On December 13, I saw The Tourist, starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp.
Elise (Jolie) is in love with Alexander, who is being followed by the police via her. He sends instructions for her to find a man on an Italian train and make them think that this man is him. A decoy, if you will. Elise finds Frank (Depp).
Frank is a Midwestern math teacher who is trying to heal from a painful relationship and decides to use Venice as his medicine.
The chemistry between the two actors isn't what you'd expect (I thought since they're both a bit kooky off-screen they might just have a special spark on-screen, but they really don't). This lack of extra pizazz doesn't make looking at either one of them any less pleasant, but but also doesn't help the all-too-simple plot.
Once Frank gets mixed up in Elise's world, all hell breaks loose for him and he becomes the sacrificial lamb in her story of slaughter. Of course, since she's fond of him, she does swing by on a boat to rescue him in time of peril, and kisses him for good measure, but everything floats to the surface too easily to achieve any depth.
The ending was mildly surprising and welcome, since the rest of the film was ridiculously predictable. The scenery, however—both landscapes and lovers—was beautiful.
~~~
Showing posts with label Angelina Jolie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Angelina Jolie. Show all posts
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Monday, August 02, 2010
Salt
Tonight I saw Salt, starring Angelina Jolie and Liev Schreiber.
Like a pinball that's just been thrust into play, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) begins oh so calmly, then darts from one thing to another with reckless abandon. She's an employee of the CIA who has unexpectedly been accused of spying for the Russians. Because you can never be too careful, the higher ups want to hold her for questioning, but Evelyn is terrified the Soviets who are framing her will go after her (innocent, non-CIA) husband, so she escapes her own high security office building and heads home to warn him. When she arrives, he's already gone so she must continue on the run until she locates him. Or fulfills her Russian mission. You decide.
Along the way, her colleague/friend Ted Winter (Schreiber) does his best to defend her honor, but he can only do so much. The fact that she ran doesn't look good to the authorities and she's too skilled to let the boys track her down for a simple interrogation.
Everything you'd expect from an action thriller is here: high speed chases through traffic, security guards getting pistol whipped by a badass, confusion regarding who is on who's side and good old-fashioned Russian hatred for America.
Now, before you ask what decade the film is set in (present day, if you must), might I remind you that just last week our country (in real life) deported a handful of Russian spies who had been working in respectable American companies, living family lives in the suburbs like so many normal patriots.
With that out of the way, I can say that much of the film is completely unbelievable. There is no man's ass Evelyn can't kick; no weapon she is unprepared to use; no otherwise fatal car crash that she can't walk away from without a scratch. It's ridiculous.
But it's also undoubtedly fun, in a classic, Cold War sort of way.
What I found refreshing is that before every strategic move is made, there's not someone scrambling a signal on a cell phone or cracking some mysterious code on a laptop. In fact, the only typing we really see is in reference to launching a missile, and that I can forgive.
Plus, though she's a sexy woman who purses her lips on more than one occasion, the writers didn't make Evelyn too girlie. You never see her check her makeup in a mirror or even use her sexuality to win anyone over. The only indication you get that she has capacity for normal female emotion is the tenderness we see when she's with her husband. She must really love him.
So if you can get past the cheesy lines and the 80s explosions and the same-old spy twists, you might just have a good time with this flick.
~~~
Like a pinball that's just been thrust into play, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) begins oh so calmly, then darts from one thing to another with reckless abandon. She's an employee of the CIA who has unexpectedly been accused of spying for the Russians. Because you can never be too careful, the higher ups want to hold her for questioning, but Evelyn is terrified the Soviets who are framing her will go after her (innocent, non-CIA) husband, so she escapes her own high security office building and heads home to warn him. When she arrives, he's already gone so she must continue on the run until she locates him. Or fulfills her Russian mission. You decide.
Along the way, her colleague/friend Ted Winter (Schreiber) does his best to defend her honor, but he can only do so much. The fact that she ran doesn't look good to the authorities and she's too skilled to let the boys track her down for a simple interrogation.
Everything you'd expect from an action thriller is here: high speed chases through traffic, security guards getting pistol whipped by a badass, confusion regarding who is on who's side and good old-fashioned Russian hatred for America.
Now, before you ask what decade the film is set in (present day, if you must), might I remind you that just last week our country (in real life) deported a handful of Russian spies who had been working in respectable American companies, living family lives in the suburbs like so many normal patriots.
With that out of the way, I can say that much of the film is completely unbelievable. There is no man's ass Evelyn can't kick; no weapon she is unprepared to use; no otherwise fatal car crash that she can't walk away from without a scratch. It's ridiculous.
But it's also undoubtedly fun, in a classic, Cold War sort of way.
What I found refreshing is that before every strategic move is made, there's not someone scrambling a signal on a cell phone or cracking some mysterious code on a laptop. In fact, the only typing we really see is in reference to launching a missile, and that I can forgive.
Plus, though she's a sexy woman who purses her lips on more than one occasion, the writers didn't make Evelyn too girlie. You never see her check her makeup in a mirror or even use her sexuality to win anyone over. The only indication you get that she has capacity for normal female emotion is the tenderness we see when she's with her husband. She must really love him.
So if you can get past the cheesy lines and the 80s explosions and the same-old spy twists, you might just have a good time with this flick.
~~~
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Changeling
Today I saw Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich.
It was the topic of Cinebanter #63, which is available here.
It was the topic of Cinebanter #63, which is available here.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
A Mighty Heart
Today I saw A Mighty Heart, starring Angelina Jolie.
The story follows the tragic end of Wall Street Journal writer Daniel Pearl's life. It is told chronologically from the time he leaves his wife to go to that fateful interview, to the birth of their son Adam a few months after he was murdered.
Angelina, who plays Marianne, is magnificent as a strong-willed journalist who acts as an effective team leader in the search for her husband, despite the fact she's five months pregnant at the time of his kidnapping. Jolie not only captures Mrs. Pearl's mannerisms and speech patterns, she harnesses the essence of this amazing woman's spirit, portraying her as a calming presence in the midst of a personal and political disaster. It's a shame that many have not been able to overlook Angelina's fame when speaking about her in this role because she certainly could be nominated for another Oscar® as a result of it. She's that good.
Also wonderful is Irfan Khan (The Namesake) as the captain in charge of tracking down Danny's captors. His no-nonsense, yet compassionate aura never entered the annoying arena of personas that typically get exaggerated in stories like this. I guess what I'm saying is that his understated acting is a benefit to this role and ultimately to the film overall.
I also felt that the dramatic scenes that we knew were all coming, were treated with grace and not overdone as I somewhat expected.
It's a devastating story, but it's also heartwarming because we learn that law enforcement and the governments of the countries involved and the family and coworkers of Mr. Pearl all worked together in peace to try to bring him home safely.
And they came so close.
The story follows the tragic end of Wall Street Journal writer Daniel Pearl's life. It is told chronologically from the time he leaves his wife to go to that fateful interview, to the birth of their son Adam a few months after he was murdered.
Angelina, who plays Marianne, is magnificent as a strong-willed journalist who acts as an effective team leader in the search for her husband, despite the fact she's five months pregnant at the time of his kidnapping. Jolie not only captures Mrs. Pearl's mannerisms and speech patterns, she harnesses the essence of this amazing woman's spirit, portraying her as a calming presence in the midst of a personal and political disaster. It's a shame that many have not been able to overlook Angelina's fame when speaking about her in this role because she certainly could be nominated for another Oscar® as a result of it. She's that good.
Also wonderful is Irfan Khan (The Namesake) as the captain in charge of tracking down Danny's captors. His no-nonsense, yet compassionate aura never entered the annoying arena of personas that typically get exaggerated in stories like this. I guess what I'm saying is that his understated acting is a benefit to this role and ultimately to the film overall.
I also felt that the dramatic scenes that we knew were all coming, were treated with grace and not overdone as I somewhat expected.
It's a devastating story, but it's also heartwarming because we learn that law enforcement and the governments of the countries involved and the family and coworkers of Mr. Pearl all worked together in peace to try to bring him home safely.
And they came so close.
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