The Informant

Mark Whitacre was a high flying executive at Archer Daniels Midland, when he decides to blow the whistle on the company's nefarious price fixing of lysine, an additive used in the livestock industry. He teams up with the FBI and walks around wearing a wire and surreptitiously filming secret meetings. But the pressure of leading a double life starts to show as his character starts to fray at the edges resulting in tragicomic situations. Matt Damon shines in this role and you are left in an enjoyable muddle of trying to figure out reality from Whitacre's imagination.

Rating: * * *
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The Adjustment Bureau

The night David Norris (Matt Damon) loses a US Senate seat, he finds his true love in a restroom only to lose her soon after. However, he runs in to her randomly on a bus only to find mysterious forces keeping from the woman of his dreams. Soon you are faced with the question whether every life has a destiny or is there a “man” with a plan nudging things behind the scenes. Unlike Inception, which has a cool concept but uses recursion for a plot, this film has a storyline to back it up.

Rating: * * *

Youth Without Youth

Sometimes a movie can come close to telling a story the way a book would. And that's how Coppola's film comes across which is, in his words, all about consciousness. Tim Roth plays a linguistic professor who gets a second lease of life one day in WW II Romania - and through a surreal (reverse aging process), highly spiritual journey gets closer to his life objective in linguistic research - to understand the "inarticulate moment of the beginning", which apparently will help in the future of post-historic man. Along the way, one comes across many interesting characters and many interesting places. Without focusing on the reverse aging gimmick too much, 'Youth Without Youth' is heavily laden with philosophical concepts which can circumvent ones brain - however, the film's got a good rhythm and Tim Roth's temperament to tell a highly interesting story.

Rating: * * *

Gerry

Visually spectacular it indeed is. Two friends (Matt Damon & Casey Affleck) who call each other Gerry get lost in the salt lakes and the wilderness of Utah. It something of a "land" equivalent of this movie. Fantastic photography that one can associate with Gus Van Sant - in that its like a 90 min photography exhibition. But the Matt Damon + Afflect combination (this time its bro Casey) strikes again with an expected self-indulgent script. Nevertheless, as the movie goes on, the desperation of the characters comes across well - while ones waiting for the credits to roll.

Rating: * *

The Bourne Ultimatum

The last installment of the superbly crafted series - makes me scoff at the hype that surrounds James Bond. Ore the enjoyed Jason Bourne's final escapades - with some real outstanding action footage. The moroccan one especially made me think its the best I've seen since Die Hard I. As mentioned previously, Matt Damon is most certainly a rising star. Feel that I have missed out by not having read the series - but I fully intend to.

Rating: * * *

The Good Shepherd

A spy thriller made with the elaborateness as this one, will always be a delight. Serious relief watching a movie which is engaging at various levels - does provide hope that there are Hollywood film makers who are keen on making truly worthwhile films.

Robert De Niro's second major directorial venture is one fascinating film of a man who slowly (though seemingly destined) is groomed to become a spy. Also depicts the genesis of Counter-Intelligence as a concept & CIA - with the end of WWII and beginning of the Cold War.

Fantastic cast - starting with Matt Damon, who has settled down well into his own. Then some favourites - Alec Baldwin, Timothy Hutton, William Hurt and De Niro himself - all in bit roles.

A beauty.

Rating: * * * *

The Double Bill

Infernal Affairs
Tony Leung is a police mole in the mafia. Andy Lau is a mafia mole in the police. Let the cat and mouse games begin. One of the tightest gangster flicks I have ever seen. Completely stripped of unnecessary melodrama. Even the love interests of the two characters are subtly portrayed. Just a few conversations here and there to get the message across. And Tony Leung rules!!! Every time I see him on screen he just blows. The man's acting is effortless.

Rating: * * *

The Departed
Why would someone like Martin Scorsese have to dig into the Asian pocket and adapt a film, I know not. Andy Lau's role is played by Matt Damon and Tony Leung's is taken over by (snicker snicker) Leanordo Di Caprio. In an attempt to give more background and depth to the characters, Scorsese has made the film more noisier without adding anything to it except of course the unnecessary love triangle. But I have to say that Jack Nicholson does get under your skin as the Mafioso don.

Rating: * *