matt damon | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: The Bourne Legacy

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Darren

The Bourne Legacy is the kind of trick you only get to pull once. It’s an interesting narrative experiment, but it doesn’t really work as its own movie. It almost feels, at times, like a deleted subplot from the second two films in the trilogy, removed and expanded to fill two-hours-and-a-half. It’s certainly an interesting idea, and it’s a clever way of skirting the issues created by Matt Damon’s refusal to return, but the problem is that The Bourne Legacy never feels like it is entirely its own film. While it features two characters who have their own arc, the overall plot plays out according to storybeats that are happening off screen – in another story with another agent. It’s a fascinating take on the summer blockbuster, but I’m not convinced it’s an entirely successful one.

Bourne again?

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aaron Cross, bourne, Bourne Identity, Bourne Legacy, bourne ultimatum, film, jason bourne, jeremy renner, matt damon, Movie, non-review review, rachel weisz, review, Robert Ludlum, Singapore, Tony Gilroy | 2 Comments »

Bourne Legacy: A Look Inside the Story…

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Darren

Have to admit, I’m quite curious to see how The Bourne Legacy plays out. It’s being released in the States on Friday and here next Monday. I’ve written before about how the structure of the film intrigues me, and Universal Pictures Ireland just sent over this behind-the-scenes look at the film. Enjoy. And if any international readers get a chance to see this before I do, let me know what you thought. (No spoilers, please!)

You can also win some Bourne-related goodies here, with thanks to Universal.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bourne, Bourne Legacy, jason bourne, jeremy renner, matt damon, rachel weisz, Tony Gilroy, universal studios | Leave a comment »

Win! Bourne Legacy T-Shirts!

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Darren

Courtesy of our friends at Universal Pictures Ireland, we have five T-shirts to give away to celebrate the release of The Bourne Legacy on 13th August 2012. The film is the fourth in the “Bourne” series, and sees Jeremy Renner starring as another Treadstone agent dealing with the consequences of Jason Bourne’s activity. It’s being directed by Tony Gilroy, who directed Michael Clayton and wrote all three Bourne films, and it has one heck of a cast assembled. It looks to be a very interesting take on the story – rather than trying to carry on or continue the story from the first three, it looks like The Bourne Legacy takes place “around” those films, its own narrative that overlaps and intercepts at points.

Thanks to Universal Pictures Ireland, we have five T-shirts to give away for the film. To enter the competition, just fill in the form below.

Click to enlarge…

Note: All entrants must be based in the Republic of Ireland. You must provide a valid address and phone number so that you can be contacted if you win. Your details will not be used for any other purpose.

Continue reading →

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bourne, Bourne Legacy, jason bourne, jeremy renner, matt damon, Michael Clayton, Republic of Ireland, Tony Gilroy, universal studios | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Five-Year Engagement

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Darren

The Five-Year Engagement is the best romantic comedy of 2012 so far. Reuniting the talents of Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, the film manages to offer a refreshingly frank and honest perspective of romantic relationships. The interactions feel more organic, the third act crisis is rooted in something more primal and relevant than some idle miscommunication and the resolution isn’t based on the notion that people can inexplicably change. Like Segel and Stoller’s superb Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Five-Year Engagement is predicated on the assumption that love must mean accepting and embracing your partner for who they are, rather than what you want them to be. It’s a little depressing that this moral feels almost subversive in this day-and-age of formulaic and generic romantic comedies, but there’s no denying that The Five-Year Engagement is head-and-shoulders above most of its competitors.

They’ll get married this year… in a pig’s eye…

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Alison Brie, amy adams, Emily Blunt, film, Five Year Engagement, forgetting sarah marshall, jason segel, Judd Apatow, matt damon, mila kunis, Movie, Nicholas Stoller, non-review review, review, Romantic comedy film, Segel, The Five, Violet | Leave a comment »

New Bourne Legacy Trailer

Posted on June 2, 2012 by Darren

Hey, here’s the new trailer for The Bourne Legacy. It’s the latest film in the Bourne series (the original trilogy consisting of The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremecy and The Bourne Ultimatum). Matt Damon isn’t returning, but the new film will focus on Jeremy Renner, who seems to be having quite a year. The supporting cast is suitably impressive, with David Strathairn, Joan Allen, Albert Finney and Scott Glenn all returning – while adding Edward Norton, Rachel Weisz and Oscar Isaac. (Personally, I’m also actually quite geeked to see Stacey Keach, Željko Ivanek and Corey Stoll playing supporting roles as well.)

Hope you enjoy.

I have to say, I’m intrigued at the approach they’re taking – it looks like this film is being structured as a sort of a “side-quel” to the Bourne series, exploring events from another angle. While it’s very clearly an attempt to get the “Bourne” brand out there, I think it’s a pretty cool way of playing with narrative – it seems structured more intricately than a simple reboot, sequel, prequel or remake.

One of the things I’ve found really fascinating about 2012 as a year in mainstream cinema is the way that the studios have been playing with narrative links. Prometheus wasn’t a direct prequel to Alien, more like a spiritual predecessor. The Avengers isn’t a direct sequel to any of the Marvel films, but rather a composite of story threads flowing from each one. I know people decry the rise of franchise cinema (as if that’s something new), but I thing there’s some interesting stuff going on here. I don’t know quite how it’ll work out, but I am intrigued by the approach.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bourne, Bourne Legacy, bourne ultimatum, David Strathairn, edward norton, jason bourne, jeremy renner, joan allen, matt damon, Oscar Isaac, Stacy Keach, Tony Gilroy | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: We Bought a Zoo

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Darren

The biggest problem facing We Bought a Zoo is that it can’t ever decide how serious a family drama it wants to be. It follows a family recovering from the loss of their mother by purchasing a zoo and attempting to renovate it, and it never finds a healthy balance between the shamelessly upbeat montage-set-to-classic-pop “live your crazy dreams!” feel-good fun and the heavier subject of a family finding piece. The result is a movie that often feels a little toosweet and a little too earnest at the same time, and never manages to mix the two tones with a great deal of success.

Not quite out of the park...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Cameron Crowe, Crowe, drama, Elle Fanning, family, film, films, Jónsi, Jerry Maguire, matt damon, Movies, non-review review, review, scarlett johansson, Thomas Haden Church, We Bought a Zoo, Zoology | Leave a comment »

My Best of 2011: True Grit & The Art of Modesty…

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Darren

It’s that time of the year. To celebrate 2011, and the countdown to 2012, I’m going to count down my own twelve favourite films of the year, one a day until New Year’s Eve. I’m also going to talk a bit about how or why I chose them, and perhaps what makes this list “my” best of 2011, rather than any list claiming to be objective.

True Grit is number eight. Check out my original review here.

Collective consensus is a funny thing. It pops up quite quickly and quietly, in the strangest sorts of places and the strangest sort of way. The Coen Brothers are respected filmmakers, to say the least. Even when a project of their doesn’t quite come off as smoothly as one might expect, it’s still compelling viewing. However, as with any other directors, there are greater films and there are lesser films. And there are those that sit in the middle. True Grit, for most critics, seems to sit firmly in the middle.

But not for me.

Continue reading →

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: Academy Award, best of 2011, Big Lebowski, Coen, coen brothers, Hailee Steinfeld, jeff bridges, matt damon, my best of 2011, my favourite films of 2011, true grit | 3 Comments »

My Best of 2011: The Adjustment Bureau & True Romance

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Darren

The Adjustment Bureau is number nine. Check out my original review here.

I think this is probably the first truly surprising choice of my own personal countdown. After all, the film debuted to generally positive reviews, but hardly the most exceptional critical feedback. It wasn’t loved and it wasn’t hated, but it was fairly quickly forgotten. I suspect that I will be one of very few people to include the title in my end-of-year best-of list. Still, I loved The Adjustment Bureau. And I think that’s strangely appropriate, because I’d argue that The Adjustment Bureau is perhaps the purest cinematic love story that we’ve seen in quite some time.

Continue reading →

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: Adjustment Bureau, best films of 2011, best of 2011, Damon, David Norris, Days of Summer, Emily Blunt, kevin smith, matt damon, my best of 2011, my favourite films of 2011, New Year, The Adjustment Bureau | 1 Comment »

Non-Review Review: Happy Feet II

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Darren

Happy Feet II is perfectly functional kids entertainment. It has enough set pieces to keep the audience ticking over, lovely animation and a timely environmental message underneath the fuzz. It is a little bit too inconsistent to hold the attention of older audience members, as the plot struggles to find a focus, with the movie often seeming like a stew brewed from a variety of different ideas. The result is often satisfying enough in small chunks, but it doesn’t impress enough overall to make a lasting impression. Although a younger, perhaps more idealistic, viewer at the screening did describe it as “the bestest experience in united history.”

The pitter-patter of little Happy Feet...

Continue reading →

Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: bill, brad pitt, Happy Feet, happy feet 2, happy feet two, i taut i taw a puddy cat, krill, looney tunes, matt damon, Mel Blanc, non-review review, penguisn, review, robin williams, sylvester, tweety, United States | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Contagion

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Darren

It’s somewhat ironic that the biggest fault with Contagion is that it’s not nearly clinical enough. Soderbergh’s exploration of the impact of a mass pandemic actually works best when the director pulls back to give us a high-level overview of a society collapsing, the individual lives reduced – appropriately enough – to microscopic cells in a larger organism in what might be its death throes. It’s these sequences and shots that are brilliantly effective, demonstrating the systemic and group dynamics that enable and facilitate the spread of a deadly bird flu variant, while the more intimate moments feel awkward and shoehorned in, never afforded enough space to develop character or plot lines. Still, if you pull back and look at the big picture, Soderbergh’s latest effort is an engaging ambitious disaster movie.