The Departed (2006)

From 2006 starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Walberg and Martin Sheen from director Martin Scorsese this is remake of Infernal Affairs bring the action of spies, cops and robbers to Boston. This is the film that finally won Scorsese his Oscar and while it is awesome and I really enjoy it I am unsure if it deserved the Oscar for that year. There are questions whether the award was more of a life time achievement award for Scorsese. You follow Leo and Matt as they grow up and come through the ranks of the Police and Criminal organisations and you follow Leo as an undercover cop he infiltrates Jack Nicholson's gang. And you follow Matt Damon as a member of Jack Nicholson's gang as he infiltrates the police and rises to power.


his film is full of twists and turns and you follow the main leads as they struggle with maintaining their identity and also trying to find out who the other is. There are plenty of shocks and the ending is awesome, confusing and just about right for this film and even though I have seen it a couple of times still love the ending. There is some love interest that focuses on Vera Farmiga; this gives more insight in to both the characters as they both interact with her.


The first time I saw this film I was on holiday in the US and always wondered if my love for it stemmed from the experience but taking the time to re-watch it I still love this film and give it a solid 9 out of 10 and a high recommend to everybody. Also if I get the opportunity I will be looking out the original as I have heard that this is very good as well.

Contagion (2011)

Film of 2012 #44

The Stephen Soderbergh ensemble piece starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishbourne, Kate Winslet, Jude law and a multitude of other characters. It takes a look at the impact of a deadly global pandemic and what would happen within society if such a thing was to happen in our world. It is very clever in a lot of ways as it mixes the small story following people such as the Matt Damon character who is just trying to survive with his daughter and cope with what is going on around him but just trying to survive without needing to know what is happening. You have the Laurence Fishbourne character as the lead American trying to find a cure and to also track what the disease is and where it came from. The Jude Law character is a blogger that is popular enough that he takes an on line lead in exposing what he sees is happening, his character goes on an interesting story.

This is a difficult story to tell as they are telling it from so many angles and there are a lot of details that need to be picked up to get all of the points they are trying to make. Paying attention is well worth it and I think that on a re-watch this film will be quite interesting to see if you can catch all of the references. I think the way it is sewn together you are not bothered by any story lines, there is none I was thinking, too much time on that person what is happening with such and such. So it shows that the pacing is excellent and they got the split across each of the stories really good.

I have heard lots of good things about this film and can only really add my recommendation to the pile, it is 4 stars and well worth seeing. If you get the chance to watch it or have seen it then let me know what you thought of it, do you agree with me or am I wrong.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

The Steven Speilberg directed epic starring Tom Hanks and Matt Damon and a raft of other major actors is a modern classic in my eyes. From the opening scene at Omaha Beach to the story behind why they are going after Private Ryan I think this film works on so many levels and how the film ends works so well for me I think that it is definetley my favorite war movie of all time and I can watch this again and again.

The set up with Tom Hanks going behind enemy lines with a group of men to simply find one man who's family have suffered a tragic and terrible loss. It poses some interesting questions that the film addresses and while it is not a perfect film by any means, the actors however portray the different characters found in any army excellent with the platoon being made up of Tom Sizemore, Ed Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Deisel, Giovanni Ribisi and Jeremy Davies. Tom Hanks is in charge and he plays one of my favorite characters as you believe in him and I would follow him into battle and their job is to find Matt Damon and take him home to his mother.

Overall this is a film that I love and will happily watch again and again, if you have not seen this please fgo and see it and let me know what you think a 5 star film for me.

True Grit (2011)

This is the remake of the 1969 cowboy film, which I have never seen, the remake stars Jeff Bridges in a role I have heard he was very keen to play and put a lot into it. He was very good and the overall film was very enjoyable, I have heard from other people that have seen both of the versions that it is quite close to the original.

Now from the fact that it is quite close to the original there is to me very little point to this film having been made other than Jeff Bridges wanting to play a specific character and for the companies to cash in on the older film. It does nothing for the modern age as it is set in the Wild West and is not even a director telling a story in their words.

It is part of the problem that today all the films that come out are sequels, remakes and reboots, some original ideas would be nice. If the story is new enough and good enough it will work. Remakes can be good films and they can introduce an new audience to an old classic but for me the Western is a genre that does not need to come back in the modern age, I will give the film 2 stars and this is mainly for the good performances of Barry Pepper, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Hailee Steinfeld. See it if you like Jeff Bridges or Westerns but it does nothing new, see the original instead.

Adjustment Bureau (2011)

Cinema in Edinburgh, 7th March 2011.

I saw this as a Sci-Fi chase film with a shady Government organisation controlling Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, I was wrong in some ways.

This was an interesting film with many ideas that i had not seen before and an interesting concept, it is a love story within a fantasy idea, that could be real for all we know. There is an interesting wee twist right at the end that made me smile and I liked what it did and where it went a really good film.

Matt Damon and Emily Blunt worked well together and the direction from George Nolfi was good. Go and see this film it has the action the boys want and the romance the girls like.

I give it 4 stars, it is not perfect but a very enjoyable film that everybody can watch and enjoy.