Hereafter, 2010

Hereafter, 2010
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Matt Damon, Cecile de France, Bryce Dallas Howard



Stage: Home theatre, cool midnight tweek


Hereafter in short:A drama centered on three people who are haunted by mortality in different ways. George (Damon) is a blue-collar American who has a special connection to the afterlife. On the other side of the world, Marie (de France), a French journalist, has a near-death experience that shakes her reality. And when Marcus (Frankie/George McLaren), a London schoolboy, loses the person closest to him, he desperately needs answers. Each on a path in search of the truth, their lives will intersect, forever changed by what they believe might-or must-exist in the hereafter.


Preps: a remaining item on the to do list. Just came along.


Reality:Well, the first surprise is definitely Damon. And the second the good role of a media person a new face (Cecile) is playing. I adore the fact that three different lives and roles are exchanging until they somehow mix. And I love all three dramas in one. The first one, facing a tsunami on what it was supposed to be a romantic getaway, and facing the life after this, and having a death (facing death) experience while you were at it. The second, being so close to the brother you love dearly, living with a mother that is an alcoholic and after losing the brother, losing a grip to life itself. The third one, being a psychic, able to read what is a pain in other people's lives, not being normal at all and having a brother that cannot accept the fact that this isn't what you want to do. A lot of pain distributed in this movie, a lot of real case live examples of what you wouldn't want to be a part of or what you wouldn't want to experience by yourself.
Eastwood flies this plane safely and surely until the all three different worlds collide and unite, with the help of Damon (the psychic that can read people and doesn't have an own personality), crashing into Dicken's reading somewhere in London. A brilliantly set range of actions, that consequently set all three lives in order. Untraditionally, yet it breaks the heart while you want to see beyond. These are main stories. The side story, what is the afterlife all about, doesn't run in parallel, like a bad subconscience it reveals every now and then in some kind of sci-fi vision that some people experience, no real explanation or no real action afterwards. Is this what Eastwood really sees as afterlife? A bunch of statues, where one runs across to another? I don't know. But as the parallel and not first chosen story, the secret remains buried and is left to the spectator's imagination. Which isn't really bad, as I despise some insinuations and some major breakthroughs which don't seem real. However, in this case we don't hold enough evidence to state true or false. Just believable or not.
Some real life examples on how bad it can get. Two kids waiting for a half drunk mum. A couple being together as long it seems to benefit both careers. And brother love that exceeds expectations, when one forces another to read a person he doesn't really want to. And my absolutely favourite part - Damon with a sweet lady at the cooking class, tasting without seeing what they are going to eat. Sweeeeeet.




My personal rate: 7,0 (a good solid piece, will make you think about what to do if the d day comes and more important, what is beyond)


Hereafter on IMDB

True Grit, 2010

True Grit, 2010
Director: Ethan & Joel Coen
Cast: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld

Stage: @Laptop


True grit in short: Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with "true grit," Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her "grit" tested.


Preps: One of the more notorious ones according to the Academy. And one of the worst ones according to some people I know.


Reality: At first, amazed. Because of the language, the setting, the scenes and the costumes. The language spoken is truly beautiful. I would wish that my daughter at 14 posesses such language. Ancient and beautiful. Noone speaks this way any more.
But the rest.. the story is somehow believable. Vengeance brings a lot out of many people, therefore the story about making a chase after your father's murderer, is quite believable, nasty and could get the viewer in the dark of the deed.
Nevertheless, the story remains where I dreamt it, the happening is somehow boring and even though the main characters are moving all the time, you have the distinctive feeling they are at the same firecamp all the time and that nothing is about to happen.
The scenes at the beginning will drive your attention, but in the middle, the movie loses its pace and becomes average, then boring. The chase isn't half as fun as watching the young girl fighting for her right. Jeff Bridges? Matt Damon? ahm.. not impressive. is true grit being an asshole with an attitude? I don't think so. Unfortunately, I don't really like this one. I believe the original was better.


My personal rate: 5,0 (up to a point, very good. After that.. erase it!)


True Grit on IMDB

Armored, 2009

Armored, 2009
Director:Nimrod Antal
Cast: Matt Dillon, Lawrence Fishburne, Jean Reno



Armored in short:A newbie guard for an armored truck company is coerced by his veteran coworkers to steal a truck containing $42 million. But a wrinkle in their supposedly foolproof plan divides the group, leading to a potentially deadly resolution.
Stage: Home cinema
Preps: I see it has some good ratings on the web blogs, so I decide to check it out. However, I don't know it - hasn't been in our theatres anyway.


Reality:Well, I admit the story could have a drive. Taking governmental money, never get caught, all in the sense to serve your abandoned brother and yourself and in this sense, not be really guilty, well this has something to it. And in my opinion, in some cases, really good representation in the movie. However, this is not the case in this one. I don't like the scenery, it is passive, nothing really is happening, the story doesn't evolve like it could have (the internal fight between the colleagues that has its roots, doesn't get to be a tree anyway, nowhere near that. Just a few mushrooms on this piece of land get to grow - honesty and decence get rewarded, cruelness and villains get their punishment and the good guys get to go home.

A poor act by Dillon and Fishburne - how come he always has to be a martial art hero of some kind, like Seagal always has to be a part of the marine squad - very predictable and really annoying sometimes. It is a cop internal movie, once to be seen and then forgotten. I don't recommend it. Nothing truly fascinating about this piece.

My personal rating: 4,0 (don't watch it if you have something else on your mind, like picking wood or something useful you can show to the world :)




Armored on IMDB

Green zone, 2010

Green zone, 2010
Director: Paul Greengrass (Bourne Identity)
Cast: Yigal Naor, Matt Damon, Nicoye Banks


Green Zone in short: Discovering covert and faulty intelligence causes a U.S. Army officer to go rogue as he hunts for Weapons of Mass Destruction in an unstable region.

Stage: local cinema/colloseum

Preps: None. I haven't got a clue what a friend of mine got me to see in the movies. Since I am a big movie fan and usually we share the taste, I don't mind going blind folded in the movies.


Reality: I am thoroughly surprised. Since seeing The hurt locker lately I am yet again not convinced in the war movie genre. They really hurt my ROM, I guess, trying to figure out what the hell drives men to run around with weapons and hurt each other on the battle field. And not even being LOTR or some other sci-fi. A bit of irony there, since I have trained martial arts for a very long time. However, I do understand the combat rules, I don't understand wars. The hurt locker proved it to me one more time and the sigh of dissatisfaction runs through me as I figure this one is a war movie too.

However, it is a good one. A bit american-ish, especially in the end, but a splendid piece, compared to the hurt locker. Or Saving Private Ryan (my god, Hanks really isn't talented for war movies, let him dispair in some romantic dramas as he is used to them) or some similar wrecks in my opinion. Or some others in that genre. Matt Damon plays superb hero that disobeys the rules. Very unreal in real life in my opinion, but still I like it. It's not really in soldier's nature to disobey the rules, since they are fit to their skin and burned in their soul while they are doing their job. And precisely not to question commands, not to ask yourself why do this and that, why kill someone or not. Basic soldier training is broken here and questions like "why are we even fighting" are asked. "This is the reason we're here", referring to seek of the atomic weapons, and with it, the viewer knows it's a big lie.

You lose the hunt in some chases shown, but overall, you feel like there's a lot of action going on. The subtile story about the purpose of having americans in Iraq is quite visible and transparent. The action seems real. The reality of having mutiny in armed forces is not believable, but the second level reception of intel (the data that they received and they showed on) is.

I think even the female population might enjoy it a lot. If not for other reasons, for the empathy for the population in Iraq, nonsense that the war poses and yess, the Matt Damon in his charms.


My personal rate: 8,5



One of my favourite quotes in the movie: "You will not decide what happens to this country"; Freddy to Miller, when Miller gives him hard time about killing the haunted criminal



Green zone on IMDB
Official sites
yummy Matt Damon pics

Invictus, 2009

Invictus, 2009. Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon


Short synopsis: Nelson Mandela, in his first term as the South African President, initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn land: enlist the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup


Stage: home theatre

Pre-phase: the new Eastwood wave inspires me to see the movie regardless of the cast, scenario, etc. The name is enough. Seeing the topic (or the trailer), I am convinced, I am going to see at least half of Mandela's biography or at least an important part of his life. A political then, I think. Rivalry, competition, bribes, etc. Classic political. I couldn't be more mistaken, as the movie is something completely else.

Reality:
Eastwood dances with both separated parts of complete nation of South Africa, divided by apartheid and fighting amongst each other. In an attempt to solve this, a "devine" hand is given, in shape of Nelson Mandela, beautifully performed by Morgan Freeman. I am a bit lost in the weird english that is used at first, however it seems pretty much genuine and you get used to it. Despite the fact that I really expected a political saga (and in this way also the movie begins), Eastwood tricks his way through the most frequently used tool to connect nations, I suppose - sports. In this case rugby. The quest for winning the championship overruns the complete movie and represents the mainframe for the spectator as the perfect way to make people happy and neglect everyday problems. It glorifies the efect of sport to the nation and at least for a second or two you can sense the nation unified.


Some of my key "grande" thoughts when watching this..
Is sports truly the way to handle a nation's tolerance among the people? (from the president's perspective) Or is just like in roman times, when you need some bread and games to make the crowd happy not to see everyday worries.. in a sense I can see the similar thing happening in my homeland, with the football and basketball euphoria. Or in the last two months, the glorification of winter sports and unifying the nation in front of tv and celebrating in the streets. In some cases also I am not an exception to this charming happinness. Maybe it's the simplest way for the leading party in the pairlament to catch some votes. In my country, sadly enough, we only want to stand behind sports when they are doing splendid. The point is.. if we think of Mandela, do you really suppose he would cast his votes this way? Invictus is a movie, based on true story. During the movie, I am thinking constantly, which president would really take the time and come and cheer for the team, come to the practice, invite the captain of the team for a cup of tea. On the other hand, it was our head of pairlament that cleaned the shoes of our football team when they won and entered world championships (ironically - also in South Africa).

I believe that many people will find the movie inspiring. In my country also, the happening in the movie could be easily transported or also applied to balkan countries in general.

Morgan is working magic with his performance, also Damon has one of his better rolls. I still cannot get rid of the feeling that I wanted to see more of Nelson Mandela, not just a fanatic rugby fan. The energy within the movie is somehow similar to the one, made in "Remember the Titans". And also the ending. I have to remind myself, that is based on the true facts. And that Invictus, by the way, means unconquered. A poem, written by William Ernest Henley, that inspired Mandela during his prison time to change his perspectives.

More reviews on the movie: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2009-12-10-invictus10_ST_N.htm

I am sure you will like the concluding tunes, president thinking to himself..
I am the captain of the beat,
I am the master of my soul.


My personal rating: 6,5 (enjoyable). + some of the match scenes on big screen take your breath away. Still makes me wonder, why do this to oneself and one's body (rugby I mean) :)

p.s. IMDB peak: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1057500/