. And let's face it, everyone of us has that switch in us that turns on whenever we watch somebody with a set of particular skills be both hardcore and vulnerable. Jessie Eisenberg plays Mike Howell, a convenient store worker who at first seems insecure, he gets panic attacks, at times he can feel paranoid and extremely apologetic, he's in a long-time relationship with Kristen Stewart's character, Phoebe, in this small town USA, a place that's usually ignored or overlooked on the map. Meanwhile at Langley, an order has been activated by Topher Grace's character, Adrian Yates, to eliminate agent Howell, an order that's not taken well by Howell's former boss, Victoria Lasseter (Connie Britton) who's determined to help Howell. Basically if you've seen spy thriller movies, shows, or read spy thriller books about people trained to become intelligence assets since they were very young, you'll come to understand how this character Howell came to be. This lethal sleeper agent whose memories were erased, would have to summon back his inner skills in order to survive and save his girlfriend. Obviously, this isn't Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart's first rodeo together, you can see how effortless it is the dynamic between the two, such ease, so in sync, they can read and understand each other very well. And because of that, there's something real about their characters' relationship. The film's fast-paced and high-octane energy keep you alert and anticipating. Not a single boring moment. I also have to give credit to Topher Grace who plays the villain, he's like a little brat demanding respect who he doesn't deserve and Grace plays it perfectly. The movie is also the perfect blend of action and comedy, I personally think it's way funnier than "Pineapple Express" if you want to go there for comparison. So add "American Ultra" to your list of Saturday night popcorn movies, I guarantee you won't regret it.

Some upfront information, the main character of this movie gets stoned, repeatedly. If someone smoking in a movie ruins it for you then you won't like this motion picture. However him being a stoner (while mentioned and a minor plot point) isn't the all consuming central theme of the movie, this isn't Pineapple Express: Spy Who Smoked Me. I found the acting to be above average, and more importantly the characters are well written and believable. I liked the story, and by the end of the movie I was wholeheartedly rooting for the romance as well as several supporting characters to succeed. The only gripe I have with the movie is the near terminator like aspect of the main character, this is however during the "third act" and is perhaps unavoidable. The film does an amazing job at trying to disorient you when it wants to, in spite of laying out a road map in the opening sequence. Huge congratulations are due to the animator for the credits. The style, and play of them where a fantastic end to the movie and really had me leaving with a smile on my face. I thought it was a good movie, certainly better then other films that came out this year. The true test will be if I ever want to watch it again, but only time will tell.

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A stoner - who is in fact a government agent - is marked as a liability and targeted for extermination. But he's too well-trained and too high for them to handle. American Ultra is a late-summer business for a good-time-seeking young audiences. Those who saw director Nima Nourizadeh's moderately successful first feature, comedy Project X, will have an idea of the excess to expect here. It's a very mid- August sort of film, the kind that benefits from low. The first 20 minutes or so are pretty fun and provokes a few laughs by identifying multiple symptom of our generation. The script by Max Landis (Chronicle) delivers more of a big mess than anything coherent or genuinely engaging. Moreover, characters are fun. Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart are a sort of Bonnie and Clyde with a water bong. Unfortunately both of them, frequently great, are unsure footing here. They smoke, say "like" and the F-word a lot and eventually kick plenty of butt in a way that looks pretty good. Their relationship is revealed to have a history and dynamic that goes much deeper. However, the only aspect of Jesse Eisenberg character that feels genuine is his paranoia, which within the auspices of comedic action movie, is totally earned. Plus, some people come across as larger than life on screen but Eisenberg and Stewart really don't. There are some highly entertaining cameos. The action sequences build in size throughout the movie. There's chasing, fighting, hiding and urgent phone calls. All of what is nicely edited, big slo-motion shoots down come together in slick and engaging ways. This time around director has thankfully moderated her shaky- cam tendencies. Still, sensation is sensation, amusing discussions, witty characterisation and creative violence. Finally the most creative and witty part of the entire film may well be the animated and credits, which have a panache mostly absent from what's come before. I actually had fun with this movie though. The film doesn't aim for much but guess what? It's nor award season but the last weeks of summer. Overall, American Ultra is a bit lazy comically, the plot has some holes and the pace is not even but the love story is sweet.

Following the lines of stoner films like Pineapple Express, American Ultra delivers an action film with some big names. However, you'll need to get stoned to enjoy this film. It's got a simple enough plot line. Gas store employee/stoner and all around skinny guy Mike Howell (Eisenburg), with his similar looking and just as mannish girlfriend Phoebe (Stewart), discover that he is a secret CIA super soldier. Hilarity ensues... kind of. Actually it was the lack of humor in this film that I found to be the biggest let down. There were very few actual jokes or funny moments, despite being classified as an action-comedy. It starts off very dramatically, when we meet the main character Mike in prison, and being interviewed by some CIA bigwig. The classic "in the middle of things" beginning flashes back to it's slowly progressing action plot line. I enjoyed the action bits, and they tried to keep it pumped up with lots of bullets and blood (spoon kill!), but there were very few funny moments at all. As an action guy, Eisenburg's lackluster fighting style emphasizes the fact that it looks like he has never completed a push-up in his life. The characters had pretty terrible banter between each other. It seemed that they were trying to out do each other with sarcastic wit, including the CIA operatives. Topher Grace, who played the major antagonist, came off as some sort of nervous-hipster-yuppie-douchebag despite being the head of a major CIA operation. Anyway, if you enjoy getting high and watching movies while eating a whole pizza and tub of ice cream, then this is right up your alley! Yes, that was my Friday night... 5/10

This movie honestly was surprisingly good. To the point that most of the hate I usually have for Eisenberg, since he seems so pompous in 90% of his roles, has temporarily disappeared. For, like Stewart, we get showed that we cannot fully judge their talents by past characters, and their off-camera persona. But what really drove me to firmly place this in the "Worth Seeing" batch is that it hits all the things needed in a film. It is funny, without trying too hard; can get you emotionally invested, because it has lovable characters you want to root for; has a twist or two, which some may or may not guess; and it has a satisfying ending which leaves everything in a nice, neat little bow. Making it so that Adrian, as a character, might be the only true negative about the film since he sucks as a villain.