Review of The Bourne Ultimatum

The Bourne Ultimatum is the sequel to The Bourne Supremacy and the third film of the Bourne Trilogy. Starring Matt Damon as the amnesiac CIA assassin Jason Bourne, this was to be the last of the Bourne films. I hope not because Jason Bourne KICK ASS!

The movie starts immediately following the car chase at the end of the second film, the wounded Bourne suffered a flashback while evading the Moscow police. What follows is a thrillride where Bourne track down leads on who he truly is. In the midst of his quest, he crossed Blackbriar, the renamed, upgraded Treadstone. He also had unexpected help from Deputy Director Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) & Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles), who find themselves helping Bourne for reasons that were never made clear to the viewers. This is especially true for Nicky Parsons. I find it amazing that she was the only character outside Bourne that lasted all 3 movies. Only hints of her reasons were made known (fourth movie plot!).

In the end, Bourne remembered everything but the best thing about this movie was not the story but the action. The car chases in this movie can't match the chase in the first one, you know the one in Paris, but the action was brutal. Bourne has a fight in Tangiers with another CIA assassin named Desh. Bourne eventually strangled Desh with a towel after a brutal, thrilling hand-to-hand fight that's was one of the best I've ever seem on film. Look out for that one, it's worth the price of admission alone.

If you haven't watch it, then get off your ass and do so now. Like the previous Bourne films, The Bourne Ultimatum is a thoughtful action movie that never tried to dumb itself down for bigger box-office. For that reason alone, Jason Bourne deserved another film.

Review of Shadow of the Flame

Just finished Shadow of the Flame by Chris Pierson, the last book in the Taladas trilogy. In case anyone don't know, this is set in the Dragonlance world Krynn. However, it is not set on Ansalon, where the Dragonlance saga was set in. Instead, the story was on the lesser known continent of Taladas, north of Ansalon.

They are on the same planet, so a lot of stuff was similar. The people worship the same gods as those on Ansalon, yet they have their own names for them. However we see stuff and creatures which are unique. Mind-flayers, snow ogres, and mer-people (not sea elves), things not seen on Ansalon. Which is what Taladas is about, similar but different from regular Dragonlance.

The book start immediately after Book 2, Trail of the Black Wyrm. Disaster has struck at the ruins of Akh-tazi and Maladar, the Faceless Emperor, has been reborn. The greatest wizard Taladas has ever seem, maybe the greatest Krynn has ever seem, Maladar has taken over the body of the heroic Barreth Forlo.Forlo is now a prisoner trapped in his own body. Forlo’s friends, the elven moon-thief Shedara and the warrior Hult must find a way to stop Maladar before his power grows too great. The solution lies with Azar, Forlo’s supernatural son. But can they trust him?

Of course! This is Dragonlance, where 9 out 10 times the good guys win. However Shadow of the Flame brings the adventures of Forlo, Shedara, and Hult to a fiery, thrilling climax. Chris Pierson has written a solid book. Not only is it packed with action, there was around 8 battles, he also made sure the action was gritty and serious. Deaths can come out of nowhere and even those who lived through the story will have scars for the rest of their lives.

This was what the Dragonlance world needed. The fantasy genre is currently in a gritty mood, and maybe Taladas can fill that role for Krynn. A new place where anything can happen. Give the book a read, it's solid.