SALT starring Angelina Jolie: Review
by Oscar on Jul.25, 2010, under Movie Reviews
THIS ISN’T “CINEMA” BUT IT IS ENTERTAINING
Cast: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber, Chiwitel Ejiofor, August Diehl
Director: Phillip Noyce
Running time: 1 hour 38 minutes
Industry rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.
With her almond shaped eyes and ample lips Angelina Jolie is always pleasant to look at, and in certain instances she has even shown that she can act, but an “action hero”? Well…not so much! Admittedly, she DID do a nice turn as a professional hit-person in “WANTED”, but that was in a limited scope where the bulk of the action did not depend on HER! In “SALT” she has the burden of carrying the action in a believable manner, but at 5’7″ tall and 120 pounds she just can’t cut it. Also, the plot itself suffers from some logical leaps, but they are covered well by the action sequences: Jolie jumping from a bridge, Jolie taking down a motorcyclist and high-jacking the bike, Jolie taking out a derelict ship full of Russian spies, and Jolie impersonating a young, male Russian officer while penetrating the high security presidential bunker in the White House.
There is really nothing new in this latest spy thriller that we haven’t already seen in any of the “Bourne” movies but, please excuse my chauvinism, Angelina is much nicer to watch for an old lech like me. Sure she’s fairly unbelievable in the “mano y mano” fight scenes, but the direction and execution is just good enough to keep it enjoyable by using the standard cut editing so that we only see snippets of the action. Normally I’d place my cash on the 6 foot 3 inch, 185 pound trained agent when confronting the slight framed Jolie, no matter how well trained she may be, but to see her thrash three guys simultaneously only elicits a comment of “Oh, come ON!” from anyone expecting more. So for this one it is best to just sit back, chomp on your popcorn, and enjoy the show for what it is: just entertainment!
But most improbably of all, the ending of the movie pre-supposes that prospective fans might want to see more of Evelyn Salt when it leaves us with just one more ridiculous scene as Jolie jumps out of a helicopter, escaping the clutches of the CIA and the FBI, at least a thousand feet over the Potomac River and swimming to safety. Will she return to mete justice to her Soviet handlers? Will anybody really care? My guess is NO! Although good for a summer diversion the promotion going into “SALT” far outstripped the movie’s ability to deliver a star vehicle for Angelina, but WILL ensure a brisk DVD rental in a few months.
For strictly entertainment value I’ll give “SALT”
INCEPTION Lives Up To Expectations…Mostly
by Oscar on Jul.19, 2010, under Movie Reviews, Science Fiction
Faulty Sound Editing And An Oppressive Score Mar An Otherwise Excellent Movie
CAUTION: If you are pregnant and suffer from a compressed bladder, or if your prostate is giving you trouble, or even if you just cannot watch a movie without that extra large soda then you might want to wait for “INCEPTION” to be released on DVD. Its 148 minute length, combined with its very involved plot, require that the viewer give it their full attention because there is ALWAYS some new plot twist or character revelation being sprung on the audience. No popcorn munchers or sotto voce yappers are welcome here. Just be prepared to sit and watch the movie. Novel concept, eh?
Ellen Page as Ariadne
There is so much to like in this movie that it is hard for me to begin, so I’ll just compare it to Christopher Nolan’s last offering, “The Dark Knight”. Whereas the previous film was a turgid mess of a moral tar pit that took itself far too seriously, “Inception” is crystal clear in its intentions while carefully exploring its ambiguities without distracting from the story. In fact the biggest ambiguity ends up being the fulcrum that levers the story from just another action flick into a hair raising drama that keeps the viewer on the edge of his seat. Here DiCaprio’s brooding, angry presence ends up being the absolute center of everything that happens in an intricately designed plot to change the future by implanting a simple idea into an unsuspecting target’s mind. More on THAT later…
The plot is actually quite simple: To implant an idea into Robert (Cillian Murphy) Fischer’s mind, at the behest of rival businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe), that will cause him to dismantle the financial empire that his industrialist father had spent a life time building. Other than the expected financial rewards there is an additional payoff for Dom Cobb (DiCaprio), that being Saito’s promise to erase the arrest warrant issued on Cobb that prevents him from going home to his orphaned children. But to accomplish this Cobb has to engineer the most complex plan that he has ever conceived, including more personnel than he has ever used.
Watanabe as Saito
Drawing on a couple of his usual team members Cobb also includes Saito and a brilliant, young architect named Ariadne, played by Ellen Page, who is expected to design the alternate reality that they will be plunging into. Modern game designers will recognize Ariadne’s task for it is the same one that they themselves take on when they develop a multi level video game, complete with trap doors and endless loops and back doors that only THEY are aware of. These cleverly concealed glitches in the architecture are necessary in order to keep the subject’s subconscious from anticipating the team’s actions. The one wild card though is that there is no accounting for the subconscious projections of the subject that the team aren’t aware of and how those projections will change the original plan. THAT is when the fun starts!
Joseph Gordon-Levitt battles the bad guys
As Cobb’s right hand man, Arthur, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, tries to “manage” the operation involving six people in deep dream sleep Cobb’s own subconscious demons, in the form of his dead wife, unexpectedly complicate things by trying to destroy Cobb himself, a vestige of his overwhelming guilt over his role in her death. The slowest parts of the film arise from Cobb trying to lay his guilt to rest by talking to his dead wife, played by Marion Cotillard and largely wasted, a mere projection of his subconscious, but it is Ariadne who wrenches Cobb back to reality. Well, maybe not reality per se, but something closer to it! From there on the pace picks up exponentially and the action is non stop frantic until the conclusion.
You want explosions? You got it! You want car chases? You got it! You want special effects? You got those in SPADES! The cinematographer SHOULD have been listed amongst the co-stars of this film because THAT is what people expected to see, and that is what they GOT! Along with the action sequences the color palette was also chosen to project a dream-like quality to the surroundings. Just look at some of the images I have posted here and you will see what I mean. Whereas many action flicks give you hard edged images, in “Inception” those hard edges have been rendered slightly fuzzy, just like real dreams.There is no blood splattering the screen, but characters in this dream world usually die a bloodless death.
But here I have to mention my two gripes about the film, small though they may be, but they really hindered my enjoyment on the film.
His pounding, insistent and overwhelming accompaniment almost washes away the quieter moments in the film, although it DOES enhance the tension in many scenes, creating a sense of impending doom. I honestly cannot remember one moment when it wasn’t present, much like a low grade headache that hovers in the back of the eyes till you lean over, then WHAM!
Maybe it’s just ME, but why is it that when the actors on screen speak softly, or even worse, WHISPER, that the sound editor doesn’t bother to attenuate the mikes to make it much easier for the audience to hear what they are saying. Many times I stop at the courtesy counter to pick up a set of wireless headphones so that I don’t miss the quiet conversations, but in this case it STILL wasn’t enough! Maybe I’ll just have to wait for the DVD release this Christmas so that I can watch it with subtitles. Frustrating!
Christopher Nolan
But before I close I want to give credit where it is due: To Christopher Nolan! His direction is what made this movie as coherent as it was considering the complex nature of the story. Only a person at the top of their craft could come close to matching this accomplishment. If he doesn’t receive recognition in the form of Oscar considerations then something is seriously wrong with the industry! This effort was far superior than “The Dark Knight” AND a much better film as well. His previous films, “The Prestige”, and especially the earlier “Memento”, were both mind bending efforts which possibly prepared Nolan for a project of this magnitude. As pure filmmaking, though, Inception is masterful, in a league — no, a sport — all its own, and Nolan is the only star.
For sheer entertainment value I rate “INCEPTION”
WORTH SEEING A SECOND TIME!
PREDATORS – The Best Of The Movie Sequels
by Oscar on Jul.14, 2010, under Horror, Movie Reviews, Science Fiction
It’s Not Original But It’s Still A Lot Of Fun
I’m going to say right up front that if you are looking for a picture that will take you somewhere that you’ve never been, then “PREDATORS” is not for you. But if you you are looking for a good time, and have about one hour and forty-seven minutes to spare, then this latest entry in the “PREDATOR” series will keep you entertained.
Maybe I shouldn’t link this one to the previous sequel attempts because with each succeeding sequel there was a marked decline in originality and excitement, the problem being that as the predator got more screen time, and as its abilities and methods became well known, audiences had less reason to anticipate being surprised. Eventually the movies devolved into a rote exercise in formulaic movie making and mindless macho posturing, ending in the same human carnage.
A buffed out Adrien Brody
But this one is a bit different. Not quite a sequel and not exactly a reboot, “Predators” is perhaps best described as a revival, and a reverent one, kind of back-to-basics approach to B-movie film making that fans will love, filled with great characters, snappy dialog, and plenty of action. What it lacks in imagination, it makes up in execution. It fulfills its limited potential, which is more than can be said of most of this summer’s movies. And then there is the cast, beginning with the unlikely presence of Adrien Brody, fit and bulked up, in the leading role.
At first I had my doubts that Brody, who is usually known for less physical roles, could pull of portraying a hardened mercenary, and indeed it DID color my judgment of him for the first 30 minutes of the movie, but in the end he came through as the professional actor that he is.This IS only a “B” movie after all, and not “cinema”. And if you are wondering how it is that he was cast in this role then read this interview that he did not too long ago.
The movie opens suddenly, with Brody’s character plunging through the atmosphere, coming out of unconsciousness and panicking as he cannot find the release handle for his chute. But just as it looks as if he is going to become part of the ecology his chute opens and he is deposited in a tropical setting with nothing but his clothes, pack and weapon. Immediately he discovers that he is not the only unwilling refugee as seven more humans are dropped in the near vicinity.
- Brody with Alice Braga
What soon becomes clear is that all eight have one thing in common: they are killers, some military, some not. Among the characters we meet an escapee from death row, a member of the Russian Spetsnaz, an enforcer for a Mexican drug cartel, a guerrilla fighter from Africa, a Japanese Yakuza, an Israeli sniper, and a doctor whose reason for being included are revealed near the end of the movie. Alice Braga’s Israeli sniper, a refreshing female presence in the mix, reveals she knows something about the alien hunter, and shares the basic plot of the Predator story which she heard about through the elite military grapevine. The gang gets more detailed info about what they’re in for with the surprise arrival of Laurence Fishburne, in an over-the-top turn as a lone survivor who had scavenged to stay alive while slowly going cuckoo a la Marlon Brando’s Colonel Kurtz
Brody and Fishburne
As the unwilling team work through the usual “I’m badder than you are” pissing contests and realize that they are mere prey for a bigger, and BADDER, enemy they quickly become aware of the futility of trying to escape the alien game preserve onto which they have been deposited and settle down to trying to survive under Brody’s leadership. The outcome is already a foregone conclusion, but how they get there is what makes “Predators” so much fun. It is best for the viewer to just sit back and laugh, or groan, at some of the obvious plot devices rather than treat them seriously, imagining that you had never seen one of the previous movies in the series, and remember, this is only a “B” movie so let it entertain you. You certainly could do a LOT worse!
Despite the obvious plot, the better than average production of “PREDATORS” leads me to award it with
