, 
,
or 
can
have two meanings - either they count as half a star - or they are related
to the movie in some kind - you will notice! (It might also mean i was
undecided *grin* ) A broad range of movies will be reviewed - action,
science fiction, romantic comedies, gross and dumb comedies, foreign
movies, thrillers, horror films - you will find them all to help you
to make your own decision - go to the cinema, buy it on DVD - or wait
until a film is shown on free TV. Of course you can also state your own
opinion in the 
THE ISLAND by Michael Bay
The year 2020. Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor) lives in an institution together with other people supposedly ‘rescued’ from the ‘contaminated’ outside. The life of the ’survivors’ is regulated in minute detail, and most of them - including Lincoln’s friend Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson) - are content with their life and work, don’t ask any questions and are just eager to win in The Lottery. The prize is releasement from the institution and transfer to ‘The Island’ - the last uncontaminated resort on eart.
But Lincoln is different. He’s not as socially adapted as the others, he suffers from bad dreams, he has forbidden drinking sessions with employee McCord (Steve Buscemi) - and he asks questions. Questions for which there are no answers.
When Jordan wins in The Lottery, Lincoln discovers the truth just in time - the ‘winners’ are not going to ‘The Island’ - they are killed and harvested for their organs. Just in time before Jordan’s ‘departure’ they escape from the institution into the outer world - which is not contaminated at all. They contact McCord and learn the ugly truth - the inhabitants of the institution are clones - produced for the wealthy who can afford them - and their organs are used as ’spare parts’ when a ’sponsor’ needs them. And Merrick (Sean Bean), head of the institution, has already hired a team of mercenaries under the leadership of Albert Laurent (Djimon Hounsou) to get back - or eliminate - the ‘lost products’. The chase begins …
Michael Bay, director of Pearl bloody Harbor and Bad Boys II is going serious? Directs a movie about big issues? Wants - according to his own words - ‘make people think’, ‘make people feel’, and ‘peer into people’s soul’? ‘Looking into actor’s eyes’ is his new ‘money shot’?
Fans of Michael Bay’s previous movies - do not fear! Issues? Shmissues! The exploration of the morality of cloning is as deep as a puddle on the street after an easy rainfall, the bonzo science and bonzo feelings are just the McGuffin to pave the path for what Michael Bay really loves - explosions, action, narrow escapes, and remaking his own car chase scene from Bad Boys II. The action sequences are a blurry superfast-cut mess where you can’t see a thing - hammering music included. When the music gets louder, the pictures get fuzzy and there is stroboscobic lighting - then cometh the ACTION!
Ewan McGregor is good enough as Lincoln Six Echo and his own ‘original’ Tom Lincoln, Scarlett Johansson is blonde and busty (hey, and they deliver the clone including silicone-lips, cool!), Sean Bean does his usual bad-guy routine, Steve Buscemi is in the movie just too short, and Djimon Hounsou is without any chance against the script (except when you think it’s character development when a hardened ex-Delta Force/Navy SEAL-turned-mercenary multiple killer turns soft when being exposed to the moist eyes of a white blonde bimbo).
Don’t waste your own time to see this - send your clone! 
January 4th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
[…] Match Point is not a typical Woody Allen film - it does not play in New York, but in London, and there is no hint of the usual Woody Allen neuroses. Instead of neuroses, Woody concentrates mainly on one message: that it’s luck, not your talent or intentions, that will determine the results of your actions and the destiny of your life. The symbol for luck or bad luck is the tennis ball dancing on the net - it will either fall back into your half of the tennis court, or fall to the other side - luck decides if you win or lose. Which will divide the audience into those who nod approvingly and into those who don’t buy it. Match Point is also a study of morality, social class, and relationships - and it deals with the question what is the more important thing in life - passion and love, or financial and social success. It’s the story of Chris, and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is perfect as the man between passion and career, Emily Mortimer is the ideal trusting, naive (and a bit needy) wife, and Scarlett Johansson (who replaced Allen’s first choice Kate Winslet two weeks before shooting started) shows that she can really act (please, no more “The Island” movies!!) and play a “real” character - she is sexy, passionate, wrathful, and vulnerable - and totally believable. Match Point is a serious movie, not a comedy, but it does have it’s comic highlights - and that’s after the social study moves into thriller territory. Ewen Bremner (that’s Spud from “Trainspotting”) is hilarious as Inspector Dowd - and his opinions will decide if the ball falls into Chris’ half of the tennis court or over the net … […]