Downsizing 2017 5 out of 10

Downsizing 2017 5 out of 10

 The film is a social satire that takes place in a world where humans can be shrunk to the size of five inches.  It follows this journey by a man named Paul (Matt Damon) who is struggling to have the life he wants and decides to undergo this process that will allow him to live a life of luxury as a downsized person.    The concept for the film is incredible,  the film itself was really disappointed.   I think Black Mirror could have done a much more interesting and compelling job with this cool concept.

I guess my main issue with the film is that it was advertised as a comedy.  From the trailers you would think that the movie was more in the spirit of a film like The Truman Show.  The trailer features Kristen Wigg who plays his wife and Jason Sudeikis as a friend who had already undergone the process.   Kristen Wigg's character decides at the last minute not to undergo the procedure and is not in the film after that decision.  Jason Sudeikis's role is literally what is in the trailer.   The concept for the film was strong and the beginning of the film was really interesting --unfortunately shortly after he makes it to the downsized world all of the comedy is quickly sucked out of the film detours in a strange direction.  

The  great potential of the film was  completed wasted.  The story veered into scenes of Matt Damon doing drugs at a party and then trying to help a maid that barely speaks English and becoming a doctor to a secret poor area of the downsized world.  The odd direction the film took pulled all of the air out of the film.  I think it was falsely advertised as a comedy when all of the possible avenues for comedy left the film at about the half way point.

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Elysium 2013 6 out of 10

Elysium 2013   6 out of 10

Elysium wasn't the movie I expected.  It is a Sci-Fi movie set in the year 2154 where two class systems exist.  The rich which live in a luxary space station called Elysium and the rest which live in a devastated Earth that looks like a third world country.   The main character is Max (played by Matt Damon)  a guy struggling from day to day on Earth that has like many others dreaming of someday earning his way to Elysium.  He gets exposed to some radiation at his job and basically has 5 days left to live unless he can somehow make his way to Elysium where he can be cured.   He makes a deal with some guys from his criminal past to try and get him there if he will pull off this one job for them.  They basically turn him into a fighting cyborg and set him on a mission to kidnap an executive from Elysium that runs the company that he worked for on Earth.

It was a decent Sci-Fi Film.  The action scenes were good --but I was expecting more from the premise.   Jodie Foster's character as one the administers on Elysium was a waste of her talents and could have been played by anybody.   Matt Damon was good with what he was given -- but what I thought was going to be a more intelligent Sci-Fi basically turned into a battle of Cyborgs at the end.   That is what you expect in a Jean Claude Van Damme movie ....not a Matt Damon/ Jodie Foster film.   The visuals in the film were good, but the story just fell flat and was too predictable. Nothing unexpected really happened.   I was really hoping for a more intellectual film.  I had high hopes since it was the follow-up directing effort of Neill Blomkamp who did such a good job on District 9 which was a much better film.

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Bourne Ultimatum 2007 7 out of 10

Bourne Ultimatum 2007  7 out of 10

I've now seen all 4 of the Matt Damon Bourne movies and I'm convinced that Jason Bourne is just a disposable action hero.  The Jason Bourne movies have perfected the following and avoiding people in a crowd scene. These scenes are filled with tension and look great on screen.    Half of the scenes are people trying to find Jason Bourne and Jason Bourne trying to find answers.  The first movie in the Bourne series seemed new and unique---but now the formula for the Bourne movies has made them completely unmemorable after viewing.   Don't get me wrong:  they are a fun and enjoyable ride at the time you are watching them --but other than Jason Bourne getting one small piece of information about his past --nothing really happens.   Jason Bourne isn't saving the world like James Bond or Jack Bauer,  instead he is just avoiding capture again and again while the people around him die.   The series features great action sequences---but after the thrill of watching the film---I feel empty as far as the series goes.  

In conclusion:   Watch the Bourne films for the action sequences --not for the slowly evolving and redundant story lines.

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Jason Bourne 2016 7+ out of 10 (My issues with Jason Bourne)

Jason Bourne 2016  7+ out of 10

 I enjoyed the movie when I saw it in the theaters the other day.

Jason Bourne is the most recent entry in continuing the series of Bourne films. 

The Cast

The cast for Jason Bourne is solid.   Matt Damon returns in this action packed film.  Tommy Lee Jones joins the cast as the Director that is trying to eliminate Jason Bourne.  Immediately comparisons to The Fugitive came to mind and made me want to watch that film again.  Alicia Vikander also joins as an agent who decides to  help him  for some reason.  

The Action Sequences
The movie has several great action sequences. In fact the whole film is basically one action set piece after another.  The chaotic chase through the streets of Las Vegas was especially epic.  This movie gets a 7+ out of 10 based on its great action sequences alone.

My Issues with the Jason Bourne Franchise
The movie was exciting and entertaining on its own….but my issue with the Bourne series is that unlike James Bond who is saving the world Bourne just continues to try to solve his own personal issues and answer questions about his past.  So it feels at this point like nothing is really being accomplished.  You feel like you could literally start with the next movie and you really didn’t miss anything story wise.   Jason Bourne is almost a disposable film.  
Fun to watch in the theater, but of no real consequence. The first movie felt like a fresh look at a spy film--but by this installment it just feels like the character just keeps doing the same things over and over again.   Avoiding people in crowds to stay under the radar and occasionally discovering a new piece to the puzzle of his life.

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The Martian 2015 7+ out of 10

The Martian 2015  7+ out of 10

You had me at Ridley Scott directing a Sci-Fi film.    After Spielberg and George Lucas:  Ridley Scott is one of the few directors that I’ll see a movie by no matter what the subject matter.   I didn’t see the Martian on the big screen (I probably should have), but I did finally get around to seeing it last week.   

The film centers on an Astronaut getting left behind on Mars after an evacuation in which his crew mates leave the planet after thinking he was was dead.   It is a story of survival and as such has many obstacles along the way.   Matt Damon does an excellent job as the stranded Astronaut.  He is finally able to make contact with NASA to let them know he is still alive and then must stay alive long enough for them to send someone to bring him back.   It is a tough role since he spends most of the movie alone and has to convey his story by basically talking to himself with no one to play off of.

The movie looks incredible (as do all of Ridley’s films) and the story is interesting.   My only problem with the film is the ending.   Let’s just say that I was invested in the movie until the rescue attempt at the end.  The ending just seemed so  far fetched an cartoonish that it let me down.  I know they were trying to be dramatic –but I wanted to keep the believability that I had sustained for the rest of the film.

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The Adjustment Bureau 2011 8 out of 10

The Adjustment Bureau    2011   8 out of 10

The best way I can describe this for people that have seen a lot of movies is that it is a cross between Dark City and Serendipity. It is based on a Phillip K Dick short story (Many of my Favorite Sci-Fi films have been. The Sci-Fi Noir Classic Bladerunner. Total Recall and Minority Report to name a few) . Dick's sci-fi books often focus on a normal man in an extraordinary situation against the system. A paranoid existence for his characters like in Total Recall ( a man trying to find out who he really is). He often tackles theology in this books. This movie is no exception. Matt Damon is a man who by accident (much like the main character in Dark City) sees something he isn't meant to see. The powers that be if you may correcting and fixing his destiny. His character is persistent and believes in free will (although he has been told that it is just an illusion). The movie basically follows his efforts to reconnect with a girl his is in love with despite fate (The Adjust Bureau's ) attempts to keep them apart. A cool and interesting look at Destiny and whether it has been prewritten or whether we can make our own destiny......A good thought provoking film....Like many good sci-fi films before it.