Salt (Reviewed by Ed)

3.5 out of 4 stars

 

At 35 years old, Angelina Jolie shows she can still kick some serious butt.  As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt (Jolie) swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty is tested when a defector, Vassily Orlov (played by Daniel Olbrychski), accuses her of being a Russian spy during a routine interrogation. When Orlov says that a Russian spy will go to Washington and kill the President, Salt asks who the name of the spy is and Orlov states that the name of the Russian spy is Evelyn Salt.  Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Her CIA partner, Ted Winter (Liev Shcreiber), is trying to convince those who are chasing her that she is innocent, but as Salt's efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives.

 

So the question remains, “Who is Evelyn Salt?”  Is she a spy or not?  How many spies are there in the U.S?  I really enjoyed this movie and even though I’m not a big Angelina Jolie fan I thought she did a great job.  There’s some great action in this movie and some plot twists that will keep you guessing at times.  By no means is this a mind bender type of a movie but as you watch the movie you are trying to figure out who is a spy and who isn’t.  The action scenes were a bit over the top in some places (similar to the “Knight and Day” action sequences) but they were still great to watch.  It’s a fast paced, in your face movie that delivers on many cylinders.

 

I thought the acting was good and the plot was good, although a bit over the top during some parts.  This is one of those “popcorn movies” that I like to talk about.  Just kick back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the ride!

 

Rating of whether I would see the movie again:
1 = Definitely not!
2 = Probably not.
3 = Maybe.
4 = Probably.
5 = Absolutely!

Would I see the movie again in the theaters? 3
Will I rent it on DVD and watch it at home? 5
Would I buy the movie? 3

 

"Salt" is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action.

Inception (Reviewed by Ed)

3.75 out of 4 stars

 

Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb's rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossible-inception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. Warner Bros. Pictures

 

The author Janos Arany once said, “In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities”…can I change this quote a little bit by saying, “In dreams and in love and in the mind of Christopher Nolan there are no impossibilities.”  I am still amazed at what comes out of the mind of this guy.  The average person uses 10% of their brain so when you watch a Nolan movie you better bring all of it and Inception is no exception.  In fact, if you only use 10% of your brain while watching this movie you will most likely be a drooling idiot by the closing credits. 

 

Christopher Nolan doesn’t miss a thing in this movie and with a strong cast of A and even some B actors this movie is one of the best of the year.  Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb), to me, has shown that he has come far in his ability to act from his less than stellar performance in the popular movie “Titanic.”  With a great supporting cast and some really cool mind bending special effects, Inception should be a shoe-in for at the least an Oscar nomination. 

 

I’m giving this movie 3.75 stars out of 4 only because there were a few things about the movie that didn’t work for me.  It is 2 hours and 40 minutes long, which in this movie doesn’t make it a bad thing but there were a few areas that I thought dragged a bit.  Probably my biggest complaint was that there were several times in the movie where it was hard to understand what they were saying, especially when Ken Watanabe spoke in the movie.  Too many times I kept thinking, “What did he say?”  Also, there were a few other places where I couldn’t understand what they said because of too much noise in the background or they didn’t articulate their speech.  That got bothersome to me after a while. 

 

Inception is definitely a movie that needs to be seen more than once to pick up what was not understood the first time around.  There’s so many questions that this movie brings up that it would take all day to write out the questions of what was real and what was a dream, or was it all a dream?  It just goes to show you that Hollywood can actually make a movie, every once in a blue moon, that makes people think and doesn’t dumb down society.  Too bad Christopher Nolan is one of the few that can do that for us. 

 

Rating of whether I would see the movie again:
1 = Definitely not!
2 = Probably not.
3 = Maybe.
4 = Probably.
5 = Absolutely!

Would I see the movie again in the theaters? 5
Will I rent it on DVD and watch it at home? 1 (Because I will buy it!)
Would I buy the movie? 5

 

"Inception" is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout.