Adann-Kennn Alexxandar
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
“Salt” (Action/Thriller: 1 hour, 30 minutes); Starring: Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor; Director: Phillip Noyce; Rated: PG-13 (Intense sequences of violence and action including brief torture and profanity)
Movie Review: The Cold War officially ceased about 20 years ago. Too bad, “Salt” would have been a hit at its height.
Evelyn Salt (Jolie) is a Central Intelligence Agency agent. As she prepares to meet her husband for a rendezvous, a Russian, Vassily Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski), wonders into the CIA headquarters with information that an assassination attempt will occur at the New York funeral of the deceased U.S. vice president. U.S. President Lewis and Russia’s President Matveyev (Olek Krupa) will attend. Agent Salt interviews Orlov, who reveals something even more intriguing. He informs the CIA that Evelyn Salt is a longtime Russian spy and the assassin. Of course, Salt denies the claim and goes on the lam for fear her husband will be a vulnerable target. The CIA, led by counter-intelligence operative Peabody (Ejiofor) and Salt’s immediate supervisor, Ted Winter (Schreiber), pursue their wayward agent from Washington, D.C., to New York City.
“Salt” debuts at a perfect moment, considering the United States just recently arrested several Russian spies whose mission was to blend in and become American citizens via total immersion. Good publicity is bad publicity sometimes. While spies in the U.S. are terrible, “Salt’s” debut makes the issue mindful for moviegoers. The problem is the action scenes overshadow a plot built nicely via this film’s trailers.
Noyce knows how to create suspense as a director. “Salt” pales in comparison to “Patriot Games” (1992), “Dead Calm” (1989) and “The Quiet American” (2002), which are all exceptional films. “Salt” has a sultry Jolie as this film’s super action star. Action films fit Jolie. She appears to have broken the ceiling for women as action stars. While she appears good and very comfortable as an action star, the screenplays showcasing her as such are over-the-top action.
The problem is not Jolie. She is believable and engaging as an action heroine. Photoplays like “Salt” lose credibility by going overboard on the action. These action movies are not convincing. They lack substance.
“Salt” is a spicy production much like FOX’s “24” with Kiefer Sutherland. The scenario happens in a short period and involves a plot with international implications, but the character shifts and changing affiliations become a tangled mess. More important, “Salt” wanders around as if its writers did not know how they wanted this story to end. Sets of scenes appear more like unresolved television episodes than a photoplay. Every few scenes, a new Russian spy is unveiled. The result becomes tedious and delves deeper into an abyss of implausibility.
Grade: C (Too spicy, no flavor)
“Ramona and Beezus” (Drama/Comedy: 1 hour, 44 minutes); Starring: Joey King, Selena Gomez, John Corbett, Bridget Moynahan and Josh Duhamel; Director: Elizabeth Allen; Rated: G
Movie Review: Based on novels by Beverly Cleary, this “dramedy’” is comical and dramatic as it follows the life of Ramona (King, who is the Shirley Temple of her generation), the middle child of the Quimby family.
She constantly wants the spotlight, but her older sister, Beezus (Gomez), outshines her. Ramona is adventurous, but she continually has misadventures.
This Fox 2000 Pictures production is very much like “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” (Thor Freudenthal, 2010), except “Diary’s” main star was a boy.
Both are popcorn films for families, mainly younger audiences, yet they are enjoyable for the entire family. “Ramona and Beezus” is funny at times and dramatically touching at other moments, even if the moments are occasionally undistinguished.
Grade: B- (A nice sisterly pairing)
