Day 202: The Bourne Legacy (2012)

We are exactly nine days away from the release of the fifth film in the Bourne saga entitled Jason Bourne. Once again we are taking the time to watch all of the films in the saga for Ass Whoopin Wednesdays and we have The Bourne Legacy which is the first film not to feature Matt Damon. You see the government is now dealing with the after effects of the last film and they call upon Col Eric Byer, USAF, Ret. (Edward Norton) who decides to eliminate any asset that there is out there. The only problem for him is that one asset that goes by the name of Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) refuses to be a victim of that decision so he goes looking for answers and gets help from a doctor (Rachel Weisz) who was also deemed expendable. The film also stars Scott Glenn (Urban Cowboy) as Ezra Kramer, Donna Murphy (Spider-Man 2) as Dita Mandy, Stacy Keach (American History X) as Adm Mark Turso USN Ret., Oscar Isaac (X-Men: Apocalypse) as Outcome # 3, Zeljko Ivanek (Donnie Brasco) as Dr. Donald Foite, Corey Stoll (This Is Where I Leave You) as Zev Vandel, Michael Chernus (Orange Is The New Black) as Arthur Ingram, and the film was directed by Tony Gilroy (Duplicity). To see the rest of the review and read the stats, please click here to go to Moshpits and Movies.

Day 105: Secret In Their Eyes (2015)

One of the things I look for when picking a movie to watch is whether the film has a great cast that catches my eye. The other thing that would attract me to a film is whether or not I liked the story. That was definitely the case with today’s film Secret In Their Eyes, the crime drama directed by Billy Ray (Breach). The film stars Chiwetelu Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) as Ray Kasten, a former FBI investigator whose been hell bent on solving a murder case for the last 13 years of his life. Ray’s best friend and fellow colleague Jess (Julia Roberts) discover the body of her daughter in a dumpster next to a mosque that they are investigating. Unfortunately, the killer remained at large and Ray hasn’t been able to let it go until he could solve it or will he? The film also stars Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge!) as Claire Sloan, Dean Norris (Breaking Bad) as Bumpy, Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2) as Morales, Joe Cole (Offender) as Marzin, Michael Kelly (Now You See Me) as Reg Siefert, Zoe Graham (Boyhood) as Carolyn Cobb, Lyndon Smith (The Forger) as Kit, and Don Harvey (Die Hard 2: Die Harder) as Fierro.

What is funny is when the film came out in the cinemas, I had no desire to see this movie at the time. I don’t know what made me change my mind when I was in front of the Redbox kiosk, but I chose the film. I have to say that I don’t regret the decision to watch the film because it was one heck of a cast first of all. The twist at the end of the film is also when that you won’t see coming, but you’ll finally understand the title of the film. Going into this film, I did not realize that this was the American adaptation (or remake) of the 2009 Oscar winning best foreign film El secreto de sus ojos. I love how during the film, it switches from being in the present one minute and into the past for a little while and vice versa. It’s like it’s giving you the backstory with the current story to keep you intrigued and see how badly the characters have aged because of it. That was definitely a great selling point for me was to see how desperate one is to solve the case while others either want it buried or it’s just too hard to bring up after so many years. Chiwetelu Ejiofor is by far one of the stars of the film, his performance is absolutely superb, but Nicole Kidman also deserves some kudos. The two of them had some great on screen chemistry which made the film work. For me, I think that is the appealing part of the film is the actors because without them, I don’t know how good this film would have been. That is why I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade. Check it out for yourselves today.