In writer/director Christopher Nolan’s conceit, this idea of openness and trust was betrayed by Odysseus (Matt Damon), in tricking the Trojans to accept the “gift” of a giant wooden horse, secretly filled to the rim with Greek warriors, all of them furious and miserable after spending the better part of a decade away from home in order to win the war for their king, Agamemnon (Benny Safdie). After the appreciative Trojans dragged this giant horse into their city as a symbol of peace with the Greeks, Odysseus and his men snuck out of the structure in the middle of the night, and opened the previously impenetrable Trojan gates in order to let the rest of their army inside, sacking the place in a fury of raping and pillaging. Odysseus won the war, such as it was, but, as Nolan has it, lost a good bit of humanity in the process. 

Many will compare this film to 2000’s Gladiator, and it’s an apt comparison, for better and worse.

A flawless deconstruction of the unholy trinity of truth, honor and avarice.

A drawn-out reminder of “the grass is always greener” syndrome.

The Great Wall feels like the superior source material for Starship Troopers.

An astronaut stranded on Mars tries to survive its hostile environment in the spellbinding sci-fi thriller The Martian. Botanist/scientist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is living out an incredible dream. He and his fellow shipmates are astronauts conducting a mission on the surface of Mars. An unexpected calamity forces the entire crew to rush back to […]

World War II Allied forces commission a group of art historians to track down and recover priceless works of art stolen by Nazi Germany in The Monuments Men. War claims many casualties, but one we rarely consider is the potential loss to the world of art. For many, it must seem almost criminal to try […]

On a devastated futuristic Earth, an ordinary man’s dream to cross the literal divide between classes comes to the forefront in Elysium. Matt Damon stars as the ordinary man, Max Da Costa, who grew up in the early 22nd century on an Earth that’s overpopulated, unhealthy and dangerous. It’s so bad that the richest populace […]

Another film on my agenda for this week’s slate was the seemingly-quirky We Bought a Zoo. This movie, starring a somewhat plain Matt Damon wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of films to see. The previews really didn’t resonate with me and it all just seemed like light family fare aimed primarily at getting sighs from […]

This week I was invited to a sneak-preview of the upcoming Matt Damon film, The Adjustment Bureau. I’ve been looking forward to this film since I first saw a preview at it many months ago. I then started growing concerned as it seemed to pretty much vanish after that preview which is rarely a good […]

Let’s check out the Coen Brothers remake of the 1969 classic True Grit. Like many others I was shocked at this choice by the brothers as it seemed entirely disconnected from everything else they’ve ever done. However, I am a fan of the original and it’s my main connection with the super-stardom aura that was John Wayne. I’ve seen […]

Interview subjects are often left defensive, stammering or outright speechless in trying to defend their actions.