MATT DAMON HIJACKS “JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE” AND BRINGS THE SHOW TO PRIMETIME, TUESDAY, JANUARY 29 AT 10:00 PM ET/PT ON ABC
January 25, 2013 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
also a “Jimmy Kimmel Live” app is available via iTunes.
Inside Job (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
February 27, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
A documentary that will open your eyes. A documentary that must be seen. Charles Ferguson’s “Inside Job” is a shockingly, powerful documentary that reveals what may have caused the global financial meltdown and giving us the facts of what led to the economic crisis of 2008. Prepare to be angry, infuriated but yet entertained by this real life heist film.
© 2010 Sony Pictures Classics Inc. All Rights Reserved.
DVD TITLE: Inside Job
DURATION: 109 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: 2:35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Classics
RATED: PG-13 (Some Drug and Sex Related Material)
RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2011
Directed by Charles Ferguson
Written by Chad Beck, Adam Bolt
Produced by Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs
Executive Producer: Jeffrey Lurie, Christina Weiss Lurie
Associate Producer: Kalyanee Mam, Anna Moot-Levin
Music by Alex Heffes
Cinematograhy by Svetlana Cvetko, Kalyanee Mam
Edited by Chad Beck, Adam Bolt
Set Decoration by Mariko Marrs
Starring:
Narrated by Matt Damon
William Ackman
Daniel Alpert
Jonathan Alpert
Sigridur Benediktsdottir
Willem Buiter
John Campbell
Christine Lagarde
Dominque Strauss-Kahn
From Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker, Charles Ferguson (NO END IN SIGHT), comes INSIDE JOB, the first film to expose the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, INSIDE JOB traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.
All Transactions Came To A Halt
The Investment Banks Went Public
In 2007, writer and director Charles H. Ferguson shocked and intrigued many people with his documentary “No End in Sight” which focused on the Bush administrations conduct during the Iraq war. Ferguson followed up by being one of the executive producers of “Between Earth and Sky” in 2009. But in 2010, Ferguson would release his most shocking and powerful documentary yet, titled “Inside Job” which chronicles the global financial meltdown and the economic crisis of 2008. The documentary would win an Academy Award for “Best Documentary Feature” in 2011.
Featuring narration by actor Matt Damon, “Inside Job” begins with showcasing the financial meltdown of Iceland and how a country that was once doing so well with no debt and was a great example of country that was financially responsible, became a country that financially collapsed with the country’s three major commercial banks suffering from a downfall when billions of dollars were borrowed and loaned to businesses and businessmen who took advantage of the loans to finance their own personal non-business endeavors and left the country close to national bankrupty.
When one was interviewed about the problems, he asks that this could not happen in the United States right?
Well, unfortunately millions of Americans have been affected by the economic downturn and in 2008, this would spiral downward as millions of Americans would foreclose their homes, lose their jobs, many would be living off food stamps while in Wall Sreet, Bear Stearns, known to be aggressive in packaging and selling mortgage-backed securites and hedge funds loaded with junks collapsed and were bought by JPMorgan Chase. Meanwhile, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, because they were owned by the government, were not required to report their finances like public corporations and both companies hid their problems which involve serious accounting fraud and overstatement of their earnings.
Lehman Brothers, one of the most prestigious companies on Wall Street filed for bankruptcy protection and put thousands of people around the world out of work, while Merrill Lynch, the powerful investment banking and brokerage firm would also fall hard and would be bought by Bank of America.
The question is how did the economy go so far down south that even today, millions of Americans are not sure about their future especially in today’s economic recession. Why did these individuals who committed severe financial fraud were never given prison time? And why hasn’t anyone been held accountable for the financial crisis?
But director Charles Ferguson would seek for the answer with his documentary “Inside Job” which features thorough research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists. The documentary traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships. Interviews include Paul Volcker (Chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board), George Soros (Founder and Chair of Open Society Institute/Soros Foundation), Eliot Spitzer (Former Governor of New York and New York State Attorney General), Barney Frank (Democratic Representative for Massachusetts) and many others.
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Inside Job” is presented in 2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen and is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital. It’s important to note that if you want the best video and audio presentation of this film, “Inside Job” is also available on Blu-ray. But for the DVD release, picture quality was very good and the soundtrack is front and center channel driven. Dialogue is clear, footage combines recent to archived older news footage but for the most part, picture quality and audio quality is good.
Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Inside Job” comes with the following special features:
- Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by director Charles Ferguson and producer Audrey Marrs.
- The Making of Inside Job – (12:32) Starz Studios behind-the-scenes of “Inside Job”. Director Charles Ferguson talks about how he was warned about the crisis well before it was publicly known. Ferguson talks about the research process for the film and the amount of research that was done for this film.
- Deleted Scenes – Featuring nine deleted scenes with Charles Morris, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Eliot Spitzer, Gillian Tett, Jerome Fons, Lee Hsien Loong, Satyajit Das, Simon Johnson and Yves Smith.
- Theatrical Trailer – (2:20) The original theatrical trailer for “Inside Job”.
A documentary that will open your eyes. A documentary that must be seen. Charles Ferguson’s “Inside Job” is a shockingly, powerful documentary that reveals what may have caused the global financial meltdown and giving us the facts of what led to the economic crisis of 2008.
Unfortunately, this is one of the great crime stories in American history and we are currently living it. This is not a documentary of the past and the events that occurred back in 2008 still rears its ugly head in 2011 where millions of Americans are jobless and in financial trouble.
I have no doubt that the “Inside Job” will open everyone’s eyes of those who are watching this documentary because when you find out how this cycle of financial irresponsibility has been going on for decades and still happening today, you can’t help but wonder if we are going to be headed in the same direction as Iceland.
As the film opens up with the financial crisis in Iceland, it was quite shocking to watch and see what happened in that country which had it all and then nearly lost it all. And when the question is asked by one in Iceland about the United States of America… you can’t help but think how screwed up things have went since 2008.
Many people knew that crimes were being committed but yet, this is how Wall Street, the banks and the government acted. Deregulation led to banks getting bigger and bigger, borrowing money and lending them while gambling with depositors’ money while many borrowers were offered high-risk borrowing for the “sub-prime” market in guarantee of high returns.
Employees and upper administrative staff lived in luxury, the banks with so much money were able to buy their way into society including universities as many economists from Ivy League universities took part in support of reckless deregulation.
If anything, “Inside Job” is a film that really opened my eyes and what I saw of what took place in Wall Street especially between the government was just disgusting, infuriating but at the same time, just knowing how corruption continues unfortunately even in Obama’s administration. These people who were involved as part of the problem, continue to get hired in the government and also teach at Ivy League Schools. How can we trust them?
The cares of the American people were not the priority, it was getting rich and unfortunately, there was no accountability and where most thieves go to jail, in the case of these banks were fraud were committed, they received a government bail-out.
As for the documentary, Charles Ferguson knew how complex this documentary had to be. He needed the right people to interview and the research to let us know what is fact. This is not some one-sided documentary where you hear one side and everything about the other side is bad, bad, bad. “Inside Job” was able to achieve its efficacy because we see how things are from both sides of the coin, he dissects the financial crisis and gives us interviews of those who were involved. Not only specialists but there are major players took part in the film (not all but a good number of them did) and gave their impression of what happened. You also see the gall of some of these individuals as they have no qualms of what they have done. But it would have been nice to hear from CEO’s or even Greenspan but many declined to be take part in this documentary and be interviewed.
And to even leave a sour taste in your mouth, when you feel the Obama administration could make things right, unfortunately, the same Wall Street executives who are now working in government are still employed and still calling the shots of how America’s finance should be handled. In fact, we learn through this documentary that those who were involved in creating fraudulent reports and employed at Wall Street are now teaching America’s Ivy League schools.
But yet, director Charles Ferguson shows us in this documentary that he has the balls to call these people out and it’s what makes this documentary so great. Educating but also making sure the viewer, learns about the crime that has been committed but those who are being interviewed are not getting a pat in the hand like they did from the US government.
With his interviews, Ferguson intelligently takes them on and exposes some of them, especially the immoral ones for the part they took in America’s economic mess. Too bad that the high-profile players declined to be interviewed. It would have been great to see the major players of Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs and other companies embroiled in the financial crisis of 2008 take part in this film but its understandable.
But I will say that its a shame that the academic economists from Columbia University and Harvard University evaded Ferguson’s questions. If anything, they support the documentary and I wonder how their own bosses have felt about their behavior in this film. Because now, instead of people believing them as professionals to help the system, they end up showing that they were part of the problem and in the process, instead of answering the questions, they end up disgracing themselves.
In the end, although I may not understand the complexities of the financial crisis, as your average American watching this documentary, I appreciate Ferguson for opening my eyes. I was enraged after watching this film but if anything, those who seek out the questions of why our economy is so down at this time, at least we get to learn how these problems have built and built itself up in many decades after the Great Depression. I definitely give credit to Ferguson for keeping on topic and not becoming polemic in conspiracies.
It’s important to know that this DVD has an interesting audio commentary which follows up of what happened during the interviews as well as what has happened since the documentary. From the stock shots to the interviews, both Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs give a fascinating commentary that is worth listening to after you watch the film. Especially some of the deleted scenes that are included on the DVD.
Overall, “Inside Job” is a powerful documentary that is important and worth watching and for Charles Ferguson, his work is deserving of the Oscar! Highly recommended!
Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso welcome a baby girl
October 24, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
PEOPLE Magazine has reported that Luciana Barroso, wife of actor Matt Damon, gave birth to a baby girl on Wednesday. Both Luciana and the baby are both healthy.
Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso have four children.
“HOLLYWOOD SALUTES MATT DAMON: AN AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE TRIBUTE” AIRS THURSDAY, MAY 27 ON THE ABC TELEVISION NETWORK
May 10, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
Award-winning actor Matt Damon was the recipient of the 24th American Cinematheque Award at a gala held this past March at the Beverly Hilton. The presentation and celebration will be televised in the hour-long special, “Hollywood Salutes Matt Damon: An American Cinematheque Tribute,” airing THURSDAY, MAY 27 (9:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.
The stellar list of guests who paid tribute to Damon when he received the award from longtime friend and co-star Ben Affleck are Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle, Clint Eastwood, Jennifer Garner, Jimmy Kimmel, Greg Kinnear, Sarah Silverman, Charlize Theron and Robin Williams. In addition, George Clooney and Ben Stiller paid tribute by partaking in individual pre-taped comedy sketches, while President William Jefferson Clinton appeared in and narrated a piece about Damon’s humanitarian efforts.
The executive producers of the show are Paul Flattery, Barbara Smith and Michael Dempsey. Irene Crinita is the producer and Kelly Brock co-producer. Corrinne Mann is the benefit producer.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE:
Established in 1981, the American Cinematheque is a non-profit viewer-supported film exhibition and cultural organization dedicated to the celebration of the Moving Picture in all of its forms. At the Egyptian Theatre, the Cinematheque presents daily film and video programming which ranges from the classics of American and international cinema to new independent films and digital work. Exhibition of rare works, special and rare prints, etc., combined with fascinating post-screening discussions with the filmmakers who created the work, are a Cinematheque tradition that keep audiences coming back for once-in-a-lifetime cinema experiences. The American Cinematheque renovated and reopened (on December 4, 1998) the historic 1922 Hollywood Egyptian Theatre which celebrates its 85th anniversary this year. This includes a state-of-the-art 616-seat theatre housed within Sid Grauman’s first grand movie palace on Hollywood Boulevard. The exotic courtyard is fully restored to its 1922 grandeur.
The Egyptian was the home of the very first Hollywood movie premiere in 1922. In early 2005 the American Cinematheque expanded its programming to the 1940 Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.
A TV parental guideline will be assigned closer to airdate.
Matt Damon and wife expecting another baby
April 27, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
Matt Damon’s rep has confirmed with People Magazine that the Matt and Luciana are expecting another baby. The couple have three daughters: Alexia (11), Luciana’s daughter from a previous marriage, Isabella (4) and Gia (20 months).
HOLLYWOOD SALUTES MATT DAMON: AN AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE TRIBUTE
March 22, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
Ben Affleck to Present Matt Damon with the 24th American Cinematheque Award
Don Cheadle, President William Jefferson Clinton, George Clooney, Clint Eastwood, Jimmy Kimmel, Greg Kinnear, Ben Stiller, Charlize Theron and Robin Williams to Pay Tribute to Matt Damon at Gala Event on March 27 at the Beverly Hilton
Tribute to Air at a Later Date Exclusively on ABC
Ben Affleck will present his longtime friend and co-star, Matt Damon, with the 24th American Cinematheque Award at the Cinematheque’s annual benefit gala on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel’s International Ballroom in Beverly Hills. The award presentation concludes an evening of in-person tributes from Damon’s colleagues, Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle, Clint Eastwood, Jimmy Kimmel, Greg Kinnear, Charlize Theron and Robin Williams. In addition, George Clooney and Ben Stiller will pay tribute by partaking in individual pre-taped comedy sketches, while President William Jefferson Clinton appears in and narrates a piece surrounding Damon’s humanitarian efforts that will be played during the show. Added guests will be announced as they are confirmed.
ABC will premiere the Award Show broadcast of “Hollywood Salutes Matt Damon: An American Cinematheque Tribute” at a later date. This is the 1st year that ABC will broadcast the show. Damon was the unanimous choice of the Cinematheque Board of Directors selection committee which, since 1986, has annually honored an extraordinary artist (actor, director or writer) in the entertainment industry who is fully engaged in his or her work and is committed to making a significant contribution to the art of the motion picture.
The American Cinematheque Award is presented annually to an extraordinary artist currently making a significant contribution to the art of the Moving Picture and is a mid-career achievement honor. Proceeds from the event go towards the year round operation of the American Cinematheque’s public programming at the Egyptian and Aero Theatres in Los Angeles.
Eddie Murphy received the first American Cinematheque Award in 1986. Previous honorees are Bette Midler (1987), Robin Williams (1988), Steven Spielberg (1989), Ron Howard (1990), Martin Scorsese (1991), Sean Connery (1992), Michael Douglas (1993), Rob Reiner (1994), Mel Gibson (1995), Tom Cruise (1996), John Travolta (1997), Arnold Schwarzenegger (1998), Jodie Foster (1999), Bruce Willis (2000), Nicolas Cage (2001), Denzel Washington (2002), Nicole Kidman (2003), Steve Martin (2004), Al Pacino (2005), George Clooney (2006), Julia Roberts (2007) and Samuel L. Jackson (2008).
One thousand entertainment industry notables are expected to attend the tribute. This annual event is the American Cinematheque’s most important benefit, providing funds for the non-profit film exhibition organization’s programs throughout the year and operation of the historic landmark Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, as well as the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica on Montana Avenue.
The executive producers of the show are Paul Flattery, Barbara Smith and Michael Dempsey. Irene Crinita is the producer and Kelly Brock co-producer. Co-chairs and presenters of the event will be announced as they are confirmed. Corrinne Mann is the benefit producer.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE:
Established in 1981, the American Cinematheque is a non-profit viewer-supported film exhibition and cultural organization dedicated to the celebration of the Moving Picture in all of its forms. At the Egyptian Theatre, the Cinematheque presents daily film and video programming which ranges from the classics of American and international cinema to new independent films and digital work. Exhibition of rare works, special and rare prints, etc., combined with fascinating post-screening discussions with the filmmakers who created the work, are a Cinematheque tradition that keep audiences coming back for once-in-a-lifetime cinema experiences. The American Cinematheque renovated and reopened (on December 4, 1998) the historic 1922 Hollywood Egyptian Theatre, which celebrates its 85th anniversary on October 18, 2007. This includes a state-of-the-art 616-seat theatre housed within Sid Grauman’s first grand movie palace on Hollywood Boulevard. The exotic courtyard is fully restored to its 1922 grandeur.
The Egyptian was the home of the very first Hollywood movie premiere in 1922. In early 2005 the American Cinematheque expanded its programming to the 1940 Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.
For more information: www.americancinematheque.com
Matt Damon promoting “Green Zone” in Berlin
March 3, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
Actor Matt Damon attends a photocall to promote the new movie ‘Green Zone’ at the Adlon Hotel on March 3, 2010 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.
Matt Damon and Steve Soderbergh at “The Informant” photocall at the 66th Venice Film Festival
September 7, 2009 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment
VENICE, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 07: Actor Matt Damon with director Steven Soderbergh attends ‘The Informant!’ photocall at the Palazzo del Casino during the 66th Venice Film Festival on September 7, 2009 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images). Content © 2009 Getty Images . All rights reserved.
Finding Forrester (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
September 27, 2003 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
MOVIE COMPANY: Columbia TriStar
CAST: Starring Sean Connery, Robert Brown, Anna Paquin, Busta Rhymes, F. Murray Abraham, Matt Damon and more.
DIRECTED BY: Gus Van Sant
WRITTEN BY: Mike Rich
RATING: Rated PG-13
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0181536
TYPE OF MOVIE: Drama
DURATION: 136 minutes
Jamal Wallace (Robert Brown) is an inner-city kid from the Bronx who has an aptness at basketball and a genius at writing. While always a C student, Jamal comes to the attention of a prestigious New York prep school when he scores highly on his standardized tests. While Jamal is given a heavy load at his new school, both he and the school know that the real reason they took him on is for his prowess on the court. Befriended by fellow student Claire (Anna Paquin) and helped along by Pulitzer-prize winning author and recluse William Forrester (Sean Connery), Jamal pursues his dreams both on and off the court while overcoming obstacles placed by his bitter literature teacher. As Jamal is shaped by Forrester, he finds that he is changing the old writer as well, forcing him to confront his past…and his future. (IMDB)
DVD EXTRAS:
• Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
• HBO Featurette, Found: Robert Brown Featurette, two choir videos
• Commentary by director
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• Full-screen and widescreen anamorphic formats
KNOWN DVD SECRET(S): None that I know of
DVD REVIEW:
If there is one film that was underrated and left many people asking what movie should of been selected for Academy Award nomination, “Finding Forrester” is that movie.
Gus Van Sant directed a great movie with “Good Will Hunting” and is back again with a different but similar story. It’s a beautiful film about an African American student Jamal Wallace from the Bronx and a recluse/yet very popular author William Forester.
How both work together and help each other despite their cultural backgrounds. The friendships that develops and the institution/professor’s unwillingness to accept that a Black kid from the Bronx could write beautifully.
The DVD is beautiful and the audio is typical of a dialogue film. The special features are pretty cool with the HBO featurette and also how they found Robert Brown for this film. Also, they included two choir videos and these people can sing! Very cool special features including trailers for films of people who were part of the cast.
Again it’s a shame this movie wasn’t selected for even an “Academy Award” nomination but I guess the selection board were to enthralled with “Chocalat” instead. Anyway, this is a very good film and definitely highly recommended!
THE MOVIE: A
THE DVD EXTRAS: A
THE DVD OVERALL: A
Titan A.E. (a J!-ENT DVD Review)
September 27, 2003 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment
MOVIE COMPANY: FOX STUDIOS
CAST: Starring the voices of Matt Damon, Bill Pullman, Drew Barrymore and more.
DIRECTED BY: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman
PRODUCED BY:
RATING: Rated PG
INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE URL: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120913
TYPE OF MOVIE: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Adventure
DURATION:
One thousand years from now, aliens destroy Earth in fear of the Titan project. Some humans escape, becoming a downtrodden Diaspora, living in impoverished settlements. The mysterious Titan spacecraft also escapes, and its inventor has hidden it before dying. A spacecraft captain and its pilot, Korso and Akima, two humans, seek out Cale, the youthful son of the dead scientist and explain that he must help them find the Titan, which holds a mechanism to unite and save humanity. Cale refuses, but the arrival of the killer aliens persuades him to join Korso. Can he avoid his pursuers, know friend from foe, find the Titan, and embrace his humanity, a nature he has despised until now?
DVD REVIEW:
I’m a big anime fan and when I heard that an animation will be coming out in the US that’s not kid-oriented or Disney-like was going to be released, I was happy. I’ve been hearing how cool the special effects for this movie was and how much time and effort was spent spent on this film. Also, how much the film costs (75 million-ouch!) Unfortunately, that time & effort wasn’t enough because the movie didn’t do that well in the box office and FOX had the animation studio closed down. What a shame!
This was a good start in bringing non-Disney like animation movies to the US and now the only thing we can hope for is the “Final Fantasy” computer generated movie to do well when it’s released in 2001.
The movie is very good, the acting is very good and one can only hope that people check the DVD out for this film. The audio is impressive and what can I say…DTS!
The movie includes several lengthy deleted scenes and a music video.
Check this DVD out!
THE MOVIE: A-
THE DVD EXTRAS: A-
THE DVD OVERALL: A–
