![]() With a pre- Ghostbusters Harold Ramis stepping behind the camera for the first time, the writer-director reveals an easygoing affability and a penchant for letting comic talents shine. Grounded by performances from Damon, Julia Stiles, David Strathairn, Joan Allen, and Paddy Considine, The Bourne Ultimatum is not just the best of the Bourne series-it’s one of the best action films of the aughts. Produced in a cinematic era when shaky, handheld camerawork-for better and worse-was just starting to become the standard in big budget genre fare, director Paul Greengrass demonstrated how action filmmaking can harness the kineticism of that style without losing the logic of the movement. But, honestly, who cares about the plot when the action sequences are this thrilling? The third film in the series loosely based on the Robert Ludlum books, Ultimatum follows former CIA assassin Jason Bourne ( Matt Damon) as he continues to search for clues to his forgotten past, all while trying to evade his former employers who are actively trying to kill him. The best of the Bourne series, 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum, is a defining installment of the action genre. Batman Begins was electrifying and gratifying when it came out, and it still is. ![]() Gary Oldman and Michael Caine provide excellent support as Jim Gordon and Alfred, as do Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy even if their villains (Ra’s al Ghul and Scarecrow) are a bit undercooked. Nolan and co-writer David Goyer rightly returned Batman to a dark, gritty, more realistic environment-since abused by other films within the DC canon-and created a psychologically complex Batman/Bruce Wayne brought marvelously to life by Christian Bale. That initially hesitant reaction to the film was an indicator of just how much damage had been done eight years earlier by the catastrophic Batman & Robin, which all but ended the franchise until director Christopher Nolan rebooted it into greatness.Įven though its box office was not spectacular when compared to today’s billion-dollar behemoths, there’s no question that Batman Begins remains one of the two best live-action films to date starring the Caped Crusader (the other, of course, rhymes with The Bark Bite). It’s kind of strange to think that when Batman Begins opened in June 2005, it accrued a modest-by today’s standards-$48 million during its opening weekend in theaters before going on to an even more modest $205 million box office gross in North American. Admittedly, many of these lean on the action or broad comedy side, with romantic offerings being surprisingly slim for the month of Valentine’s Day, but if you’re in the mood for a cape or cowl, a terrifying chiller or something that will make you a giggler, then we have a list of solid offerings down below. ![]() ![]() Indeed, for those inclined to stay home but not interested in watching the Winter Olympics, Netflix has refilled its library with a variety of films. Even so, that doesn’t mean you have to be bored doing so! This month’s cold, damp, and often a 28-day excuse to stay inside. It’s sometimes fun to wonder if the reason February is the shortest month of the year is because folks want to get on to March as soon as possible.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |