After a solid start the Bourne franchise has grown with each instalment, culminating in The Bourne Ultimatum, the epitome of sleek spy action film. The increasing success both commercially and critically can largely be placed at the feet of director Paul Greengrass, who stepped in for the last two films. His obvious chemistry with the character of Jason Bourne, played … [Read more...]
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007) review by That Film Guy
Reuniting star Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass, The Bourne Ultimatum ties up the original Bourne trilogy and sends off its lead character in a blistering blaze of quick-cut action and hyper-tense intrigue. The most expensive film in the franchise, The Bourne Ultimatum is also the most commercially successful having taken $440m from a budget of $100m. Loosely based on an … [Read more...]
The Bourne Supremacy (2004) review by That Film Guy
Following on from the surprise success of The Bourne Identity, writer Tony Gilroy returns to pen The Bourne Supremacy. This time at the director's helm is Paul Greengrass, while Matt Damon returns as lead character Jason Bourne. The Bourne Supremacy roughly matched its predecessor at the box office taking $288m from a modest budget of $75m. … [Read more...]
Brave (2012) review by That Film Guy
Following on from the commercially successful, but critically derided Cars 2, animation house Pixar have created another original film entitled Brave. Wanting to create even more ground-breaking graphic design, Pixar stripped away their old animation software and built it anew for the first time in 25 years and Brave stands as the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format. … [Read more...]
Blood Diamond (2006) review by That Film Dude
Set in 1999, during the Sierra Leone Civil War, a fisherman named Solomon (Djimon Hounsou) is captured by the Revolutionary United Front after they massacre his village. Forced to work panning for diamonds, which the rebels intend to sell overseas to buy weapons, he discovers the largest diamond the revolutionary leader (David Harewood) has ever seen. During a government raid … [Read more...]
The Bourne Identity (2002) review by That Film Guy
Released at a time when the James Bond franchise was faltering in quality and believability, The Bourne Identity become a commercial success that further solidified Matt Damon's place as Hollywood A-Lister and created a franchise to challenge the British secret agent. Based on a novel by Robert Ludlum, The Bourne Identity was adapted to screen by Tony Gilroy and William Blake … [Read more...]
Searching for Sugar Man (2012) review by That Art House Guy
In 1970, Sixto Rodriguez, a construction worker from Detroit, released his first album Cold Fact. Those who had worked on it were really excited about it “ and predicted big things for the singer songwriter whose impassioned lyrics reminded them of Bob Dylan. Reviews were good, but nobody bought the album. It was the same with his second attempt, Coming From Reality. Sales were … [Read more...]
American Movie (1999) review by The Documentalist
Making an independent film is hard. Very hard. You have no budget, limited resources and limited time, the sum of which is often fairly shambolic despite the best efforts of the creator. Everyone in their time has picked up a camera and thought about making a film but few really commit to it. One man who can say with his hand on his heart however that he tries his best is … [Read more...]
The Three Stooges (2012) review by That Film Guy
The Farrelly Brothers, best known for Dumb and Dumber, There's Something About Mary and Kingpin return to directing with a reboot of The Three Stooges. The original films revolved around three friends Larry, Moe and Curly who get up to all sorts of hijinx because of their naïve, clumsy and socially awkward ways. … [Read more...]
The Raven (2012) review by That Film Guy
Edgar Allen Poe was one American's most prominent writers. Famous for his Gothic-themed detective stories as well as explorations of the human psyche, his work has been a constant source of inspiration in Hollywood for decades. In The Raven, director James McTeigue explores Poe's work from the point of view of the author in his final six days of life. Supremely aptly Poe's … [Read more...]