Movie Review: Topaz
Year of Release: 1969
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Frederick Stafford, Karin Dor, John Vernon, John Forsythe
Plot outline: A French intelligence agent becomes embroiled in the Cold War politics first with uncovering the events leading up to the 1962 Cuban Missle Crisis, and then back to France to break up an international Russian spy ring (IMDb).
Even though this movie is not one of Hitchcock's best works, I don't understand why his fans underrate it. Despite being considered as the least Hitchcockian, I can easily find his fingerprints all over this cinematic work; e.g. the subtle suspense of the opening sequence when the Russian official with his family defect to America, the three sub-stories that can easily become distant toward one another and yet they all fall nicely into one continuous main story, the camera angle when Juanita is killed - showing the terror in her eyes and filling the screen with her beautiful red dress as she slumps to the ground, and the unexpected, witty ending of two planes side by side on the tarmack - one going to Russia and one going to America. It's an amusing ending after two hours of tension! I could only guess why this movie is so underrated. In my opinion, probably because the chief protagonist is a French agent (!) and Frederick Stafford definitely doesn't have the charisma of Cary Grant.
My judgement: *** out of 4 stars
Movie Review: The Bourne Identity (trilogy)
The Bourne Identity
Year of Release: 2002
Country of Origin: USA, Germany, Czech Republic
Director: Doug Liman
Cast: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper
Plot outline: A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and without memory, then races to elude assassins and recover from amnesia (IMDb).
The Bourne Supremacy
Year of Release: 2004
Country of Origin: USA, Germany
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cast: Matt Damon, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen
Plot outline: When Jason Bourne is framed for a botched CIA operation, he is forced to take up his former life as a trained assassin to survive (IMDb).
The Bourne Ultimatum
Year of Release: 2007
Country of Origin: USA, Germany
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cast: Matt Damon, David Strathairn, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen
Plot outline: Bourne dodges new, superior assassins as he searches for his unknown past while a government agent tries to track him down (IMDb).
Despite having the same titles as Robert Ludlum's three spy fiction thriller novels, this Jason Bourne movie trilogy is substantially different from those three novels. Only the beginning of the first movie and the ending of the last movie are true to the plot of the first novel. Most other parts of this trilogy are either altered, deviated from its source material or even intermingled with the plot from Eric Van Lustbader's The Bourne Legacy novel. Why make a movie trilogy of a novel trilogy if most parts of it is different from its original source. Is this a typical blatant way of Hollywood to cash in on the popularity of those spy fiction thriller novels? In my opinion, the second act of the trilogy is not really worthwhile - its sole purpose is only for prolonging the action sequences; so it can be cut or incorporated into the first or the last act.
My judgement:
**1/2 out of 4 stars for "The Bourne Identity" (2002)
*1/2 out of 4 stars for "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004)
** out of 4 stars for "The Bourne Ultimatum" (2007)
The Bourne Identity
Year of Release: 1988
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Roger Young
Cast: Richard Chamberlain, Jaclyn Smith
Plot outline: A man is washed ashore the beach of a small French village during a heavy storm. He is bullet-riddled and without memory. He then tries to discover who he is and why several groups, including the CIA, are trying to kill him (IMDb).
Compared to the movie trilogy this TV miniseries is reasonably faithful to the plot of the first novel. Despite lack of style of big budget and splendour of high-end special FX, the script is solid - it gives sufficient time to let the story unfold, with only occasional drags in the middle part. This TV miniseries reminds me of the golden days of Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith.
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
Movie Review: The Kingdom
Year of Release: 2007
Country of Origin: USA, Germany
Director: Peter Berg
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner
Plot outline: A team of U.S. government agents is sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in Saudi Arabia (IMDb).
The opening scene provides a brief but clear introduction for the audience to enter the premise of the story. But it is such a big premise and the script cannot decide whether it wants to be here or there. As a result, despite all the fast-paced and well-executed script, the story lingers in the middle ground ... neither here nor there; making it just average, not strong enough to make any profound points. While the ending scene raises a thought-provoking question about the endless cycle of violence, by now it seems too late and feels out of place.
My judgement: ** out of 4 stars
Movie Review: Dreamgirls
Year of Release: 2006
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Bill Condon
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson
Plot outline: Based on the Broadway musical, a trio of black female soul singers cross over to the pop charts in the early 1960's (IMDb).
This musical, among other things - e.g. perseverance, sacrifice, creativity and viciousness of the producer, provides a valuable snippet of the history of how black American singers break into the mainstream pop charts in the early 1960's. The casting of Jennifer Hudson seems so perfectly fit, providing her with a big break into the industry and at the same time sweet revenge after losing her chance in the American Idol contest. This movie is definitely her sweet victory (she grabbed 2007 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress).
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
Movie Review: Gigi
Year of Release: 1958
Country of Origin: USA
Director: Vincente Minnelli
Cast: Leslie Caron, Maurice Chevalier, Louis Jourdan
Plot outline: Weary of the conventions of Parisian society, a rich playboy and a youthful courtesan-in-training enjoy a platonic friendship, but it may not stay platonic for long (IMDb).
Despite winning 9 Academy Awards with such an extravagant production; eye-catching set decorations, beautiful cinematography, elaborate and colourful costumes and ultimately the utmost charm of Maurice Chevalier, by today's standards this movie looks corny and cheesy. But, two songs enchantingly sung by him "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" and "I Remember It Well" are utterly lovable and memorable.
My judgement: **1/2 out of 4 stars
Year of Release: 1969
