That assumption was far from the truth. The movie is a contemporary war movie set in May of 2003 after the invasion of Iraq. It follows a Chief Warrant Officer (Damon) as he searches for WMD in a chaotic occupied Bagdad. Since the ‘enemy’ is supposedly conquered, the role of antagonist falls to one of the government officials whose role it is to sow the seeds of democracy.

The movie has plenty of action and a complex intertwined plot. I decided to leave the politics of the subject out of my viewing and just enjoy the story.

Although this certainly isn’t Bourne IV, Damon is convincing in the lead action role.

The movie is based on a book written by the Washington Post bureau chief that was stationed in the Green Zone.

Since this movie is not long for theaters, I suggest you grab it when it’s on DVD.

The documentary is hosted by Daphne Zuniga (you may remember her from Melrose place or Princess Vespa in Spaceballs) who attends the 2006 TED conference and reports on what it’s all about and who is there. TED.org states “The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).” I can’t even begin to list who attended, but if you’re a techie/geek you’ll know all of them and be wowed.

When I was in GT class in elementary school we were given an assignment that was something along the lines of: Design a “future city” complete with housing, public services, transportation, recreation, and work areas and describe how the people will live in your city. We didn’t have to worry about being graded or fulfilling a checklist, but simply think and be creative without bounds. I remember this assignment because I had a blast brainstorming my city and building a model of it. My classmates and I had a sense of excitement and motivation that was unencumbered by those hurdles we place around ourselves as adults – being practical or realistic. Just make the future as you see fit.

As I watched this documentary, I recalled those childhood feelings in a sort of vicarious way through the lecturers and attendees as they envisioned what the future would be. But these are not children making models, they are adults with the talent, resources and drive to make their visions reality.

Amanda pointed out that to the viewer, this documentary is encouraging because it empowers you with the truth that one person can make a difference.

Here’s one of the talks on the DVD, and a superb example of the conference content. Sir Ken Robinson talks about the current public school system. There are many things in the talk that could be discussed and debated (If you watch it and are intrigued I’d love to hear from you).

Go checkout more of the talks at TED.org.

The plot summary states that the movie is “A drama with fairy tale elements, where an orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift as a clue to finding his birth parents.” Any clues available should have been given to the screenwriter.

In the words of Kristen Wiig’s SNL character Aunt Linda, I give this move a “Puhleeeeeeze” and an “Ohhhhh Gaaaad”.

We had an early evening tonight (read: no babysitter), so after dinner we took a walk (Ace really loves the Baby Bjorn) and ended up at Blockbuster. We got two movies – ‘The Good Shepherd’ and ‘Broken English’. Amanda had heard that the local reviewer, Larry Ratliff, really enjoyed the later. We’re both suckers for an ‘indie’ film, so we watched Broken English.

The movie follows Nora (Parker Posey), a thirty-something New Yorker that has a complex about being single and because of that somehow “must be doing something horribly wrong.” She has encounters with men, but never forms a lasting bond, until meeting Julien (Melvil Poupaud) as she is entering the elevator to leave a friends party. As she states, he “doesn’t have any hangups, like terrorism… or the fear of what other people think.” Then just as their relationship shows promising signs, Julien has to return to Paris and the specter of past failures returns to haunt Nora.

While we watched the movie we commented to each other that the soundtrack sounded a lot like ‘Lost in Translation’ and we were proven right when we found out later that Parker Posey and the director of the film, Zoe Cassavetes, are friends of ‘Translation’ director Sofia Coppola. As Tokyo in ‘Translation’, New York and Paris provide wonderful urban backdrops to the storyline of the movie.

We recommend the movie, along with a glass of wine or as Kara would say “…a colorful mixed drink…” having “… fruity or sweet garnishes, or swirly straws, mixers, or glasses.”