SOMETIMES, paying the monthly bill for Comcast’s digital cable services can seem like a waste of good money. This morning, however, Derek and I took advantage of the Video on Demand option for HBO and found ourselves immersed in the excellent plotting and direction D. J. Caruso’s 2008 thriller Eagle Eye.

While flipping through the hundreds of channels we don’t usually watch, we came across an HBO airing of the film, and Billy Bob Thornton’s portrayal of FBI Agent Thomas Morgan caught our collective ‘eye’. Both Derek and I are Thornton fans, but we also noticed that the young man playing opposite the veteran actor looked very familiar. We had, in fact, just seen him the night before starring in the 2007 blockbuster, Transformers. Shia LaBeouf played Sam Witwicky in the robot alien film (see Derek’s review, posted later today), and he appeared to be delivering an equally compelling performance in Eagle Eye. So, since we had missed nearly all of the film, we switched to the VOD channel and downloaded the film. Wow.

Rarely, do we classify any movie as nearly perfect, but Eagle Eye has joined that very short list. A minor plot point flaw here and there doesn’t impede the flow of conspiracy thriller action, and the main characters draw you into their world with each advancing scene. While we don’t wish to spoil the film, we can tell you that Eagle Eye is a codename for a government spying operation. Half HAL, half ‘Alice’ (watch the film Resident Evil for an explanation), ‘Aria’ is the coordinating computer for the Eagle Eye system. (more…)