Student Film Reviews

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1. Steven Keller 03.15.10 / 12pm

   I thought this movie was going to be alright but it ended up surprising me from the start with a great intro. I liked how the movie seemed to be more about the war within the United States and its intelligence agencies than the actual war we were having with Iraq. I thought the characters were well played and the scenes were shot great with some cool shaking camera angles. To wrap up, if you want to see a cool film with some interesting plot devices I highly recommend this one.
2. Denise Santana 03.15.10 / 4pm

   I love this film. Matt Damon is one of my favorite actors. I love war movies. They are always so exciting and suspenseful. I never know what I should except. Even though, most war movies are all about the same I still enjoyed this one. The camera angels were all great. They showed a lot of neat things in ways I haven’t seen before in other war movies. The acting was amazing. The actors really did get in touch with their characters. They all had a great connection with who they were supposed to be and channeled that character in a way that was really believable to the audience. I recommend this film to all those war movie fans out there.
3. Tiffany Ingram 03.15.10 / 8pm

   Being not so much of a fan of war movies such as these, the review made the movie sound intriguing. Although I have yet to see this movie, it does sound like it is fun of suspense which is always good in order to keep a film interesting. The plot sounds basic but I can only imagine how the use of special effects make the movie much more interesting. Also, I would predict it being a good movie due but since the review ended with it saying the movie was not that great, it makes me debate whether or not I will watch it. Since I am not usually a fan of these movies, I would give it a try but not sure if i would appreciate it as much as others would!
4. Taylor Lyons 03.15.10 / 11pm

   The review makes me feel as if Damon is trying to hold on to his glory days of the Bourne Identity. This seems to be a rather typical movie for Damon. I’m sure the movie has great camera shots and action but as the audience we like to see new and interesting ideas rather than repeated plots with the same actor. This review tells me not to watch the movie but because Matt Damon has done so well in the past I might watch it and possibly be amazed of the camera work which they use as well with fighting scenes with great emotion.
5. Cameron Dadrass 03.16.10 / 1pm

   When first viewing trailers and commercials for this film, I thought it was going to be impressive especially with Matt Damon as the main character. However, it turns out that the film is quite the opposite with such negative reviews all over the internet as well as from the one on this website. I can see where the reviewer here is coming from when they bring up the film having a great deal of action similar to Damon and Greengrass’s Bourne films. Despite these dissapointing reviews, I am still interested in viewing this film due to Damon’s success in the past as an actor and me being a fan of action/war films similar to this one.
6. Shuo Zhang 03.16.10 / 4pm

   I liked this movie better than I liked The Hurt Locker. Both of movies are war topic movies, but Green Zone is more emotional, more realistic and more intense. Matt Damon did well to express what it like to be someone caught in middle of his destiny of destroy his enemy and his sympathy to his enemy. Compare to when Matt played The Bourne Identity 3, he is a bit older now, but besides become more experience, I didn’t see how the age changed him. I think this movie is one of few that I may watch again sometime later.
7. Robin Gautschi 03.16.10 / 10pm

   I really had no interest in seeing this movie until I noticed all the buzz it was getting, especially all the nominations. And I was very pleasantly surprised and ended up enjoying watching a movie about the War in Iraq, but more specifically about the war going on in America and its intelligence agencies. I also learned what a Green Zone means. I agree that it was too much like a combination of The Hurt Locker and The Bourne Identity and not as stimulating or interesting. While Matt Damon gave a good performance it seemed more of his Jason Bourne character and not something new and fresh. I thought Greg Kinnear was great in his role.
8. Gregory Vanderburg 03.19.10 / 2pm

   I have to agree with the review of Green Zone in that it seemed like Jason Bourne, but in a more realistic situation searching for WMDs in Iraq. The Green Zone made me realize that Matt Damon should stop doing action films and get back to more talented roles because every time I see him in action I think Bourne fighting off 15 soldiers or something like that. The story is not all that bad and is interesting for people who love U.S. conspiracy dealing with wars. The special effects were also quite good with all the explosions and artillery giving a real sense of being in Iraq and seeing the damage caused.
9. Samuel Nicholson 03.21.10 / 9pm

   Although Green Zone is a interesting and entertaining film it didn’t have the same affect on me as the Hurt Locker did. First of all I didn’t believe the storyline was completely realistic and in some situations very farfetched which made it hard to relate and feel socially and psychologically involved like the Hurt Locker dragged you into. Like the Hurt Locker it isn’t an ordinary war film it focuses on the intelligence side which is different and more interesting as you’re looking into behind the scenes of the war and the real affects away from the fighting which does bring you to make a opinion of what you on a personnel level would do in those situations. However this said sometimes I did find it hard to get to excited and really dragged into the film.
10. Kelly Fitzgerald 04.05.10 / 9am

    This movie was very well done from a filmaking perspective. It had talented actors, was suspenseful, and was exciting. There was realistic (but not overly gruesome) war violence and foul language, but no sexual content whatsoever. On these merits, it was an excellent film. However, this movie clearly has a leftist bias to it. It paints the picture of an overly aggressive, evil United States who unjustly interferes in the affairs of another sovereign nation. It perhaps reflects poorly on some members of our military and is clearly opposed to the Bush administration.
11. Kyle Hirsch 04.11.10 / 9pm

    The Green Zone exceeded all my expectations, Matt Damon’s character was very well played. This movie shows in great perspective how the war is fought logistical through the United States intelligence agencies. Also being a fan of epic war movies i.e Saving Private Ryan, Thin Red Line. I was actually surprise because it did have some great scenes that really defined the aspects of war. I think that with movies that can relate directly to our current events, will have a deeper meaning in a way. In conclusion, I recommend everyone who will like a good war movie to see the Green Zone. It will make you wonder how a war is actually fought. i completely disagree with the review. I liked the camera angels, but can see how the shaky camera would be annoying.
12. Vanessa Cloyd 06.27.10 / 7pm

    Being a huge fan of Matt Damon and the entire Jason Bourne series, I was anxious to see what this movie was all about and if it would be able to match up with the others. Seeing that this movie is about the start of the Afghanistan War during Bush‘s presidency, it had people talking about how controversial the film was which gave me more reason to see what all the hype was about. War alone is a controversial subject but doubting and questioning the reason for being at war and realizing there might not be one was a rather intense subject. The movie was action packed from start to finish, it kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time and I think the director Paul Greengrass did an excellent job from the casting, story line to the special effects.
13. Juan Wang 06.27.10 / 10pm

    Because of main actor is Matt Demon, so I wonder if this one would match up with The Bourne Identity series. Compare to The Bourne Identity, the construction of the background of the Green Zone is not as smooth as the The Bourne Identity. And because the motif of the movie is way too big, so it results in the director did not capture a point of incisive contradiction. And this not only made the whole film seems empty, but also made the portrait of the role seems monotonous. By the way, poor logical organized and lack of building Miller’s intricate internal world is the biggest flaw of this movie.
14. Scott Reid 07.12.10 / 3pm

    I have to agree with our reviewer in saying that this film is what I like to call a trailer weight. Which means that the trailer for the film carries most of the weight. The picture starts out okay, at least well enough to capture interest but the rest of the film falls flat as it unfolds. Matt Damon is a good actor, but he seems to be trying too hard here and a bit disingenuous in is role. Nothing too original here in cinematography or conspiracy theory either in my opinion. Like many recent films, it feels like after a while of tedious shooting the directors just want to finish the film and hope the editing will catch the fall. This subject matter deserved better than that. If you like these kinds of films of war, conspiracy, and corruption compounded by military intelligence, I suggest you see ‘Black Hawk Down’.

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