Sgt. Angle reporting for duty!

In color salute to St. Patrick’s day, this week’s Cinegasm Experience is in Green Theme. I present four ‘Movies Green’ to stir your stew. Ingest without caution or hesitation.

At ease.

1. GREEN ZONE — The latest political film by director Paul Greengrass (green!!), starring Matt Damon as a US soldier who questions his orders as the WMD tolls remains at zero despite a so-called reliable source code-named ‘Magellan’.

The Stew: Inspired by the book “Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone” by Rajiv Chandrasekaren, Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) keenly adapts the analytical observations and facts of the U.S. involvement and transition of power in Iraq into a gripping thriller. Paul Greengrass is a director known for revising the Hollywood thriller with sequels The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, as well as pointing a shaking camera at controversial stories in order to present an objective, factual case and allow the watcher to come away with his/her own conclusions (United 93, Bloody Sunday).

Greengrass entered my sights as a director a few years ago. I want to watch everything he makes, but I also find fault in his overuse of hand-held cameras. I don’t like his extreme closeup style of shooting fight scenes, and think the shaky cam he’s become known for only adds to confusion while detracting from visual storytelling. It certainly didn’t help, however, that his two Bourne movies were as intricate and complex as The Theory of Relativity our federal banking laws, but there really is no excuse for vomit-inducing camera run-around techniques.

I went into a screening of Green Zone expecting much of the same, but instead was surprised and pleased, thrilled and satisfied. The plot is of the complex variety, but thanks to a limited number of characters and a very linear unfolding of events, it’s relatively easy to follow. The camera (in the hands of Barry Ackroyd, who lensed United 93 and was recently nominated for The Hurt Locker) swings in all directions, but focus always returns to Matt Damon or Greg Kinnear, depending on whose POV we’re currently focused on.

The Rifle Salute: Four out of four rifles. There are moments where the film feels like one extended sequence after another rather than chopped up scenes, a great feeling where you can look at your watch and think a scene is over, and then you’re immediately carried into the next sequence, or the next problem for Miller. Also, there is temptation to highly criticize America’s harsh decisions and forced hand (embodied by an especially good Greg Kinnear), but don’t let the film fool you: You’re meant to walk out of the theater understanding all sides, though not necessarily agreeing, and hopefully open the door to further research, discussion, and conclusions, which will all lead to better understanding in the future.

*Declassified Fact: Paul Greengrass was once circling an adaptation of WATCHMEN.

Shaggy crimefighters.

2. THE GREEN HORNET — An adaptation of the classic 60s TV series that featured Bruce Lee. This time around, Seth Rogan dons the mask while Jay Chou (Curse of the Golden Flower) picks up Lee’s Kato character.

The Stew: Cast includes: Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, who will play Chudnofsky, an LA crime boss and rival/villain to the Green Hornet, as well as Cameron Diaz, Edward Furlong, Tom Wilkinson, and Edward James *freakin’* Olmos. Script is by Superbad co-writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, and after Stephen Chow dropped the chance to direct and co-star, great imaginitarian Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) took up the reins. Will this be all-out comedy? light action comedy? or just plain fun in the lightest piece of the prism? Find out in December.

*Declassified fact: Movie will also feature an appearance by the band ANVIL!

Conceptual.

3. GREEN LANTERN — Director Martin Campbell (The Mask of Zorro, Casino Royale) takes a stab at the comic book world, expanding the on-screen DC Universe with Ryan Reynolds starring as Hal Jordan a dude who falls in love with jewelry a dude who becomes the bearer of a powerful green ring that allows him access to an intergalactic peacekeeping organization, among other fun powers. Mark Strong and Peter Sarsgard take up the villain roles as Sinestro and Hector Hammond, respectively. Tim Robbins rounds out the powerhouse casting, and somehow Blake Lively was not kicked off when she wandered on set.

The Stew: Your Sgt. is unhappily not familiarized with the Green Lantern’s history, suffice it to say that Ryan Reynolds is a dude that is easy to watch and support, while Mark Strong’s recent villainous workshop in Sherlock Holmes means he’s an actor you must keep a watch for in the coming months. Martin Campbell can direct action and fight scenes fairly well, so here’s hoping his first comic-book venture ends up smart and on the level. Will the Green Lantern’s universe feature a reference to Metropolis and the infamous Dark Knight? If DC Entertainment can orchestrate a multi-movie universe a la Marvel, full enjoyment will truly spill out from the page to the screen. At least Warner Bros. can handle big-budget action. Be thankful FOX does not have its’ hands on this one.

*Declassified fact: This movie will play in 3D theaters, though it’s not likely to actually be filmed seteroscopically.

4. GREENBERG — Another quirky character piece from writer-director Noah Baumbach, which he cooked up with Jennifer Jason Leigh after they worked together on Margot at the Wedding. Though the script captures that same neurotic and prickly, direct dialogue as Baumbach’s previous films, there is little delightful-ness to look forward to when the film debuts in April (yes, your Sgt. has read the script).

The Stew: Film stars Ben Stiller as a miserable New Yorker who comes to Los Angeles to housesit for his brother, and ends up sparking a fling with his brother’s oddball assistant (Greta Gerwig). Greenberg complains about nearly everything, feels aimless at 40, and doesn’t even try to find a successful path for himself. The story reads like a twenty-something hipster tale, but for a 40-year-old group of characters — as if Baumbach wants us to believe that uncertainty and unwillingness to face disaster are traits that haunt all generations, young and old. Connect this film, then, with his wonderful 90s era Kicking and Screaming, his adolescent daze The Squid and the Whale, and Alexander Payne’s About Schmidt, and you can thus relate to all American age groups.

What’s likable about Baumbach’s work is his focus on character interactions. People are a bit oddball and say what’s on their mind, letting their mouths run-off without thinking of consequences. People act and do out of the moment, rather than pre-meditated consideration. But at times, that’s frustrating (notably in Margot at the Wedding, which contained numerous scenes where characters avoided confrontation or sparked a chance for confrontation and conflict, chances which were inexplicably ignored by other characters…).

Baumbach is a constant collaborator with Wes Anderson, and the difference in their directing is that Anderson is able to give a serious conflict an admirably comedic twist, while Baumbach relishes in showing us the nitty gritty of it all.

*Declassified fact: Greenberg almost starred Amy Adams and Mark Ruffalo.

You are dismissed!

Sgt. Angle