Tag: movie flashback (Page 1 of 4)

Matt Damon as Jason Bourne

Movie Flashback: “Jason Bourne” (2016)

October 13, 2025 /

The Bourne franchise returned to familiar territory in 2016 with “Jason Bourne,” the fifth film in the series and the long-awaited comeback of Matt Damon as the amnesiac super-spy. After Damon sat out 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy“—a spinoff starring Jeremy Renner that failed to ignite new life into the brand—Universal brought back the proven duo of Damon and director Paul Greengrass. The reunion also included Greengrass’s longtime editor Christopher Rouse as co-writer, signaling a conscious effort to recapture the intensity of the earlier trilogy.

The film introduces fresh faces alongside returning ones. Alicia Vikander steps in as Heather Lee, a rising CIA cyber-ops specialist with her own agenda, while Tommy Lee Jones plays the steely CIA Director Robert Dewey. Julia Stiles reprises her role as Nicky Parsons, but this time she takes on a larger, more pivotal part in the story, ultimately setting Bourne back on a path of discovery and conflict. French actor Vincent Cassel makes a memorable impression as the CIA “asset” tasked with eliminating Bourne.

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Action Movies, Movies

“Sideways” is a fantastic and influential comedy drama

December 15, 2023 /

“Sideways” is a fantastic 2004 comedy-drama film that tells the story of Miles, a depressed, unsuccessful writer and wine enthusiast, and his old college roommate, Jack, a soon-to-be-married actor. The two embark on a week-long road trip through California’s wine country near Santa Barbara. Along the way, their misadventures involve wine tasting, romance, self-discovery, and some pretty wild scenes. This leads to some hilarious and also poignant moments as they confront their personal and professional failures.

The enseble cast is brilliant, with Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh delivering memorable performances. Haden Church and Madsen recived Oscar nominations though all of them deserved recognition. The film won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for Best Picture while Alexander Payne earned a Best Director nomination.

The film was so influencial that sales of pinot noir spiked in the years following the release of the film. We highly recommend this film.

Actors, Actresses, Directors, Movies

Movie Flashback: “The Bourne Legacy” (2012)

July 1, 2023 /

Screenshot The Bourne Legacy 2012

What’s more important to a movie studio executive than creating a movie franchise? Keeping a successful franchise going.

That’s been the reality of Hollywood for decades, and we’ve seen the results with the utter lack of creativity with respect to new titles.

So, when Matt Damon didn’t want to continue the Bourne franchise after three monster hits, the producers had to improvise.

Enter Jeremy Renner and a new character, Aaron Cross. Renner was an ascending star at the time, so casting him in the lead role made sense. But while the film did fairly well at the box office, it suffered a significant drop off from the previous installment.

The movie isn’t bad, and it delivers the frenetic actions sequences we’ve come to expect from the Bourne films. The movie takes place concurrently with the events of “The Bourne Ultimatum” and follows Cross, a member of Operation Outcome, an offshoot of the CIA’s black ops program Treadstone which created Jason Bourne. The writers add a new wrinkle to the story, as Outcome agents are genetically enhanced through a series of pills known as “chems” that improve their physical and mental abilities.

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Actors, Actresses, Directors, Movies

Staff Pick: “The Bourne Ultimatum” (2007)

June 25, 2023 /

Screenshot The Bourne Ultimatum

“The Bourne Ultimatum” is the third installment in the Bourne film series with Matt Damon returning as Jason Bourne and Paul Greengrass returning as director. The film picks up from where “The Bourne Supremacy” (2004) left off and further delves into Bourne’s quest to uncover the truth about his past and the secretive government program, Treadstone.

The film begins with Bourne evading capture in Moscow and subsequently recovering from his injuries. He is haunted by fragmented memories of his past and remains determined to uncover the truth about his identity. While Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) has decided to help Bourne, the CIA, led by Deputy Director Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), is still determined to neutralize him.

The role of Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) is expanded in this film, as she decides to help Bourne uncover the truth about his past. The duo uncovers more about Blackbriar, a more aggressive and lethal program than Treadstone. But by helping Bourne, Parsons also becomes a target, leading to the type of epic chase seen we’ve come to expect from this franchise.

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Action Movies, Actors, Actresses, Directors, Movies

Staff Pick: “Crossing Delancey” (1988)

May 6, 2023 /

Screenshot Crossing Delancey Amy Irving

“Crossing Delancey” is one of my favorite romantic comedies. Released in 1988, the film stars Amy Irving as Isabelle “Izzy” Grossman, a single Jewish woman living in New York City, and Peter Riegert as Sam Posner, a Lower East Side pickle salesman.

Izzy works at an old bookstore and loves rubbing elbows with New York’s intellectual elite. She’s also infatuated with Anton Maes (Jeroen Krabbé), a sophisticated but self-absorbed European author.

Meanwhile, her traditional Jewish grandmother, Bubbie (Reizl Bozyk), isn’t happy about her granddaughter’s single status and believes that Izzy should settle down with a nice Jewish man. Bubbie engages the services of a hilarious matchmaker (Sylvia Miles), who then sets up a meeting with Sam. Naturally, Izzy isn’t thrilled with the idea of a pickle vendor from the Lower East Side.

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Actors, Actresses, Directors, Movies

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