Movies, Mom & Me

• 
  Commentary:  Under construction.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Natalie Portman	Lena	Jennifer Jason Leigh	Dr. Ventress	Gina Rodriguez	Anya Thorensen	Tessa Thompson	Josie Radek
  Tuva Novotny	Cassie Sheppard	Oscar Isaac	Kane	Benedict Wong	Lomax	Sonoya Mizuno	Katie

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2018
    Directed by Alex Garland.

Labels: adventure4, jennifer-jason-leigh, mystery3, oscar-isaac, science-fiction2, thriller3

# posted by gail @ 10:30    0 comments    email......this post

• 
  Commentary:  Go ahead. Make fun of me. I don't care. I love this series of movies for just pure action thriller enthrallment. I even like the one without Matt Damon. I was introduced to these movies through a friend of mine who you wouldn't expect would like them, since she's not ordinarily a fan of spy action-thrillers. She nagged me, though, until I finally started checking them out of the library, one by one. It is these movies that hooked me on action-thrillers. I don't know why I developed a taste for them late in life but, well, I did, and I'm enjoying the hell out of the flavor.
    They are all personal guilty pleasures. Not much more to say about these movies that hasn't already been said, except I understand there's another in the theaters and I can't wait until it hits DVD. Well, I can wait until the price drops. There is even a slot in the collection's case for that DVD. You can bet I'll be filling it.
  Update 6/2/2022:  This post was originally published on 8/14/16 but disappeared from public view. I am now reinstating it.
    The movies in this collection are:
    
  
  The Bourne Identity
    Did you know there is a 1988 version of this film (same name), a TV Mini Series starring Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith? Although IMDb rated it a bit lower than this one, it wasn't a ratings slouch. If you read the comments, you'll notice that almost everyone liked to loved it; some even preferring it to the Matt Damon/Jeremy Renner franchise.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Matt Damon	Jason Bourne/David Webb	Franka Potente	Marie Kreutz	Chris Cooper	Alexander Conklin	Clive Owen	The Professor
  Brian Cox	Ward Abbott	Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje	Nykwana Wombosi	Gabriel Mann	Danny Zorn	Julia Stiles	Nicolette Parsons

  
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 2002
      Directed by Doug Liman.
    
  
  The Bourne Supremacy
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Matt Damon	Jason Bourne	Joan Allen	Pamela Landy	Brian Cox	Ward Abbott	Franka Potente	Marie Kreutz
  Julia Stiles	Nicolette Parsons	Karl Urban	Kirill	Marton Csokas	Jarda	Oksana Akinshina	Irena Neski

  
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 2004
      Directed Paul Greengrass.
  → joan-allen
    
  
  The Bourne Ultimatum
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Matt Damon	Jason Bourne	Julia Stiles	Nicolette Parsons	David Strathairn	Noah Vosen	Scott Glenn	Ezra Kramer
  Paddy Considine	Simon Ross	Édgar Ramírez	Paz	Albert Finney	Dr. Albert Hirsch	Joan Allen	Pamela Landy

  
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 2007
      Directed by Paul Greengrass.
  → joan-allen, david-straithairn
    
  
  The Bourne Legacy
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Jeremy Renner	Kenneth James Kitsom/Aaron Cross	Rachel Weisz	Dr. Marta Shearing	Edward Norton	Col. Eric Byer	Stacey Keach	Mark Turso
  Dennis Boutsikaris	Terrence Ward	Oscar Isaac	Outcome #3	Joan Allen	Pamela Landy	Albert Finney	Dr. Albert Hirsch
  David Strathairn	Noah Vosen	Donna Murphy	Dita Mandy	Željko Ivanek	Dr. Donald Foite	Shane Jacobson	Mackie

  
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 2012
      Directed Tony Gilroy.
  → joan-allen, željko-ivanek, david-straithairn
    
  
  Jason Bourne
  Update 2/5/2018:  Yes, I purchased the fifth installment to fill the fifth slot in this collection, Jason Bourne, which surprised me. I actually expected it to be, well, more of the same. It was, but different. Interesting. Yes, I enjoy it as much as the first four. Yes, the purchase included a DVD copy, as well as a Blu-Ray copy. I may, later, pass the DVD copy off to someone who wants it.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Matt Damon	Jason Bourne	Tommy Lee Jones	Robert Dewey	Julia Stiles	Nicolette Parsons	Alicia Vikander	Heather Lee
  Vincent Cassel	The Asset	Ato Essandoh	Craig Jeffers	Riz Ahmed	Aaron Kalloor	Scott Shepherd	Edwin Russell

  
  → tommy-lee-jones
      Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
      Release Date: 2016
      Directed Paul Greengrass.

Labels: §4, action1, adventure1, chris-cooper, david-strathairn, drama5, edward-norton, joan-allen, neo-noirB, oscar-isaac, political2, rachel-weisz, spy, super-hero2, thriller2, tommy-lee-jones, violence2, željko-ivanek

# posted by gail @ 11:55    0 comments    email......this post

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  Commentary:  This movie isn't well known here in the U.S. It got middling reviews, in the sense that about half the reviewers praised it and the other half either panned it or didn't bother to review it. I own it because I'd seen it somewhere on some channel and couldn't get the portrayal of Hypatia out of my head. I knew nothing about this woman when I first watched the film. It seems, if you refer to the article to which I've linked in the title, that a fair amount of the "facts" in the movie were drafted onto the story from either before or after Hypatia's life, or have no reference, at all. Still, I like the movie, I like the story, and I especially like Rachel Weisz's portrayal of Hypatia. There are a few special features. I know I watched them. I always watch special or bonus features. I remember nothing about the ones for this movie, however. I'll need to check on them, again, when I rewatch the movie.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Rachel Weisz	Hypatia of Alexandria	Max Minghella	Davus	Oscar Isaac	Orestes	Michael Lonsdale	Theon of Alexandria/Hypatia's Father
  Homayoun Ershadi	Hypatia's Research Asst.	Sami Samir	Cyril of Alexandria	Manuel Cauchi	Theophilus of Alexandria	Rupert Evans	Synesius of Cyrene

  
    For those who care, here's the Wikipedia write-up on this film.
    Release Date: 2009
    Directed by Alejandro Amenábar.

Labels: biography1, drama2, historical1, oscar-isaac, period1, rachel-weisz, teaching

# posted by gail @ 15:34    0 comments    email......this post

• Who's watched:  M & G
• Mentions:  None
• 
  Commentary:  Yes, this is yet another jesus dvd that is a Jesus movie. We rented it first. For some unknown reason, I had the idea that maybe we had enough Jesus movies for Mom and she'd consider this one overkill, but I was wrong, which is why I purchased it for her. We've watched it several times.
    I appreciate it for the explanation it contains of certain cultural customs to which members of "The Holy Family" would have been obligated, but, more than this, some of the oblique symbology of the birth of Jesus is explained, such as the signficance of the gifts received from "the wise men". There is strong enough emphasis on the importance of the visiting of the shepherds that I finally understood this aspect of the Jesus Nativity Story. And, the parallel story of Elizabeth and Zechariah is well woven into the presentation.
    My mother, of course, is enthralled with the movie. The more apparently realistic Bible movies are, the more she likes them. This one rang a bell for her. She even enjoyed the offhand comic relief of the three wise men.
    I may have mentioned this before: I'm not Christian, never have been, actually, even though I was raised in what would be considered a typical Christian household of the 50's and 60's, which is to say, only mildly religious but with a strong emphasis on morality and ethics, not necessarily connected to but often echoing Christianity in particular. Because my mother is deeply spiritual, though, and uses Christianity as her spiritual touchstone (and, for a few other reasons, as well), I spent a fair amount of time (still do, in fact) investigating and thinking about Christianity. I've been at the point, for some years, where I firmly doubt the existence of the historical Jesus as presented in Christianity (even the Christian gospels hint that the Jesus they present never existed) but, because much of the symbology and beliefs are ubiquitous in many theistic and nontheistic religious doctrines and practice, the entire area of spirituality bounded by religion fascinates me and Christianity, being the first religion to which I was introduced, thus the one with which I am most familiar, is a good jumping off point for me. This movie, in particular, is a succinct reminder of the power of the Jesus story, Jesus mythology and Christian dedication. As well, while I was absorbing Elizabeth's story alongside Mary's, I was suddenly struck by the importance of the mothers of gods, in stories such as these, always being in some way barren, or, in the case of the births of great leaders of a theistic religion, the birth itself or the baby being threatened, thus the birth of the god or the leader is usually (except, for instance, in the case of Abram/Abraham), somehow miraculous. I don't know why I never before paid attention to this.
    Soon after we watched this movie a few times and had some stimulating conversations about Christianity in particular and spirituality in general, I decided to rent The God Who Wasn't There so Mom could get a better idea of why Christianity interests me but doesn't cause me to "fall on [my] knees". No, this isn't a movie we'll be purchasing. I was familiar with most of the stuff in it when I originally saw it and don't need it as a resource. But, Mom found this movie interesting and worthy of discussion, although it didn't sway her belief in her religion. I didn't expect this. Even those of us who aren't swayed by beliefs in gods and the ritual detail of god centered religions often have belief systems that make no rational sense but hold sway over us, anyway. At any rate, something I realized when we discussed spirituality and religion from the point of view of The God Who Wasn't There is that Mom is firmly centered in life-here-and-now rather than death-in-the-sweet-by-and-by. This, I think, is the important difference between her spirituality and that of many people who consider and call themselves Christians.
    The Nativity Story is not nearly as spiritually powerful for me as, say, The Little Buddha, for instance, but it's provocative, nonetheless, and I can count on it to trigger interesting discussions about religion and spirituality between my mother and me.
    Well, well, well. I found loads of Christian reviewers covering this movie, usually positively (if there was any negativity at all in these reviews, it was a minor haggle over biblical representation of the story vs. this movie's representation), but I was able to find only two secular critics weighing in. Of those, I chose the, well, the longest, to connect to the title of this post. It was also the better of the two I found, and the kinder. I think what most secular critics wanted was more of a The Last Temptation of the Christ presentation. Although I'm a secularist, myself, I notice that most secularists who go to the movies are allergic to any religious presentation even when it is sincere and subtle. Guys, this story is well acted by some extraordinary actors, well directed, well filmed and well told. It's not trying to convert you. It's just telling an old, old story. Relax. It's not going to jump into the theater (or your living room) and strangle you until you become Christian.
    

  Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role	Actor	Role
  Keisha Castle-Hughes	Mary	Oscar Isaac	Joseph	Hiam Abbass	Anna	Shaun Toub	Joachim
  Shohreh Aghdashloo	Elizabeth	Stanley Townsend	Zechariah	Ciarán Hinds	Herod the Great	Alexander Siddig	Angel Gabriel

  
    Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
    Release Date: 2006
    Directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

Labels: bible-movies1, Christmas, drama7, female-director2, jesus-dvds, mom-favorite1, oscar-isaac, period3, religion1, spiritual1

# posted by gail @ 12:28    0 comments    email......this post