Salt

Salt is one of those movies that for me from the first minute I saw the trailer I was excited to see because it was action movie that immediately perked the movie bone in my body. Salt ended up being an edge of your seat spy thriller that will have you trying to figure out all the twists and turns throughout the entire movie. The concept of the story revolves around an agent who is accused of being a traitor by a Russian defector that will assassinate the president in the near future. From that moment on the audience is taken on a joy ride that never stops. 

Angelina Jolie plays Evelyn Salt and does a great job in the main lead and is truly able to play the action star with great strength. Jolie's success in this position shows the star power that possesses because initially the script was written for agent Salt to be a male actor, but they decided to change the role to a female lead because of the carrying power that Jolie has for movies. Jolie plays the part so perfectly that the audience is stuck trying to figure out if Salt is truly an agent for the U.S. or a Russian mole that was placed in the States after being brainwashed as a child. Playing agent Winter is Liev Schreiber. While most may only recognize Schreiber for his role in the X-men Origins: Wolverine movie, Schreiber definitely shows off a lot of ability and I can see that moving forward we will see him get more parts. Schreiber plays his role perfectly as the audience feels the conflict he feels within himself as he tries to hunt down and bring in his partner Salt, all while hoping that she is not this traitor she is accused of being. The rest of the supporting cast ends up being fine in their roles, but in the end they are all pretty forgettable.

The supporting cast being forgettable though truly works because in essence this film is truly a cat and mouse game between agent Salt and agent Winter, as Salt tries to figure out who she is while still staying a step ahead of Winter from catching her. The essential plot I think is quite compelling, and I don't want to give too much away but only to say that nothing is at it seems until the very end. The story is exactly what you need in a great spy action thriller. The key for the success with this story was the great ability for the story to throw you completely upside down each time you think you have the story and plot figured out. Normally a movie that has this many plot twists can be very annoying and can really take away from the movie. However, with Salt I think the twists made the movie unpredictable in a way that it really added to the movie in the end. This movie really in the end makes you think and with the twists makes you wonder who really is Salt?

To go along with the acting  and the strong story/plot with all its twists are the strong action sequences. The action gelled very nicely within the story, which a lot of times in movies like this everything feels disjointed in it goes telling the story then loses all momentum  in moving to the action sequences. The thing also that I liked is with a female lead is that the action and stunt work seems to have a little more fluid and finesse which was a refreshing change. Had Salt had a male lead like was originally planned the action would have had a more brute force strength to it. With Jolie in the role she was able to have a finesse feeling at times but at the same time she could follow that up with a show of sheer strength to basically kick the crap out of an adversary.

Salt is a great edge of your seat action spy thriller. I greatly enjoyed Salt from start to finish. Jolie simply showed why she is the star she is today and I will admit she is a lot easier on the eyes to watch then any male star they could have put in the role. For the great enjoyment and entertainment Salt provided I am giving it three and a quarter buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely one that I wish I would have seen on the big screen in the theater, it is though a movie that I will definitely be adding to the movie collection at some time.

-The Movie Man

Real Steel (IMAX)

Real Steel while at first glance looks a lot like a movie version of Rock'em Sock'em Robots once the movie starts it ends up being far from that. Set in the fairly near future the sport of boxing has changed in that instead of boxers brains being slowly turned to mush after years of taking blows to the head the sports is now being run but remote/voice controlled robots. For me while the trailer gives you a feeling of this being a movie about robot boxing with the relationship of the father/son being a subplot after seeing the movie I feel like the movie focuses about relationship first and foremost with the boxing being the subplot. While many may feel upon seeing the trailer that this movie is another one of the campy, cliched, underdog/rags to riches story, instead it delivers a strong story with some great little plot changes that allow for a non-traditional sports movie.

Hugh Jackman stars as Charlie, a former professional boxer whoa down on his luck guy in the world of robot boxing, who takes his robot from fight to fight trying to make money. Jackman gives a great performance that does not disappoint. Dakota Goyo playing Charlie's son Max who he has never really known does a great job. He has a great ability to definitely come off very natural in his interaction with Jackman and is definitely not in awe when sharing the screen with his more illustrious co-star. Goyo was one of the best aspects of the film he gives the true underdog feeling for the audience. While the female audience members may disagree with me, but the true eye candy in the movie that can really act well is that of Evangeline Lily. Lily brings a few key moments here and there that help Max understand his dad better and even help Charlie realize a few things, her character along with a lot of the other supporting cast end up being under utilized.

The designs of the robots were definitely the highlight of the film, with names mirroring the ability the robots possess, and the animatronics were top notch naturally, with motion capture employed to detail the bouts. Plenty of thought went into the mechanics of the machines, from wireless control panels to components unique to each robot thanks to cannibalizing of others. Unique to Atom is its shadowing ability, since its built as a sparring bot, heavy set to allow for plenty of punishment, and like a sparring partner can mirror one's exact movements, which presents an angle of argument that machines that have that human touch, is probably blessed with the best of both worlds. I won't be surprised if Atom will get inducted into the annals of great cinematic robots one day for its endearing exploits in Real Steel.

One of the few aspects of the film that I did not like was that of the so-called villains of the film being the backers of the super robot of Zeus. The Japanese creator and the Russian backed promoter are not given the amount of screen time for you to truly dislike them. With a film like this you want to have a distaste for the villains that is as strong as the rooting for the heroes that you have i.e. Drago vs. Rocky in Rocky IV. I feel that at just over 2 hours the movie does not feel that long and could have either used some extra time to develop the characters of Lemkova and Mashido or there were a couple additional subplots that ended up going nowhere and upon looking back on the movie come across as time fillers for moments.

Real Steel ends up being a strong movie that was a lot of fun to sit through. The performances are good and I suspect that the young actor Dakota Goyo will be a name that movie goers will become more familiar with as the years move forward. While I would have loved to have seen more robot boxing action, the moments of the boxing are very entertaining. The ending for Real Steel ended up being perfect for this type of movie and ended in my mind at such a perfect point that it accounted for an additional quarter of a bucket of a popcorn. I am giving Real Steel three and a half buckets of popcorn out of five. We saw it in IMAX and it was well worth the added cost to see it in that medium. This is no doubt a movie that will be added to the movie collection and it has made me really wonder what they will do for the sequel, which has already been green lighted.

-The Movie Man

Source Code

Upon seeing the first trailer for Source Code one could easily think that this is a movie that is basically the same storyline as that of Deja Vu. This thought could be farther from the truth though as Source Code ends up being a great edge of your seat action movie that makes you wonder exactly what will happen next. While initially it is easy to think that this is going to be a cookie cutter Hollywood thriller, it is far from that. Source Code does not waste anytime as right from the first moment the audience is thrust right into the story and from second one to the end the audience is on the edge of their seat. Source Code does not waste anytime setting up the story like what happens in most movies. 

Source Code is not a cliched mediocre action movie. The movie avoids being predictable and instead wants to be smart and mind-bending. Duncan Jones directs this movie superbly and comes across as a director that does not focus on huge action sequences like a Michael Bay movie. Instead the focus becomes on not only the overall plot but also allows us to see other small subplots that would be lost in huge action sequences with massive explosions. Jones is smart to allow the story to keep you on the edge of your seat as this naturally makes this movie a thinker that gets you thinking about what amounts of science fiction could actually be a reality someday.

The acting in Source Code is right on par with what is needed in a Hollywood action thriller. Jake Gyllenhaal does a great job and really with him being the part that truly has the most screen time it comes down to him to be able to successfully move the action forward and makes the whole story exciting. Michelle Monaghan in the love interest plays the part with an innocence that really endears the audience to her and helps them root for Gyllenhaal's character to not only find out who is behind the train bombing but that it would actually be possible for Gyllenhaal to prevent the train bombing from happening so that the girl can be saved. the two main supporting characters of Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright give good performances and Farmiga does a great job particularly in her interactions with Gyllenhaal through computer screens.

The part of the story that really worked in a strong way was that of the ability to avoid feeling repetitive. The repetitive feeling was an easy trap that could have been fallen into especially since Source Code focuses on the same eight minutes over and over again. They are able to be successful at keeping the story fresh because Gyllenhaal's character goes about each eight minutes with a different aspect. The musical score for Source Code has a little bit of an older feel to it that works well with this story.

Source Code ends up being a movie that is nearly just as good as Limitless. both Source Code and Limitless have a very similar reason behind why they were so good. It's smart, intriguing and indeed fairly original. Source Code ends up making you question things and truly keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time as you try to figure out what will happen before it happens. Gyllenhaal gives a strong performance and has a good supporting cast with him. Source Code while it may seem short at 93 minutes packs a punch every minute of it and it does not seem to be too short because the story just does not stop.

I am giving Source code three buckets of popcorn out of five. This is a movie that I will be definitely adding to the DVD collection.

-The Movie Man

-The Movie Man

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Jerry Bruckheimer teams up with Johnny Depp for the fourth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. While the third installment left me less then satisfied, I was not sure if the fourth movie would be worth it. Of course the biggest question looming for me is how would the story fare without Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. Where the third film got really weighed down with multiple story lines that left me wanting a cleaner storyline to go along with the action, On Stranger Tides gives a good plot/storyline to go along with the fun action sequences.

Depp as Jack Sparrow does not miss a single beat and is just as kooky and out there as he has been in the previous installments. Without Bloom and Knightley, more of the burden to carry the film falls on Depp and he does exactly what I have come to expect from any role that Depp takes on. Penelope Cruz steps in to her role as Angelica, is the damsel in the distress that can also kick some butt. The chemistry between Cruz and Depp while it feels forced at times, for the most part they are a great duo onscreen that have some great quips back and forth. The rest of the supporting cast deliver particularly Ian McShane and Geoffrey Rush in their roles as Blackbeard and Barbossa. It was even more fun this time around to see Barbossa in the service of the Crown.

On Stranger Tides is a worthy installment, while none of the movies are up to the original fun and even the story of the Curse of the Black Pearl, this installment comes the closest to the fun of the original. The production value is impeccable once again and the cinematography is skillfully done, giving us some great sweeping shots that are full of detail. The costumes and sets likewise truly pay attention to every detail in a masterful way. The opening twenty minutes of the film are an example of writing being at its wittiest and funniest. Hans Zimmer provides another good score that while not as good as the Curse of the Black Pearl, it is strong and truly does a great job at moving the movie along at different times.

The only complaint that I had about On Stranger Tides was that of the story with Syrena the mermaid. I felt that they tried to force an additional story line that was not needed, especially since the movie only glossed the very tip in trying to force a romantic storyline. At the end they did not do anything to resolve that small storyline.

Overall, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is a strong rebound from the previous two installments. Depp is his usual self and the premise to know what he might do next is what made me want to go and see what Captain Sparrow would do. The action sequences and the special effects are exactly what one comes to expect from a Jerry Bruckheimer produced movie. I am giving Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides three buckets of popcorn out of five. The key to this movie is to not look at it as a fourth movie but to forget completely about the second and third installments.

-The Movie Man

Limitless

Limitless is an edge of your seat thriller. While we are always taught by our parents to not judge a book by its cover. It is even more important to not judge a film by its trailer/marketing campaign. From everything leading up to this film we are sold that Bradley Cooper gets a drug fix from Robert De Niro and then a game of cat and mouse ensues between the two. What Limitless truly ends up being is a movie where Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is a struggling writer/slob who acquires a drug called NZT-48, a pill that allows him to recall everything from the briefest of encounters. In minutes he is transformed from a guy no one could believe has a book deal to a man no one can do without. Eddie's problem solving solutions end up fanning the flames of questions around him, and before long it seems that everyone in the city is after him. The intricate dynamics that weave this trail of lies is one of the best that I can remember in a movie in a long time.

Bradley Cooper shows how he is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood. His performance is brilliant as he is able to go from panicked addict to conversationalist genius back and forth flawlessly without losing the support of the audience. What really made Limitless in many ways unique was that there was truly no other key character for Morra to confide in or take along in the journey, Cooper's strong performance became even more vital. The downside I found in this was that the supporting roles particularly those played by Robert De Niro and Abbie Cornish did not give them the range that they are both capable of as they are reduced to merely plot points.

There are not enough words to describe how amazingly brisk and sharp the production comes across. There truly is not a single scene in this film where artistic appeal is not put in throughout. One of the aspects that has become a new way to tell the story is that of giving us a starting point where the climax is already at hand, only to then move back days, weeks or months to tell the story back to that point and beyond. With this story telling style I love how it only helps at least on my end to put me even more on the edge of my seat from moment one. A lot of praise needs to be given to the visual effects and the use of a warm color palette to show the moments when the effects of NZT-48 are influencing Cooper's character. This distinct difference really contrasts life at the moments when only the small amount of our brain is used in comparison to those moments when the mind is fully opened up to all the possibilities.

Limitless is a film that is part of a new genre that has turned up recently and that is the self discovery genre. The primary goal of this genre is simply to delve into the metaphysical realm to find out what makes us tick. Limitless ends up asking the question to the audience of what is holding each of us back from being the perfect versions of ourselves. While there are those moments where the plot is full of holes, most movies have similar plot holes that in order for the movie to be fun and entertaining the audience just needs to go with it. First and foremost for me I am there to be entertained so I am more then willing to let the movies get away with some absurd stunts or even some moments that would not happen in real life. The action keeps the pace of this film moving that those that want to nit pick the holes and say it is not based enough on reality need to just sit back and enjoy because while they were nit picking they probably missed some key elements to the action and plot.

Limitless ends up being a fun movie that will not only have you wondering some things about yourself in the end, but one of the best concepts is at the end the director allows you the audience to draw your own conclusions on certain aspects of the film. I think by allowing the audience to make the decision really can show a person how they view the world themselves. Cooper does a great performance and is truly seamless between what becomes the two separate versions of himself in the movie. If you are in the mood for a edge of your seat thriller Limitless is a great choice. I am giving Limitless three buckets of popcorn out of five. This movie is well worth the price to rent.

-The Movie Man

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two brings the long awaited end to the Harry Potter series and it has truly been a movie series where the audience has been able to see Harry Potter and his friends grow up right before all of our eyes. Harry, Ron and Hermione are continuing in their quest to destroy the remaining Horcruxes and as all sides continue on their paths it all leads to an epic and final confrontation between not only Voldemort and Harry, but the classic good vs. evil battle. This final movie is truly a summer blockbuster as it seems to go from moment to moment and the action is intense.

The British cast is once again stupendous and is exactly as strong and powerful as the audience has grown accustomed to as the movie franchise has progressed over the years. Ray Fiennes as Voldemort was in my opinion one of the smartest moves the studio made. He brings such a presence that for me he was exactly how I pictured Voldemort as I read the books. Not only does he bring a great presence but he truly exudes the polar opposite characteristics that Harry has. The supporting cast gives great performances from Alan Rickman to Jason Isaacs. Yet I think even though his role is very small Michael Gambon as Dumbledore has been one of the great supporting cast positions since he simply had to replace Richard Harris after he past away. While Gambon did not always portray Dumbledore in the way that I pictured him in the books he did command the screen and really gave some great moments especially in the interactions with Harry. The main three of Radcliffe, Watson and Grint are once again superb and it is truly amazing to see the changes and progression they have made since the first film.

Where the first movie showed the emotion and even desperation everyone was feeling part two takes the development in the story and characters that were laid down in part one made for the great action in this final installment. Having now seen part two I think that it would have been great had they taken the two movie approach with the movies starting with book four. With the two movies I think it allowed the movie to be the movie that followed the book the closest. Of course had they gone the two movie approach it would have taken the number of movies into the Land Before Time realm of how many different movies there are. The final installment had some of the best action sequences, especially when it came to the final set of battle sequences. With such an epic ending it can be really easy for all the secondary story lines to fall to the wayside as the focus goes onto the confrontation between the main antagonist and protagonist. Yet, the final installment allows all the secondary story lines to be tied up.

Yates reserves the most emotional moment in not only the film but the entire series for Severus Snape's (Alan Rickman) vindication, long thought to be the Judas Iscariot-equivalent in the Order and the one who pushed Dumbledore to his death. Yates delivers a truly poignant and deeply heartfelt revelation of Snape's true colours, and it is a farewell that even those who have read the book and can expect what is to come will be overwhelmed by its sheer emotional muscle. While Part Two was always meant to be an action-packed spectacle, it is to Yates' credit that there is still as much heart as before in the storytelling. Though brief, this revelation also works brilliantly as a catalyst that propels Harry to come to terms with the sacrifice he has to make. Harry's realization of this leads up perfectly to the ultimate duel between him and Voldemort, one that is fierce, ferocious and- thanks to Yates' imagination- more exhilarating than reading it off the page.

With this movie it is the only movie they did that was in 3D. We saw it in 3D and it only added to everything as it immersed you fully in this magical world that was in turmoil. I love the fact that most of the 3D movies now are a lot less about eye popping the 3D at you and instead more about immersion with the 3D abilities.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two does an amazing job at bringing the epic Harry Potter series to a close. The cast is amazing and does not disappoint even giving us some new emotions from secondary characters. Now there are those of you that may look at my review of part one and wonder how it is that Part Two received a lower rating than Part One. My reasoning for this is two reasons, first is that of the future scene. The future scene ended up being very corny, hokey and did not have the same feel that one felt while reading the closing to book seven. Second, is while the action was non-stop this ended up being the shortest of the films and I think there were a few moments where Yates rushes through moments when he did not need to. Even with that I am giving Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two three and three-fourth buckets of popcorn out of five. This is definitely a movie that is going to be well worth having not only as part of the Harry Potter series but a stand alone movie in and of itself.

-The Movie Man

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is definitely a rebound from the second installment in the Transformers franchise. Everywhere that Revenge of the Fallen fell short Dark of the Moon succeeded at in this go around. Michael Bay is simply himself in this third installment and does not disappoint. The focal point of Dark of the Moon rewrites in history the reasoning behind the United States involvement in the race to the moon. This time more importantly there is I believe is a much stronger plot and storyline to go along with the CGI and action that one comes to expect from Michael Bay. From the onset of this third installment everyone involved realized that the plot of the last film was paper thin, and because of that it truly made the movie suffer.

The acting throughout the movie is workable. I am sure everyone's first question on the acting with the movie dealt with replacing the eye candy of Megan Fox. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley filled the eye candy role admirably. Basically, they replaced one eye candy actress with an eye candy actress that had never acted before. Whiteley actually surpassed my expectations for the role and I actually believe she might be able to act her way out of a paper bag, which I am not so sure that Megan fox can do. Shia LaBeouf gives a strong enough performance for the lead but he really in a way is a subsidiary character in relation to the interaction between the autobots and the decepticons.

One of the biggest surprises for me was that of Leonard Nimoy providing the voice for Sentinel Prime, he gives the voice strength that we would definitely expect of the original leader and wisest autobot. One important thing to look out for is Nimoy has a great throwout to his old Star Trek days. Now the one casting that I think was definitely a real risk was that of Patrick Dempsey as Dylan, who is the human antagonist. Dempsey has almost always been the guy everyone loves and so the casting of him as the antagonist was very new and I think it really worked. Dempsey does all the great acts that greatly allows the audience to not only loathe him but hate him for everything he stands for.

Michael Bay's direction was a great rebound after his train wreck directing in the second Transformers. While the CGI and action are exactly what is expected of in a Michael Bay movie. Yet, this time around he gets back in line with a story that is almost as strong as the original Transformers movie. It is truly amazing to see the autobots and decepticons, blended so smoothly into the film that at times you truly believe that they are not actually CGI on the screen. The single best part of the whole movie for me took place in the buildup to the final confrontation, with the base jumpers flying through downtown Chicago. Also, it was great to see Linkin Park rebound in their third go around with the main song for Transformers. It was nice to see them come with a song that sounded different from the previous two.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is a fun thrill ride movie with great action packed moments from start to finish. More importantly, this was a return back to the original by Bay in that he focused on both action and story. The acting was on par with a summer blockbuster and the new eye candy ended up being a new fresh face within the movie and in my opinion did just as well as Megan Fox would have done. For the return to the original Transformers and the fact that it was a fun popcorn eating summer blockbuster, I am giving Transformers: Dark of the Moon two and three fourth buckets of popcorn out of five. This is one I would recommend for anyone that loves the summer fun blockbuster seeing.

-The Movie Man