The Bourne Identity review

 Number 399 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2002 action-thriller 'the Bourne Identity.'

Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is found drifting in the Mediterranean Sea with amnesia and two bullets in his back. As he tries to rediscover who he is, he finds that he is at the heart of a secretive CIA training programme.

This was a soulless thriller that was missing some heart. I guess the heart was supposed to come from Bourne and his relationship with the German Marie (Franke Potente) who he meets at the US embassy in Switzerland where he starts his journey of rediscovery.

First starting out as distrustful acquaintances, the two quickly become lovers. My problem isn't with the predictable instant-lover cliche, but rather its execution. There was a severe lack of chemistry between Damon and Potente. Things are initially awkward between them, as they naturally would for two strangers thrown together by fate, but their relationship never becomes more convincing.

Perhaps that's because Marie was largely insipid/useless. The Bourne Identity came out in 2002, long before Black Widow and Katniss Everdeen entered the scene, so I wasn't expecting Marie to be a crime-fighting badass, but I was expecting her to have some pep.

The Bourne Identity was also suffering from a lack of interesting, fully-fleshed out villains. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays a generic African warlord who is more of a plot device than an actual character. Agbaje was also completely over-the-top.

Chris Cooper and Brian Cox play shady CIA chiefs, but they were too un-developed to have any real impact. As for Clive Owen, who plays a hitman sent to kill Bourne, he looked about as threatening as a bank manager.

You take away all these elements and you're left with a bland, generic action-triller that like its eponymous character struggled to find its identity.

Seabiscuit review

 Number 960 on the top 1000 films of all time is the 2003 sports film 'Seabiscuit.'

Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire) is a jockey looking for a better life in the wake of the Great Depression. Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges) is an industrialist moving on from a tragic accident. Tom Smith (Chris Cooper) is a kindly horse-trainer. What unites these three very difficult characters is the horse Seabiscuit - a racing horse who soon becomes one of the best in the country.

This was a dull film. Partially, because I wasn't interested in the subject matter, but also because there were some structural and character problems. Let's start with Charles Howard. He is initially presented sympathetically. At first, he runs a bicycle shop, but when that business fail, he moves into the automobile industry. It was nice seeing him struggle before he succeeded.

And his successes keep coming, as he marries and then has a son. But then his son *spoilers*

dies in a car accident. Tragedy! Except this moment was completely rushed. We have no time to feel this tragedy as Jeff Bridges quickly remarries. His new wife Marcela (Elizabeth Banks) has little character/personality outside of being his wife. And then he becomes a father-figure to Red Pollard - a young man who was sent away from his family during the Great Depression, in the hopes of finding a better life.

Tobey Maguire, unrecognisable from his Spider-Man role, brings the tragic Pollard to life, except again the tragedy of his character is also underplayed. In the run-up to the "race of the century," Pollard breaks his leg and is told he'll never race again. But no matter, he finds a substitute, and listens to the race on the radio.

There's no long, gruelling recovery or Pollard defying the odds to race once last time. Rather Pollard serenely lies back and accepts it. And I found this to to be a puzzling choice. Our protagonist is removed from the action. Instead, we are cheering on a strange character, when we should really be cheering on Pollard. But Pollard doesn't care, so why should I?

Although Maguire, Bridges and Cooper aren't bad actors, I do think a bad script with structural problems and wonky characterisations didn't do them justice at all.

American Hustle review

 Number 614 on the top 1000 films of all time is David O'Russell's black comedy crime film 'American Hustle.'

Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) are two con-artists who are enlisted by FBI agent Richie Dimaso (Bradley Cooper) to entrap corrupt politicians like Mayor of Camden, New Jersey, Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner.) Jennifer Lawrence also stars as Irving's emotionally unstable wife Rosalyn.

While this film has some great acting talent, especially from a cast involving Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner, I think that the female co-stars majorly outshone their male counterparts. Amy Adams was very good as the con-woman Sydney Prosser. She effortlessly switches from her British persona, complete with accent, of Lady Edith Greensly, to her native American accent. But the love triangle between her, Irving and Rosalyn eventually comes to a head, leading to a very effective and powerful confrontation.

Jennifer Lawrence was also very good as Rosalyn. I think she brought a quiet power to a vulnerable role. She really helped to bring her character to life. All four principle actors received Oscar nods, but Lawrence and Adams also received Golden Globe and Bafta nods with Adams getting the Golden Globe and Lawrence the Golden Glove AND the Bafta. And Robert De Niro was very effective in his uncredited cameo role as a Florida mob boss. It was a small but sweet part.

Unlike some other directors, David O'Russell actively encouraged improvisation on set with much of the dialogue being ad-libbed. At times, this led to some strangely, long pauses as the actors weren't sure what they were going to say next, but at others it led to an authentic and realistic portrayal. After all, American Hustle is partially based on the true story of the FBI's abscam investigation.

This was definitely a good film. Although Bale, Cooper and Renner might be arguably bigger names, I think Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence were the true stars.

Limitless review

 Number 926 on the top 1000 films of all time is the science-fiction thriller 'Limitless.'

Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is a writer who is struggling to make ends meet. Out of desperation, he begins taking an experimental new drug called NZT which will enable him to access 100% of his brain instead of only 10%. While things start to improve, he quickly finds his life spiralling out of control.

Firstly, I need to say that the premise of this film is fundamentally flawed. We use far more than 10 or 20% of our brains. Certainly not 100%, but far more than the mythical 10% that Limitless propagates. Bearing that in mind, this film is definitely more science-fiction than science fact.

Nonetheless, it is still an entertaining if rather uneven watch. As a writer myself, the protagonist is scarily relatable to me. And Bradley Cooper is charismatic enough to pull off the transformation from shabby artist to suave, financial investor. I also enjoyed his narration. It helped to move the film along at a steady pace.

Unfortunately, he also makes a number of silly decisions for no other reason than to affect the plot. He borrows money from a dangerous Russian loan shark who was one of the more over-the-top, two dimensional villains I've seen in a while. Secondly, Eddie Morra is due to give advice to tycoon Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro.) Van Loon wants to merge his company with another and seeks Eddie's help. He sends him a bunch of files to review. But he has allowed himself to run out of NZT and goes ahead and reviews the files anyway. This would make sense if he was an average person like you and I. But this wonder drug is supposed to make him hyper-intelligent. Surely, he would be smart enough to know he can't trust shady loan-sharks or allow his supply to run low.

Robert De Niro was good as Van Loon who was a far more effective villain than the Russian loan shark. It's never explicitly clear why Eddie is borrowing money from him, but he is little more than a thug in a suit.

This film isn't necessarily bad. It gives a chance for Bradley Cooper to show off his many talents such as languages. I can only assume he learned Mandarin for the role, but I know he learned French after studying in the south of France for six months during college, and he also learned Italian form his mother. The script had plenty of humour and the soundtrack was good too. I also enjoyed the editing and camerawork. When Eddie is off the drug, the picture is greyscale, but when he's on it, it's oversaturated.

Although Limitless is built on a false premise, it is still an entertaining ride.

High Noon review

 Number 195 on the top 1000 films of all time is Fred Zinnemann's 1952 Western 'High Noon.'

Marshall Will Cane (Gary Cooper) is ready to hang up his hat following his marriage to Amy Fowler (Grace Kelly.) However, he learns that Frank Miller (Ian Mcdonald,) an outlaw he put away, has been released and is coming for revenge. Will Cane must choose between running away with his new bride or standing and fighting.

I've never been keen on cowboy films. Westerns have never been something I've found engaging, so it's difficult for me to review this fairly, but I shall try. Honestly, I just found this film to be boring and generic. There was never any drama or tension. It was obvious that Marshall Will Cane would stay and defend his town. And that he would fight the outlaws alone after trying and failing to raise a posse.

This causes a problem with his Quaker and pacifist wife who threatens to leave without him, but jumps off the departing train at the last minute. All rather predictable. Grace Kelly did the best with what she had, but Amy Fowler was just a product of the female characters of her time - little more than inconvenience for the male protagonist rather than a character in her own right. Although I will admit that I did enjoy seeing her pick up a gun and shooting one of the outlaws. That was a nice touch of agency.

Gary Cooper won the Best Actor Oscar for this role. But I am at a loss to why. He has a reputation for being the strong, silent type, which I think is code for a big, block of wood. And that's exactly what he was, but, then again, I don't think the role of Will Cane afforded him a lot of opportunity to be anything else.

While some people might love Western and Cowboy films, they've never been for me. 

Silver Linings Playbook review

 Number 420 on the top 1000 films of all time is David O'Russell's romantic comedy-drama Silver Linings Playbook.

Patrizio Pat Solitano Jr (Bradley Cooper) is sent to a mental hospital after he beats his wife's lover half to death. In hospital he is diagnosed with Bipolar disease. Upon his release, he returns to live with his parents Pat Sr (Robert De Niro) and Dolores (Jacki Weaver) all while scheming to win his wife back. Part of his scheme involves entering a dance competition with the unstable Tiffany Meadows (Jennifer Lawrence.) Chris Tucker also co-stars as Pat's friend Danny Mcdaniels.

Any film that focusses on mental illness will be a tough watch and Silver Linings Playbook was no exception. It was intense with most of the characters suffering from some type of mental illness: Pat Jr has bipolar, Pat Sr has OCD, Danny and Tiffany both have undeclared illness, with the latter theorised to have BPD. On a number of occasions, tempers frayed as the characters spoke over and screamed at each other. But if that's what it's like in real life, can you imagine what it would be like inside their heads?

Silver Linings Playbook was released in 2012 and, even then, mental health wasn't as well understood or respected as it is now. There is still some stigma attached, but it was much worse over a decade ago. And when you don't fully understand something, it is easy to misrepresent or mischaracterise it. It's all too easy to have characters defined by their mental illness rather than characters who happen to have mental illness. Granted, I don't have mental illness, so I don't know what it's like, but I think Silver Linings was very respectful to all involved.

Pat has bipolar. He is erratic, intense and unpredictable. Yet he is also scared, vulnerable and anxious. And that was down to Bradley Cooper's very nuanced portrayal of him. He brought the character to life rather than making him a caricature. Similar Pat Sr has OCD and requires everything to be in the perfect place. But he truly does care for his son, helping to turn him into a real person.

The same applies for Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany. Although it's never confirmed, it's generally believed that she has BPD. From her volatile nature to her blunt way of talking to how she goes quiet when things become heated, Lawrence captures the mannerisms perfectly. She really earned the best actress Oscar. Just like Bradley Cooper, she brought a sensitivity to the role without reducing it to a gross parody.

If I were to criticise the film for anything, it would be the amount of time spent on American Football.  This was a personal preference and I know playbook is in the title, but I didn't care at all. All of the weird schemes and gambling that bookmaker Pat SR was involved in, went right over my head. As this comprised a large part of the film, I did miss a lot. I know that American football is like a religion to most Yanks, but I'm a Brit who hates most sports, including regular football, so I didn't care for it.

Overall, I did enjoy this film. Sure it was intense with lots of shouting, but the two leads performed admirably. Just less American football, next time, please.