Conversation on 'Bourne Ultimatum' With Erna

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My guest reviewer for Bourne Ultimatum is Erna Mahyuni, actress, theater practitioner and editor-in-chief of the best-selling PC.com magazine. You can check out her Bourne Ultimatum review too if you want.



Erna said:
nice to see you back in the country
I said:
yeap, I'm sure Malaysia missed me
Erna said:
hee hee
I said:
All righty, so, you saw Bourne Ultimatum at the Malaysian press screening, I saw Bourne Ultimatum in Perth
Erna said:
ooh
I said:
I love it! It's one of those rare films this year, or even in recent years, that made me grin like a little kid from start to finish
Erna said:
yeah
Erna said:
i liked how it wasn't overdone
Erna said:
coils within coils
Erna said:
and matt damon is so understated
Erna said:
and no unnecessary melodrama
I said:
Yeah! Matt made me went... "MATT DAMOOOOON" like he did in Team America




I said:
I couldn't believe how cool and badass he was in this film compared to Ocean's Thirteen
Erna said:
i love that one shot where the blonde agent's cut her hair off and dyed it...and Bourne looks at her like he finally realises something
I said:
Yeah, it there seem to be so many backstories and stuff going on
I said:
and the film just doesn't waste time explaining EVERYTHING
I said:
we are just as lost as Bourne!
Erna said:
yep
I said:
And at least Julie Stiles (the blonde agent) gets to do more in this film compared to the first two... I think, but I can't really remember the first two that much. Probably gonna go through a Bourne marathon these days.
Erna said:
the pacing is brilliant
I said:
Yeah, I was NEVER bored at all! In most of the action films I saw this year, including the best ones, there were scenes which felt like filler, just for us to wait for more action In Bourne, nothing was extraneous!
Erna said:
not so sure about all the shaky camera work but hey, it was only distracting in the beginning
Erna said:
and the station scene was amazing
I said:
Yeah, I heard that Greengrass took weeks to get that done
Erna said:
i can imagine
I said:
he filmed different segments of it
I said:
guerilla-style
I said:
waited til a particular area is rather empty, get the crew and Matt Damon, and shoot!
I said:
the fight in Morocco with the Desh dude was nuts too
I said:
who needs Jet Li and Jackie Chan in Hollywood films, man?
Erna said:
yep
Erna said:
damon is just soo intense




Erna said:
he's like a tank on legs, hurtling himself at everything
Erna said:
i like how his single-minded wanting to just KNOW rubs off on the audience
I said:
Yeah! I DON'T want this series to end!
I said:
a feeling I didn't get when I saw Spidey 3 and PoTC 3
I said:
the latter two merely gave me a '... good riddance, if this film franchise goes on, it'll probably get even shittier!" feeling. And I'm a hardcore Spidey fan!
I said:
The supporting performances from Joan Allen and David Strathairn are good too.
Erna said:
very much so
Erna said:
the morocco bit reminded me somewhat of the free runner bit they had in casino royale
Erna said:
the pure physicality of it
I said:
yeah, it does.
I said:
Hmm.. what else about the film do we need to say?
I said:
for the shaky cam thing, I've seen this technique being emulated by many amateur filmmakers, or even in Michael Mann’s Miami Vice, but I don't think they were pulled off as well as Greengrass did here (and I actually liked the camera work in Miami Vice!). I think if Bourne Ultimatum was shot conventionally, it wouldn't be as vibrant and good
Erna said:
perhaps
Erna said:
might add a veneer of slickness which the movie doesn't need
Erna said:
I hate the overpolished films
I said:
like how?
I said:
Your generic mindless Hollywood blockbuster flicks eh?
I said:
And the countless Hong Kong and Korean films that try to emulate them
Erna said:
where everything feels so calculated yeah


Matt Damon & Guillermo in Bourne Ultimatum Jimmy Kimmel Live. Funny like hell!



Check out Sebastian's Bourne Ultimatum review too. Guy had seen the film four times so far.

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