#June2012
‘BOURNE LEGACY’ PRODUCER: Dream Is To Have RENNER And DAMON In Next Flick. Yes.
Hey man, when you’re a producer you can reach for the stars. The producer of The Bourne Legacy has aspirations for the follow-up flick to this summer’s latest installment of Jeremy Renner Punches People. He dreams of Jeremy Renner and Matt Damon Punching People Together.
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Strange Moments in Solid Movies: You Dirty Rat, The Departed
Martin Scorsese is no stranger to gangster films populated by many dishonorable characters in seedy locations, scurrying around in the dark, power-playing for any (and all) loose change and on the even looser morality of their depraved circles. Starting with 1973’s Mean Streets and later reworking the turf in the 1990s with Goodfellas and Casino, Scorsese’s examinations into the gangster lifestyle have no doubt been artistically fruitful for him, as he has been better able–or, perhaps more appropriately, more willing–to show the brutal realities perpetuated by members of the underworld. And yet, in this place of double crosses and deceptions (all for the intention of looking out for number one), as outlandish as it seems, a certain code of “noble” behavior becomes hopelessly entangled in the proceedings: that, at the very least, disreputable people ought to have the common decency to live up to that reliable classification and not turn out to be backstabbers–rats–working against fellow low lives. It’s a fascinating quandary, both absurd and unsettling to behold, and it’s one that Scorsese brings to the forefront in his (only) Oscar-winning film The Departed.
Matt Damon: Master of the Cameo (Word Up!)
A cameo role is defined as “a minor part played by a prominent performer in a single scene of a motion picture or a television play.” These brief, often uncredited appearances titilate the viewers, causing them to hop in their seats and shout, “Oh, I know him! He’s in this movie? Awesome! Thank the LAWD!”
Sure, cameo roles are often nothing more than cheap publicity stunts, but at their best they’re jolly-good fun!
There is a debate to be had about who can claim the title of ultimate cameo-master. On the one hand, some might cite Alfred Hitchcock as classic cinema’s cameo-Jedi, as he inserted himself into thirty-nine of his movies. However, there’s something to be said for those actors who’ve racked up fewer cameos of higher quality. Perhaps quality should be given precedence over quantity.
Think of Walken in Pulp Fiction or NPH in the original Harold and Kumar flick.
When all’s been considered, one man stands above all others as the true master of the cameo: Matt Damon.
From his debut in 1988’s Mystic Pizza to his December 2011 appearance on SNL, Matt Damon charmed us with brevity. The dude knows how to hop onto our screens, put smiles on our faces, and then peace out. Matt Damon elevates the cameo from the depths cheap PR stunts to the highest echelons of art.
Don’t believe me? Hit the jump and check out the (hardly comprehensive) smattering of Damon-cameos!
The Adjustment Bureau: Theological SciFi for Romantics
In Philip K. Dick’s 1954 short story “The Adjustment Team,” a dog barks one minute too late, causing a ripple effect that changes the course of the universe. In George Nolfi‘s The Adjustment Bureau, a loose adaptation of Dick’s story, Matt Damon catches a bus he’s supposed to miss and sets off a chain of events that force the men of the bureau to step in. Nolfi’s film is much more a romance than a scifi thriller. It’s exposition-heavy with more conversations than chases and addresses the philosophical catch-22 of predestination versus free will in an attractive little package.
David Norris (Damon) is a charming frontrunner for the New York Senate but while his devil-may-care attitude attracts young voters, it also causes controversy along the campaign trail. While practicing a speech in the men’s room, Norris encounters Elise (Emily Blunt), who got caught crashing a wedding and is hiding out in the bathroom. Sparks fly all over the bathroom and Elise inspires Norris to deliver an overly Blunt speech about how campaigns transform candidates into retarded children who can’t dress themselves. But according to “the plan,” Norris and Elise are never supposed to meet again.
True Grit: One of the Greatest Westerns Ever, I Reckon.
With their take on True Grit, Joel and Ethan Coen didn’t remake the 1969 John Wayne film of the same name. And they didn’t “update” the film’s 1968 source material by writer Charles Portis. What they’ve done is make the best damn western since 1992’s Unforgiven. But the Coen’s masterpiece isn’t filled with brooding and extraneous landscape shots. In true Coen fashion, the two hours are stocked with dark humor, bursts of violence, Roger Deakins‘ masterful cinematography, and characters so well-crafted that no time gets wasted on unnecessary background stories. In one of the great surprises of the year, one of these characters is played by 14-year-old newcomer Hailee Steinfeld.
Young Hailee effortlessly steals the show from acclaimed veterans Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin. She plays Mattie Ross, a girl whose father is shot dead by drifter Tom Chaney (Brolin). Because Chaney flees into Indian territory, the local authorities will not pursue. Mattie hires Deputy U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Bridges), a man with a merciless reputation – a man with “true grit.” Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Damon) is also on Chaney’s trail, for a murder he committed months previous in TX. And the great adventure begins.
Bridges plays Cogburn hardboiled as hell, without the character devolving into a goofy, tough-guy brooder. He’s filled with interesting contradictions: gruff marshal with the heart of gold, drunk mess who’s a competent lawman, constant heckler with a sensitive spine. All of this makes up another classic, quotable character for Bridges. Damon’s La Boeuf is the all-American Texas Ranger swollen with pride. His boasting makes him sound foolish, but he’s got the gunslingin’ chops to back up all the touting. Out of the plethora of colorful characters the Coen’s have penned over the years, True Grit‘s cast makes up some of the best. They all deliver dated dialogue in an obsolete, contraction-less language that comes off Shakespearean at times. I left the theater wishing people still talked that way.
