Tuesday Movie Reviews

Green Zone
Starring: Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan
Directed by Paul Greengrass

Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon have teamed up in the past to give us some exciting action films from the Bourne series (Supremacy and Ultimatum). Their collaboration with Green Zone doesn't disappoint. The story revolves around a team of soldiers in Iraq that are trying to track down WMDs. The troupe is led by Bourne...I mean Damon...who thinks something strange is going on when they're never able to find any big bombs. He questions high ranking officials to the validity of the intel they're receiving. When he feels he's getting the run around, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Now, by no means is this a Rambo-type move. He's not taking on the entire US and Iraqi armies on his own. He's clever enough to ask the right questions of the right people to figure out what he'd been fearing...lies from the US government. What I liked so much about this film is the total believability of the story. It feels like this could have been a 60 Minutes expose. The action is pretty much non-stop and Damon, as always, holds your attention throughout. I really enjoyed the way the US government were made to look like total jerks...that always makes me happy. Even though there a few political-type ideas to remember and recall, and I usually hate following those kinds of things, the movie moves along at such a pace that it seems easy to handle. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and look forward to watching it again.

GRADE: A

She's Out Of My League
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller, Debra Jo Rupp, Krysten Ritter
Directed by Jim Field Smith

There were things that I really liked about this film and things that I really didn't like at all. Let's start with Jay Baruchel. I've enjoyed watching his geeky act ever since his days on "Undeclared", a very underrated TV show from the early 2000's. Problem is, he's never really dropped that persona (although I hear he's great in Trotsky). I started to become annoyed at his facial expressions and movements which I know is a bit trivial, but when he looks as though he is constantly constipated it starts to bother me. That was a real disappointment. Another thing I didn't really care for was one scene that I would call "bathroom humour" that I didn't feel needed to be in the movie at all. It was obviously there to make the teenage crowd howl with laughter, but after the age of 18 or so I stopped thinking that kind of stuff was funny. Also, T.J. Miller, playing Stainer, reminded me of a cross between Will Ferrel and Napoleon Dynamite...not a good combination! What I did like was the honesty in the dialogue through most of the film. It was refreshing to hear. Also, the performance of Alice Eve as Holly. Sure, she's gorgeous, but I found myself really liking the character she became. I was under the impression that she would be a bitch in the film, I don't know why I came up with that, but she was totally engaging. Did I mention she's gorgeous as well? Anyway, She's Out Of My League was enjoyable but a little disappointing all at once. Maybe I expected more...I don't know...but I have a feeling it will please the masses.

GRADE: B-