Monday, May 9, 2011

The Babysitters

So where does this film sit. A film about a straight A student who follows the path to becoming a madam. I would like to say that its hanging there somewhere between say "Wish You Were Here", "Wilby Wonderful", "Passionflower Hotel", "Risky Business" and a few others of that ilk, but not quite on par with them. It has an indy feel, but quite polished overall. It does the dance between lightweight and oppressive drama, you start in, like the girls, thinking it will be a little light entertainment, but then the darker realities come to the fore.

Adequate film filled a 90 minute slot in my evening.  Probably more deserves the 3.6 stars at Amazon then the 5.9/10 from IMDb, which matches the 3 star rating at Netflix.

On a plus side, Katherine Waterston did a good job in the lead role, I could probably stand to watch her in other films.

The Bourne Trilogy

So I can't imagine why I didn't blog this as I went along, but I finally got to see the whole trilogy.  The final one I just saw last weekend.

So what can I say, yes the car chase in episode one is a good one, though a bit "Ronin".  Still not the best chase with a classic Mini, but close.  The best chase with a contemporary MINI is still "Noble Son".

I never really figured I'd be interested in anything written by Ludlum, my spy thrills are better fulfilled with Deighton's writing.  And if something is Hollywood and that big a hit, then I generally find it's just empty thrills and an incoherent storyline.  I was very mistaken with this one.  It's a good fun story, which holds together.  Yes, real thrill a minute, more relentless than the "Three Days of the Condor", more credible than Bond.  Sure the story is a bit of a cliche, spy drops out and wants to be a pacifist, doesn't even know who he is.  Still for such a story to cross into mainstream pop culture is a bit of a step.

Can't fault the lead trouser - Matt Damon, he delivers everything we used to get from Clint Eastwood, Michael Caine, Steve McQueen, but he does it a little different somehow, a little more modern.

The choice of leading ladies was good too.  I don't just mean the cute girls Franka Potente, or Julia Stiles but also Joan Allen as the CIA spy boss who finds out something wrong was being done, and fight her way through three movies to sort out the mess.

Worth watching all three.