Here at HeyUGuys we like to live our lives a quarter mile at a time, so we jumped at the opportunity to attend a Fast & Furious 5-themed, day-long event at the Santa Pod Raceway in Northamptonshire to celebrate the DVD, Blu-ray and Digital release of the movie (download the movie on iTunes here).

Europe’s first permanent drag racing venue, Santa Pod hosts both the first and last round of the European Drag Racing Championship, along with the British championships.

AM

An action-packed day, the typically dour British weather put paid to a potentially thrilling Drag Strip race during the first part of the morning, but a stunt fighting school was still on the agenda, to which our group of excitable bloggers were more than happy to participate in.

The class room session was delivered by two of the UK’s best-known stuntmen, Paul Heasman and Jason Hunjan. Smart gave us a brief guide and lesson in how to choreograph a fight scene, whilst Hunjan showed the group how to react on film to an explosion (readers of a nervous disposition may want to avert their eyes away from one particular image below). After class was dismissed we had an opportunity to have a quick chat with our two teachers.

Heasman is a 30-plus year veteran of the industry, who found himself donning a Stormtrooper outfit on the set of The Empire Strikes Back, during one of his earliest jobs.

“I was one of those (Stormtroopers) who had to put Harrison Ford into the carbon freeze chamber. None of us could see out of the costumes, so we didn’t know where to position him. On the first task the big chamber came down from above and hit him on the head, and he went mad!”

For anyone else, being on that set would have been the ultimate geek dream, but the life of a stuntman can sometimes prove to a less than glamorous time.

“We were on set doing that little scene for four weeks! I was lighter when I finished because the carbon freezing chamber was all steam and it was boiling hot. We wore black leotards and they gaffer taped us in and we spent hours and hours sweating.”

Growing up in the then actor-centric surrounding of Wimbledon, Heasman felt a connection to that world whilst living amongst it, and at school he opted to do drama instead of the more practical options available. He still has a great respect for the profession and some of his most satisfying jobs have been with those who are masters of their trade.

“I did all the fights in NEDS and had a great working experience with (writer/director) Peter Mullan. The reason I got that film was because I’ve done nine Ken Loach films previously, and I worked with Peter when he was doing My Name is Joe. In that film, we did a fight on the stairs where he beats a girl up, and got so good at doing it, sometimes I thought he’d actually hit her because of the way she was reacting. He’s definitely one of the best actor/directors I’ve ever worked with.”

Hunjan has worked on a number of prestigious productions in his ten year career, including a last three Bond films and Christopher Nolan’s Inception and Batman Begins. His own love for the work stemmed (unsurprisingly) from childhood.

“I used to love all the Bond films and TV programmes like The Professionals and The Sweeney. I was fascinated by the guys tuning the cars over and jumping off buildings. I remember at the age of 12 going to my careers day at school and telling them I wanted to be a stunt man and they were really dismissive – it wasn’t heard of back then.”

His thoughts on CGI as a replacement to physical stunt work:

“CGI has its place, but its better that they’re using less of it and in the right places, and going back to basics. They’re gone back to using physical stunts a lot more. The tipping point was Die Another Day, and after all the CG which was involved in the film, it was clear people wanted that realism – to wince when it looks like someone has been genuinely hurt.”

Having worked and trained with a number of big names in the industry (“the less famous the actor, the more difficult they tend to be”) he has much praise for one A-lister in particular:

“Matt Damon is a very skilled actor obviously, but physically, he could actually be a stunt performer himself. He knows how everything works. On Green Zone, (I’d had a fight with him the previous year on the last Bourne) we had a 60-beat fight to master. There were a lot of moves – smashing into walls, throwing each other around, etc. As we got near to filming the scene, the fight co-ordinator wanted to cut it down, but we’d rehearsed with Matt for three weeks prior to this. One evening, when Matt was catching a flight the next day, he asked if I didn’t mind staying on after wrap as he really wanted to rehearse as he was incredibly keen to do the whole fight. He’s a very nice guy, so I was cool with it.”

“Daniel (Craig) is another great physical actor. The only problem with those guys is you have to sometimes rein them in because they want to do more!”

PM

The afternoon activity proved to be the most exciting of the day as two members from the Fast & Furious 5 stunt team (Kyle Woods and Sli Lewis) offered a demonstration of how to drive around the specially-constructed Gymkhana course, before we were then given the opportunity to get behind the wheel and try it out for ourselves.

Gymkhana events are time and speed obstacles challenges, where the driver must maneuver through a small, twisty track, performing many different driving techniques, such as 180 degree spins, 360 degree spins, parking boxes and figure 8’s. Perhaps the greatest part of the task is that drifting is encouraged where it’s helpful or necessary.

A fantastic adrenaline-fuelled day out was had by all, and a group of grown man where able to finally to act out their previously unfulfilled childhood fantasies.

Fast & Furious 5 is available on DVD and Blu-ray from 5th September.

Read our interview with Kyle Woods.

Having elevated the Bourne franchise to its imperious high water mark with Ultimatum, delivered a breath-takingly intelligent and affecting 9/11 drama (United 93) and then delved into Iraq and the non-existent WMD scandal with Green Zone, Paul Greengrass is casting his eye about for another subject to get his teeth into.

It has been reported that his planned MLK biopic has foundered over rights issues, leaving him with a couple of other options instead. One is Maersk Alabama, an adaptation of “A Captain’s Tale”, about a merchant vessel that is captured by Somali pirates, before a daring rescue by Navy SEALS. If the project were to wait until the autumn, then rumoured lead Tom Hanks would be able to *ahem* come on board as the skipper, given that he should be done with the Wachoswkis Cloud Atlas by then.

Greengrass may yet jump ship however, as he is also said to be circling Rush, a formula one drama set during the 1976 season and focusing on the rivalry between competing drivers Niki Lauder and James Hunt. Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen) has penned the script. Vulture also advise that their spies have heard tale of a third possible option for Greengrass but not a word has been said as to what it might be.

Frankly, I’d turn out to see pretty much anything Greengrass saw fit to put up on the screen, such is his film-making prowess. We’ll keep our collective ear to the ground for you and let you know as soon as he commits to anything.

Source: Vulture.

Whenever I put up a post, you’ll notice 99% of the time I will put in the actors starring in that movie and it’s director. Every so often I’ll mention the producers but what we sometimes forget are the hundreds if not thousands of other people involved in the movie making process whether they’re extras, assistant producers, editors, musicians, special effects artists……. the list goes on.

Action movies couldn’t be made without the professional stuntmen and women and now, in a world where health and safety has gone mad, we need them more than ever. It’s their job to make the movie los as real as possible but making sure no one gets hurt.

Our friends at Upbeat got to meet Stuntman, Ben Dimmock (who was Matt Damon’s stunt double) and Stunt Coordinator, Andy Smart who both worked on Matt Damon’s new movie, Green Zone. In the video, you’ll get to see how they prep the fight sequences, explosions and car chases for a movie like Green Zone.

Green Zone is released on DVD and Blu Ray this Monday. Click here for your chance to win the blu ray.

MATT DAMON (The Bourne franchise, Invictus, The Informant!) and internationally renowned director PAUL GREENGRASS (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93) re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in GREEN ZONE – available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD from 12th July 2010. You can pre-order it here.

In the film, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors have been dispatched by their commanders to find weapons believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert.  Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but instead stumble upon an elaborate cover-up that subverts the purpose of their mission.

Packed full of explosive action and thrilling drama, GREEN ZONE is set to be this summer’s must own DVD blockbuster and to celebrate its release we’re giving away 3 copies of the film on Blu-ray.

To be in with a chance of winning, you must become a fan of the HeyUGuys Facebook page and the Official Green Zone Facebook page and answer the following question using the form below…

What is the name of the U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer played by Matt Damon in the film?

1. Agent Rojer Miller
2. Agent Roy Miller
3. Agent Ray Tiller

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close Monday 12th July (release date) at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

Film © 2010 Universal Pictures.  All Rights Reserved.  Packaging Design © 2010 Universal Pictures.  All Rights Reserved.

April the 1st bought us the news that British director Paul Greengrass was circling the Shane Salerno scripted Fantastic Voyage, a reworking of the 1966 film which miniaturised a team of scientists and injects them into the bloodstream of a defected and dying Soviet.

It was heralded as Greengrasses’s first foray into science fiction, and opinion was further divided when it was revealed that the film would make use of James Cameron’s 3D technology, news which caused heads and stomachs to turn equally.

Now we hear that Greengrass is no longer part of the Fantastic Voyage project and a new director is being sought.

Deadline also find the time to point us in the direction which they believe Greengrass will go next, and it’s similar 3D fare. Warner Bros have a Treasure Island project which Sherlock Holmes producer Lionel Wigram is developing, and Greengrass’s name is being whispered as the search for a new screenwriter is being sought.

Greengrass’s documentarian’s eye has been instrumental in the impact of much of his previous work, and a family oriented tentpole movie with Greengrass’s name attached to it is sure to raise interest.

Last weekend saw Kick-Ass underperform at the box office. Critical reviews of the movie have been great, but the public’s interest in the movie hasn’t drawn. Kick-Ass was one of this year’s most highly anticipated films so far, and hopes for its success were high. We are now about to enter the second third of the year, and so far no one film as emerged as a bona fide classic. So what is going on?

 Of course, the term classic is difficult to define, and means different things to different people. It can be tied to the box office success of a movie. It can be attributed to the critical success of the movie. It may be better classed as the overwhelming public response to a film, which is very different in some cases to the critical performance of a movie. Many see a true classic as one that holds up in ten, twenty years time and beyond. Everyone has a different and equally valid opinion on this.

 I think the definition really has to be some combination of al the above factors. Some of the most successful movies so far this year in respect of box office performance have received a critical mauling. Alice in Wonderland is the highest grosser so far this year, and it has received generally very average reviews, though the public response has been more favourable. Also a big hit at the box office was Clash of the Titans, but in this case the critical and public response was pretty unanimous – it has been almost universally panned. Are these the movies we’ll still be talking about in five years time? Of course not.

 Some, like Kick-Ass, have received fantastic reviews across the board. The public reception has generally been pretty positive, though of course the number of viewers who have actually seen it is too low so far for it to be considered classic cinema, and there is a large percentage of cinema audiences who will never respond favourably to its over the top violence and ridiculous storyline.

 The films that could have been good, that we were expecting great things from, have failed critically, and some also financially. Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island did pretty well at the box office, but has a very low aggregate review score considering the directors reputation. Paul Greengrass is well respected for films like United 93 and Bloody Sunday, and has enjoyed financial success with his Bourne entries, so expectation was high for his third collaboration with Matt Damon. Green Zone, however, received a very mixed reaction, its political views rubbing some people up the wrong way, and it didn’t even manage to make a profit.

 Really, the only movie so far this year that has won out on all fronts has been How to Train Your Dragon. It started off slowly at the box office, but is looking good to break the $200M barrier within the next ten days. Aggregate scores have been very good, and public opinion has been pretty unanimous in its praise, with many movie-goers rewatching it multiple times. An animated film, the big success story of the year so far? It deserves it, and just follows the trend of animated work breaking through into genuine consideration.

So is the Hollywood product really just decreasing in quality? Last year was also considered to be a pretty weak year for quality film. I was watching Zombieland last night, one of last year’s surprise hits. I didn’t watch it last year, i didn’t find the time to go and see what was really just a small, knockabout movie with no huge cultural impact. If it had been released this month, however, it might possibly be considered the film of the year so far by many. Last year didn’t produce many classics, with only Avatar and Inglourious Basterds really meeting the criteria i laid down at the beginning of this article. So if the smaller movies of the previous twelve months are surpassing the best of this year so far, should we be starting to get worried?

 Historically, of course, the bigger movies come towards the summer, and the critically appealing movies in the Autumn, so the best movies should still be to come. In fact, the first major contenders may even see the light in the next few weeks.

 Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, made a lot of money at the box office, and holds a place in the top 100 films of all time based on the IMDb250 list. Both will hope they can recreate this success with the forthcoming Robin Hood. By the looks of the trailer, it is similar in tone, it has action by the bucket load and it is based on an enduring property. Crowe could never be considered a box office star, he makes too many smaller dramatic films for that. Scott does however have a reputation for making big budget movies, with compelling storylines, filled with great action set pieces and moments of suspense. Backed up by the option of 3D, Robin Hood will almost certainly do well at the box office, and if the story and plot hold up to the quality of some of Scott’s previous work, it could be the biggest movie of the year so far.

 The first Iron Man was a surprise hit, making a lot more money than was expected. Why was it such a surprise? Mainly, because from a mainstream cinema point of view, Iron Man was pretty much unknown. Somewhat of a second tier Marvel character anyway, with no previous Iron Man outings on the big screen, he was as far removed from the public consciousness as you can get. Add to this the Robert Downey Jr factor. It’s easy to forget now, but before Iron Man Downey was best known for jail time, a shattered career and a personal life filled with demons. To cast him in a big budget, family action movie was a big gamble. Director Jon Favreau was also a bit of a gamble. He hadn’t directed this kind of movie before, though did have special effects experience from Zathura. Why did Iron Man do so well? It was a well constructed, expensive looking action picture. The trailers showed impressive special effects and the charisma, screen presence and comedy timing of its star shone through. Reviews were good, and word of mouth spread quickly from those who had seen it.

 Both these pictures have the potential to become a classic, in every sense of the word. Other forthcoming titles, from Nolan’s Inception to Fincher’s The Social Network have the potential to be huge too. I think when 2011 rolls around, we’ll be able to look back upon a year filled with some great movies. It has been a cinematically uninspiring year so far, but the best is yet to come, and now is the time to be really excited about Friday nights at the movies.

 Bazmann – You can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/baz_mann

Coriolanus is a modern day retelling of the Shakespeare play by the same name.  It also happens to be Ralph Fiennes directorial debut. 30 Ninjas is hosting the official blog of the film and has loads of exclusive content to bring you up to date on this film.  Today they posted two new photos from the set that you can view below.

The story centers around Coriolanus, who in the original play is a Roman General who fights for his country, but despises it’s people.  His iron clad code of honor almost assures him a seat on the Consul but open contempt for the people end up costing him the seat.  Turning his back on his home, he heads for the land of his sworn enemy who must decide between fighting side by side with his enemy or destroying him.

Fiennes version of the story has it set as a present day telling and he has assembled quite the cast & crew for his first outing as a director.  Vanessa Redgrave, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox all star in the film.  Barry Ackroyd is serving as the Director of Photography so I expect to see scene similar to The Hurt Locker & The Green Zone  in terms of gritty but engrossing filming.

We’ll definitely be keeping our ears to the ground for news on this one.  Keep your eyes here for the latest updates.

Band of Brothers is rightly regarded as a high point in television drama, and the ten episode mini series is as impressive today (particularly on the blu-ray version) as it was nine years ago. With the series beginning tonight on Sky Movies today is The Pacific Day on HeyUGuys, and we’ve got something very special for you.

A few weeks ago we met something of a legend in the special effects industry, a man whose credits include two Indiana Jones films, Sleepy Hollow and Sweeney Todd for Tim Burton, The Bourne Ultimatum and Green Zone as well as both Band of Brothers and its companion piece The Pacific. This is the man who built Willy Wonka’s Chocolate River, and the man whom Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg called on to produce the crucial special effects for their new series.

Joss Williams has an impressive  IMDb page and his work with Paul Greengrass, Tim Burton as well as Spielberg and Hanks charts a very interesting course of three decades at the forefront of a ever changing industry. Not cowed by the surge of CGI and visual effects, Williams’ positive and professional attitude is one borne out of a dedication to use both practical, in-camera effects with the enhancement that post production CGI can achieve.

Detailing his work on The Pacific and Band of Brothers Williams talks about the changes to the process in the nine year interim, and there’s a very special behind the scenes look at the aforementioned Chocolate River constructed for Tim Burton and his 2005 version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

He also talks about his next project, the Martin Scorsese directed The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

Our thanks to Joss for taking the time to speak with us. The Pacific is on April the 5th on Sky Movies HD.

Fresh from the critical grilling of the perhaps mis-sold Green Zone, word has broken on what director Paul Greengrass will do next.

According to THR Fox are talking to Greengrass about a remake of the 1966 inner-body experience film Fantastic Voyage, about a team of scientists being minaturised and injected into the bloodstream of a defecting Soviet bigwig, and if Greengrass signs it’ll be his first 3D sci-fi film.

Greengrass is known best for his work with Matt Damon on the Bourne films, but looking at his other films a bit closer will yield greater rewards. United 93 and Bloody Sunday were powerful stories told with a documentarian’s eye, and his camera work in his recent films has been copied by lesser hands to dizzying effect.

The new Fantastic Voyage has a script by Shane Salerno who worked on Armageddon and the film which made for a great trailer Aliens vs. Predator 2: Requiem, and the trades are reporting that James Cameron’s 3D technology will be used for this film. So it’s a fairly standard studio production and Greengrass would add some fire to the proceedings.

Now, if they could only get Dennis Quaid on board…

With a deftness of touch much akin to a US government committee on WMDs, the Universal Pictures marketing department set out to convince us that Green Zone was essentially Bourne 4. Much like the controversial reports regarding the existence of Weapons of Mass Destruction however, there were those that wanted to believe, those that did believe and those that were not fooled in the slightest.

You can see why Green Zone was seen as a tough sell. The lack of success at the box office for The Hurt Locker, despite its great critical success showed that the American public is not yet ready to explore the war they never wanted. Those against the war don’t want to see it made into entertainment, and the heavily charged political message contained within, that the wrong decisions were made for the wrong reasons, would not sit well with the Bush supporters.

So selling Paul Greengrass’ latest as an extension of the Bourne series, an intelligent thriller with breakneck action, seemed the way to go. The presence of Matt Damon certainly made it the obvious choice. The problem is, they probably lost as much audience due to some poor review scores as they gained by mis-selling the product. You see, Green Zone has garnered a very split vote critically. Look on Rotten Tomatoes, and you can see a pretty even split between fresh and rotten.

I’ve been fascinated reading the conflicting views of Green Zone. I’ve read reviews that praised its in-depth storyline, and others that have claimed it was shallow. Some reward the bravery of the honest political message contained, whilst some call it mean spirited, factually inaccurate and naive. I haven’t seen it myself yet, i didn’t want my own opinion to affect the bias of this article. But it seems to me that those genuinely going in expecting it to be an extension of the Bourne series felt robbed, mis-led, and were angry at the fact that they had someone else’s political views so firmly forced upon them.

Conversely, those that went in looking for a film that would ask tough questions appreciated it much more, and came out with their expectations firmly fulfilled. What’s most interesting is if you click the ‘top reviewers’ button. Whatever you may think of the notion of top reviewers, and whether some peoples analysis is more valuable than others, the reviewers in this section are seen as top for a reason. And their collective verdict is 100% fresh. Whether you agree with a movies’ politics or not should not colour your perspective of its quality. Indeed, a film that questions your beliefs, and makes you think about a different point of view is the kind of film we need more of.

I can’t help but feel if the marketing campaign had sold Green Zone for what it was, the review scores would probably have skewed higher, and more people would have been drawn in by the potential of an intelligent political drama. If reviewers had gone in to Green Zone knowing exactly what to expect, it wouldn’t have caught them off guard, and maybe they would have enjoyed the experience a lot more.

I feel most sorry for director Paul Greengrass. Green Zone is in many ways the culmination of his work to date. Combining the intelligent, dramatic exploration of real life issues from his earlier films with the blistering action and twisting plot details of his more recent work in the Bourne series, it has the recipe for the perfect marriage of story driven drama and popcorn blockbuster. If the commercial failure and ambiguous critical reception of Green Zone mean we don’t get to see Greengrass approach his work in this way in the future, it would be a real shame. Because whatever you think of his politics, he is making a genuine attempt at bringing thought provoking storylines and political issues to a multiplex audience, and i for one applaud him for it.

 Bazmann – You can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/baz_mann

Earlier this month Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass were in town for a press conference to promote their new film, Green Zone.

During the course of the press conference they discussed the political ramifications of the film, and the difficulties Greengrass faced as a director, creating a work of fiction, whose target audience were so similar to the fictionalised soldiers.

The film is out in the UK now. You can read our review here or view the trailer here.

[gplayer href="http://www.heyuguys.co.uk/audio/green_zone/gz_press_conf.mp3"] The UK Press Conference for Green Zone: [/gplayer]

Today we get to see the release of the latest movie from the guys behind The Bourne Trilogy. Director Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon join forces again to bring us a high action thrill ride that is Green Zone.

Universal Pictures have sent us 23 lovely new high resolution images, from both in front of and behind the camera. Most of I’ve not seen before and I’ve embedded them below the synopsis for your viewing pleasure. Today is the last day to enter our Green Zone competition which you can enter here or check out our review here.

Green Zone also stars Greg Kinnear, Amy Ryan,Brendan Gleeson, Jason Isaacs and Khalid Abdalla.

Synopsis: Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93) re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in Green Zone, a film set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences.

During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert.  Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.

Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region.  And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth.

This week we get to see the latest release from the men behind the Bourne Trilogy in the form of director Paul Greengrass and lead actor, Matt Damon.  This new featurette looks at the collaboration between the 2 men and opens with an intro into The Bourne Ultimatum.

If you’d like to find out more about the movie from the man behind the camera himself, Paul Greengrass will be in the Regent St. Apple Store from 5PM. The address of the store is: 235 Regent Street London, W1B 2EL. He’ll be discussing the new movie in detail so if you’re a big fan, get down there early to get a space.

Synopsis: During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert.  Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.

Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region.  And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth.

If you’re excited to see Green Zone, you don’t have too much longer to wait as it’s released in UK cinemas this Wesnday 10th March. Our review can be read here and we currently have a competition running to win merchandise from the movie which you can enter here.

Check out the new featurette below.

Clearly the only way to really promote Green Zone was to use the word Bourne in as many places possible, in the trailer, on posters in interviews and of course it’s the best way to promote Green Zone because the lead character looks him and according to the trailer acts like him but it’s just the familiar look where the similarities between this and Bourne end. Which is a good thing.

United 93 and Bourne Supremacy/Ultimatum director Paul Greengrass takes us on a more political adventure and explores the aftermath of the Iraq invasion that is based on the of Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s novel Imperial Life in the Emerald City. Greengrass and screenwriter Brian Helgeland use Chandrasekaran’s story as the basis for the story of an officer who joins forces with a senior CIA officer to unearth evidence that weapons of mass destruction are not actually located in Iraq.

Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) leads a team charged in locating WMD’s using supplied Intel in Iraq, but as they visit from one resistance filled location or booby trapped site to the next finding nothing they soon stumble across evidence of an elaborate cover up due to bogus information received from an unknown source that is vouched for by a member of the Pentagon Special Intelligence called Clarke Poundstone (Greg Kinnear), Miller however finds a sympathiser in Martin Brown (Brendan Gleeson) a CIA officer who encourages Miller to dig deeper.

Miller searches for answers that are made ever more elusive by faulty intelligence and a separate special forces unit lead by Major Briggs (Jason Isaacs) who’s brought in to prevent Miller from finding the truth which adds gravitas to the situation as now Miller is up against his own country as well as the surrounding war.

Miller befriends an Iraqi who becomes his translator and leads Miller and his men to the “Jack of Clubs” of Sadam’s men who escapes and is then uncovered that he is pivotal to the outcome of the war as the truth he holds becomes the most valuable weapon of all, are there Weapons of Mass Destruction?

Green Zone looks absolutely stunning from start to finish and Matt Damon is again as watchable as ever as he seeks the truth. The locations look authentic and with some excellent added CGI to show landmarks of Iraq you get a real sense of ‘filmed on location’ for the entire movie. Brendan Gleeson and Greg Kinnear play their roles nicely and Jason Isaacs adds a wonderful menacing presence and obstacle to Miller’s hunt.

Amy Ryan co-stars as a New York Times foreign correspondent who travels to Iraq investigating the US government’s allegations about weapons of mass destruction being the reason for invading but is really underused but equally only really needed to add a friendly media ear to Miller’s discoveries to let the action and story progress.

The action was enjoyable when it came with some tense and very exciting moments that Greengrass is famed for and the plot, although slightly confusing at times, was superb and thought provoking as the WMD’s issue is deep in a lot of peoples thoughts and is extremely well presented to us although in a very political attack at the war which I and many others will agree with

I think the only real issue I had was SHAKY-CAM overdose that made it hard to watch during faster paced scenes but added that tint of a documentary feel to the movie. The opening scene is splendid example of the realistic feel to the film with fleeing high ranking Iraqi officials going into hiding in all directions and the camera pulls up to show the shock and awe bombing that took place to start the war and it really sets the scene nicely.

I have to say the more I’ve thought about the film the more I really enjoyed it, The Bourne tag is never going to be shaken which is a shame as it’s a very interesting film on its own and well worth a watch.

Green Zone is out this Wednesday, 10th March.

13 years ago, Matt Damon managed to shoot himself into the A-list thanks to writing partner Ben Affleck, and collaboration Good Will Hunting. Or so he thought. Despite critical acclaim, and an Academy Award for the screenplay, Damon’s door wasn’t exactly being beaten down. He picked up some big parts here or there, but was struggling to make the big breakthrough to solid A-list. He was dogged by the label of Ben Affleck’s sidekick, and maybe also by that ill advised public break-up. You know the one.

It wasn’t until Steven Soderbergh picked up the phone and offered Damon a part in Ocean’s Eleven that his career really took off. It was during production of Ocean’s that Damon agreed to take on the role of Jason Bourne in the Bourne Identity. The movie proved popular, and grew into a series. Director Paul Greengrass took the helm for sequels Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum. Greengrass and Damon struck up a great working relationship, and the series catapulted Damon into superstardom. Green Zone is the third time the two have worked together, and the first not of the Bourne series.

Matt Damon plays Roy Miller, a US warrant officer helping a senior CIA officer search for weapons of mass destruction during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Along with the Bourne series, Damon has gained critical success recently in Steven Soderbergh’s The Informant. In it, Damon portrayed real life corporate informant Mark Whitacre, gaining weight and becoming almost unrecognisable for the part. It was his 6th film with Soderbergh, following parts in the Ocean’s series, Syriana, and Che Part 2.

Green Zone also stars Brendan Gleeson. Gleeson is an Irish character actor probably best known for the role of Alastor Moody in the Harry Potter franchise. Gregg Kinear plays Clark Poundstone, a shady Pentagon Special Intelligence officer. Kinnear came to prominance when he was nominated for an Academy Award for the part of Jack Nicholson’s gay neighbour in As Good As It Gets, and has recently starred in the Oscar nominated film Little Miss Sunshine. Amy Ryan, also nominated for an Oscar for 2007′s Gone Baby Gone, and known for TV roles in The Office and The Wire, plays Lawrie Dayne. Dayne is a foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal following the hunt for WMD’s, investigating the US government’s claims of their existence.

Whilst on the hunt for chemical weapons, Miller instead finds evidence of a massive cover up, and goes in search of the truth. Trying to manoeuvre in an increasingly hostile and unstable region, Miller tries to survive whilst seeking answers to a constantly twisting question. Facing opposition from both sides of the conflict, he finds that even those purportedly on his side are working under their own agendas.

Rounding out the cast are Nicoye Banks (Brooklyn’s Finest), Jason Isaacs (Brotherhood), and Martin McDougall. Actor Khalid Abdalla impressed director Greengrass with his performance in United 93, which has won him the role of an injured Iraqi.

British director Paul Greengrass has built up a reputation for realistic, highly dramatic films based around real events. The Irish director was nominated for an Academy Awards for the 9/11 based film United 93, and also won critical acclaim for his dramatization of the Irish civil rights massacre, Bloody Sunday. More recently he has become known as the director of the last two Bourne movies. His use of steadicam shots to depict tense action sequences and his history of politically based movies makes him the ideal director for this project.

Green Zone is based on the non-fiction novel Imperial Life in the Emerald City by journalist Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Like The Hurt Locker, the story is an adaptation of the accounts of an embedded reporter present in a warzone, which could give it a leg up at the box office, particularly if Kathryn Bigelow’s film does well at this weekend’s Oscars. The story was adapted by screenwriter Brian Helgeland. Helgeland has a mixed reputation. He won an Oscar for the fantastic screenplay for LA Confidential, and was nominated for Mystic River. However he also wrote The Postman and A Knight’s Tale, so the quality of the writing could go either way.

Based on the trailer, Green Zone is being sold more on the blistering action than on the politically based storyline. This could be a wise move, particularly as the mediocre performance of The Hurt Locker at the box office suggests America may not be fully ready for a politically sensitive war movie. It is a shame though, as Greengrass has shown in all his movies an ability to portray sensitive drama in a sympathetic and compelling way.

March is a busy month at the box office, and opening just a week after Alice in Wonderland may hurt Green Zone’s chances, though the target demographic is remarkably different. Damon has a high profile as a result of the Bourne series, though that didn’t help The Informant, which arguably underperformed at the box office. Aside from Damon, there is a shortage of big names. As a result, Green Zone may struggle to make back its inflated budget. As far as critical success goes, the presence of Greengrass bodes well, though the writing of Helgeland is the wild card. Here’s hoping it sways more in the direction of LA Confidential. Early test screenings prompted rumours of overuse of ‘shaky-cam’, and the buzz wasn’t overwhelmingly positive, but that was around the middle of last year, so there has been plenty of time to fix any potential problems with more editing.

Green Zone is released in the US and UK this Friday 12th March. Gary’s review will be posted next week, until then you can find the trailer here to whet your appetite.

Bazmann – You can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/baz_mann

A Universal Picture © 2010 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

To celebrate the hotly anticipated release of Green Zone, in cinemas MARCH 10th, we here at HeyUGuys  are offering three lucky winners the chance to win Green Zone Goodie Bags and Books.

Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93) re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in Green Zone, a film set in the chaotic early days of the Iraqi War when no one could be trusted and every decision could detonate unforeseen consequences.

During the U.S.-led occupation of Baghdad in 2003, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team of Army inspectors were dispatched to find weapons of mass destruction believed to be stockpiled in the Iraqi desert.  Rocketing from one booby-trapped and treacherous site to the next, the men search for deadly chemical agents but stumble instead upon an elaborate cover-up that inverts the purpose of their mission.

Spun by operatives with intersecting agendas, Miller must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil for answers that will either clear a rogue regime or escalate a war in an unstable region.  And at this blistering time and in this combustible place, he will find the most elusive weapon of all is the truth.

You can visit the official site for more information – www.greenzonemovie.co.uk

For your chance of winning this fantastic prize, answer this simple question:

What is the name of Matt Damon’s character in Green Zone?

A) Corporal Kevin Jones

B) Officer Roy Miller

C) Sergeant Glenn Smith

You can use the form below to enter.

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK only.
• Only one entry per household will be counted.
• The competition will close Wednesday 10th March (release date) at 23.59 GMT.
• The winners will be picked at random from entries received.

The usual T&Cs can be found here.

Green Zone is released 12th March which feels like forever away since our guys saw it earlier this week and I’m going to have to wait for the release on the 12th.

To tide us over, IMPAwards.com have some new international posters for Matt Damon’s new movie which reunites him with his Bourne Director, Paul Greengrass.

Check them out below / click to enlarge.

Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon have proved to be a formidable team in their two Bourne films and while news of a fourth Bourne outing flies between prequels and reboots Universal’s Green Zone should suffice.

This new trailer is a formulaic affair but it sets up the main players and hints at the film’s explosive set pieces, and we get to see Brendan Gleeson which is always a good thing. Universal must be pleased to get Greengrass and Bourne back together but this film will probably look to distance itself from the Bourne identity in order that it is effective on its own terms.

Synopsis: Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller is a rogue U.S. Army officer who must hunt through covert and faulty intelligence hidden on foreign soil before war escalates in an unstable region.

Sound like fun? The film is out in the UK on the 12th of March and the new trailer can be seen by clicking here.

A brand new ‘look inside’ Green Zone has been released by Universal Studios / Working Title via Apple and includes interviews with star of the movie, Matt Damon and director, Paul Greengrass plus footage we’ve not see yet in any trailers. If you’ve not seen anything on Green Zone, you must check out the domestic trailer that was released a while ago and the International one gives you a much better look at the movie’s storyline.

This is one of the movies in 2010 we can’t wait to see. Green Zone also stars Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan, Khalid Abdalla, Jason Isaacs and is released 12th March. You can view the featurette below or head over to Apple to view in HD.

Universal Pictures have just released the brand new one sheet (click to enlarge) for Green Zone which stars Matt Damon and is directed by Paul Greengrass.

This ties in nicely with the trailer that was released last week. Green Zone reunites the team behind the Bourne series and we here at HeyUGuys are very much looking forward to it.

The post isn’t your usual one sheet with an image of charcters with in and around some illustration around it, instead, it’s an actual photo from the movie which looks fantasitc. I love the black and white  image of Damon.

Source: Empire