Category: Quotes

Sydney Quotes the Movies – The Bourne Legacy

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle9 Comments

At first, I was not going to see this movie.  I am a tried and true, full on, he can do no wrong, fan of Matt Damon and his best work, the Bourne Trilogy.  Robert Ludlum only wrote three books.  Where the heck did The Bourne Legacy come from?  And, you think you can just replace Matt Damon.  Jeremy Renner is a good actor, but he is no Matt Damon.

But, then I calmed down, came back to reality and looked a little further in to this movie.  I get it now.  The Bourne LEGACY – this is what happened after the fact.

I am happy I figured it out (I am smart, but slow) because it was an interesting movie.  The movie is about another agent named Aaron Cross played by Jeremy Renner in another government program to build/engineer the perfect agent.  I enjoyed it.  And, it paid correct homage to Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne.  I didn’t love it, though.  With that title, they had a lot to live up to.  And, it feel a little short.  But, here is what I liked:

It had its own language.  I felt like I had an education in bioengineering after leaving this movie.  Expect to learn the appropriate use of the following terms and concepts:

chems
protocol
In the program
Unacceptable
Outcome
Neurol design
Programmable behavior
Program participants
Down stream
D track team
Pull that access
Drop a bag over this.
Viral him out
Off the grid
The trail is definitive
Stay enhanced

More people in my circle need to see the movie so they know what the hell I am talking about when I tell them to send in the “D track team” to “viral me out.”

Another highlight of this film was the greatness of Edward Norton.  I love him almost as much as I love Matt Damon.  American History X, Primal Fear, & Fight Club – need I say more.  He had some great lines in this movie:

“Jason Bourne was just the tip of the iceberg.”
“That’s Aaron Cross.We have never seen evaluations like this. He’s Treadstone without the inconsistency.”
“This contingency was covered loud and clear.”
“You and I have our jobs because we have the strength to do what’s necessary.”
“Morally indefensible and absolutely necessary.”
“Everybody find another gear.” 
“Same outcome without the emotional attachment.”

And, these lines deserve mention because they added a little comic relief to a very intense movie.

“I don’t know, are you suppose to kill me or give me a pep talk?”
“You’re the director of the C.I.A. Act like it.”
“Well, I’m not just a science project, doc.”
“You’ve been shot.” “That’s alright.” 
“You were given a Ferrari and your people treated it like a lawnmower.”

If you are a Jason Bourne fan, you will enjoy the movie because it takes the concepts in the original trilogy to an extreme and scary level. If you are a Jeremy Renner fan, you might be disappointed.  Anyone could have played this role.

If you want visit a dozen international cities in 2 hours, experience a pretty cool motorcycle chase and finally realize why you were required to take that basic biology course in college, then by all means.  Go see this movie.

BTW, I am starting a Jason Bourne meets Aaron Cross movie petition.  That movie must be made.  Who’s with me?

Related Post:  Bourne and Generic Engineering

Sydney Quotes the Movies – RIP Tony Scott

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle11 Comments

I was saddened by the news of the death of Tony Scott.  For any movie fan, at least one Tony Scott movie is  in your top ten.  In my case, a Tony Scott film began my love of movies.  It was 1986 and my friends and I went to see Top Gun.  Cue the dreamy movie music.  The F-14’s made me want to join the Air Force and the volleyball scene, well, made me want to . . . watch more volleyball.

In honor of the passing of Mr. Scott, I have dedicated this weeks Sydney Quotes the Movies to the greatness that is Tony Scott.  I have been known to recite the following quotes at inappropriate moments.  Try it, it fun.

“If I’m wrong and we’re at war.  God help us all.”

“Everybody who reads comic books knows that the Kirby Silver Surfer is the only true Silver Surfer. Now am I right or wrong?”

“Mr Hunter, we have rules that are not open to interpretation, personal intuition, gut feelings, hairs on the back of your neck, little devils or angels sitting on your shoulder. We’re all very well aware of what our orders are and what those orders mean. They come down from our Commander in Chief. They contain no ambiguity.”

*Denzel Washington did five movies with Tony Scott; Crimson Tide, Man on Fire, Pelham 123, DejaVu, and Unstoppable.

“That’s pretty arrogant, considering the company you’re in.”

“Hey Goose, you big stud.  Take me to bed or loose me forever.”

“The defense department regrets to inform you that your sons are dead because they were stupid.”

“I feel the need . . . the need for speed.”

“You can be my wingman anytime.”

*This is back when Tom Cruise could work in an ensemble cast and not take over.  Great showcase for Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, Tom Skerritt, Meg Ryan, and Tim Robbins,  

“Forgiveness is between them and God. It’s my job to arrange the meeting.”

“A man can be an artist… in anything, food, whatever. It depends on how good he is at it. Creasey’s art is death. He’s about to paint his masterpiece.”

“The gun shot holds no fear.  You welcome the sound. In fact it’s the sound that sets you free. You are a prisoner on this block until that sound sets you free.”

“I got all the time in the world. *You* don’t, but I do.”

*This my guaranteed good cry movie.  I have seen it several times and end up in a puddle of my own tears every time.  

My thoughts and prays go out to the Scott family.  As a movie lover, I feel privileged to have access to this man’s creative vision.

What’s your favorite Tony Scott movie?  

Sydney Quotes the Movies – Limitless

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle11 Comments

What if a pill could make you rich and powerful?

Good tag line = Good movie. Great actor (Bradley Cooper is totally underrated), Great visuals (I love time lapse photography used in a movie) and Great use of light (on the drug; bright and clear, off the drug; dark and dull) = Great movie.

Limitless was visually an awesome movie.  And the lines, oh the lines. Such great lines. Here we go . .

“You see that guy? That was me not so long ago. What kind of guy without a drug or alcohol problems looks this way? Only a writer.” Opening line of the movies. Bradley Cooper plays a guy name Eddie who is a struggling writer. He has a book deal already, which is annoying, but turns out the book was in his head, he just needed help getting it out. As a writer, I can related.

“Time someone shook up the free world and got things done.” Eddie is offered a drug to help him tap into the full capacity of his brain. He sees what he wants and puts a plan together to achieve it. We can all take a lesson from that — you know, minus the drugs.

“I don’t have delusions of grandeur, I have an actual recipe for grandeur.” Eddie is trying to get in on the financial world, after writing his book in four days (hate him). He has to talk his way into his new career. It works.

“My capacity for self sabotage wasn’t boundless after all.” Eddie was trying to get his girl back. She dumped him because he was such a loser. Self deprecating charm worked, they got back together.

“Don’t wear the same coat and suit. This isn’t The Matrix.” Eddie finds himself in danger and hires a couple of bodyguards. In his directions to them, he references one of my favorite movies. It was a funny line in the circumstance.

“You should really be glad about this, because you know me working for you, you’d end up being my bitch.” DeNiro’s character was the experienced business man who had paid his dues and got to the top and although he didn’t want to give in to this brass new young hot shot, he had no choice. He wanted the deal. Turns out he still tries to keep the upper hand over Eddie, but once again, our Eddie proves to be “50 moves ahead.”

Another star of this movie was the city of New York itself. Really makes me miss NYC.
Good suspense filled action movie with a gorgeous star, acting royalty veteran, shot in the greatest city in the world. You can’t go wrong.

Sydney Quotes the Movies – The Dark Knight Rises

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle4 Comments

The Dark Knight Rises is the third installment in the Chris Nolan Batman Trilogy.  I was a good ending to a saga that began 7 years ago, in my life.  I have always enjoyed super heros movies;  Superman, Spiderman, Ironman, Hulk  and all the other Avenger greats.  I even enjoyed the Keaton, Kilmer and, dare I say, Clooney Batman Movies.  But, they had the comic book feel, which made the movies fun and enjoyable.   They were colorful, whimsical, and funny.  They were a good escape.  But, Chris Nolan’s Batman was different.  It was real.  It was dark, sexy, cruel, clever, complex and tragic at times. This last movie did its job.  It tide up the loose ends and concluded the trilogy brilliantly.

But, I had a few issues with the movie on its own. One issue I had was it just didn’t have the typical Batman'”swagger’ of the other two movies.  The first, Batman Begins, told you how it all started and the second, The Dark Knight was all about the Joker and  the greatness that was Heath Ledger (r.i.p.). In both films, Bruce Wayne’s persona was so radically different from The Batman.  It made sense and it was familiar.

This movie, Bruce Wayne was a little sad.  He was in pain for most of the movie, he didn’t dominate the fights, he didn’t have the coolest toys.  He was angry, but he didn’t know how to use it to his advantage.

The second issue I had was it didn’t have enough gadgets.  Lucious only showed us a couple of cool new things.  One was a new aircraft called the Bat.  It looked more like a small version of the alien ship in The Battleship Movie; not slick and ominous like the batmobile.  There was one scene where Bruce Wayne was walking the red carpet at a charity event and he used an electromagnetic pulse to shut off the paparazzi’s cameras.  That was pretty cool.  Nice dig at the paparazzi. Good one Mr. Nolan.

Nevertheless, I am a stickler for patterns and they didn’t show up in this one.  But, I enjoyed it for what is was.  The end of a story and an end of an era.  Now for the quotes:

Bane:  We are introduced to the evil Bane from the beginning scenes.  Is it just me or does he sound like Sean Connery?  Read the quotes with that voice in mind.  
 
“Gotham, take control . .  take control of your city.  Behold, the instrument of your liberatation! Identify yourself to the world!”
 
“No one cared who I was, until I put on the mask.” The mask was a character itself. 
 
“Calm down, Doctor!  Now’s not the time for fear. That comes later.”
 
“When Gotham is ashes, you have my permission to die.”
 
Captain Jones:  “I’ll die before I talk.”
Bane:  “I’m on your schedule, captain.” Bane was actually pretty clever.  
 
Roland Daggett:  “You’re pure evil!”
Bane: ” I’m necessary evil.”  Bane was one evil bad ass.
 
Seline Kyle (Catwomen):  Anne Hathaway was a good catwomen.  She was helped by the outfit and the stunt coordinator, but she had the right attitude and her voice when she delivering the lines was really cool. 
 
“There’s a storm coming, Mr. Wayne.  You and your friends better batten down the hatches, because when it hits, you’re all gonna wonder how you ever thought you could live so large and leave so little for the rest of us.”
 
 
 
Jim Gordon:  He was always one of my favorite characters because he loved his city of Gotham and no one said “The Batman” better then him.  
 
“We were in this together, and then you were gone.  Now this evil . . rises. The Batman has to come back.”
 
Bruce Wayne (Batman):  Like I said, he was a little sad at times in this film.  He switched between, being a hero, to focusing on the greater good, to cocky savior.  It was a little confusing.  
 
“This city needs me.”
 
“I need you to get me back in the game.”
 
“Tell me where the trigger is.  Then . . . you have my permission to die!”
 
 
Lucious Fox:  Another one of my all time favorites.  Lucious had the morals and the toys.  
 
“I call him The Bat, and yes Mr. Wayne it does come in black.”
 

What did you think of the The Dark Knight Rises?  Did it meet your expectations?  What was your favorite quote?  

Sydney Quotes the Movies – The Ides of March

Published on by Sydney Aaliyah Michelle4 Comments

I watched Ides of March today. Written, directed and starring Mr. George Clooney, rarely does he disappoint, and the lovely Mr. Ryan Gosling who can do no wrong.

I was excited about this movie because of the cast (Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright) and the concept. By, I think my expectations were to high.

When ever I think of political drama, election drama, dialogue driven drama, I think of Aaron Sorkin. Well, this movie was no Aaron Sorkin drama. But, if I measure it alone, it was a pretty good movie. Great story and great message. It is becoming the oldest story in the book.

Young idealistic and “media smart” Stephen Meyers (Ryan Gosling) is quite the patriot.  “I’m not a Christian. I’m not an Atheist. I’m not Jewish. I’m not Muslim. My religion, what I believe in is called the Constitution of United States of America.”

He feels like he has finally found a presidential candidate in Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney) that can and will change America.

Even the media love him.  – “All the reporters love you. Even the reporters that hate you still love you.”

Morris is dedicated to running a clean campaign, no mudslinging, no negative campaign ads and no offering cabinet positions to people he doesn’t respect in order to get votes.

Everyone around him had “drunk the kool aid” and even his wife was in on it. That was the part that really threw me because they have this really great scene with him and his wife riding in a car. She is resting her head on his shoulder while he is making notes on a speech. She looks at him in her best “My husband is the greatest man in the world” look and then begins to try and convince him to make a deal with someone he doesn’t like in order to win the election. Using the same argument that his campaign managers made on him earlier. He refuses to make the deal and refrains from telling her off. Just gives her an uncomfortable giggle and then kisses her on her forehead.

Big spoiler alert, Clooney’s character isn’t what he appears. He breaks the cardinal rule that all presidents since Clinton must adhere to, DON’T SLEEP WITH AN INTERN! Anyway, the intern gets pregnant. And, she ends up either accidentally or on purpose, od’ing on pills and dies.

The young idealist finds he has to turn into what he hates in order to save his own ass and perhaps the election as well. He orchestrates it pretty brilliantly.

At the beginning of this movie you really like everyone. All the characters seem like good people. But, by the end of the movie, everyone one seems a little seedy. Even the young intern.

While the writing wasn’t what I was expecting, two lines stood out to me and really made me enjoy this movie.

“We’re going to be fine. We have to do it and it’s the right thing to do. And, nothing bad happens when your doing the right thing.” – Ryan Gosling in Ides of March – While he still feels like they can concur the world because they are the good guys.

Then, . . .

“Cause you broke the only rule in politics. You want to be president? You can start a war, you can lie, you can cheat, you can bankrupt the country. But you can’t fuck the interns.” – Ryan Gosling – Really great line and it was delivered by Ryan Gosling’s character beautifully. Needless to say by this time, his idealism has been shaken.

If you like these actors, they will live up to your expectations as actors, but in comparison to other political dramas, it misses the mark.