JOLIE WORTH HER SALT IN “SALT”

Is she good?

Or is she bad?

These are the two major questions that will not be answered until the final moments of “Salt,” the new action-packed thriller starring Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt, a CIA operative (Or is she a Russian spy?) who possesses such advanced weaponry skills and sophisticated martial arts moves that if Jack Bauer met her in open combat, he would soon be scuttling for a safe haven among the folds of his mother’s skirt.

Indeed Evelyn is a combination of Bauer, John Rambo, Sidney Bristo, James Bond, and Jason Bourne capable of unleashing unimaginable punishment on those who stand in her way, and with this creation Jolie has presented us with one of the most memorable heroines to hit the silver screen in quite some time. This dynamite also movie offers viewers a superb blend of action, adventure, mystery, intrigue, and even a bit of romance with more unexpected twists and turns than Route 88 in the throes of a blinding snowstorm!

We first meet Evelyn in Korea, where she is being tortured because she is suspected of being a spy. She persistently denies the charges against her, and she ultimately is set free via a prisoner exchange arrangement.

Now we move ahead two years to Washington, D.C., where we find Evelyn employed as a member of the CIA and happily married to Mike Krause (August Diehl), the arachnologist who orchestrated Evelyn’s release from prison in Korea. At the CIA she works alongside fellow operatives Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber) and Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and one day a Russian defector walks into the office and says he has vital information to impart. Evelyn draws the assignment of questioning him, and the following conversation ensues.

Evelyn Salt: What is your name?

Orlov: My name is Vassily Orlov. Today, a Russian agent will travel to New York City to kill the President. This agent is KA-12.

Evelyn Salt: The KA program is a myth.

Orlov: Don’t you want to know the name?

Evelyn Salt: You’re good. You can tell the rest of your story to one of my colleagues.

Orlov: The name of the agent is Evelyn Salt.

Evelyn Salt: My name is Evelyn Salt.

Orlov: Then you are a Russian spy.

Orlov’s accusation throws CIA headquarters into a turmoil, and Winter and Peabody attempt to ask Evelyn what is going on, she bolts. Now we spend the rest of the film trying to figure out who is good and who is bad, and it’s a nonstop rollercoaster ride that will keep you guessing until the film’s thrilling denouement. Is Evelyn working for the United States or is she a Russian sleeper agent who is going to help launch Day-X, when all the sleeper spies begin war on the United States. Is Day-X real or fantasy? Jolie addressed this question in the film’s production notes.

“Day X is still a controversial topic inside the CIA. Some think it’s absolute nonsense and others believe that not only is it real, but sleeper agents have already been activated for certain cases. When we first approached the idea, we thought it was a bit of a fantasy, but as we found out more information, we discovered it was more real than we could have guessed. Truth really is stranger than fiction.”

Director Phillip Noyce (“The Bone Collector”) also expressed his belief in sleeper spies in the production notes.

“I have no doubt that sleeper spies are out there. It’s been a part of spycraft since day one. Even before reading Kurt Wimmer’s script, I was fascinated by the question of what might happen if long at rest sleeper spies were suddenly called to action.”

And Schreiber explained that the whole idea of the spies is what drew him to the film.

“After the fall of the Iron Curtain, what happened to all these spy agencies that were in place? The agencies themselves might have been disbanded, but the people in them, the operatives themselves, didn’t cease to exist. What if your colleague and close friend was one day identified as just such a person? These operatives were ingrained with modes of thinking that are now outdated in our contemporary political climate. I think that’s the question that Phillip’s interested in, and I was, too.”

Jolie is an extremely talented actress with an incredible range, but she has a real flair for action films as is evident in the Lara Croft movies, “Wanted,” and “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.” However, she really outdoes herself with portrayal of Evelyn Salt. It’s no secret in Hollywood that Jolie likes to do a lot of her own stunt work, and this film is rife with stupendous stunts and superb special effects. And Jolie’s fight scenes are totally kick-ass.

“Salt” (Let’s give it a solid 9.) definitely earns the honors as the best action film of the summer thus far, and it even leaves some leeway for at least one sequel, and I say bring Evelyn back again and again. This film is an action freak’s dream. In fact, “Salt” is peppered with so many heart-stopping, adrenaline-producing scenes that it will leave you suffering from emotional exhaustion and a terminal case of white knuckles.

‘INCEPTION’ IS A PUZZLER’S DREAM

Water gushes over a body as it lies on the beach in semi-consciousness and cliffs tumble into the sea while human figures glide weightlessly in a passageway devoid of gravity as glass shatters opening the way to a different path where the walls of buildings explode outwardly and an entire city turns upside down as it fits itself in jigsaw-puzzle perfection over the mirror image that it left behind when it began to turn over.

Welcome to the incredible world of “Inception,” the dazzling, confusing, intriguing, stunning, thought-provoking, stimulating, puzzling, mind-boggling, frustrating, challenging, innovative, aggravating, jumbled, disjointed, uncohesive, convoluted, and brilliant new film directed by Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight”) and starring three-time Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio.

When the final credits for “Inception” began rolling, I sat in my seat and asked myself, “What in the hell did I just see?” The question nagged at me all the way to the car, but before I arrived at an answer, another question arose in my mind: “Did I like that film?” On the ensuing drive home, I was unable to resolve either inquiry to my satisfaction, and so I pondered my theater experience well into the evening until the sudden arrival of simultaneous epiphanies provided me with the answers I had been seeking: I saw one of the most imaginative films ever to hit the silver screen, and I liked it so well that I want to see again because I am certain I missed a lot the first time through.

“Inception” is a combination of drama, science fiction, and fantasy about a man named Dom Cobb (DiCaprio), who has a very special talent. You see Dom can insert himself into people’s dreams and steal information from them. Large corporations pay him handsomely to purloin secrets from others that would not be available any other way and that will aid in their success. Dom is known as “The Extractor,” and he is so good at what he does that he has become an international fugitive, and he can never return home without the risk of endangering the lives of his two young children. (His wife is deceased.)

Dom has almost reconciled himself to the idea of never seeing his children again when he meets billionaire Saito (Ken Watanabe), who has a very interesting proposition for him. Saito has so much power that he can guarantee Dom safe passage back to his children in exchange for Dom’s pulling off one last job. The catch is the Saito doesn’t want Dom to extract information from the target who happens to be Saito’s huge rival. Instead he wants him to implant an idea in the man’s head and to do it so skillfully that the guy thinks it’s his own.

Although Dom has never done this before, he accepts the challenge and recruits the following team members to help him carry out the assignment: Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), his good friend who has worked with him for years; Earnes (Tom Hardy), an expert in the art of deception; Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a chemist with a gift for creating imaginative concoctions, and Ariadne (Ellen Page), an architect who is a genius at devising mazes and constructive innovative spaces.

After Dom organizes his team members, all you have to do is sit back and watch them create a three-level dream that causes their target to arrive at an idea that he never otherwise would have conceived. And it is an experience that you won’t soon forget.

“Inception” is one of those films that people are either going to love or hate. There won’t be much middle ground here. As I was watching it, I often became confused about whether the action was taking place in the present or in someone’s dream. At first this irritated me, but then I decided that it didn’t make any difference, and I just enjoyed the unique ride the film took me on.

The acting in the film is consistently superb, and it isn’t necessary to say anything more about it than that because the movie itself is the main character here. As it progresses, it drags you into its world of dreams, and you just sit there mesmerized by the incredible images it presents. The basic idea of being able to enter another’s dreams is at once fascinating and frightening, and in the film’s production notes, director Nolan explained the film’s premise.

“‘Inception’ hinges on the premise that it is possible to share dreams…dreams that have been designed to look and feel completely real while you’re in them. And in that subconscious state, a person’s deepest and most valuable secrets are there for the taking. At the heart of the movie is the notion that an idea is indeed the most resilient and powerful parasite. A trace of it will always be there in your mind…somewhere. The thought that someone could master the ability to invade your dream space, in a very physical sense, and steal an idea—no matter how private—is compelling.”

And DiCaprio, who has firmly established himself as one of Hollywood’s finest actors, offered the following insight into the film in the production notes.

“In essence, that’s what was immediately engaging to me about the script. It is this highly entertaining, complex thriller where anything can happen, but at the heart is one man’s quest to uncover a long-buried truth and to get back home. It’s also completely original; I don’t think anyone could say they’ve experienced anything like it before. That combination made me excited about working on the project, as well as with Chris Nolan. He is an expert at taking this kind of multi-layered storyline and making it true and tangible to an audience.”

It has been a very disappointing summer for films, but “Inception” (Give it a score of 9.) is the first one I have seen that has a bone fide chance of receiving a nomination as best picture of the year. And if someone told me that there would be another movie as original as this one coming along anytime soon, I would simply say, “In your dreams.”

“GROWN UPS” AN IMMATURE FLOP

I’ve never been a big fan of Adam Sandler, and after sitting through “Grown Ups,” his latest typically lame comedy, I really don’t care whether or not I ever see another one of his films. But I have figured out what bothers me about him.

Sandler has made an incredibly good living by making consistently mediocre or flat out bad movies. Now I don’t begrudge him that. What does upset me, however, is that Sandler earns tons of money for doing moronic things. Sometimes I lose count of the dumb things I do during a single day, and I don’t get a cent for them. Trust me when I tell you that acting like a complete jackass is not all that hard, and if I could get paid for doing so, I would never again have to spend a winter where it’s cold.

Anyhow, “Grown Ups,” which was written by Sandler and Fred Wolf and directed by Dennis Dugan (“The Benchwarmers”), begins in 1978, when a middle school basketball team captures a championship for its beloved coach. A lively celebration at a beautiful lake house follows the victory, and then we move ahead 30 years.

Now of course all the team members are adults (Grown ups if you will!), and they are trying to make something of their lives. Lenny Feder (Sandler) is an important Hollywood agent married to an equally important fashion designer (Salma Hayek Pinault), and they have three obnoxious children who think they are better than anyone else because their parents are rich. Unfortunately the other players have not fared as well as Lenny has.

Kurt McKenzie (Chris Rock) is a stay-at-home dad/mom whose wife (Maya Rudolph) has no respect for him and whose mother-in-law (Ebony Jo-Ann) treats him like garbage.  Eric Lamonsoff (Kevin James) was a furniture salesman before he was laid off, and his pulchritudinous wife (Maria Bello) insists on continuing to breastfeed their 4-year-old son. Marcus Higgins (David Spade) spends his time chasing and collecting tall blondes, and Rob Hilliard (Rob Schneider) is a weirdo with a wife (Joyce Van Patten) more than 70 years old.

These guys haven’t seen each other since the big game, and when Lenny finds out the coach has died, he contacts all of them and convinces them to return their hometown for the funeral and for a reunion at the lake house on the Fourth of July. And low and behold they all show up complete with their spouses and children. The result is chaos that is more depressing than funny. In the film’s production notes, Dugan explained why the film appealed to him.

“The whole project was really appealing. These real-life friends get together for a summer to make a movie about friends who get together for a summer at a lake house. It’s a bittersweet reunion, because their coach has died, but they’re also happy to see each other. They’re meeting each other’s families – it’s them and their wives and girlfriends and kids and dogs – at a moment when they’re all transitioning in their lives.”

Reunion films have been around for a long time, and this one doesn’t bring anything fresh to the genre. All of the people are compatible enough, but neither the film nor the actors manage to generate any significant humor. Of course some will find a 4-year-old boy who still nurses at his mother’s breast funny, but it did nothing for me. Nor did watching a man play dueling tongues with his wife who is twice his age. The scene that made all the trailers is the one at the water park where the water turns dark blue when anyone urinates in it, and so the element of surprise is missing from that one.

I guess my main problem with the film, in addition to the fact that it’s simply devoid of significant humor, is that not one of the actors succeeded in making me care about his or her character. I couldn’t have cared less about what these people thought, did, or felt. A good film will draw you into the characters’ lives and make you feel their emotions right along with them. A case in point is the classic “When Harry Met Sally.” If you have seen that movie, you know that the ending puts a smile on your face and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The same is true of “The Goodbye Girl,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “You’ve Got Mail.”

One thing about “Grown Ups” (Let’s give it a score of four.) did appeal to me, however. It was filmed in Essex, Mass., and that house on the lake was breathtaking. It’s a place where practically anyone could be blissfully happy while growing old.

I realize that Sandler has a huge following, and that’s why his films have earned billions worldwide, but his juvenile humor just doesn’t appeal to me. As the final credits for this one rolled by, I thought to myself that I had never seen a Sandler film that I liked. Then I corrected myself. “Punch-Drunk Love” and “Reign Over Me” are two atypical Sandler movies that illustrate what a gifted actor he is and demonstrate the depth of his talent. So what makes these films so different from the stereotypical Sandler fare? It’s simple. In both of them he plays grown ups.

“Eclipse” Eclipses Its Two Predecessors

Vampires and werewolves and the Volturi! Oh my!

Yes, unless you have been comatose, you know that all of these made their triumphant return to the big screen on Wednesday at midnight when “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” opened nationwide. This is the third film based upon the best-selling novels written by Stephenie Meyer. The first two films in the series, “Twilight” and “New Moon,” were released in November of 2008 and 2009, and they have earned in excess of $1.1 billion at the box office around the world so far. There is no reason believe that “Eclipse” will be any less successful than its two predecessors.

In “Eclipse” the love triangle of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) reaches its apex as Bella tries to convince Edward to “change” her by biting her and thereby turning her into a vampire. But Edward is an atypically honorable bloodsucker who wants Bella to marry him before he chomps on her neck to give her eternal life. And, of course, the hunky Jacob wants Bella for himself.

In the meantime, the evil Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) desperately wants to kill Bella to avenge the loss of her lover, whom Edward killed while defending Bella. To make matters even worse for the Cullens, a band of newly turned vampires who are particularly vicious are on their way to Forks to aid Victoria in killing Bella. Now the Cullens and the Wolfpack must form an unlikely alliance to protect Bella and thwart Victoria’s plan for vengeance. And the Cullens must also beware of upsetting the Volturi, the equivalent of the vampire Mafia, that wants to make sure Bella becomes immortal.

Although I have not read Meyer’s novels, I have seen all three films based upon them, and I definitely enjoyed “Eclipse” the most, but I would recommend that everyone see them in order because the tension builds consistently throughout all of them. I have watched a lot of vampire films in my day, and what intrigues me about these films is how they manage to convey the idea of incredible violence without drenching the screen in gallons of fake blood.

Stewart, Pattinson, and Lautner once again triumph in their respective roles of Bella, Edward, and Jacob. These three young stars have attained a mastery of communicating their thoughts and emotions through their facial expressions and the looks in their eyes. All of them have managed to turn brooding into a high art form, and why in the hell would they be happy anyway? Edward is 109 years old and desperately wants to marry a high school senior whom he is hesitant to turn into one of his own. Bella is torn between the sulky, pasty-skinned Edward and the hunky Jacob with warm blood coursing through his veins. And Jacob is a novice werewolf who realizes that Bella prefers Edward to him. Yes, life pretty much sucks for all of them.

It should come as no surprise that Stewart, Pattinson, and Lautner are so successful in portraying their respective characters. After all, this is their third film playing the same parts. Nevertheless, I can picture no one else playing these characters, and the most amazing physical transformation throughout the films is Lautner’s. This guy must have spent hours at the gym, and he now sports an abdominal six-pack that would make Rocky Balboa envious.

In the supporting roles, the consistently superb Dakota Fanning excels in her all too brief role as Jane, a leader of the Volturi, and Howard is sufficiently loathsome as the irrepressible Victoria. And the computer-generated werewolves are absolutely spectacular. They are magnificent animals, and you would swear that they are real.

In addition to the lack of copious blood, the Twilight Saga is unique in that it is more about maturing, relationships, and making choices than it is about horror. In the film’s production notes, Meyer offered some insight into her books.

“For me the biggest theme was always about having to face the consequences of your choices, and that even the right choices have consequences, and not making a choice has a consequence. One of the biggest things about growing up is that grownups realize, if I do A then I have to deal with B, and they take that into account. Bella has to become a grownup and start dealing with the consequences of her actions.”

Pattison also added some interesting insight to the film.

“The first film is about new love. The second film is about loss. This film is about just how difficult a relationship can be when it’s real. It’s become a committed relationship, which makes this more difficult because Edward has definitely decided to very much become a part of Bella’s world. Edward has been quite similar in the last two movies because he’d been allowed to live in a very isolated way. Now, he’s accepting the fact that he’s in a real relationship with Bella, it means that he has to become part of the real world and actually integrate himself and become more human. He’d been living so aloof, that it’s quite difficult to get up to speed and behave normally and feel everyday emotions that normal people feel. Dealing with that becomes quite difficult when you haven’t done it so long and you’re forced into doing it. He finds it very difficult to be normal because he can’t remember.”

As you would expect, the ending of “Eclipse,” (Let’s give it a final score of 7.) sets us up for the fourth movie in the series. I’m not world’s biggest fan of this saga, but the films have aroused my interest to the point that I will definitely watch the next one. And if Bella and Edward don’t finally become Mr. and Mrs. Undead, it will really suck!