2007
2/4 Stars
The third and final (for now) part of the Bourne trilogy picks up immediately where the second part left off. Jason Bourne is in Moscow and seriously wounded. Plagued by flashbacks, he must determine his origins and what happened to turn him into the super-assassin he is.
Once again, this is a globe-trotting picture, going from London, to Spain, to Italy, Morocco and to New York City. The on-location shots are great.
The action is more furious than ever and does not pause or let up at all throughout. This turns out to be problematic in this film as it begins to feel like an unending chase that lacks depth of story. The scenes of Bourne jumping from balcony to balcony and through countless windows in Morocco felt overdone by the end.
The Pam Landy CIA war room cliches are back in this film and feel stale-- "No time for introductions people! Let's get to work!" An expanded role for Save the Last Dance's Julia Stiles is also disappointing.
In the end, this felt like a movie that was moving so quickly that it lost its purpose. The sense of excitement that was created in the first film is missing here. This is not a bad film, it still has entertaining moments, but fails to measure up to its predecessors.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Bourne Supremacy
2004
2.5/4 Stars
The Bourne Supremacy is a strong follow-up that picks up right where the first Bourne movie left off. The story begins with Jason Bourne and Marie having found a resting spot in India. When an assassin comes to kill Jason, the film is off and running, taking the viewer from Berlin to Moscow and a variety of other places.
Joan Allen enters the film as Pam Landy, a CIA agent who is responsible for tracking Bourne. The film's "war room" scenes suffer a bit from cliches. "You want to go home? FIND JASON BOURNE!" The fast pace of the film generally covers up for this.
The film also has an overly long ending-- not Return of the King overly long, but long nonetheless. This is the only point in the film where things slow down.
Overall, a solid sequel that falls just a little short of measuring up to its predecessor.
2.5/4 Stars
The Bourne Supremacy is a strong follow-up that picks up right where the first Bourne movie left off. The story begins with Jason Bourne and Marie having found a resting spot in India. When an assassin comes to kill Jason, the film is off and running, taking the viewer from Berlin to Moscow and a variety of other places.
Joan Allen enters the film as Pam Landy, a CIA agent who is responsible for tracking Bourne. The film's "war room" scenes suffer a bit from cliches. "You want to go home? FIND JASON BOURNE!" The fast pace of the film generally covers up for this.
The film also has an overly long ending-- not Return of the King overly long, but long nonetheless. This is the only point in the film where things slow down.
Overall, a solid sequel that falls just a little short of measuring up to its predecessor.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
The Bourne Identity
2002
3/4 Stars
Doug Liman's "The Bourne Identity" is the first part of a compelling spy trilogy. The pacing of the film is fast and furious, the action is intense, and the acting is pretty good too.
Matt Damon is Jason Bourne, a super-spy assassin who has lost his memory. The movie opens with Bourne's body floating in the ocean- unconscious and possibly dead. After a small group of fishermen recover him and nurse him back to health, Bourne makes it his mission to figure out who he is and how he ended up lost at sea with two bullets lodged in his back.
Franka Potente (Run Lola Run) joins in the action, putting in a good performance as the love interest and heroine.
The action spans across Europe and beyond, with highlights including a Paris car chase and a duel between expert assassins in Bourne and Clive Owen's "The Professor".
This is a good to very good action movie that is fun to watch and keeps the viewer on the edge of his/her seat.
3/4 Stars
Doug Liman's "The Bourne Identity" is the first part of a compelling spy trilogy. The pacing of the film is fast and furious, the action is intense, and the acting is pretty good too.
Matt Damon is Jason Bourne, a super-spy assassin who has lost his memory. The movie opens with Bourne's body floating in the ocean- unconscious and possibly dead. After a small group of fishermen recover him and nurse him back to health, Bourne makes it his mission to figure out who he is and how he ended up lost at sea with two bullets lodged in his back.
Franka Potente (Run Lola Run) joins in the action, putting in a good performance as the love interest and heroine.
The action spans across Europe and beyond, with highlights including a Paris car chase and a duel between expert assassins in Bourne and Clive Owen's "The Professor".
This is a good to very good action movie that is fun to watch and keeps the viewer on the edge of his/her seat.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
2008
1.5/4 Stars
The sequel to 2004’s Hellboy, Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a disappointing follow-up after a promising start to the series. To be sure, the visuals are fantastic and del Toro’s distinguished fantasy sensibilities are on full display here. This said, this is far from his best work and the film suffers from a few too many deficiencies to overcome.
From the opening moments of the film, which shows an awkward Hellboy as a teenager, one is reminded that this is a comic book fantasy movie that takes place in an alternate reality from ours. As the film progresses though, the characters start to resemble the aliens from Men In Black in scenes like the “Troll Market”- they seem more like comical cartoon characters and less like dark fantasy creatures.
While it is nice to see Jeffrey Tambor, the film is missing the vocal talents of David Hyde Pierce, who did such a fine job as “Abe” in the first film. The lack of Pierce, coupled with the poor acting of actress Selma Blair, make for a mediocre cast that Ron Perlman alone cannot overcome.
Some characters are stronger than others, such as Prince and Princess Nuada. The elven Prince makes for an excellent villain (at one point he fights with two swords in an obvious nod to the dark elf Drizzt Do’urden). Perhaps if the film had centered more upon him and his motives, it would have been a better overall product.
Unfortunately, the outstanding visuals cannot compensate for a mediocre and shallow story. It was also disappointing that “The Golden Army” doesn’t appear until there are 20 minutes left in the film, and of the 49,000 soldiers of the Golden Army, only 7 or 8 see actual combat. This alone felt like an opportunity missed. Perhaps things will improve if and when they come out with Hellboy III. Until then, del Toro’s other films, such as “The Devil’s Backbone” or “Pan’s Labyrinth” are well worth watching.
1.5/4 Stars
The sequel to 2004’s Hellboy, Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy II: The Golden Army is a disappointing follow-up after a promising start to the series. To be sure, the visuals are fantastic and del Toro’s distinguished fantasy sensibilities are on full display here. This said, this is far from his best work and the film suffers from a few too many deficiencies to overcome.
From the opening moments of the film, which shows an awkward Hellboy as a teenager, one is reminded that this is a comic book fantasy movie that takes place in an alternate reality from ours. As the film progresses though, the characters start to resemble the aliens from Men In Black in scenes like the “Troll Market”- they seem more like comical cartoon characters and less like dark fantasy creatures.
While it is nice to see Jeffrey Tambor, the film is missing the vocal talents of David Hyde Pierce, who did such a fine job as “Abe” in the first film. The lack of Pierce, coupled with the poor acting of actress Selma Blair, make for a mediocre cast that Ron Perlman alone cannot overcome.
Some characters are stronger than others, such as Prince and Princess Nuada. The elven Prince makes for an excellent villain (at one point he fights with two swords in an obvious nod to the dark elf Drizzt Do’urden). Perhaps if the film had centered more upon him and his motives, it would have been a better overall product.
Unfortunately, the outstanding visuals cannot compensate for a mediocre and shallow story. It was also disappointing that “The Golden Army” doesn’t appear until there are 20 minutes left in the film, and of the 49,000 soldiers of the Golden Army, only 7 or 8 see actual combat. This alone felt like an opportunity missed. Perhaps things will improve if and when they come out with Hellboy III. Until then, del Toro’s other films, such as “The Devil’s Backbone” or “Pan’s Labyrinth” are well worth watching.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The English Patient
1996
3.5/4 Stars
Anthony Minghella’s interpretation of Michael Ondaatje’s novel is a moving, if somewhat elitist, piece of art. The film has an epic, sweeping scale that takes the viewer along for a ride filled with breathtaking visuals of rolling deserts, beautiful bodies, and Italian scenery.
Themes of death, war, and loss play heavily here, as do love, lust, and infidelity.
The plot is twisting, but revolves largely around an affair between a Hungarian Count and a married English woman who meet on a map-making expedition in Egypt. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War in North Africa and in Italy, these powerful historical events enhance a dramatic love story.
Minghella goes to great lengths to capture a variety of shots in telling his story- ranging from the aerial shots of the Egyptian desert, to the horrors of a Nazi prison, to a simplistic scene in which Hana plays Hopscotch. All of these combine for a moving story that is artistically presented.
The dialogue is often poetic- I particularly liked Madox’s assessment of nationalities (another major theme in the film) when he speaks of transcending these boundaries in search of a common goal. “We didn’t care about Germans, Hungarians, British- it was something finer than that-“ Katherine’s call for an “Earth without maps” echoes this sentiment.
The film has been often criticized for taking itself too seriously and being humorless. The endless stream of good looking people, dramatic dialogue, and epic visuals do create a sense of elitism to the film. “The Toy Patient” on YouTube does a fine job of lampooning all of these elements and is worth watching after seeing the film to lighten the mood (apparently Ralph Fiennes loved this parody).
3.5/4 Stars
Anthony Minghella’s interpretation of Michael Ondaatje’s novel is a moving, if somewhat elitist, piece of art. The film has an epic, sweeping scale that takes the viewer along for a ride filled with breathtaking visuals of rolling deserts, beautiful bodies, and Italian scenery.
Themes of death, war, and loss play heavily here, as do love, lust, and infidelity.
The plot is twisting, but revolves largely around an affair between a Hungarian Count and a married English woman who meet on a map-making expedition in Egypt. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War in North Africa and in Italy, these powerful historical events enhance a dramatic love story.
Minghella goes to great lengths to capture a variety of shots in telling his story- ranging from the aerial shots of the Egyptian desert, to the horrors of a Nazi prison, to a simplistic scene in which Hana plays Hopscotch. All of these combine for a moving story that is artistically presented.
The dialogue is often poetic- I particularly liked Madox’s assessment of nationalities (another major theme in the film) when he speaks of transcending these boundaries in search of a common goal. “We didn’t care about Germans, Hungarians, British- it was something finer than that-“ Katherine’s call for an “Earth without maps” echoes this sentiment.
The film has been often criticized for taking itself too seriously and being humorless. The endless stream of good looking people, dramatic dialogue, and epic visuals do create a sense of elitism to the film. “The Toy Patient” on YouTube does a fine job of lampooning all of these elements and is worth watching after seeing the film to lighten the mood (apparently Ralph Fiennes loved this parody).
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