Posts Tagged ‘Matt damon’

The Bourne Legacy New Cast Line Up

Last Year we learned that the fourth movie in the Jason Bourne franchise wouldn’t include out titular amnesiac hero, but rather an all-new character. Director Tony Gilroy said The Bourne Legacy is “not a reboot or a recast or a prequel. No one’s replacing Matt Damon. There will be a whole new hero, a whole new chapter… this is a stand-alone project.” Now it’s time to fill this new hero’s shoes. Variety was first on the scene with a shortlist of contenders that includes actors Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Garrett Hedlund (Tron Legacy), Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and Kellan Lutz (The Twilight Saga). But there’s more!

After Variety’s post, Deadline followed up with even more names on the shortlist. Apparently Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom), Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down), Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood), Michael Pitt (“Boardwalk Empire”), Oscar Isaac (Body of Lies), Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds), Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans), Alex Pettyfer (I Am Number Four) and Benjamin Walker (recently cast in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). Yes, it seems like this is one of the most coveted roles for young actors at the moment. But who’s the best man for the job?

My personal favorite out of this list is Joel Edgerton. His talent has been proven with work in films like Animal Kingdom, and while the actor is likely to become a more recognizable name after The Thing remake hits theaters, this would launch him into stardom. The most unlikely, but wholly interesting choice is Paul Dano. After playing strange, and scrawny characters in films like Little Miss Sunshine, Taking Woodstock and more, he doesn’t seem like the action hero type, but I’d love to see him tackle a role like this. Meanwhile names like Pettyfer and Lutz don’t inspire much confidence. As of now there’s no frontrunner for the part so anything can happen

Now That You’ve Seen True Grit What Do You Think?

Now that you’ve seen it, what did you think? Retribution. The Coen Brothers are back once again with their 15th feature film- True Grit – a re-adaptation of the original Charles Portis novel that was adapted in 1969 into the John Wayne western. It’s the first time the brothers have worked with Jeff Bridges since The Big Lebowski in ‘98 and they almost gave up until they found 14-year-old actress Hailee Steinfeld to star as Mattie Ross. So how is it? Is it one of the Coens’ best films or one of their worst? What was your favorite part (acting, visuals, story)? If you’ve seen it, leave a comment and let us know your thoughts on True Grit!

Notice: For reference, every Sound Off article we publish automatically contains a SPOILER warning for all content “below the jump” or anything below thistry to keep spoilers to a minimum in my own thoughts, however they occasionally slip through. It is meant to be an open and free place to discuss, with spoilers, your thoughts on a film after seeing it. Please be aware of this in the future. paragraph, even though I always

To fuel the fire, I’ve seen the Coen Bros’ True Grit twice (but haven’t seen the original or read the book) and I like it a lot, but it’s not my favorite movie of the year by any means and it is definitely not the best movie of the year – it’s just not that good. Joel and Ethan are some of the best technical filmmakers, so there’s always plenty to admire, but I felt the story just seemed a bit simple. I’m probably going to get crap for saying that, but it was just a very basic revenge story, no twists, she just kills him and that’s that. I loved all of the actors, especially Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges, and even Hailee Steinfeld held her own. My biggest problems lie in the overly abrupt and pay-off-less ending, but that seems to be something the Coens are fond of these days.

Clint Eastwood Hereafter

Hereafter is the latest project from director Clint Eastwood. It stars Matt Damon as a one time famous psychic who now makes his living as a factory worker in San Francisco. His character (George) leaves the world of psychic readers behind because of his difficulty dealing with the deaths of his clients loved ones.

The movie follows the lives of three main characters in three different countries. George (Matt Damon) in the U.S., a French TV reporter and a twin boy in England. The tragedy all three characters experience is almost too much sorrow to handle. Terrible things happen to all three of the main players. This is one sad movie.

Hereafter also moves at a super slow pace. The best scene in the movie is the opening scene (that’s the scene in the movie trailer) when a tsunami hits a small village. Eastwood pretty much expends his entire special effects budget on that one scene. The rest of the movie is just slow and sad…until the very end.

Believe it or not, the movie’s final thirty minutes is so hopeful that the previous hour and a half is quickly forgotten. Besides, this is Clint Eastwood’s movie. Maybe he’s just taking his time telling the story? All I know is, even after the ¾ of the movie beat down, I left the theater feeling very uplifted by the movie’s end.

Be prepared. Hereafter is a long and slow moving movie, but if you can invest the time being overwhelmed with sadness, the payoff will be worth it! Hereafter is rated PG-13 and on my “Hollywood Popcorn Scale” I rate this movie a LARGE.

Chinese Earthquake Movie ‘Aftershocks’

I’m pretty damn sure no one has heard of this film before today, but you won’t forget about it after watching this trailer. Twitch first discovered this extraordinary teaser trailer for a disaster film called Aftershocks coming out of China about the devastating 1976 Tangshan Earthquake that killed over 240,000 people. This trailer reminds me of Schindler’s List with the little girl and the way it uses the red to accent the terror and chaos of the situation. I would say this is China’s big disaster film in response to 2012, but since this is about an event that already happened, it’s very different and much more emotional. Check out the teaser below. 

Watch the teaser trailer for Xiaogang Feng’s Aftershocks:

When a mother is informed by a rescue team that, since her 7-year old twins are buried under the debris close to each other, digging one out would result in the collapse of the wreckage on the other, she is forced to make the most difficult decision of her life. Based around the devastating Tangshan Earthquake of 1976.

Aftershocks, originally titled Tangshan Dadizheng in Chinese, is being directed by Beijing-born filmmaker Xiaogang Feng, of other Chinese films like The Dream Factory, Happy Funeral, A World Without Thieves and The Banquet previously. The film will be released in China in July of this year, but it does not have a US release date. In fact, it doesn’t even have a US distributor yet. We’ll let you know if we hear more about it!

First Look: Matt Damon & Emily Blunt in The Adjustment Bureau

Please don’t screw this up, I don’t want another Next, that movie was awful! The first two photos from The Adjustment Bureau appeared online today (via Collider). The Adjustment Bureau co-stars Matt Damon & Emily Blunt (pictured) as well as Anthony Mackie, Terence Stamp and John Slattery. Based on a Philip K. Dick short story, the film is about an affair between a politician and a ballerina (Damon and Blunt) that becomes affected by mysterious forces (a group called the Adjustment Bureau) who are keeping the lovers apart. The photos aren’t much (there’s nothing more to the one above), but it is our first look at the movie.

Here’s a better official plot synopsis: On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt)–a woman like none he’s ever known. But just as he realizes he’s falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of fate itself – the men of The Adjustment Bureau – who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path… or risk everything to defy fate and be with her. I love PKD stories! Writer George Nolfi is directing. Hits theaters on July 30th!

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