Previously covert activities

I just saw the Bourne Ultimatum and I thought it was fantastic. I'm a huge fan of the first two and now, of the series in general. The theme song qualifies to join the ranks of Mission Impossible, James Bond and The Pink Panther. Some lame review criticized the performances as wooden, giving no credence to the fact that people who work in these kinds of positions are not exactly the emotional and heartwarming types found in romantic comedies. She clearly thinks the movie isn't very good but still praises it for "non-stop action, unbelievable car chases, exotic locales, and cool shoot-'em-ups." Yeah, isn't that the point? Hitchcock was also criticized for wooden performances and was notorious for his low opinion of actors (unless they were attractive blondes), yet his movies transcended performance with suspense and intrigue.


I only read reviews after I see a movie and just thought hers was kind of hilariously bad. Especially where she goes out on a limb to say that she thinks there will be another one. Despite the fact that it was written as a trilogy, I think we can count on Hollywood to continue raping this series as long as possible. This is what irritated me the most though: She says she still can't buy Matt Damon as a tough guy. On what basis? He's got the same build as Harrison Ford, Bruce Willis and a host of other previous tough guys with smarts. What about the other assassins in the movie? They're all different, that's the beauty of it. A person can be trained - look at soldiers in the military - they don't have to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. What about La Femme Nikita, could she not buy a woman as a killer? I can't believe I'm arguing against something so stupid.

But I find it interesting, that these movies are so popular. BU grossed $70 mil in it's first weekend, an incredible turnout for a non tent-pole movie like Spider-man. I tried to go at 7:30 and it was sold out, and at 10:20 on a Sunday night, the theater was packed. The story is about a guy who worked for the government but then discovers that he's a bad guy and wants to be a good guy. But the government, the CIA, keeps trying to kill him and kills everyone around him. It's a great story because it's about redemption and trying to be a better person, but the overarching theme is that the government has gone too far. They're drunk with power and want less and less intervention from people who don't "understand."

Isn't it ironic that the weekend this movie opens President Bush signs a law that basically legalizes the NSA's previously covert activities, by making wiretapping for any reason, legal? The telecommunications companies have been in bed with the government for a while now but started to get nervous about lawsuits because they were voluntarily giving the information over. So they started pressuring the administration and they responded by passing a law that makes handing over the information mandatory. Oops! But don't worry, they're targeting foreign nationals so they're only using American citizens to get to the ones overseas. Can you believe we can pass a law here that makes it legal to infringe on the rights of citizens in other countries?

With the new iPhone and all the other impending technology, more communication is going to be done over the phone and now, it's all up for grabs. Consider yourself warned.