Quick recommendation
Much too tired to describe weekend. But did want to note that Kam and I saw The Bourne Identity last night, and we both liked it quite a bit. I'll go so far as to say it's the best movie I've seen this year; doesn't make my all-time best list, but pretty highly recommended nonetheless. As Kam noted after the movie, it would be easy to make a terrible movie out of this general storyline; in fact, that terrible movie's probably been made several times. But this rendition of the story is redeemed by the acting (Matt Damon continues to be a good actor, and Franka Potente (who played Lola in Run, Lola, Run, but I totally failed to recognize her in this) is excellent—she has a really expressive face, and just watching her reactions is almost worth the price of admission; Chris Cooper is good as always, as are various others in various supporting roles (even Julia Stiles, though she's kinda wasted on her small part)), the writing (not flashy, but solid and sharp throughout, with moments of being very funny), the car chases, and the generally tight plotting.
. . . Hey, I just found out this was a remake. Now I'm curious about the original, though I'd be surprised if it's nearly as good.
Anyway, I think the key is that it's a very human thriller; there's a lot more focus on emotional interactions between characters than I'm used to from spy movies, but it nonetheless manages to keep things tense and fast-paced and exciting throughout.
It occurred to me afterward that in the same way that Memento and A.I. would make a nice study in contrasts for a film-school class on good and bad structure, The Bourne Identity and Ronin (which features not one, not two, but three of the most boring car chases in cinematic history) would make a nice study in contrasts for a class on good and bad ways to make a spy movie.
Must sleep. (I seem to say that a lot, without actually doing it nearly enough.)