Hamlette's Soliloquy

Well, it's happened again. I've been converted. I now slobber over someone I once swore to dislike forever.

The first time this happened was in the mid-90's. I didn't like Tom Cruise, because he was too cute and too popular. I thought he was just a piece of beefcake that silly girls drooled over, with no talent or real reason to be so popular. Then I saw Mission: Impossible...

And my gal pals all adored Brad Pitt. They had posters of him everywhere, had to watch every movie he made...I was revolted. I refused to even acknowledge that he might be attractive. Until I saw Meet Joe Black as a sophomore in college, that is. And was blown away by his acting ability and actual attractiveness.

Now it's Matt Damon. He's disgusted me for years! I've vociferously denounced him as just another pretty boy who makes flighty movies while pretending to be a serious actor. I was unimpressed by his turn in Saving Private Ryan. He did amuse me in Ocean's Eleven and Ocean's Twelve, but only because he was unsuave and unskilled. I saw him playing the antithesis of my perceptions of him, and it made me giggle. But tonight I watched The Bourne Identity. And now I sit in a pool of my own drool, sheepishly admitting that the man can act. And act charmingly!

Plus, okay, how am I not gonna love a movie with a magnificent car chase like that! I mean, it had to be the best I've seen since Bullitt in terms of realistic, gritty car chases. Altho it's been a few years since I saw Ronin, and I remember liking that one quite a lot as well. And I really should see The French Connection sometime as I heard there's a sweet one in that. But the car chase in The Bourne Identity--zowie!

You can't really compare these 'realistic' chases with the ones in James Bond movies, by the way. I'm highly fond of those as well, but their appeal lies in being so over-the-top and unbelievable that you just have to grin and go with it. My fave of those has to be Bond in a tank chasing a tiny European car in Goldeneye.