The Bourne Legacy and ParaNorman

In a sense, today's review is merely a formality, a chance to wipe the slate clean and prepare for (hopefully) some movies worth watching and therefore worth reviewing. I will briefly comment on two of the last movies based on the chronological order in which I viewed them.

"The Bourne Legacy" was a suitable branch-off from the thrilling Jason Bourne series. Personally I thought the first Bourne movie was an amazing breath of fresh air; a leap forward in the espionage genre. The third, "The Bourne Ultimatum" was about as good as it gets, building on everything from the first two films and injecting the series with a dynamic love story; I really liked that movie. Now with "The Bourne Legacy" everything is kind of starting from scratch. The ingredients are good, and its a proven recipe, but we've seen it before. Perhaps a follow-up could have a great story, unfortunately this movie is another back-story introduction which just isn't that interesting.

The kids and I saw "ParaNorman" and I am glad to report that I stayed awake through the whole movie. Whether it's Sony Animation or Dreamworks, I just can't stay awake through this drivel that they're marketing to kids nowadays. If I need a good nap I turn on an "Ice Age" movie (or "Iron Man", but that's another story), find a cozy blanket, and I'm out for the count. "ParaNorman" on the other hand is like old-school Tim Burton. There's a heart-warming story, quirky and genuinely funny characters, and creatively creepy visuals that spark the imagination. My kids like to ask "what was your favorite scene?" while we're walking back to the car after the movie. This is the kind of movie that has memorable scenes throughout... You'll need popcorn for this movie, not Breathe-Right strips.