Ford v Ferrari

Today I saw Ford v Ferrari, starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon.

Caroll Shelby (Damon) is a former race car driver who had to stop racing due to a heart condition. He has been tasked with helping the Ford motor company develop a new race car to beat Ferrari, who insulted them during acquisition negotiations.

Shelby accepts the challenge and brings his friend, British war veteran Ken Miles (Bale), who is an engineer and driver, along with him. The entire film centers around the building of this super-fast vehicle and the race that will determine certain victory for one of the rivals.

Chtristian Bale is predictably superb as a hot-headed, but good-at-heart racer who has a deep passion for his craft. Miles is also a family man who dearly loves his supportive wife Mollie (Catriona Balfe) and adoring son Peter (Noah Jupe).

Damon is predictably solid as Shelby, who wants to do right by his bosses, but usually personally agrees with Miles (though his behavior is sometimes wild).

The story makes the representatives of Ford very unlikeable, especially that of VP Leo Beebe (Josh Lucas), who, though based on the real man, is portrayed as a composite of every slimy corporate white-man-of-privilege any of us have had the displeasure of working with or for, and that's a bit much to take.

With few exceptions the order of events is followed faithfully to the climactic race that determines the winner. And the buildup to that is fun to watch, but the best parts of the film are the moments that examine the genuine friendship between Shelby and Miles and the genuine love between Miles and his family.

I enjoyed the film—mostly because of Bale's performance—but thought it could have been about an hour shorter.

~~~

Die Hard

Tonight I saw Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman.

John McClane (Willis) is a New York City police officer who travels to Los Angeles to see his family for Christmas. His wife has taken an important job there, and things aren't so great between the couple.

McClane arrives the evening of his wife's company Christmas party and is away from the crowd when a German terrorist group, led by Hans Gruber (Rickman), begins to wreak havoc on the guests. Thus starts a cat-and-mouse game where McClane must save the day because the fumbling law enforcement that's collected outside makes a wrong step at every turn.

This Christmas classic never gets old.

It was thrilling to be able to see it on the big screen at a local indie theater because the crowd was just as into it tonight as they were in 1988. From the quotable one-liners that McClane delivers to the ever-evil posturing of the late Alan Rickman, it was nothing short of a pleasure to re-live. And boy, how it made me miss Rickman.

Until next year ...

~~~

Captain Marvel

Tonight I saw Captain Marvel, starring Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson.

Carol (Larson) wrecks in an unknown place while in-flight with her fellow pilot/mentor/hero, Dr. Lawson (Annette Bening). Yon-Rogg (Jude Law) takes her under his wing to train her to defend her new people. After a harrowing mission, she crash lands into earth and discovers she's been there before.

As Carol navigates her once-known territory, she gets help revealing her long-forgotten life from human Nick Fury (Jackson), who acts as a right-hand-man and takes a liking to Goose, the cat that's along for the ride.

For me, who isn't much of an action fan, there was perhaps too much action upfront to allow me to embrace the characters. I felt like I was supposed to like Carol, and rooted for her, but the flashbacks of her origin story weren't really enough for me to attach myself to with any solid emotion.

Couple that with a literal darkness that enveloped the space and fight scenes, and I found it hard to stay with in certain sections.

What went well? The chemistry between Larson and Jackson; the brilliant 1990s soundtrack that had me singing along with it throughout and the sarcasm/clever one-liners that Marvel is so good at. There are definitely moments to savor. Of course, the ass-kicking woman is the greatest element.

That said, this is no Wonder Woman.

When I left that film after the first viewing, I wanted to go don a metal outfit and start taking over. When I left this film, I had a pleasant feeling, but it didn't stay with me far beyond the parking lot.

I'm hoping the next installment really shows what Brie can do in Carol's skin.

~~~

Black Panther

Last night I saw Black Panther, starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan.

T'Challa (Boseman) is Wakanda's new King. He's peace-keeping, well-liked, intelligent and careful to guard the African nation's advanced technology (Vibranium, a super-metal that they develop into clothing, spacecrafts, etc.), so when he's challenged by a long-lost Californian cousin (Jordan) for the crown, things get tense.

It seems like a simple premise ... and it is, but the execution and the underlying meaning goes so much deeper.

Here we are in 2018, still talking about racism, still fighting police brutality toward people of color, still scratching our heads that oppression in any form can still exist. But it does, and the film is quick to point that out. Even the "bad guy" cousin has a reason for the anger that drives him, and for that we have a tough time completely hating him.

What I loved about this movie wasn't only the clear messages of social justice, but the fact it had a little bit of everything: Comedy? Check. Love story? Check. Family drama? Check. Cool sci-fi trickery? Check. Gorgeous cinematography? Check.

I make no secret of the fact I'm not a fan of most superhero flicks, but this is an exception. I was engaged from the moment I sat down to the moment the lights came up. I cared about the characters (thank you for the tears, Sterling K. Brown) immediately and grew tense when my favorites faced danger.

It was well-written, well-directed, well-acted and well-intentioned.

If you haven't seen it, do. I'll be going back, for sure.

~~~

Wonder Woman

Today I saw Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot and Chris Pine.

Diana Prince (Gadot) lives on the all-female island of Themyscira with her fellow Amazons, but she's the youngest. Youngest of them all when her aunt (Robin Wright) begins secretly training her for combat.

You see, these ladies are no fragile flowers—they're fully capable of defending themselves (plus anyone they deem worthy of defending) and Diana is special. They know they need to prepare her for greater obstacles someday.

The film gets us to "someday" rather quickly. Blue-eyed spy Steve Trevor (Pine) crashes his plane into the ocean that surrounds their land and Diana pulls him to safety. He is soon followed by angry Germans (this is WWI, after all) and it's on.

Diana accompanies him back to England, and from there on out, they're a team. He is working to stop the development of chemical warfare that will alter the rules of engagement; she is out to stop war(s) altogether. They make quite a pair.

Of course, there's romance. And I won't go as far to say that the two have a "crackling chemistry" or make you believe they are two halves of a full heart, but they do complement each other nicely (note: the one snarky line about marriage got a huge round of applause in my theater). I was fine when the two were together and I was fine when they were apart. I was grateful they didn't make the whole plot center around their attraction. In fact, the fight scenes rival that of any great action flick and that's more what I came away remembering.

But let's talk about Gal Gadot. Set aside for a moment that she's naturally gorgeous and flies around the screen with acrobatic grace, kicking the ass of anyone who gets in her way.

What do I love most about her performance? The warmth and intelligence she brings to our legendary superhero. This is no flake who bats her eyelashes, or waits for a man to protect her. This is a sweet, kind soul who just happens to fuel her intensity and power with love. Gadot comes to the role with just the right amount of innocence to be believable, yet she's strong enough to earn her superhero title. They really couldn't have cast a better actress to play her.

In fact, everyone here is well cast. The only character who really bothered me was Dr. Maru (Elena Anaya). She was a little over-the-top for my taste. So much, that I wouldn't have been surprised if she threw her head back and cackled or started petting a cat.

That said, the flaws are minor and the film is fantastic. It's hard to believe that this is the first major superhero movie to ever be directed by a woman, but Patty Jenkins was the right choice, hands down. The genius of it is that the focus really isn't on gender. It's just on this powerful being from a faraway place who happens to be female.

At heart, Wonder Woman just proves what we already know to be true: that love is the greatest force of all.

~~~

Kong: Skull Island

Tonight I saw Kong: Skull Island, starring Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson.

Self-proclaimed "crackpot" scholars convince the U.S. military to escort them to an uninhabited island in the South Pacific. They use topography as their excuse, but really at least one of them knows what may be out there.

After a harrowing helicopter ride—which we all feel we participated in—we meet Kong. Gigantic, ferocious, angry as hell, Kong. Perhaps the best beast of all time, and he's going strong.

Of course, you never want to poke the bear, which is what this group has unintentionally done, so they're in big trouble very early on.

The British officer, played by Hiddleston, isn't just all good looks—he's the brains when the team needs to develop a plan ASAP to survive. And he soon befriends an (equally gorgeous) anti-war photographer played by Brie Larson, to back him up.

Silly as it sounds, I enjoyed the heck out of this film.

Though the basic premise is obvious (do no harm; things aren't always as they seem), there are surprises along the way, both human and otherwise, that keep the story moving at a pleasingly fast pace. And the special effects are amazing.

The romance never quite develops between the two pairs that we start to suspect will unite, but my guess is that they're saving that for the sequel(s). Though, this kind of is one?

Regardless, if you want to lose yourself in something mindful, but not dumb, go ahead and make the leap with Kong. His sheer magnificence will impress you.

~~~

The Martian

This morning I saw The Martian, starring Matt Damon and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

There is a NASA mission to Mars that gets interrupted by a terrible sandstorm. Because of the severity of the weather, the commander of the ship, Melissa (Jessica Chastain), chooses to have the team abort the mission. As the evacuation begins, the botanist on board, Mark (Damon), gets hit with debris and is presumed dead. The other astronauts safely continue their mission, mourning his loss.

But he didn't die. He was injured and knocked out, but very much alive.

And there we begin ... the nerve-wracking 2+ hours of seeing if he can successfully grow food, navigate unpreventable disasters, make contact with NASA and keep his sanity. It's a tough ride, but one we've been on before.

Reminiscent of films like Gravity and Moon, the film centers around the solitude of the main character, but at least here we have a balance of scenes with the folks back home. Chiwetel Ejiofor delivers a fantastic performance as the Mars head-honcho, though Kristen Wiig, as an essential NASA employee seems displaced. Damon is predictably solid, as is the always-badass Chastain.

Sure, it's interesting to watch the scientific process for how to make food if you're ever stranded on a deserted planet. It's undoubtedly enjoyable to see the kinship amongst astronauts rivaling that of soldiers at war. But what keeps it from being a "great" American film is the crime of formula.

We know what's going to happen every step of the way, even if we're not sure how they're going to get there.

The characters were likeable, the situation of the initial accident very believable, but the outcome was terribly predictable.

Go see it if you want a fun ride, but not if you're seeking something new.

~~~

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

Today I saw The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Julianne Moore.

I never thought the word "boredom" would ever go hand-in-hand with "Hunger Games" but unfortunately sitting through this movie proved it to be true.

In this installment, our heroine Katniss (Lawrence) agrees to become the fighting Mockingjay for President Coin (Moore) in a symbolic move for the survivors in Panem.

Never mind that she has severe PTSD from her previous exploits defending the good people, or that her partner/perhaps love-of-life Peeta still remains captive in the capitol. They figure, the more angry she is about the whole situation, the better a fighter she'll be.

Unfortunately, we barely get to the fighting by the time this film is over.

Spending time with Lawrence, Moore, Woody Harrelson and Philip Seymour Hoffman (R.I.P.) should never feel like a chore, but the endless dialog they pull out of these characters unfortunately commits that crime-against-audience.

I hurried through this book to make sure I'd finished it before seeing this, and now I wish I hadn't. Only the first fourth of the novel is truly represented here, which makes this a huge waste of about and a half.

Instead of all of the exploration, I wish they'd just have made one long film to close the franchise out.

Having to pay a full ticket price for so much chit-chat feels greedy.

~~~

John Wick

On Wednesday, I saw John Wick, starring Keanu Reeves and Willem Dafoe.

John (Reeves) is a man of few words. Then again, he doesn't need many. He left a legendary life of crime when he fell in love with his wife, but now she's passed on and he's alone. Oh, so alone.

Until ... a puppy arrives. A gift arranged by his late wife, this little guy (who is painfully cute, but devoid of a name) becomes the light of his life. We see the puppy navigating his new life in the mansion that years of bloodshed built, and we can't help but fall for him too.

Of course, it's all a ploy to get us so emotionally attached to the dog that we won't be able to bear it when he's horrifically killed. What's worse? It's by some painfully dumb bad guys who don't realize this man's best friend belongs to John Wick.

Uh-oh.

That's when things get interesting. They stole Wick's car and killed his dog. Now, he wants revenge.

After unloading an arsenal of weapons that look like something out of a Middle-East military bunker, he begins to make that happen.

With a lot of clever choreography and some token at-the-loud-and-flashy club scenes, his fury is unleashed. Keanu broods a lot.

And it's fun, if you're into that sort of thing.

~~~

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Today I saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier, starring Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson.

Captain America (Evans) is as apple-pie appealing as one could imagine a frozen-in-time superhero could be. His eyes glisten blue, his skin is white as porcelain and his body resembles that of a Ken™ doll. It would be really hard not to root for him.

It seems that everywhere we turn these days, us Americans are reminded of our past rivalry with Russia. In this film, it comes in the form of a long-forgotten foe called "The Winter Soldier," a fierce Soviet agent.

When the good guys discover this entity is the cause of their recent drama, Captain, along with Natasha (Johansson) and Falcon (Anthony Mackie) team up to go get him.

I'd be spoiling it all if I went any further, but let's just say there's an abundance of kicking and gymnastics and throwing the shield around like a Frisbee. Plus, car chases and explosions!

I enjoyed the chemistry and banter between Captain and Natasha, and Robert Redford's time on screen as the powerful Alexander Pierce kept my attention.

Other than that, I wish it had been about 40 minutes shorter.

Still, not a terrible way to kick off a pre-summer season of popcorn films.
~~~

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Today I saw The Hunger Games: Catching Fire starring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson.

The film begins where the book also started, as Katniss (Lawrence) and Peeta (Hutcherson) are gearing up for their victory tour of the districts, as the winners of the most recent Hunger Games.

Spying on the wildly popular couple, the president (Donald Sutherland) calls their bluff and fears their love story act will not sustain, so therefore Katniss must be eliminated. His new gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee (a perfectly cast Philip Seymour Hoffman) soon constructs a plot to bring the victors back into the games and seal her fate.

Though all of the excitement and horrors of the games is well executed, it's the performance that Lawrence gives that truly makes the film worth seeing. Every note of emotion is pitch perfect; every complexity captured in her eyes.

I also confess to eating up the love triangle between her, Peeta and Gale (Liam Hemsworth). As with any well done triangle, I change my mind every few minutes about who I want for Katniss. My brain says Peeta will do everything in his power to make her happy from now to eternity; my heart sees the way she looks at Gale.

Only one more year until the first installment of Mockingjay hits theaters, right?

~~~

The Lone Ranger

Yesterday I saw The Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer.

Not a big fan of Westerns, I'll admit I went primarily because my visiting mother loves Johnny Depp and I knew this was something she'd want to see. Luckily, there was enough of him to keep us both engaged.

To set the stage..

John Reid (Hammer) is an anti-violence attorney in the old west, where his brother is a successful captain in law enforcement.

He gets into a series of sticky situations alongside Tonto (Depp), an Indian (as they called them in those days). Eventually, Reid is the last man standing in a terrible ambush with the bad guys, led by Butch (William Fichtner), making him by default: The Lone Ranger.

The scenes are painfully long, but the acting is presumably great, and Hammer is endearing as the naive accidental hero. They made him more bumbling than I remember the Lone Ranger from my childhood (re-runs of the old black-and-white series were common in our house), but he pulls it off well, all things considered. I'd also be lying if I said I didn't smile the first time the iconic theme music ramps up during one of the chases.

Of course Depp nails his role too, as a sarcastic, smart native of the land—the brains behind the operation—and in many ways outshines everyone else (as he typically does).

The film, however, is much bloodier than it needs to be, and the action scenes have almost as much breaking glass as Man of Steel. It's unnecessary, and it wastes a lot of time.

Did I mention this film is just shy of 2.5 hours long? Well, it is, and it doesn't need to be.

That pretty much says it all.

~~~

Man of Steel

This afternoon I saw Man of Steel, starring Henry Cavill and Amy Adams.

Nothing can top Christopher Reeve as the iconic Superman, but kudos to Henry Cavill for trying. He's not bad, after all, but the screenplay sure is a mess.

We start with Superman's birth on a planet that isn't earth, with Russell Crowe dressed something like his Gladiator character and a woman screaming in maternal pain. I'm still with it at this point, but rapidly fading.

Superman grows up (with Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as adoptive parents) and suppresses his gift, with a few impulsive exceptions (like lifting a school bus out of a river following an accident). Pulitzer Prize-winner Lois Lane (Adams) later catches on to his powers and his secret is out (in modern-day fashion, she leaked the story herself).

This doesn't bode well for her when the bad guys from his planet come to collect on his DNA, etc. and she's dragged along for whatever reason. 

At this point, I was craving the simplicity of the Superman movies I loved throughout childhood and making a game of counting how many times broken glass crashed during the action scenes (when I got bored of counting, I think I was up to 14).

Though the screen is coated with top-list talent (the guy from House of Cards; the guy from West Wing; the guy from Take Shelter)—and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy when Stabler from Law and Order: SVU showed up—their presence does not a good movie make.

The last (lengthy) half is all action and very little of it is exciting. There isn't a lot of fun or humor and only a trace of romance is to be found between the two leads.

This was a big, showy, loud, action-packed disappointment, which happened to be full of some of the best players in Hollywood.

~~~

Skyfall

Tonight I saw Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem.

What a fun ride!

I'll confess that I haven't loved the entire library of Bond movies—and the last one left a lot to be desired—but this one brought me back.

The opening scene is nothing if not exhilarating, with 007 (Craig) jumping trains and operating heavy equipment (yep) to bring down his first enemy of the chase.

Behind the scenes, M (Dame Judi Dench) is calling the shots, and unfortunately not calling them too well. There are moments of worry that the entire film may turn into one long funeral, but of course that's not the case. Bond is back, after all.

And even as wonderful as the two of them are, nothing injects the story with more pizazz than the appearance of villain Silva (Bardem), who appears to relish in the art of revenge.

Bardem is in fact so good in this role, it sort of makes me wish he could just pop in to every movie and "be the bad guy" because he brings his characters to life with such dimension. We fear him, we loathe him and we can't take our eyes off of him.

He's sadistic here, but also sad—showing traces of the time when he was once on the right side of the action. That said, our threshold for tolerating gratuitous violence may be exhausted several times as we anticipate the good triumphing over evil.

Aside from the excessive guns and explosions (it is, after all, a spy film), this story twists and turns with sexy scenes and fast-paced thrills that never disappoint.

The running time of almost three hours just flies by.

~~~

The Bourne Legacy

Last night I saw The Bourne Legacy, starring Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz.

Aaron (Renner) is a spy on the run who is in need of his daily meds. He is part of an elite program of spies who are trained to do just about everything. Among his peers is the missing-in-action Jason Bourne (Matt Damon, who only appears in a photo in this installment of the series).

After a cold, difficult trek through the mountains, Aaron cleverly escapes the wolves who were chasing him, and the bosses who seek to destroy him (apparently everyone in the club must die since they're discontinuing that mission). In the process, he comes to the rescue of Dr. Shearing (Weisz), a lab genius for the group who escaped a mass murder shooting by one of her colleagues only to be turned into prey for her bosses (the same bosses who seek to eliminate Aaron). He is preserving her because she is the only doctor left who can lead him to more meds.

Turns out, the meds are in Manilla, so the obligatory chase scenes begin with their attempt to get there, of course with the government on their heels at each turn.

Everything here on out is very standard 'action' film content, with an especially ridiculous motorcycle ride near the end.

I'll admit I was entertained, and after the slow pace in the beginning, the speed of the story picked up considerably. What made this movie so disappointing was the lack of intelligence.

In the past Bourne films, the heart-stopping action sequences have been built and executed around clever, smart, complicated narratives.

Here, it's merely plot points A, B and C with very little chemistry between the players and over-the-top stunts.

I miss Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass.

~~~

Total Recall (2012)

Tonight I saw Total Recall, starring Colin Farrell and Kate Beckinsale.

For a remake, it's not as bad as it could be, but as a stand-alone film it has some flaws.

Colin (Quaid) is a factory worker in a dystopian future who is looking for an escape from his less-than-fulfilling life (though his job seems solid and his wife seems hot, but whatever). He decides to take a risk and go to Rekall, where he can have new memories programmed into his brain. Note: this sequence of the film reminded me more of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind than it did the original Recall, but that moment soon escaped me.

When Quaid goes in for the procedure, hoping to be programmed as a secret agent, all hell breaks loose and his identity is called into question.

From here on out, the film is a roller coaster of storm-trooper-resembling soldiers, deceptive women and Bryan Cranston, who unfortunately can't come close to being as menacing as his Breaking Bad alter ego, Walt.

Is it entertaining? Sure. Farrell is a solid actor (and more believable as a highly intelligent operative than the role's original Arnold S.) and the chemistry he has with Beckinsale is fun to watch.

But for a sci fi movie that clearly maps out what has become of our world, the scenery is pretty unremarkable, and some of the technologies (phones implanted in hands) don't match up with other props (a good old paperback book—which makes us wonder if the Kindle population was also wiped out in the chemical warfare).

Cool to see? Refrigerator photos and notes that are digital (I can't imagine that doesn't already exist) and hovercrafts that rival those from Back to the Future II.

Not so much? Jessica Biel who really doesn't convince the audience of anything. I'm still not sure why she had to be there.

All in all, you could do worse if you're just wanting some action-heavy, pow-wow entertainment, but if you're looking for substance or sci fi innovation, stay home.

~~~

Drive

Today I saw Drive, starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan.

A Hollywood stunt driver (Gosling) strikes up a friendship with his neighbor, Irene (Mulligan), with whom he shares an immediate chemistry, but soon learns she is married. Her husband is in prison and will be home in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, the Driver acts as a caretaker for Irene and her young son, not pretending to deny the elephant in the room.

By day the Driver works on Hollywood sets and in a nearby garage; by night he drives getaway cars but somehow manages to keep his hands clean of the crimes ... until Irene's husband comes home.

Standard (Oscar Isaac) owes a debt to some folks from his prison days. He wants to lead a crime-free life, but fears what may happen to his family if he doesn't make good on the promise. He mentions his predicament to the Driver, who agrees to help him purely to keep Irene and her son safe.

When the robbery spirals out of control (featuring an electric cameo from Mad Men's Christina Hendricks), the Driver finds himself guilty of more than driving, and in the worst danger of his life.

Ryan Gosling plays the main character with a controlled chaos that's fastly becoming his trademark. You can see by the look in his eyes he'll do anything for this woman, yet he's a man of few words. Only the Johnny Depps and Leo Dicaprios of the world could've played this part as well.

The directing is also phenomenal—a battle is acted out in shadows; flashes of light build tension after a crash and nothing is as scary as the glimpse we get of a bad guy through the bathroom blinds.

All of this is intensified by a perfect musical score. The sounds that accompany the actions add to instead of subtract from the action, and there's plenty of it.

I could've done without much of the blood and gore, but none of it was gratuitous. In fact, it was probably all the more shocking because it was completely believable.

Easily one of the best films of 2011.

~~

Unknown

Today I saw Unknown, starring Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger.

An upper-class American couple arrives in Berlin to find some of their luggage didn't make it from the airport, so the husband catches a Taxi to return to the airport and retrieve it. Unfortunately, during that ride, he's in a terrible car accident and ends up in a coma for four days. When he wakes up, he remembers everything about his life, but no one will confirm it—not even his wife of five years.

So here we have the story of Martin Harris (Neeson). A supposed brilliant scientist who is in Germany to give a presentation at an intellectual conference until he is made to believe that his life is not his own after all.

There are folks who swear they don't know who he is. His wife Liz (January Jones) and the alleged real Martin Harris (Aidan Quinn), for starters.

Then, there are those sympathetic like his doctor and nurse, who just want proof before they agree that he is indeed Dr. Harris.

The folks at the hotel and the conference don't know what to believe, but the police are called multiple times just in case he's nuts.

Left without any options, Dr. Harris tracks down the taxi driver (Kruger) who saved him after the accident for additional answers and seeks the help of a former spy who is now a private investigator. As this is happening, at least two people (not those two) die trying to help him.

To say that it's boring would be unfair, to call it "smart" would be equally unfair.

Liam Neeson is his usual good "desperate" character. There are car chases and flashed knives and guns pulled and men in black leather jackets there to let you know they are bad guys.

There is also sexual tension (with the taxi driver) and enough flashback shots of a flirtatious Liz to make you wish you were watching re-runs of Mad Men instead.

As for figuring out the mystery, after a certain point I quit caring about Dr. Harris.

Unfortunately, the box office returns didn't, so more empty action films like this are sure to be made.

~~~

127 Hours

On Monday, I saw 127 Hours, starring James Franco.

When I heard about the real news story that inspired this film, I was simultaneously repulsed and fascinated. How could anyone cut their own arm off to free their body from a rock? What conditions could be so dire that would leave no alternative?

Director Danny Boyle does a good job of spelling it all out for us viewers using James Franco's convincing talent to mimic what the real Aron Ralston must've endured.

When we meet Aron on-screen, he's a twentysomething adrenaline junkie seeking a Saturday hike in the canyons of Utah. He meets some cute girls, flirts with them and continues on his solo expedition. He jumps and climbs and leaps with reckless abandon. The angles and shots we see when we're experiencing his point of view are so dramatic, I had to wonder how close to danger the camera crew really came.

Very soon after leaving his new friends, a boulder falls during one of his climbs and pins his arm to a canyon wall. The remainder of the movie is his struggle to free his arm and eventually the desperate act of amputating it with a dull knife.

I wasn't sure I'd make it to the film, as I'm the squeamish type, but the buzz surrounding Franco's allegedly Oscar-worthy performance left me too curious to pass it up.

I'm glad I had the courage to go (even if I had to turn my eyes away from some of the most graphic parts) because his acting is first-rate and the story, though spoiled years ago by the nightly news, is still compelling. A man who was careless enough to go on a dangerous hike and not tell a soul where he was headed also turned out to be smart enough to survive—a feat many people probably couldn't have accomplished under the circumstances.

The only drawback for me was the distracting, almost Indian-sounding score that was overbearing at times.

Silence, I believe, can illustrate tense moments better than anything.

~~~

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.

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