Friday, August 31, 2012

The Bourne Legacy


      What a wonderful movie! It continues the story after the Bourne trilogy very well.  I have really enjoyed the Bourne movies.  I do have to say that the old made for TV mini series is still a favorite.  The Bourne Identity (1988) starred Richard Chamberlain (Dr. Kildare, Shogun, Leverage, The Perfect Family) as Jason Bourne and Jaclyn Smith (Charlie’s Angels, Rage of Angels, Free Fall, In The Arms of a Killer) as Marie. The old one was wonderful, I loved it, but it is very different than The Bourne Identity (2002) starring Matt Damon (Inside Job, The Departed, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Rounders) and the two that followed with Matt Damon.
     
     The Bourne Legacy (2012) doesn’t have Matt Damon in it.  I know that is a very hot issue for people. “What are they doing?” “Why did they do that?” “Why no Matt?” I don’t really understand myself, nor do I have any answers to these questions. I thought maybe it followed the books and Jason Bourne wasn’t in the book. It turns out that The Bourne Legacy is nothing like that book at all! I enjoyed the movie. It is a very action packed, fast paced movie with a lot of fun chase scenes.
     
      Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker, The Avengers, The Town, Mission: Impossible-Ghost Protocol) plays the new hero, Aaron Cross. Even though the story line is different then the book, it is a very good story line, and told well. Edward Norton (Fight Club, The Illusionist, Primal Fear, Rounders) plays Retired Col. Eric Byer, USAF. If you have read my other posts, you can’t miss how much I love Edward Norton. He is an amazingly talented man and I love his variety of roles. So of course he does a great job in this movie and I loved his role.

       It was so nice to see Rachel Weisz (The Mummy, The Fountain, Chain Reaction, The Lovely Bones).  I loved her in the Mummy movies and was so sad when they replaced her for the third. She is adorable and so talented. She did a great job as Dr. Marta Shearing, very believable and really pulled you in.  The life threatening lab scene was terrifying!  It was so intense and she played it so well. The chemistry between Jeremy and Rachel is very good. It was the subtle touches and eye contact that I really liked.  There is one moment where Marta reaches out and touches Aaron’s arm.  That one touch and that quick camera shot of it said so much.  They develop a real bond and a need for each other without it turning into a typical “bedroom scene”. There wasn’t even a kiss.  I kind of liked that because that has become such an easy way out for a romance movie. I know this isn’t a romance movie but if you know anything about Robert Ludlum, the author,  there is always a romance going on amongst all of the action.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

The Music Never Stopped


      You could say that I am almost as passionate about music as I am about movies.  Not nearly as knowledgeable but I love it just the same.  This is a wonderful movie for music lovers.  I mean the real passionate type that feel it not just listen to it.  The people who know and appreciate how much music plays a role in our lives. The Music Never Stopped (2011) is a beautifully told emotional drama of a father and his estranged son trying to learn to reconnect.  When I saw People Like Us (2012) I was surprised at the "old fashion" feel of it.  Just a really good story about a family trying to figure life out. The Music Never Stopped is very much the same feel. 

      Lou Taylor Pucci (Carriers, Beginners, Horsemen, The Go-Getter) plays Gabriel Sawyer.  I have never seen Lou Taylor in anything before. What a talented young man. He did an amazing job.  Gabriel is a man who hasn’t seen his parents in 20 years. The movie takes place in 1986.  That is important because it sets the time period for the music and what was taking place in the world.  When Gabriel and his parents are reunited it is not under good circumstances.  Gabriel has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and is unable to create new memories and barely remembers the old ones.  He is just not connecting with anyone or anything.  The movie tells the story through flash backs of various events.  Lou Taylor played the part so well.

      Gabriel’s father started sharing his love of music with his son at a very young age.  He would play a song and ask his son to name the song, the artist and the story of the first time his dad had heard it.  What a fascinating idea! While the dad is trying to connect with his son who doesn’t speak and is pretty well catatonic he comes across an article.  It is about a therapist who believes music can be used as therapy.  Our brains are so amazing that they make very strong connections to music and events in our life.  The dad thinks it is his music that is awakening something in his son but it's not. It is Gabriel’s own music that he is connected to. The songs from his own time and his own stories that bring him back.

      The Music Never Stopped is a very touching, beautifully told story.  I really liked the idea of music connecting us to memories. I know how true that is. To this day there are songs that I hear and I am back in high school or some other important time in my life. 

Monday, August 13, 2012

People Like Us


      People Like Us (2012) is a very interesting movie dealing with family secrets.  I have yet to see a movie that shows how keeping secrets is a good thing. Family secrets only lead to more secrets and that is never good. Eventually these secrets will come to a head and generally it is bad timing and only causes more problems.  People Like Us is a good example of this.  It has been a while since I have seen a really good emotional drama. I think this one filled that void.  It is about a very dysfunctional family. Chris Pine (This Means War, Unstoppable, Just My Luck) plays Sam, a very crafty, talented, fast-talking salesman who is avoiding his family.  When he receives a message that his father has passed away he tries very hard to avoid returning home for the funeral. 

      When Sam’s girlfriend finally gets him home, which she doesn't accomplish until after the funeral is over, he is greeted by a very depressed and angry mother, played beautifully by Michelle Pfeiffer (LadyHawke, Batman Returns, Dangerous Minds, Stardust). The chemistry between Chris and Michelle is wonderful.  I could really feel their bond as mother and son. That is important to me in a family drama.  You have to buy into the relationships.  You have to really believe it. This movie did that well. 

      While settling his father’s estate Sam finds out about a half-sister he never knew he had and the son she is raising on her own.  His father wants him to give them some money and help take care of them.  He is very torn about what to do. The relationship between Sam, Fankie and Frankie’s son Josh is very well developed and beautifully portrayed. I really enjoyed the casting in this movie, everyone is amazing.  That being said I have to admit that Michael Hall D’Addario (John Adams, Little Spirit: Christmas in New York, Sinister) who plays Josh is brilliant. He steals every scene.  What a talented young man. 

     One of the fascinating things about People Like Us is the fact that it is loosely based on actual events. This is writer/director Alex Kurtzman’s (Fringe, New Day, Star Trek, Cowboys & Aliens) feature-film directorial debut. He met his sister when he was 30 years old. He knew that his father had another family but had never met them. When he started thinking about his half-sister and half-brother this image came to him – the last image of the movie. I don’t want to spoil it because it was a pretty neat scene. Alex said, “What you see is I think in many ways very autobiographical and in other ways there’s a lot of invention in there. But I certainly think there’s a lot of emotion and emotional truth for a lot of people in my family in there.”

      In the movie Sam’s father is a huge music producer named Jerry. Much of the music business memorabilia in the “Jerry’s Study” set belongs to co-writer Jody Lambert’s father Dennis Lambert. He is a Songwriter’s Hall of Fame nominee whose hits as writer and/or producer include “Ain’t No Woman (Like The One I’ve Got)”, “Rhinestone Cowboy”, “Baby Come Back” and “Nightshift”. The set even includes photographs of Lambert himself and his actual Gold Records.

      This is a very dysfunctional family with deep rooted anger and regrets. The movie is about how you deal with that anger and those regrets.  How people react and the choices they make when the truth all comes out. In the end even with all of their flaws they truly love each other and that is really what's important.