The Tourist (Movie Review)

Who doesn’t want to go see a movie starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, two of the biggest stars of Hollywood; specially when it is the first time they encounter each other on and off the screen? Did I mention they have some of the biggest female/male followings? These give ‘The Tourist‘ a recipe for success. Unfortunately, these great actors are not enough; neither are the great sceneries or the storyline that has the potential to be #1 at the box office. It was disappointing not to see many action scenes (when Jolie is one of the best female action stars out there) and to experience so much sexual tension (no one can deny these two could deliver some steamy scenes in the right movie). Basically, this movie has everything it needs, but it didn’t reach its potential to make it worth the wait at the movie theater.

I got the pleasure of experiencing the first scenes of the movie, which are set in Paris and taking a cruise down the Seine river shows the authenticity of the set, as well as the romantic feel of it. Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck told me how he wanted to bring the glory days of Hollywood back on screen, which he believes to be those of films like Casablanca not films like The Transformers. He also told me how tough it was to make such a different film from The Lives of Others, he had to remind himself not to get too dark. He definitely achieved his goal, he made an elegant, sophisticated and somewhat romantic film.

The main focus of the movie is Elise Ward (Angelina Jolie), an English woman who lives a life of loneliness and luxury. She carries a day to day routine in Paris, where she is patiently waiting to hear from her lover. Her lover Alexander Pearce disappeared after stealing millions from his former employer, a gangster named Shaw (Steven Berkoff), he is also wanted by the London police for not paying back taxes; the main investigator is Acheson (Paul Bettany) who’s made it his life’s work to catch this guy. Elise finally changes her routine when she is instructed by Alexander to get on a train to Venice and choose a stranger to be him. We see men melting at Elise’s sight, but she chooses Frank Tupelo (Johnny Depp) an American math teacher who is touring around Europe to forget his past love. Frank follows Elise’s game nervously, he can’t shake off her charm and doesn’t understand why she would pick him. Elise is very self assured and starts molding Frank into what she needs quickly, she is aware of her impact on others. When the train reaches Venice they each go their separate ways only for Elise to reappear minutes later to take him into the ride of his life. She introduces him to her life of luxury, he goes along without questioning much until everyone that is after Alexander Pierce begins to think Frank is him and start following him with guns. We follow Frank to his imprisonment in Italy and the rest of the labyrinth this mysterious woman built for him. We slowly start getting to know Elise, trying to figure out whether she is “good or bad” is the rest of the story.

Frank is one of the least physically attractive characters Depp has represented, but the utter innocence and niceness is Frank’s appeal. This is one of Jolie’s most girly, elegant and sophisticated roles; her sex appeal can’t be denied here since that’s Elise’s greatest tool. Elise is meant to be tough but at the same time feminine and it’s really hard to see Jolie in a role like this; she herself told me that was the biggest challenge in this film for her, to “slow down”. Bettany has shown us what a great villain he can be in movies such as The DaVinci Code, although he’s not directly a villain here; his character’s frustration makes him one of the most real characters in the film.

The best things in the movie: the scenery, locations like Paris and Venice elevate its elegance.Also, Depp’s character, he is the hilarious part of the movie; he really is one of my favorite parts of the film. That said, this movie calls for a lot of action and if they would have let Jolie loose at least a couple of scenes that would have really helped. The romance in the film is very light, yes they wanted to keep it PG-13, but it needed some sex scenes; the sexual tension takes away from the joy of the movie. There are a couple of twists in the movie which are appreciated but the grand finale is not so grand, it is predictable more than anything.

Hereafter (Movie Review)

Hereafter is a dramatic film that has many elements that make it worth watching, its strongest being the storyline. Don’t’ be fooled by the trailer, if you are expecting an action flick it has been advertised wrong; it is about death and the possibility of an afterlife and trying to understand what happens after we die. The first scene does a nice job in taking you in and wanting to explore more, the fact that it is split into three stories carried out by completely different characters in various parts of the world makes it all the more interesting. The subject matter might make some skeptic and want to turn away; as well as the feeble romance which takes away from the film. The film does convey it’s message well which is to raise questions and curiosity no matter how you feel about the subject.

Hereafter deals with mortality and how three strangers who have completely different lives are affected by it. George (Matt Damon) has a gift or curse from which he’s desperately trying to get away from, Marie (Cécile de France) is completely happy with her perfect life until a near-death experience changes all of that and Marcus (George Mclaren & Frankie McLaren) has to face death as well as separation at a young age. We get a very in-depth look at each one of these characters lives and we get to comprehend each one of their stories which have death, mortality and loneliness as underlying themes that connect them. They each toy with the idea of an afterlife and each one is on a path that they have to travel alone and despite of having some family members or friends it is on this lonely journey that they find their answers or closure and are matured by the process.

The screenwriter Peter Morgan told us a funny story on how after a long process his script, which was inspired by a book he read and the loss of a friend, ended up on the hands of one of the executive producers Steven Spielberg; he then went on to give it to Clint Eastwood who decided to direct it. Eastwood’s name is all over the film, everything is so well thought out and organized that we can see it was done by a top notch director. Here he tried to work with special effects on a well developed sequence which runs through smoothly, but I would not say is the best CGI work I’ve ever seen; it could have been much better, throughout most of it you could pick out the CGI elements easily which took away from it. Also, the final scene has some of the corniest music i’ve ever heard; not only is it cheesy but it changes the storyline as well; I found the romance unnecessary and desperate for a happy ending. The twin brothers in this movie were amazing, knowing that they are non actors made me appreciate their scenes even more. Their story is so touching that it was hard to keep my eyes from watering, close enough to tearing. De France’s strong character shows us that after a storm the sun always comes out with some perseverance and she portrayed that beautifully. It was interesting to see Damon in such a ‘push-over’ role, most of the time he’s kind of being told what to do and he follows along; it shows the quality of his acting and how diverse it can be.

Besides posing questions the film teaches us one thing about death no matter what our beliefs are about it: we need to learn to let go and move on. I appreciated the film for kind of poking fun at one of the themes it promotes, but also because it shows us how deep human relationships go, how easily we are tied to one another and how hard it is to move on from that to be our own individual selves. It deals with the ‘hereafter’ not the idea of heaven or hell, so there’s more of a spiritual tie to it than religious which makes it easier to swallow.

Tron: Legacy (Movie Review)

We received a 20 minute sneak peek of Disney’s Tron:Legacy practically two months before it hits theaters, the first half of the footage had been shown at Comic-Con this year but the rest was brand new; we also got an in-depth explanation on how the movie came about as well as how visual effects, gadgets, costumes, vehicles and concepts were created. This was such a big project for many reasons: not only does it follow the footsteps of a the much acclaimed film Tron from 1982 which became a cult classic that became part of our pop culture and it is is still mentioned up to this day and all the children from that time still hold it dearly for its ‘before its time’ visions”; this is the first film to use a Helmet Mounted Camera in live action which allows an actor to interact with other in a scene; it also is the first time in cinematic history in which a film features an actor playing opposite to his younger self (Jeff Bridges) thanks to the technology of Digital Domain and finally it’s 3D imaging was developed after Avatar came out meaning that it is the most advanced today.(Although the beginning when we are in the real world the film is in 2D but it switches to 3D when we enter the Grid-video game mode).

So for those that are not familiar with the first film Tron here’s a quick summary: Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) is an enthusiastic software engineer who works for a company named ENCOM another programmer Ed Dillinger (David Warner) steals his work and presents it as his own and is able to get ahead this way; Kevin unsuccessfully tries to hack into the mainframe to prove Ed’s doings, but Ed has locked him out of with the Master Control Program (MCP). Ed wrongfully locks out another employee Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner – who continues with his role in Legacy) who mistakenly confesses to Ed about him working on a security program known as TRON that was created to monitor the MCP(a program that believes itself to be better than humans), the MCP manipulates Ed so that he can stop Alan’s program from monitoring it. Alan goes to Kevin(Without a promotion Kevin ends up opening a video game arcade) about the issue at the company, Kevin is able to break into ENCOM’s mainframe thanks to Lora Baines (Cindy Morgan) who developed a program that can digitalize real objects into the computer; once Kevin is digitalized he realizes that in this world the programs resemble their creators otherwise known as ‘users’ and his program is called ‘Clu’. His nemesis ‘program’ Sark (Ed) wants to eliminate Kevin and although it knows that he is a ‘user’ not a ‘program’ he forces him to play against another ‘program’ because of the battle between renouncing the belief of ‘users’ and joining the MCP instead, Kevin wins. Sark is disappointed and wants to kill him,  Kevin finally  meets Tron and when they are running away he realizes that being a ‘user’ gives him extra abilities the ‘programs’ don’t have. After an epic battle between Tron and the MCP and Sark he comes out victorious with Kevin’s help and Kevin comes back to the real world where he’s able to prove Ed’s lies thanks to his successful journey and he becomes the new CEO of ENCOM. 

So, Tron: Legacy continues with the story that had a supposed happy ending for Kevin being married with a son and had a major gaming corporation along with his best friend Alan. In this continuation it is revealed that Kevin kept on secretly teleporting himself back into the computer to the Grid from his basement lab and he disappeared completely without a trace.

Back in Digital Domain in Venice,Los Angeles they began our journey by showing us the trailer for Tron:Legacy in 3D, the 2D version of this same trailer is the one that is out to the public and shows that:  Alan who became a father figure for Sam(Garret Hedlund-Kevin’s son) pushes Sam to go to his father’s old video game arcade ‘Flynn’s’ because he got paged from his father’s old work number which has been disconnected for 20 years and he reveals that before his father disappeared he went to his house and told him “he had discovered something that would change everything: science, medicine, religion” and he goes on to reassure him that Kevin would have never walked away from that or from his son. Sam teases him telling him “Alan, you are acting like I’m going to find him sitting there working and just say ‘hey kiddo, lost track of time'”. Either way Alan gives him the keys to the arcade. At the dusty arcade behind a machine that reads ‘Encom TRON’ there’s a secret door behind it to a basement lab where Sam finds a computer that after stroking a few keys transports him into the Grid(the computer world). This is when the sci-fi action begins and we see a huge machine that looks like a polished version of a transformer and Sam seems to be in one of it’s compartments dressed in a light suit it, then quick flashes of different scenes begin to play. Such as one of someone of a lightcycle heading towards a city full of light, there’s another of Olivia Wilde’s character Quorra laying down on a couch with a light suit, followed by another one where a light disk is pointed at Sam; then an exciting scene of young Jeff Bridges as Clu, the light disk scene returns but this time is more of a synchronized battle, then there are glimpses of the siren-Gem (Beau Garrett) and Castor (Michael Sheen) followed by a futuristic car. Finally we get to a scene where Sam is walking in his light suit and in the background we hear him and his father greeting, then we get a close up of Jeff Bridges the way he looks today we go to a black screen and then a close up of the letters Tron Legacy in translucent blue in a background of lights that look like a city and moving clouds. We are left with a race scene between two light cycles a red one and a blue one, the red one crashes and disintegrates and Sam is on the blue one seeing what happens to the other one he says “whoa”.  

The 3D effects are flawless, it feels like we are in the Grid along side Sam. Everything is so crisp and clear, the colors really amplify the 3D effects. Even watching the trailer in 2D you will feel like the wind was knocked out of you and you want to understand more.  

With that said before we begin our SPOILER section let me explain that inside the Grid(the program world) ‘users’ have a light disc which stores all the data about their program selves and their essence and they can be used as a lethal weapons that when thrown will always return to them, also it can create vehicles around the ‘user’. If you don’t want to know more about the film just skip until the last two paragraphs…

So here’s a lengthy description of the six scenes we were shown which were explained by Joseph Kosinski (director), these scenes were in 2D and the surround sound hadn’t been implemented in yet.

1st scene-Sam’s apartment 
We are in a beaten down apartment where we only see a living room space with a fridge and a sofa, Alan(Bruce Boxleitner) is there with Sam(Garret Hedlund) and he begins to question him like a father would, asking him about his solitary life and if he’s taking care of himself, Sam retaliates telling him he can take care of himself that he’s grown up, while he takes off his shirt giving us his back to reveal bruises on his back, Sam explains he had a rough landing doing a triple axel(which we assume it was on a bike since he has a Ducati in his living room). Alan kind of rolls his eyes at Sam’s explanation and goes on to tell him how happy ENCOM is that he’s not involved in his father’s old business( which he obviously thinks Sam should be), he goes on to tell him that he received a page from his father’s old work number that has been disconnected for 20 years. Then Alan reveals that before his father disappeared he went to his house and told him “he had discovered something that would change everything: science, medicine, religion” and he goes on to reassure him that Kevin would have never walked away from that or from his son. Sam teases him telling him “Alan, you are acting like I’m going to find him sitting there working and just say ‘hey kiddo, lost track of time'”. Sam tells Alan he’s tired and smells as a hint that is time to leave, either way Alan gives him the keys to the arcade and leaves. Sam’s adorable boston terrier puppy gives him a worried look.

2nd scene –
The scenes cuts off to Sam on his bike arriving at ‘Flynn’s,’ Sam goes in reluctant and he finds everything covered in plastic with dust, he turns on the breakers for the machines and Journey’s “Separate Ways” begins to play while he makes his way around the place, he checks out the empty dusty office then goes to put a quarter in the ‘Tron’ machine, his quarter falls on the floor and he sees there’s tracks on the floor from the machine being moved, he goes on to move it and finds a staircase going to the basement. There he sees childhood drawings of his and pictures of him and his dad, he sits at his dad’s dusty touch screen computer and presses buttons which make a laser machine behind him turn on without him noticing and a flash of light occurs.

3rd scene –
Here he’s in a see-thru machine where some men are inspecting him and the other men that look like prisoners, some have odd appearances such as one that is missing half a face, the men conclude that Sam is not a robot because he doesn’t have a light disk. The men categorize the prisoners and decide who goes on or not, we don’t really know their criteria but it could be on whether they have a disk or no. Anyway the prisoner next to Sam is being led forcefully forward and he escapes and runs off into empty space and dies, Sam knows he’s next and he tries to struggle but then he gets sent into a chute. The chute places him in what  seems to be in a room full of light where out of the walls pop out 4 women dressed in sexy skin in white skin tight uniforms, even their hair is white, they begin to undress him and he’s confused but doesn’t struggle he just makes a joke when they cut off his clothes, he says that his clothes have zippers. They leave him in his boxers and then begin to dress him in a black skin tight uniform that has lights. They give him an identity disk and explained that everything he does gets recorded on it, he asks what he’s supposed to do as the women begin to retreat back into the walls, one stays behind to answer his question and she just says “you are supposed to survive”.

4th scene –
Dressed in his armor Sam gets lifted into a scene that looks like a futuristic version of the gladiator fights at the Coliseum in Rome, theres an entire audience(programs) watching different fights happening simultaneously in the same arena but in ‘glass’ rooms. Sam gets placed with a guy that looks like a samurai warrior, he’s astounded by him and says he thinks he has a figurine of him at home, the warrior ignores his chit-chat and removes his light disk from his back and throws it at Sam. Sam doesn’t understand what’s happening until his opponents second attempt breaks the floor underneath him and he almost falls through, Sam learns quickly and takes his own disk to execute the same technique and he successfully makes his opponent fall though a hole on the floor.

5th scene –
Sam is in a car called the Light Runner, its’ driver takes off a helmet to reveal that it is a woman named Quorra (Olivia Wilde). She explains that this powerful racing car which turns into a tough off-roader in the Outlands was created by his father and this is why is the only one that can perform outside of the Grid, but the farther it goes from it the more power it looses. They are being chased by lightcycles and Quorra is driving through sharp curves and small spaces in a rocky mountain at rapid speeds, she doesn’t seem worried at all while Sam does and he explores her with his sight. He begins to ask her questions and she just replies saying “Your questions will be answered Sam Flynn”.

6th scene- Safe House
Quorra guides Sam into a white room, where light seems to be reflected off the walls. It has a very zen look to it, Kevin(Jeff Bridges) is sitting in the far side of the room in a meditating position on a cushion. He doesn’t turn around when the two enter the room he just tells Quorra that he “dreamt of Tron last night” which seems like is not something common for him. She replies by letting him know there’s someone else there. Kevin gets up and sees his son, Kevin looks like a hippie dressed in white robes and bracelets made of lace with long grey hair and beard. Kevin is clearly surprised to see his son there, Sam’s tears begin to roll as they hug and greet each other. Sam begins to explain on how he got there, Kevin is crying and seems surprised to hear about the page Alan received. Kevin says something about them meeting later and walks away leaving Sam in Quorra’s company, he walks to a kind of balcony that has a panoramic view of the city from his rocky hide away place. Sam comments on the all white lightcycle that is in the living room and Quorra jokes saying it is vintage.

Later on a scene that they showed us repeatedly while they were going over how the E-motion Capture Technology works, was one where Castor (Michael Sheen) who owns the happening spot in the Grid called ‘Line Club'(which is in a tower that is 700 stories above ground) one of the sirens Gem (Beau Garrett) is with him, Clu(Jeff Bridges-younger self) comes to ask him for a light disk he’s accompanied by his main henchman Jarvis (James Frain). Castor is trying o bargain with him while trying to pretend to be fearless but once Clu sees his act Castor backs down and gives him what he wants, Clu hands him a drink he’s been stirring and walks away with the line “enjoy your drink”. Which obviously tells us this character, Clu, is the bad guy. The reason why this scene was shown repeatedly to us is because here we get to see the recreation of Jeff Bridges younger self, which was put together by a mold of his face which had 52 holes in it and it was used as a template for the facial marker dots tracked by four lipstick cameras attached a a helmet, a 3D version of Bridges was created by Digital Domain using pictures from when he was 30 and they put this together with the facial markers which fed Bridges facial expressions onto a computer and it came together as if he was doing his character Clu on screen. They showed us the end material then Bridges with the facial markers, then his body double, then his computerized self; pretty much the break down from the finished product.

Die hard fans might not be disappointed because this film from what we are told and got to see they really fought hard to keep to the original, such as having the Master Control Program desk and having the original writer/director of Tron Steven Lisberger be the producer of the sequel made it be true to previous film; Sean Bailey says in both films Tron is a way of life, for Kevin it is a marriage between analog(his son) and digital(his creation). In all this clips we can see how much work it was put into this sequel, Joseph Kosinski(director) who has a degree in architecture really worked every single detail to make this film about a digital world look real, from the atmosphere to the light and actors. He used people from different fields such as car designers such as Daniel Simon to create the real life vehicles not computer generations because he wanted to have CGI be reality. This is the first movie to make extensive use of self-illuminated costumes which were successfully created after long research and trial and error as we were told by Christine Bieselin Clark, the biggest challenge was making bulbs that could bend and wouldn’t break. She also created the helmets worn by the characters in the Grid, they were each designed to coordinate with the look each character had,there were no prop helmets. 

From this clips it is easy to see that Hedlund’s character seems to grow as the film progresses, he goes from being a careless boy to a man that has to fight for his life and has to bring his father back into his reality; Hedlund seems to really adapt to the script even in parts where it must have been challenging to act in front of a blue screen. There wasn’t much of Bridges on the clips but just knowing that he played two different characters and is the only actor in history to play opposite his younger self, we can say that with that challenge and continuing on from a character her played 28 years ago he contributed a lot to this project which seems to fulfill the rumors of greatness. Sheen’s character is a flamboyant bar owner with an eccentric wardrobe, he wore heels the whole time he was in character, he seems to be fun and one of the few humorous things about the film. Wilde shows off the kick-ass moves she learned and apparently was such a natural that she was advised to continue with the training, there’s not much that we got to see from this ‘program’ that has apparently a humanity it’s trying to adjust to. The Director and producers made it clear that the most important thing of this film is to keep in mind that this is a father-son story, they wanted to make it so that it is easy to identify with the characters in this digital journey. This bond between this two characters is shaky because Kevin is made to choose between his son or his technology/his work; as Sean Bailey said “it is about finding humanity in this technology.” The first film was said to be ahead of its time and they wanted to make this one with the same purpose which seems that they easily accomplished. I parted Digital Domain with the thought of what the producers said “there might be a third one depending on the public’s response; maybe 20 years from now.”

Never Let Me Go (Movie Review)

‘Never Let  Me Go‘ is based on a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the drama is followed by a sci-fi twist that can be perceived as realistic. It is developed over three different chapters narrated by Kathy (Carey Mulligan), who tells the story retrospectively, which should give you a better sense of the story but still leaves some gaps in it. The film has a nostalgic feel all throughout, the characters are seen smiling on screen briefly; the pained feeling is always floating in the atmosphere. This thriller/drama is well done, but if it wasn’t for the ambiguity of key points to the movie it could have been better.You will be left with a hollow feeling after watching it and after being hit with a very strong closing line.

The story is set in England, it revolves around Kathy and her two childhood friends Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield), who grew up in a boarding school for special children called Hailsham. The school seems to be an orphanage as the only adults are the teachers better known as ‘guardians’, here the children are taught to take care of their bodies and obey all rules without questioning them. The children’s faith is revealed pretty early in the story and that is what sets the mood for the rest of the film. The love triangle that is formed and continues to follow the children into their adulthood is meant to be a strong aspect of the movie and although it is easy to sympathize with it, their naivety and innocence which brings them together takes away from the strength of this bond.

These three children are forced into companionship by their own loneliness and fear of a world that they don’t know. When at 18 they leave the premises of Hailsham knowing the purpose for their existence they try to explore the world around them and figure out where they came from. Kathy becomes isolated by the relationship between her friends and she suffers silently until she makes the decision to change her life, even if it is still within the realm of what she is allowed in the few opportunities they are given. When they reach adulthood they try to fix mistakes made in the past and try to change the path they were given.

Knightley’s casting as a secondary character was surprising, but by the nature of the character it is understood, she gives a good performance and even makes us pity her. Mulligan’s innocence is really convincing and her sweet and obedient attitude keep the mood of the movie steady and at some points you just want to shake her to give her some confidence. Garfield is just there, but he does play one of the strongest moments of the movie remarkably. For director Mark Romanek this is definitely a step up from One hour photo.

The movie questions ethics, humanity, relationships and how much we really understand about our own lives and our purpose on earth as well as our time in it. The story line is good but it is not strong enough to be convincing. It is worth a watch specially for the hopeless romantics, but it is also worth the wait on the DVD.

Flipped (Movie Review)

Flipped will take you back to your Junior High School years, to your first crush. One of the nicest things about it is that we get the boy and the girls point of view on different situations and we get to analyze and see how often human interactions are misinterpreted, specially when it comes to the opposite sex. The movie is set in the early 60’s giving it an all American feel to it, this helps it be so innocent which is what makes it so real an relatable. The main characters are so opposite to each other that the contrast is one of the entertaining features of it. It’s a good family film from Junior High School kids to adults.

Our female lead, Juli Baker (Madeline Carroll) is not your regular teenage girl, she’s confident and hardheaded; she’s practically an adult trapped in a girl’s body. Juli falls in love with Bryce Loski (Callan McAuliffe) the second she stares into his dazzling eyes when they are 7 years old and his family moves across the street from her. Bryce is not happy with Juli crushing on him, she doesn’t get the hint and follows him and idolizes him for years, even when he starts going out with her worst enemy. Juli is just like the rest of her family, free spirits; nature and animals are her drives. She falls in love with a sycamore three and she spends endless hours on it starting at the horizon and the beauty of it, she protests when they want to chop it down and she expects Bryce to come to her rescue; when he doesn’t she starts questioning her obsession for him. Juli’s father (Aidan Quinn) is the one that gets her, he advices her on how to perceive people and teaches her kindness by showing her how he supports his brother that is mentally retarded. Juli is grateful to have such a close bond with her family and to see that despite of the fact that they are lower middle class the one thing that matters and she doesn’t lack is love. The Loski’s are completely opposite, Bryce’s father (Anthony Edwards) is always drinking and never has anything positive to say, specially about his neighbors. Bryce looks up to his dad and takes on some of his attitude but does start to question it slowly. Bryce is also influenced by a boy he befriends in school, that talks him into disliking Juli even more. When his grandfather Chet (John Mahoney) comes to live with them he immediately realizes what an amazing girl Juli is and spends more time with her than with his own grandson. This starts changing Bryce’s outlook on the girl he’s ignored and been annoyed by for so long.

The director Rob Reiner decided to bring this touching story to life after it was given to him by his son who was reading it for school.The acting here is sensational, our lead characters are so believable and so real that they take us in all too easily. The setting of the period fits in great and gives it a homey feel to it, along with the beautiful sceneries of the country side. For its proposes having us focused on the main characters is a good tactic, but a little more background on the other characters and the not so jolly reality that they live in the sixties would make the movie more real.

The movie is enjoyable and easy to follow, it has some laughs as well as sad moments. It does teach us good values on how a family should be supportive of one another, that we should stand up for what we believe it and not let anyone step on our dreams or make us question who we are. You will come out reminiscing and with a smile on your face.  

Dinner for Schmucks (Movie Review)

One thing I can say about Dinner for Schmucks is that it was well developed. It is not sloppy in a way a lot of comedies tend to get, but it is a bit too long for a comedy. It was funny although its humor is not clever, it is more ridiculous and idiotic than anything. Nonetheless, it will make you laugh and maybe even crack up a few times. I wouldn’t rush to the movie theater to watch it, waiting for it on DVD would be the smarter option. It is inspired by a French comedy Le Dîner de Cons, which was quite successful.

The movie develops with Tim Conrad (Paul Rudd) who is working hard to get a promotion and making his almost perfect life completely perfect. He steps to the plate when one of the main guys at his office is fired and he is offered his position after a bold presentation; the catch is that he has to join his boss and the other big shots at a secret dinner to get the new position. This isn’t just any dinner, everyone must bring an extraordinary person a.k.a schmuck meaning idiot and whomever brings the most strangest specimen wins; while their idiot gets a trophy and is “released back into the wild”. Tim’s better half, whom he’s proposed to several times Julie (Stephanie Szostak) is appalled when Tim tells her what he has to do and she puts some sense into him. Unfortunately, by a chance encounter Tim is blessed with one of these rare people, Barry Speck (Steve Carell) and he is not able to turn away from this easy opportunity. Barry is an amateur taxidermist, he uses dead mice to create art pieces and his naivety pushes him over the edge to idiocy.

Barry takes over Tim’s life, he’s trying to help him but he ends up destroying every aspect of Tim’s life and plans. The more Barry “helps” the worse things get for Tim. The easy promotion is not so easy anymore. Barry forces his friendship upon Tim and teaches him that nothing is more important that sticking to one’s values and appreciating someone for who they are.

I don’t believe Steven Carell to be one of the funniest comedians of today, in this role he is the same character as in Anchorman and a bit less clever than his character in The office. The same goes for Rudd, he’s always the passive aggressive guy with a girlfriend that has to put up with the dummy. Although these are not refreshing roles for them they do fill the shoes well, Carell does a great innocent idiot. Another comedian that appears here and always does a great psycho is Zach Galifianakis. Finally, Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Concords completes the movie with his wild character.

If you’ve seen director Jay Roach‘s work such as Meet the Parents and the Austin Powers movies then you probably know what to expect. It is not a hilarious movie, except for a couple of scenes/jokes but it will give you a good giggle all throughout with its silliness and absurdity. If you want to watch a witty comedy then this would be the wrong movie to choose.

Salt (Movie Review)

Salt is THE summer’s action flick. No other actress can do an action film like Angelina Jolie, she gives an amazing performance in this one. We haven’t seen a movie by her since Wanted and that was pretty much a preview to what you can expect from her in Salt. The script was made originally for a male lead, it is rumored that Tom Cruise turned it down, which is a good thing because I doubt a male lead would have made it as successful. The movie will keep you guessing the entire running time up to the end. The one question running through your mind at every turn of the movie is: how will she get out of this one?

Since the beginning we realize that CIA officer Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is a tough female, the movie begins with her capture by the North Korean government, they try to beat the loyalty out of her, but can’t. We shortly meet Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber)her boss at the CIA and friend, he’s along on her side throughout most of the movie trying to help her. After we get a brief backstory on Salt’s life both the private and professional sides of it, we are in Washington D.C. in CIA headquarters where we meet Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor). As a CIA counter-intelligence agent he is not sympathetic to anyone specially to Salt after she is accused of being a sleeper Russian spy and she runs away to avoid being captured. This is when the action begins and where we are left to wonder: ‘who is Salt?’

Salt is married to an entomologist who is fully aware of her career path and the risks that are involved. He is one of the few reasons we ever see this character be soft, the rest of it is all tough CIA training from the fights to her assertive actions.In fact, this female character is the one that carries all the action of the movie, the other two secondary characters Winter and Peabody do very little physical work. Salt’s independence and kick-ass attitude is what keeps her going.

Jolie prepared for this character by talking to former CIA agents such as Melissa Boyle Mahle who worked for the force for 16 years. She spoke of Jolie’s relentlessness of getting every aspect of the character right, asking her how she felt and what she went through; she learned how spies live. Although Mahle says Jolie in the film makes it look way more fun and glamours than it really is. Oleg Kalugin a former KGB member and spy said Salt is very real, and she is tough like a Russian spy. Tom Ridge former Secretary of Homeland security spoke of the realities of the film as seen by current events and how the government has dealt with it since the Cold-War.

If you are into action films this one is for you, it is pure entertainment. There’s bits and pieces of romance in the way but it doesn’t disrupt the action. You can compare it to current events but remember this is hollywood, which means that nothing is to be taken to heart. The main subject here is loyalty, towards family, country, beliefs etc; which is what keeps the movie going and will keep you wondering.