Phil sees JASON BOURNE from Universal Pictures - August 9, 2016

The BOURNE series was initiated back in 2002 with the release of THE BOURNE IDENTITY starring Matt Dameon. The film became a huge success and it spawned two sequels: THE BOURNE SUPREMACY (2004) and THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM (2007). After the last one it looked like the series had come to its conclusion. Then, the series was revived in 2012 with THE BOURNE LEGACY starring Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross, which expanded the Bourne universe. For a time it looked like Renner was taking over the franchise, but then in November of 2014 it was announces that a new film was in the works and that Damon was once again returning as well as director Paul Greengrass. All of this brings me to my review of the newest installment to the series simply entitled JASON BOURNE, based on the Robert Ludlum universe of novels.

Theatrical Movie Poster

The film's official synopsis: Jason Bourne, long absconding after his exposure of CIA's Operation Blackbriar, is traced by the CIA to be living in Greece. Officers & vested interests in the CIA try to get hold of him for contrasting reasons before he gets the truth he seeks - of which he only has a clue from his father on how he was betrayed in operation Treadstone. Their paths cross in an International Technology event in Las Vegas. Does he get to settle scores with the betrayers?

The film picked up after the events of THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, examining where Jason is and the secrets that he is trying to uncover regarding his father as well as his past. Damon once again shines as out lead protagonist. The man doesn't miss a beat as he's kicking ass and taking names during the film. Damon reminds us all that he was born to play this role. But the film has two other actors that I'd like to address. 

The first is Julia Stiles, who reprises her role as Nicky Parsons, the woman who convinces Bourne to come out of hiding. Stiles is another talented individual that is really underappreciated and underused. She is a fantastic actress, having appearing in major Hollywood films like 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, HAMLET, DOWN TO YOU, MONA LISA SMILE, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK and the original BOURNE TRILOGY. Stiles is one of the best, most beautiful and talented actress out there and I think that it's a crime that she isn't appearing more major Hollywood films by some of today's biggest directors.

The other actor is Tommy Lee Jones. Now here is a living legend and one of my favorite actors of all time. In the film he plays the antagonist CIA Director Robert Dewey, who will stop at nothing to see that Bourne is finally eliminated. Jones has been in countless films, but I always envisioned him making those old classic Hollywood war films and John Ford westerns. He's got this grit, this "snarely, no-nonsense, kick ass attitude and ride off into the sunset on a horse" attitude. If he were back then, we would've seen him in films with John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart, Kirk Douglas, Elizabeth Taylor and such. One of the greatest actors of modern day cinema!

As mentioned earlier, Paul Greengrass steps behind the camera to direct this latest installment to the franchise. He directed the THE BORNE SUPREMACY as well as THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM. Both he and Damon teamed up on another film titled GREEN ZONE in 2010. But Damon always said that he'd make another BOURNE film if Greengrass would direct. Which leads us to where we are today. He keeps the action tight and at a fast pace, revealing the clues that Bourne must piece together soon before CIA Director Dewey finds him. 

JASON BOURNE is another worthy entry to this already classic film franchise. However, I'd very much like to see Borne meet and team up with Cross in a future installment! Let's make this happen Greengrass!! But in the meantime, this excellent action espionage film is definitely worth your time and attention! 4 out of 5 stars!! Recommended viewing!!

JASON BOURNE is currently playing in theaters nationwide, including the Century Greenback 16 Theaters in Sacramento. Check your local listing to see if it is playing at a theater near you.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show! 

Phil sees SPY from Twentieth Century Fox- November 14, 2015

Spy films are the cool cousins of the action film genre. They have cooler heroes, bad ass villains, smoking hot chicks, awesome gadgets and big time action and explosions. The one that started it all was the Jame Bond films, which are THE best spy films of all time. Then came the Austin Powers film, which blended comedy with the spy films. And they were damn funny (except the third film). Now we have the latest spy comedy, ironically entitled SPY and it's one of this year's best comedies!

Theatrical Movie Poster (2015)

The films official synopsis: Susan Cooper (Melissa McCarthy) is an unassuming, deskbound CIA analyst, and the unsung hero behind the Agency's most dangerous missions. But when her partner Bradley Fine (Jude Law) falls off the grid and another top agent is compromised (Jason Statham), she volunteers to go deep undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer (Rose Byrne), and prevent a global crisis.

Actress Melissa McCarthy has come a long way since portraying Sookie from Gilmore Girls. And quite frankly, she was the last person I expected to go one to become a big time Hollywood name. And she is freaking hysterical as our lead heroine Susan. McCarthy's comedic acting range is amazing. She goes from a timid desk jockey to a foul mouth, kick ass spy and does it all with precise comedic timing. We laugh when we're supposed and we cheer her on when she's beating up spies and cussing like a sailor. But the best part of the film are her scenes with Jason Statham's out of control loose cannon CIA Agent Rick Ford. I could watch an entire two hour film of them bantering back and forth flinging insults to one another! I laughed so hard when they would come on screen together! If they ever make a sequel, it better be about them as partners!

Another actress I want to recognize is the insanely talented Rose Byrne. Her character Rayna Boyanov is of the most vicious, sadistic, insanely hot and funniest villains I have ever seen! Again like McCarthy, Byrne has had a very interesting career. He first real big break came in 2002 when she played Dormé from STAR WARS EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES. Since then she has gone on to appear in other big time Hollywood films like 28 WEEKS LATER, INSIDIOUS, TROY, BRIDESMAIDS, X-MEN: FIRST CLASS, INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 2, and NEIGHBORS.  

The film was written and directed by Paul Feig, the man responsible for BRIDESMAIDS and HEAT (both featuring McCathy by the way). Feig has a real knack for showcasing fluid storytelling with laughs and action. He got his start directing television shows like Arrested Development, Nurse Jackie and The Office. I also love how he likes to cast female actresses as his leads in his films. We definitely need to see more of this coming out of Hollywood!

SPY get my vote for best comedy of 2015! It's a laugh-out-loud riot disguised as a spy thriller! Not since AUSTIN POWERS and HOT FUZZ have I laughed this hard watching an action/comedy film! You all need to see this movie now!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

SPY is now available on both Blu-Ray and DVD at your local retailer. You can also order the movie on Video On Demand, Digital Download as well as at your local Redbox.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil Goes Blooywood: Phil watches AGENT VINOD-September 6, 2012

My quest of watching Bollywood movies continues with today's film. An action packed, spy film starring the love of my life Kareena Kapoor, AGENT VINOD is ode to classic Bond films while simultaneously forging an identity for itself. Doesn't it succeed? Yes and no.

According to the film's official website, "The story begins with a series of seemingly unconnected events. In Uzbekistan, Anex KGB officer is tortured and murdered. In Cape Town, a group of international business tycoons discuss a rumor that the dead KGB officer had a nuclear suitcase bomb hidden away. In Moscow, an Indian secret agent is exposed. The agent is shot dead while trying to send a code red message to India. In India, the head of R.A.W. sees the incomplete message. All it contains is a number 242. Enter Agent Vinod. Vinod (Saif Ali Khan) is the kind of agent who first kicks the door open and then finds out whats behind it. His unconventional approach puts him in dangerous situations, but he manages to get the crucial leads. A series of twists and turns take Vinod across the globe: from Marakkesh to Riga, Karachi to Delhi and finally London where he discovers the ultimate conspiracy."

The film is very entertaining and Khan is terrific as the no nonsense Agent Vinod: tough, strong, amazing martial arts expert, can fire a gun like no other, and looks great in a suit. The only thing missing are the James Bond gadgets! Kareena Kapoor (CHAMELI, RA.ONE, JAB WE MET) portrays his love interest, but what's interesting is that throughout the film, you don't know which side she's one. She has many alias: Iram Parveen Bilal, Dr. Ruby Mendes, and Josie. She's the wild card in the film, which has enough twists and turns to keep the audience guessing as to who is the mastermind this elaborate and diabolical scheme of world wide war. Also Kapoor looks breathtaking in her red satin dinner dress!

Director Sriram Raghavan does a fine job of directing the film, and the action scenes all contain that "on the edge of your seat" excitement. There's one particular scene where Vinod and Jamie are engaged in a shoot out in a hotel bar, and it shot and paced so fluidly that it looked like it was shot in one take! Clearly Raghavan took a page out of the Martin Scorsese book of directing.

Along with the action scenes, the musical dance numbers were also sublime! The main song comes in the middle of the third act when both Kappor and Saif Ali Khan perform during the song "Dil Mera Muft Ka." Both ladies look absolutely gorgeous in their scene together!

All this aside, the film does drag on a bit too long in certain parts of the film. Plus some of the storyline became too hard to follow, as many new characters were introduced before I could get an handle on the ones I already saw. And some of the characters were not fleshed out enough for me to care. I know that Vinod is no nonsense agent, but sometimes I felt he was a little two-dimensional, which made him fall flat at times. But these are some of my minor complaints about the film, but these were most noticeable.

The movie borrows its name from the 1977 film of the same name, which begs me to wonder if this was a remake (since there was already a film called AGENT VINOD, I vote this film as a remake even though the two films have very different stories). But this is only one part of the film's many controversies, The soundtrack boasts some excellent vintage Indian songs, but according to Wickipedia, "Reports said that the film featured songs from older films, without acquiring prior permission from the producers. The owners of these songs were not credited in the film. Saif Ali Khan however paid for the rights later, and explained this to be a last-minute co-ordination problem." Also the film was banned in Pakistan as it made references to a section of ISI's involvement in Jihadi groups and terror activities. When the film was releases in India on February 22, 2012, it was panned by the critics and film fans. By the end of its worldwide theatrical run, it was officially declared a box-office failure. 

Even though flawed, AGENT VINOD is still an action packed, spy-filled rollercoaster ride of a film! While not perfect, it is still entertaining and sure to get your blood pumping. So in my humble opinion, it worth checking out. 3 1/2 out of 5 stars!

AGENT VINOD is currently available on DVD from Eros Entertainment. To purchase a copy, visit their official website at http://dvdstore.erosentertainment.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil sees TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY at the Camera 7 Pruneyard-January 6, 2011

Welcome everybody to 2012 and welcome to an all new year of film reviews! I hope you had a lot of fun on New Year's Eve! Now that the holidays are behind us, it's now time to get back to watching movies! So for tonight I headed back to the Camera 7 in the Pruneyard Campbell and saw two great films. The first film up is one that has been causing quite a buzz lately, and with very good reason. Featuring a cast of talented actors, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY is, without question, one of the best spy thrillers I have ever witnessed.

Theatrical Movie Poster (2012)

The film is based on author John le Carré's groundbreaking cold war bestseller. Control (John Hurt), the leader of an unknown sector of the British Intelligence service, is ousted along with his long-standing companion George Smiley (Gary Oldman) due to a botched operation in Budapest, Hungary which saw the officer Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) murdered in public. Control was under the impression that there was a mole among the top ranking members of the service, referred to as the Circus by the other top ranking members due to its location in Cambridge Circus, London. Smiley is drawn out of retirement to pinpoint the culprit after Control passes away. Alongside the young Intelligence officer Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), Smiley has four primary candidates to focus his investigation upon; the last remaining members of the Circus, Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), Roy Bland (Ciaran Hinds) and Toby Esterhase (David Dencik).

This is not your typical spy film. If you are expecting to see car chases, gadgets galore, spills. thrills, beautiful women, and highly stylized choreographed fight scenes, then you will be disappointed. If however, you wanted to see a beautifully played and observed spy film, one that makes you think while watching it, enticing you to unravel the mystery along with our protagonist, then this is the film that you having been wishing for.

The film was directed by Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson, who erupted upon the international scene three years ago with his film adaption of John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. After the success of the film, Alfredson was soon attached to this project as director. Needless to say, Alfredson does an incredible job and allows the film to unfold at an almost flawless pace. Every sequence contains a small snippet of information which allows the viewer to conduct their own investigation alongside with Smiley's. While the narrative is also driven along by strong performances from the primarily male cast, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Toby Jones, Ciaran Hinds, David Dencik, Stephen Graham and Kathy Burke all give strong, commanding performances. There is nothing that I can say that will give these fine actors enough praise. All are outstanding, which is very rare to see in a film these days.

All in all, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY is simply a masterpiece of incredible intelligence; a film that will no doubt win several awards in the coming year. If you want to see a fantastic, international spy film that will knock you out of your chair, then by all means see this film!

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY is currently playing in theaters nationwide, including at the Camera Cinemas here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.cameracinemas.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!