matt damon – NZ Film Freak

Contagion

contagion film review.jpg

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Scott Z. Burns
Released: September 2011
Starring: Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Ehle, Elliot Gould and Kate Winslet
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I’m 100% sure I have reviewed Contagion before… But I can’t find it anywhere so I must have only thought about writing about it. Anyway.

Contagion is almost like an apocalyptic film that explores what may happen in the event of a major epidemic that threatens to wipe out much of the population, similar to that of the Spanish flu that killed about 1% of the word’s population at the time (50-100 million people during 1918).

It plays on our fears of being vulnerable and desperate to protect ourselves and our family.

It follows the lives of multiple people such as an ordinary citizen (Matt Damon) whose [cheating] wife (Gweneth Paltrow) is affected by the epidemic (funny how the first person to die is someone who is guilty of having an affair), a doctor (Marion Cotillard) who attempts to trace the origin of the flu, and another doctor (Kate Winslet) who investigates the nature/behaviour of the virus. In the background is Jennifer Ehle’s character who is working hard to find the vaccine to this unknown flu strain.

Meanwhile, we see the ‘faces’ of the epidemic: Laurence Fishburne’s character’s professional opinion is sought after by the Centre of Disease Control, and he is asked to do interviews on the news.

“No one can know until everyone knows”

In the other corner is Jude Law’s character who is a popular conspiracy theorist who attempts to prove that the disease is a bio terrorism weapon used by the government to financially profit from the vaccines. He believes he has found a homeopathic cure for the fatal disease.

contagion_jude law.jpg

It’s so interesting – every opinion is represented by a character, including the medical industry, government and citizens. The conspiracy theorist – although shown in a negative light with little integrity or authenticity (even given a gammy tooth for good measure) – raises a lot of good questions that should be asked. Challenging authority in such situations isn’t necessarily dangerous, but spreading propaganda may well be.

A thrilling ride with lots of interesting ‘what if’ scenarios.

My only criticism is the music. It’s such bizarre music. It’s sort of indie-sci-fi and reminds me of the Blade Runner soundtrack. The noises certainly put you on edge, but I’m not sure it always works with the more emotional scenes.

Jodie’s rating: 7/10

My Favourite Scene: Good Will Hunting

I adore Good Will Hunting, particularly because of Robin Williams’ performance as a shrink named Sean. He has many lovely quotes, but this speech is my favourite. It’s about living life and having first-hand experiences. I think how Robin Williams encapsulates the depths of sadness that Sean has after losing his wife is tear-jerking.

Sean: So if I asked you about art, you’d probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life’s work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right?

But I’ll bet you can’t tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You’ve never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that.

If I ask you about women, you’d probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can’t tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy.

You’re a tough kid. And I’d ask you about war, you’d probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, “once more unto the breach dear friends.” But you’ve never been near one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help.

I’d ask you about love, you’d probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable. Known someone that could level you with her eyes, feeling like God put an angel on earth just for you. Who could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn’t know what it’s like to be her angel, to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer.

And you wouldn’t know about sleeping sitting up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes, that the terms “visiting hours” don’t apply to you. You don’t know about real loss, ’cause it only occurs when you’ve loved something more than you love yourself. And I doubt you’ve ever dared to love anybody that much.

And look at you… I don’t see an intelligent, confident man… I see a cocky, scared shitless kid. But you’re a genius Will. No one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my fucking life apart. You’re an orphan right?

[Will nods]

Sean: You think I know the first thing about how hard your life has been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally, I don’t give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can’t learn anything from you, I can’t read in some fuckin’ book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I’m fascinated. I’m in. But you don’t want to do that do you sport? You’re terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.

Ocean’s Eleven

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Ted Griffin (screenplay), George C. Johnson and Jack Golden Russell (story)
Released: December 2001
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy García, Julia Roberts
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After hearing about Ocean’s Eight coming out, I decided it was time to watch the first instalment.

Actually, Ocean’s Eleven is a remake of a 1960s movie called Ocean’s 11 (number instead of word) featuring Frank Sinatra as the protagonist. I had no clue!

Ocean’s Eleven is a fun, shallow film about a star-studded cast who rob a casino. Why? Because Danny Ocean (George Clooney) has just got out of prison and doesn’t accept that his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) has moved on with a wealthy casino-owner.

oceaneleven2

Hence why him and his former colleagues rob the casino, in order to try and win Danny’s wife back. How romantic.

It’s harmless fun, really, which is what the director wanted; enjoyment without embarrassment or cheese. It looks like everyone on set had a good time – and apparently their chemistry is all completely genuine! They hung out together, played pranks on Julia Roberts and even gambled together outside of shooting.

This is a short review because although I enjoyed it, I was hoping for a bit more comradery, a bit more comedy and more deep-and-meaningful moments. To be honest, I was expecting The Parole Officer featuring cool Hollywood superstars.

Oh, and Don Cheadle as Basher was a terrible choice; his English accent was cringe-worthy. Otherwise, they should have just allowed him to be American! (Apparently Ewen McGregor was considered for his part initially.)

It’s a classic and I enjoyed it for what it was, but maybe it’s simply more of a man’s man film.

Jodie’s rating: 6/10

Top 10: Actors Who Regretted Their Iconic Roles

I never considered it before, but some actors genuinely regret roles they have accepted. I guess it’s quite difficult to tell if a film will be good or not when all you have to go on is a black and white script. I suppose there’s a lot of trust involved in accepting a role.

Some of these actors regret the roles because the film was a flop, and some of them resent their character because it made them internationally famous.

Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia in Star Wars
The late Carrie Fisher said she had no idea how big the Star Wars franchise was going to be. According to Today.com, she said: “I would never have done it. All I did when I was really famous was wait for it to end.” She accepted the role in the most recent Star Wars because she said it’s tough getting work in Hollywood when you’re the wrong side of 30.

Sean Connery as James Bond
In 2004, Sean Connery told The Guardian: “I have always hated that damned James Bond, I’d like to kill him.” He was fed up with it after nine James Bond films. While he swore he’d never play James Bond again after Diamonds are Forever, he did do one more: Never Say Never Again. Ironically.

Kate Winslet as Rose in Titanic (1997)
Not only did Kate Winslet regret doing the infamous nude scene, she also despises her acting in the film. According to Hollywood, she found her acting to be cringe-worthy: “Every single scene, I’m like ‘Really, really? You did it like that? Oh my God.’ Even my American accent, I can’t listen to it. It’s awful. Hopefully it’s so much better now.”

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne in Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
On the third Bourne film, Bourne Ultimatum, Matt Damon was not happy with it. He called it a “career-ender” according to Indiewire. “I don’t blame Tony Gilroy (the screenwriter) for taking a boatload of money and handing in what he handed in. It’s just that it was unreadable.” While Matt Damon refused to feature in the fourth film, The Bourne Legacy, he did return in 2012 for Jason Bourne because Paul Greenhouse returned to direct and co-write it.

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight Saga
I don’t blame him. This is the kind of franchise that you’ll never be able shake. Zac Efron will always be that guy from High School Musical, Jennifer Lawrence will always be that chick from The Hunger Games, Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Potter and Robert Pattinson will be that dude from Twilight. Speaking with Empire in 2008, Robert said: “The more I read the script, the more I hated this guy, so that’s how I played him, as a manic-depressive who hates himself. Plus, he’s a 108-year-old virgin so he’s obviously got some issues there.” (I can’t actually find the article where he says this, but a lot of website say he did.)

George Clooney as Batman in Batman & Robin
In 2015, George Clooney spoke on the Graham Norton show about always saying sorry for his performance as Batman: “I always apologize for Batman & Robin. Let me just say that I’d actually thought I’d destroyed the franchise until somebody else brought it back years later and changed it.” Apparently Clooney keeps a photo of himself as Batman in his house to remind himself what happens when you do something purely for the money. Yeesh. (PS. Why did Clooney’s Batman costume need to have nipples?)

Katherine Heigl as Alison Scott in Knocked Up (2007)
Anne Hathaway was originally cast in the role of Alison in the film, but dropped out due to creative reasons. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Kate Bosworth auditioned for the part after Hathaway dropped out, but ended up losing out to Katherine Heigl. Despite the fight for the role, in 2008 Katherine Heigl told Vanity Fair that Knocked Up was “a little bit sexist” and didn’t like how her character came across as a kill-joy. Seth Rogen said he had no idea she felt that way, and had a great time making the movie with her. Their feud was very public and Heigl regrets that her comments are all anyone can remember about the film.

Shia LaBeouf as Mutt Williams in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Shia LaBeouf said at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival that his acting let the film down: “You get to monkey-swinging and things like that and you can blame it on the writer and you can blame it on (director) Steven (Spielberg), but the actor’s job is to make it come alive and make it work, and I couldn’t do it. So that’s my fault.” He maybe went a bit far in telling Vanity Fair that he “[didn’t] like the movies that I made with Spielberg. The only movie that I liked that we made together was Transformers one.” Ouch.

Matthew Broderick as Walter Kresby in The Stepford Wives (2004)
Actually, it wasn’t just Matthew Broderick, it was much of the Stepford cast including Nicole Kidman who didn’t like how the film was turning out. Kidman almost walked away from the film entirely. Broderick was reported saying he didn’t find the filming fun (partly because his mum was sick at the time) and he didn’t play a particularly interesting character. The Stepford Wives had massive rewrites according to IMDb, and director Frank Oz said he regrets how many mistakes he made on the film.

Cher as Tess in Burlesque (2010)
Not only did singer Cher say Burlesque wasn’t a good movie, she also said she wasn’t happy with how her character was portrayed. “It had a few good moments, but I didn’t even like my performance that much… What, I don’t have a brain? I’m old but I’m still pretty on top of everything.” I have to say, I agree with her entirely.

Top 5: Favourite On-Screen Duos

I was thinking about Ant and Dec, and the unfortunate circumstances that led to Dec having to do the Saturday Night Take Away on his own. I thought, without taking away from their obvious talent, how one can’t do much without the other. You always see them together, and they are at their best together.

It’s the same with the Australian equivalent – Hamish and Andy. They bounce off each other and their energy is great together. But something’s missing when they’re on their own.

I guess these television duos are contractually obliged to stay together now for the good of their careers and pay-packet, but I get the feeling that they love being with each other off the screen too.

That got me thinking about film duos – the actors we always see together on-screen, but get the feeling they hang out off-screen too.

Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller

Good-guy Wilson and funnyman Stiller are always working together! Ever since the 1990s actually. It almost seems weird seeing one but not the other in movies. Sometimes they include their third wheel Vince Vaughn, which is cute.
The Cable Guy
Permanent Midnight
Meet the Parents
The Royal Tenenbaums
Zoolander
Starsky & Hutch
Meet the Fockers
Night at the Museum
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Little Fockers
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
Zoolander 2

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon

I feel like these two were the smart-cool guys at school. Like, if Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller were the ones who screwed around in class, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were the ones who knuckled down in class, getting good grades, while winning American football games on the weekends. If they’ve written the movie (i.e.: Good Will Hunting), it’s definitely going to be a good one!
School Ties
Glory Daze
Good Will Hunting
Chasing Amy
Dogma
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
The Third Wheel
Jersey Girl

Nick Frost and Simon Pegg

Carrying on the school student theme, these guys would be late for school because they were staying up all night playing video games and writing their own comic books. Nevertheless, they are involved with some of the best comedy/action films ever.
Shaun of the Dead
Hot Fuzz
Grindhouse
Paul
The Adventures of Tintin
Ice Age: Continental Drift
The World’s End
The Boxtrolls

James Franco and Seth Rogen

At school, these would be the party animals. But probably not the super-cool kind, but the kind who are super funny and get invited because they’re a laugh. I can’t help but think many of their films are based on personal experience?
Knocked Up
Pineapple Express
The Green Hornet
This is the End
The Interview
Neighbours/Bad Neighbours
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising/Bad Neighbours 2
The Sound and the Fury
Zeroville
Sausage Party

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly

The brothers from another mother! These guys are the classic angry man-children that we all love. Strangely, they haven’t been in as many films together as I thought they had. But they seem to stick to together like white on rice. I feel like if they were at school, they’d pretend to be the teacher and be sent home for hitting the other children.
Stepbrothers
Anchorman 2
Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie
Holmes and Watson
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

I know I said ‘top five’, but here is a sixth… But they’re not ‘our favourite’ duo so they don’t really count…

Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter

At school, these guys would be in art class or in a dark drama room somewhere. They don’t tend to do anything without Tim Burton. I used to loved all their movies but I feel I’ve grown out of my gothic phase, and I can’t relate to them as much anymore. Nevertheless, their films are entertaining, if not a tad samey.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Corpse Bride
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Alice in Wonderland
Dark Shadows

Who’s your favourite on-screen bromance? Who would be your best friends at school?

Elysium

Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writer: Neill Blomkamp
Released: August 2013
Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, Diego Luna, Wagner Moura and William Fichtner
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What a concoction! An action sci-fi film with epic fight scenes, storyline, characters and sets.

Elysium (a term from Greek mythology referring to where the blessed dwell after death) is based in the year 2154 where Earth is polluted, diseased and overpopulated by the poor and dying.

On an artificial planet/space station not far from Earth is ‘Elysium’. This is a place populated by the wealthy, where robots and machines take care of all the work and security of the station. They have access to machines that can cure anything from cancer to old age.

We follow the struggle of Max Da Costa (Matt Damon), as his fight to get to Elysium is littered with obstacles and unexpected twists and turns, loss and conflict.

What I like about this film is how it’s not a cold-hearted sci-fi. Every development is paralleled by an emotional character change too. It is clear how Max’s perspectives and values shift as he grows through his traumatic experiences.

The fight scenes are extremely well choreographed and shot! Wow, I got chills when the camera was mounted on the gun, as it moved around – almost first person. The jerky/shaky camera work was effectively used, without giving anybody motion sickness. This technique certainly accentuates the gory scenes! Prepare yourselves for exploding people…

Because Earth was no longer divided by countries, it was a huge boiling pot of accents. A bit of French, Spanish, American, Afrikaans and English accents/dialects were all spoken, but subtly mixed.

The characters were wicked! Jodie Foster’s character verbally bitch-slapped anybody who stood in her way. She began speaking French, and then spoke with a posh English accent with an American twang here and there. I thought her English accent was an epic fail, but considering my previous paragraph, perhaps her accent is accurate of the era.

Matt Damon kicked ass! He’s a talented actor because he plays the emotive dramas (Good Will Hunting) convincingly, with the ability to do actions (Bourne trilogy…) well. These two strengths were perfect for the character.

You’ll all know him as Wikus (the “sveetie man”) in District 9, but Sharlto Copley was far from sweet in this film. He played a vicious character, Agent Kruger, very well indeed. I think he’s one of my favourite actors, up there with good ol’ Christoph Waltz.

The ‘sveetie’ man of District 9

My favourite character, however, was Spider (Wagner Moura). He was not a stereotypical ‘geek’, but an intelligent and complex person. His intentions are confusing at first, which makes his character strong and respectable.

The bad: There were a few dull scenes and minor plot annoyances, such as certain occurrences being a little too lucky. The motives of the villain – Agent Krugar – are relatively unknown/unconvincing. There were a few dull spots where my mind wandered a tad, and the final fight could have been more memorable.

If I had to illustrate what this movie is like, I would explain it by using the following recipe:

Ingredients:

A bunch of futuristic flying machines, that reminded me of Star Wars,
A few chase scenes and the adventure of Total Recall,
A pinch of In Time – the future representations are similar at times
The DIY surgical scenes of Looper
Shares some themes and familiar characters of I Am Legend
Chuck in some untrustworthy robot servants from I, Robot
Mix in the social divide of The Hunger Games,
And for the icing, spread on a DOLLOP of District 9. The set design, attitudes and props are similar. (Due to sharing the same writer and director)

Method:
Mix everything together. Add the neglected love interest, and a sprinkle of violent fire arms. Beat into submission and heat at magma level to make the hottest sci-fi film of 2013.

Jodie’s rating: 7/10

Hereafter

Director: Clint Eastwood
Writer: Peter Morgan
Released: 2010
Starring: Matt Damon Cécile de France, Bryce Dallas Howard
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Released in 2010?? Are you kidding me? I thought we would have mastered the art of writing and making films by then… Jeez!

And Matt Damon. Matt Damon. Where is your head?? You are on my top 10 actors… And you sign yourself up for this??

So anyway, having bought this DVD on a bit of a whim I felt obliged to like it. But I found it difficult since the story line was virtually non-existent.

Don’t get me wrong, the first ten or so minutes were SO intense! A tsunami comes out of nowhere and you feel the panic under water – similar to the movie 2012. But after that, you pretty much get whip lash from the sudden decrease in pace of the movie.

You can see the Tsunami here:

George (Damon) is a psychic who denies his gift and tries to live a normal life. He eventually meets Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard) who pushes him to give her a reading which abruptly ends the date… We never see Melanie for the rest of the film. Which was actually a blessing in disguise because Howard did a terrible job of acting – all hands and awkward pauses… rather jarring actually.

There are three story lines that intertwine which could have been effective if it wasn’t so damn slow and predictable. It really was obvious because after you find out George is a psychic and how he got his powers, you can fit the puzzle very quickly. Because you know that whoever dies in the film and comes back to life will have these powers, and the people who witness death will somehow find George.

I called it a ‘puzzle’ but it was literally a three-piece puzzle. Where you could figure out the picture before you had even put the pieces together…

Clint Eastwood is a master of light. But the lack of light in every scene made me squint and it ended up not making the film mysterious because it ignored the audience. Like, the lack of light shut the audience out of the scene.

The scenes of the natural disaster and the car crash scenes were very realistic though. I have to give him that.

I am selling this DVD online – I am confident that I will ever waste two hours of my life on this movie again. It was sssoooo boring!!

Unfortunately Matt Damon is in that We Bought A Zoo film so it looks as though his awesome days of Good Will Hunting, Saving Private Ryan and The Bourne Identity are sadly over…

hereafter — Matt Damon – Please pick your films more carefully next time!

Matt Damon – I have not lost faith in you yet!

Jodie’s rating: 2/10

Good Will Hunting

Director: Gus Van Sant
Writers: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon
Released: December 1997
Starring: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Ben Affleck and Minnie Driver
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This film is fantastic because it achieves thought provoking material without loosing the audience in a deep, meaningful and philosophical black hole. The film is able to do this by keeping the humour, which seems loyal to the culture that the story is based around.

Mathematical Genius

Chuckie (Ben Affleck): You’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket, but too much of a pussy to cash it in

I love these kinds of films. The protagonist, Will (Matt Damon), at face value is a screwed up kid worthy of little sympathy. Yet, his mathematical intelligence is beyond compare, even though he refuses to acknowledge it. Through countless councillors, he finally finds somebody Sean (Robin Williams) who can do more than scratch the surface of his dark past.

Sean: [during a therapy session] You’re not perfect, sport, and let me save you the suspense: this girl you’ve met, she’s not perfect either. But the question is whether or not you’re perfect for each other.

The only way you could tell this film was made on a tighter budget was the repeated songs and the slightly over and under-exposed shots. However, depending on the experience and reputation of the director, this will either be classed as a ‘mistake’ or as ‘art’.

The movie is perfectly cast. Their performances are so totally real and credible that you become immune to the repetitive swearing, which stutters the overall flow of the film until you get to know the characters. I also have a new found respect for Affleck and Damon who wrote the script. Incredible.

Skylar (Driver) Good Will Hunting

This film will either leave you contented with life and excited about your prospects for the future, or, leave you feeling hopeless that you don’t have an obvious talent that could give you a secure future.

But for the most part, you will realise that the script is about how, despite society’s expectations and despite everybody having baggage and fears, everyone has a choice to start again, if only they have the courage to do so. Also, despite all of this we all have the same shot of achieving happiness.

A tremendous film that you can really read into. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters telling their stories too.

Jodie’s rating: 8/10