Category Archives: Spies

The Bourne Legacy review

Directed by Tony Gilroy Written by Tony and Dan Gilroy, from a story by Tony, inspired by the Robert Ludlum novels. Tough act this one is following. The first three Bourne movies are that rare popular franchise without a weak link. Each of the films has something to recommend it, the second and third strongly…Read More

Revisiting the Bourne Trilogy

I decided to rewatch the immensely popular and influential Universal Pictures action franchise this weekend in advance of its relaunch August 10 with The Bourne Legacy. I say "relaunch" because it's not just another sequel — the director of the second and third film, Paul Greengrass, chose not to return, as did the lead, Matt…Read More

Page Eight and London River reviews

Two very different but very London-centric political thrillers now on DVD: Page Eight | Written and Directed by David Hare (BBC) Pravda playwright and The Reader screenwriter David Hare returns to directing for the first time in years with this John le Carré-style British spy drama. Johnny Worricker (Bill Nighy) plays a straight-arrow MI5 man,…Read More

The Debt review

Directed by John MaddenWritten by Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan,based on the film Ha-Hov by Assaf Bernstein and Ido RosenblumRachel Singer (Helen Mirren), ex-husband Stephan Gold (Tom Wilkinson) and ex-pat David Peretz (Ciaran Hinds) are national heroes in their homeland of Israel. In the mid-1960s they were Mossad agents, assigned to East Berlin…Read More

Hanna review

Directed by Joe Wright Written by Seth Lochhead and David Farr Hanna is a lot of things. On the surface it's what the trailer says it is: Saoirse Ronan is the titular teen, raised since diapers to be a polyglot killer by her father, Erik (Eric Bana) in a shack in the snowbound wastes, hiding…Read More