Elysium

Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga

Directed by Neill Blomkamp

Rating: B

In the distant future of 2154, Earth has been so overpopulated that the wealthy have moved off the planet to Elysium, a space station that is reachable by shuttles in nineteen minutes.

It's no secret that even today, the income gap between the rich and the poor keeps increasing (Face the Facts USA) and that the world's population today is climbing up to 7.1 billion people (US census). "Elysium" takes a real-world concern and puts a theatrical spin to it. By 2154, there is no middle class. Blomkamp's Los Angeles is a run-down city where no decent homes are left standing. On Elysium, the wealthy can live forever by using medical machines that can cure cancer in less than five minutes.

"Elysium" follows Max's (Damon) story. As a kid, he learns about Elysium and promises himself and his friend he will get them there. Grown up, Max has a criminal record (auto-theft, resisting arrest) and works at a low-level job working with machinery. When a complication arises at work, Max gets a death sentence after being exposed to a high dosage of radiation. With only five days left to live, his only hope to survive is by getting to Elysium.

Desperate, Max will do anything to keep living and that includes a dangerous job extracting important information from a billionaire's mind. This billionaire is the CEO of the company he worked for and also has the reboot information for Elysium in his head. This information was written for Delacourt (Foster), a government official with a better idea of how Elysium should be run under a new president who will give her more power.

I liked how "Elysium" had a realistic view on the future. While I'm not too sure how realistic technology will get by the year 2154 (machines that can cure cancer?), "Elysium" is a good sci-fi thriller. It's as gory as "District 9" and the camera does not shy away from exploding people. It's violent and is rated "R" for good reason, but fans of action, post-apocalyptic worlds, and Matt Damon will not be disappointed.

The A-Team (2010)

Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Sharlto Copley

Directed by Joe Carnahan

Rating: 3 stars

Hannibal (Neeson), Face (Cooper), B.A. Baracus (Jackson), and Murdock (Copley) make up the A-Team. They've become a group of friends like a dysfunctional family. A few years after they first grouped together, they get put on a mission to recover plates for printing 100 dollar bills used to print a billion dollars. After accomplishing the job, their commander gets killed in an explosion and as a result the A-Team gets court martialed. Each member gets sent to a separate prison but six months later a C.I.A agent (Patrick Wilson) comes to Hannibal to help him get his team back together and recover the stolen plates.

A re-make of the original show, The A-Team is an entertaining movie with a well-picked cast. The first time I saw this movie in theaters, I thought it was great. However, upon viewing this movie a second time months later, I felt that it was more of a three-star movie. The movie has an interesting plot line and there are some funny scenes in it (like when each A-Team member is breaking out of jail). This is the kind of movie where no improvements or edits could make it into a four-star movie. It's entertaining and I would recommend this movie to people who like the above actors, comedies, or don't know what to watch. Would I buy this movie?  Personally, I wouldn't but I would like to rent it again sometime.