One thing the Bourne movies have all done well is have a sense of place and time. They feel like they actually move in the real world, even when some of the events occurring are clearly outrageous, there is a feeling that at least the scenery is for real, and there is a genuine sense of pace and timing.

The latest film, The Bourne Ultimatum, is no exception. It begins with the Bourne character on the move and really doesn’t slow down much at all for the entire film. He is constantly moving, looking over his shoulder, listening for a footfall…and you feel that motion and tension. It’s very effective at getting you involved in the film.

Another technique the film uses to keep you involved is camera motion. Now, this is something that drives me crazy sometimes, and in the wrong hands it can be really distracting. I felt that The Bourne Supremacy (the previous movie) maybe suffered from a little too much shaky camera movement. I think it’s been toned down a bit in this installment, but it still is very much present. What this does is create a documentary film effect. It’s as if you are watching something happening in real life that is being filmed by someone who just happened to catch it with a camera. Sometimes the camera veers away as if it is distracted by motion off to the side, and sometimes it jerks as if it is knocked by the punches or car crashes happening immediately in front of it. In this movie the technique works perfectly and the car chases feel fast, and the fights feel as if they are happening right in the room with you.

The performances are, as usual, very strong. I’ve long since accepted Matt Damon as Jason Bourne. He has the right combination of intellect and physicality. You can believe he’s smart enough to figure out the problems he’s presented with, while also being tough enough to perform the action sequences.

I’ve always liked Joan Allen, and she plays a fairly complicated character, tough, but also with an understanding side. She sees the angles and realizes it doesn’t all have to lead to a cover-up or assassination.

I was amazed at how much of a presence Julia Stiles can have with very little dialog. She’s on the screen quite a bit, but has very few real lines—just glances and pauses. It’s impressive really.

David Strathairn is just slimy and perfect as a bureaucratic villain.

If you liked the first two movies you’ll like this one too. If you haven’t seen the previous films, I highly recommend you check them out. They’ve proven to be consistently good entertainment. Better than good, actually, they are excellent. There are scenes in this movie that made me look around the theater a few times to see if everyone else enjoyed what they just saw as much as I did. You just want to blurt out, “that was cool!”

Highly recommended.

Well, it’s about time I talked about something other than cycling, isn’t it?

Marcella and I saw a couple of movies while she was here; the new Harry Potter and also the new Bourne movie. I’ll try and post some comments and thoughts about those films in the very near future.

Also, I finished reading the latest Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I may post my thoughts about that as well, but I’ll try to be careful not to spoil anything.

Marcella comes to visit tomorrow for the weekend. We are going to go to Key West for a day!

Who would have predicted that the current yellow jersey wearer of the
Tour de France would be fired by his team almost immediately after
winning a stage of the race? Rasmussen is out of the race. Apparently
the rest of the team has been given the option of continuing to race
should they choose. The justification for the firing is that the team
learned Rasmussen lied to them about his whereabouts during the
period when he missed some out of competition doping controls thus
violating team rules. He was apparently in Italy when he had reported
being in Mexico.

Alexander Vinokourov has tested positive for having two types of blood
in his system following the stage 13 time trial, of which he was the
winner. He has requested that his B-sample be tested. He is suspended
from the team, and further the team has been invited to withdraw from
the Tour and has done so.

OUCH! More terrible news for cycling; it just never ends.