The Good Sheperd

The Good Shepherd is the movie about how one guy gives up his life and family to serve his country as a spy. Well, it is not really that simple, there are many extenuating circumstances that motivate this man, and ultimately determine who he becomes. In a huge surprise, the movie was actually pretty good. The acting was very convincing, and the story was interesting. There was one thing that was really bad. It was the make-up. Angelina Jolie's make-up was great. She aged appropriately, and well. Matt Damon, on the other hand, always looked the same age, which was very distracting. The story bounced back and forth from time period to time period, and it was hard to tell what year it was based on looking at Matt Damon. He looked the same whether he was in college or at his son's wedding.

I think Angelina did a wonderful job. She ranged from a wild and carefree, young adult to a bitter, mistreated mom with deep care for her son. She did this flawlessly. Very impressed with her portrayal of this complex character. Matt Damon was, well Matt Damon. He did a good job, and pretty convincing, but it seems that all his characters are interchangeable. Then there is the Man of The Year...Alec Bladwin. Could he be in any more movies? However, he does a good job, and he plays the part well.

There was one really bad acting moment. Eddie Redmayne, who plays the son on Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie's son, had an bad acting moment. When Matt breaks some bad news to him about his soon to be wife's life, he has a break down. It was one of the most painful acting scenes that I may have ever watched. It was not convincing at all!

As for the Academy Award Nomination for Art Direction, there were two distinct moments when I saw the reason behind this nod. There was a scene with a dress falling from the sky, and a paper being burnt by a candle. Very well done scenes. We will have to wait and see how much the Academy really likes those poignant scenes.

Highlights were Angelina's character and the moments of Art Direction.

Overall movie rating ***1/2