Emily Blunt talks The Adjustment Bureau and The Young Victoria

The Adjustment Bureau which co-stars Matt Damon is loosely based on Philip K. Dick's science fiction short story, Adjustment Team. The film is written and directed by George Nolfi who also wrote The Bourne Ultimatum and Ocean's Twelve. Damon plays David Norris, a congressman who falls fo a ballet dancer named Elise Sellas (Blunt). Their affair is affected by mysterious forces keeping the lovers apart. Emily Blunt talked to MTV during a break from shooting in New York City:

"It's like a modern love story, but it's got an ominous sci-fi backdrop to it...It's going to be exciting and disconcerting and strange, which is what I like about [Dick's] work. It's very cool and clever. It's got a really tight script."

"The term soulmates is used so casually, but in this case, in this film, it is true," Blunt explained. "They are sort of destined to be together and they fight fate to be together."

"Matt's thrilled because this time it's me who's been thrust into the month of training, because I play a dancer in it, which is kind of arduous training seeing as I've never bloody danced before. And Matt is actually thrilled that for the first time it's me who has to do that kind of thing and he's got off scot free."

"I really would love to do a movie where I kick ass!" she laughed. "I'm not doing any wire work or anything [in 'Adjustment Bureau'], so I'm bitterly disappointed!"

Blunt also discussed her role as Queen Victoria. She pointed out what we've known for years. All British actresses have to do a period piece:

"You have to don the bonnet at some point, otherwise you're simply not a British actress," she declared to MTV News.

Across the pond, Victoria as a historical figure is known as something of a downer. After all, she spent a decade in self-imposed exile, mourning the death of her hubby Albert. "That was my impression of her – that she was repressed and in mourning and never smiled and waddled around with that dour-faced expression and a hanky on her head," laughed Blunt.

"I loved that no one had seen that side to her – that young, passionate, fiery side," Blunt explained. "I was very surprised by the love story, which really did happen. When I read her diaries, I realized this wasn't just Hollywood sensationalizing this woman's life. It really was a meeting of souls when she met Albert."

...the actress approached Victoria as a woman first and a monarch second. She hopes viewers will do the same. "There are not that many people who know what's it like to be a queen, but I think everyone knows about falling in love for the first time," she said. "Everyone knows about a dysfunctional family. It's a really intimate portrait of her private life and what's it like for a girl who has a job and she feels in way over her head."

The Young Victoria focuses on Victoria's years as a princess, her romance with Albert, and her struggle with royal life after becoming queen at 18. The film though, is more love story than royal thriller. It breezes along from Victoria's pampered beginning to a happily-ever-after ending.

It's a fluffy costume drama, but some of the performances are quite good, including the one from Rupert Friend, whose Prince Albert is the real star of the whole show. Blunt carries the film quite well with a lot of grace and innocence. It difficult to make an audience feel sorry for a princess who has everything, but Blunt pulls it off. It's in her eyes, I think. Mark Strong, who plays the villain, is great as well, but he hovers in the background for too long to be a real threat to anybody.

I suppose it makes more historical sense for the film to be lighter fare - by the time Victoria became queen, monarchs had almost no political power. When the film treads into dark territory, most of that scene is pure fantasy that never took place.

The Young Victoria opens in limited release in the US on December 18 and goes wide a week later.

Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend on 'The View'

Yes, I know it's cruel to force anyone to watch anything relating to The View, but Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend were on the show to promote Chéri (opens June 26 in the US), so I thought I'd share:

Exclusive 'Cheri' clip

Here's a brand new clip from Chéri that features Michelle Pfeiffer, Rupert Friend and Kathy Bates. The film opens June 26 in the US.

The film follows a love affair between a retired courtesan, Léa (Pfeiffer) and Fred - nicknamed Chéri (Friend), the son of a former colleague and rival. Caught in the mercenary dealings of his mother (Bates), Chéri is forced to marry the beautiful and rich daughter (Felicity Jones) of yet another escort who will endow the pair with some of her ill-gotten gains. But the process renders Chéri impotent with the longing for his former mistress, whilst Léa must come to terms with being a woman "of a certain age".[Empire]

'Cheri' international trailer

Glorious costumes, romantic historical comedies, Michelle Pfeiffer - why am I always suckered into the period pieces? I'm pretty sure that this year, Rupert Friend will be the death of me:

Two new reviews: 'Wolverine' and 'Young Vic'

First off:

IESB points us to a spoilerific review by someone who claims to have been to an early screening of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This anonymous person sent an e-mail to wearemoviegeeks.com, and needless to say, the thing is one giant nerdgasm of a review. A few commenters over at wearemovigeeks.com swear the person is for real and that they really saw the thing. Others (me included) are skeptical. I skimmed parts of it, but since I don't want to be spoiled I'll leave you an excerpt and you can head on down to the site to be spoiled shitless. I am warning you. There are spoilers. Don't send me your hate mail about the spoilers. I warned you. Anyhoo:

OK, so I’m not a movie reviewer, so forgive me if this is not as concise as a professional review might be. Having said that, I also don’t know how much of the plot and “ohhhh, holy shit!!!” moments you want to know, possibly spoiling it. But feel free to edit and take out anything you don’t want to have spoiled.

The movie itself looks amazing. Lots of cool sets and special effects, it’s edited very well, the pacing is perfect and the running time is right on. It actually leaves you wanting more, and really, isn’t that the “nirvana” that most action movies hope to arrive at for the audience?

And now:


I've been waiting for The Young Victoria for over a year partially because I adore historic epics about British monarchs (particularly their queens), and because of Emily Blunt, and because there is still no North American release date. But, Guy Lodge over at In Contention crushes my hopes for the period piece with his review:

Meanwhile, in depicting its subject as a modern woman suffocated by her surroundings and dated gender trappings, complete with adorable lapdog and an accent that is decidedly more Sloane Square circa 2009 than House of Hanover circa 1837, the film pulls a similar trick of characterization to last year’s “The Duchess.” Working, however, in an even softer register than that already lightweight film, “The Young Victoria” plays down court intrigue in favor of dewy-eyed first love; if “Elizabeth’s” populist coup was restyling royal history as political thriller, this lands squarely in rom-com territory, with Rupert Friend’s Prince Albert the dreamy yet ever-deferred suitor.

He does however give a lot of credit to the film's leading man, Rupert Friend. There has been an awful lot of chatter about him over the last few months and Guy Lodge explains why:

The real revelation, rather, is Rupert Friend, who is given even less to work with than his co-star and emerges with leading man gravitas that I think few suspected he had. Delicately negotiating Albert’s gangly shyness without descending into hapless-fop cliché, Friend quietly keeps the love story afloat by downplaying the character’s heroism in favor of his boyishness, aided visually by the wispiest of mustaches.

Whether nervously pausing as he deliberates over his next sentence, holding his breath as he concentrates on his dance steps, or goofily running down a corridor in expectation of a letter, he never loses sight of the fact that this Prince is still very much a besotted kid. Radiating warmth and humility, Friend’s superb performance is the only element that moves with Victoria in this otherwise petrified, disinterested film — and by far the youngest thing about it.

First look: Michelle Pfeiffer in 'Cheri'

Plot synopsis: An adaptation of the 1920s novel by French author Colette about the lingering effects of a romance between a middle-aged woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and a wealthy young man (Rupert Friend). Set in 1920s Paris, where the young son of a wealthy courtesan (Kathy Bates) is educated in the ways of love by a middle-aged friend of the man's mother. When he is forced to give up the six-year relationship after marrying someone else, the young man can't forget her and retreats into a fantasy world.

Here's the first clip from Chéri with Ms. Pfeiffer and Friend: