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Reviews
Lord of War (2005)
Great acting, fascinating topic, witty writing
Lord of War is one the few movies this year that I felt was worth my ten bucks. It has the same quiet character driven beauty of Matchstick Men with a faster plot and information about munitions that, while you might know it, is still shocking to see. I was emotionally involved throughout this movie, and I haven't been able to say that for a long time. Jared Leto is fantastic. Nicolas Cage his usual amusing powerful self, and Ethan Hawks was quite great. I am sorry to say that I don't the name of lead actress, but she played her minimal part to a quiet perfection. The guy who played the president of Liberia was also fabulous. Great acting, witty writing and, yes, it had a message, but it lets the based-on-true life story reveal the message and ultimately the message is not political, so much as about one's soul.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Great Cast, lots of heart and action, Smart, Smart, Smart
Matt Damon - totally buff, emotionally supercharged, totally lethal - eats this role up. Joan Allen character is powerful and moving. A role model for government officials of all genders, it would be nice if our presidential candidates would look to this role for a real definition of character. The rest of cast works perfectly . The action is breathtaking though there are some cinematic choices (a lot of blurred footage) that are unusual and sometimes distracting. The shots of Russia are both beautiful and fascinating. The story here is tight and impressive. If I ever saw anything coming, I quickly forgot about with all the action and was never surprised when it resurfaced. The movie gives the impression that a lot of talent smart Hollywood people decided to give the audience their best and it paid off.
Stateside (2004)
Fresh, moving, enlightening and entertaining
I saw a prescreening of this lovely movie. It explores fresh exciting territory while telling an extremely realistic teen love story. When the leads sneak around and struggle to be together, it has the romance and fun of ROMEO AND JULIET. In other ways it reminds me of THE MAGDALENE SISTERS in that it tells a story that is important for people to see. However, just like in Magdalene Sisters the message doesn't interfere with the high level of entertainment. The mental illness doesn't take over the film. It just provides a unique obstacle that the lovers must get over to be together.
The acting is excellent and the all the characters are really alive, flawed,
passionate and interesting. All in all, this is a warm and funny movie.