95 - "Ghost" (1990)

     I might take a little ribbing for this one but that's okay, I really enjoy the movie Ghost. I bought into it hook, line and sinker. Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore star as Sam and Molly, a happy couple who are returning from a date one night when Sam is murdered in an alleyway. As Molly mourns the loss, Sam is stuck in a ghost form because he is not ready to "move on". Here he learns that his murder was not just a random coincidence but was planned by someone he considered a friend. He tries to warn Molly about this news but he cannot communicate with her directly. In steps Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg as a "psychic" who frauds clients out of their money by claiming she can communicate with lost relatives. There's a catch though, she can actually hear Sam. When Sam realizes this he uses Oda Mae, Goldberg's character, to communicate with Molly who is skeptical at first but eventually realizes the danger she is in. Ghost usually gets labeled a "chick flick" but I completely disagree with that labeling in this case. Yeah there are some sappy parts but there is more action than you might initially realize and the suspense is well played at times. Whoopi Goldberg provides some comic relief and was deserving of her Oscar win for this role. Oh yeah, there is also the pottery scene...

96 - "Red Dawn" (1984)

     The 1980's decade is filled with some very "cheesy" things....but what an awesome decade of "cheese" it was. Red Dawn is quintessential 80's cheese. The movie is about the start of World War III and the Soviets and Cubans are invading America, including air dropping troops into rural parts of Colorado......Okay, you really have to suspend your belief a "tiny" bit for this movie but if you do so there is a lot here to enjoy and have some fun with. A group of high school kids escapes the initial assault and take flight to the Rocky Mountains to hideout. There they band together to survive but also engage in guerilla warfare to fight the invaders. They call themselves the Wolverines and leave their trademark graffiti wherever they attack. Along the way they pick up a US soldier and a couple of female hideouts who all assist in the fight. The cast is filled with a who's who of stars from the 80's including Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen, C.Thomas Howell, Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey. Swayze and Grey would team up again a few years later to make Dirty Dancing. Red Dawn is filled with flaws and requires you to look past a couple of things but overall it is just a fun ride. It is definitely a product of it's time and that isn't a bad thing.

97 - "Million Dollar Baby" (2004)

     What is it about boxing that makes it a sport that has turned out so many great movies? I don't know, but there have been so many wonderful films about the sport and this one is no exception. In fact, I think it's one of the best (although not the best....more to come later in the list). Million Dollar Baby stars Clint Eastwood as Frankie Dunn, a washed up boxing trainer who because of personal relationships in his life has not let himself get too close to anyone on a personal level in many years. He runs a training gym with longtime friend and assistant Eddie, portrayed by the always stellar Morgan Freeman. One day a young country girl comes into his gym and starts working out. At first Frankie is annoyed by her but her determination and will to keep trying slowly works on him and he agrees to train her eventually. The two slowly develop a bond and reach a point where they both realize they are what has been missing from each others lives. The girl, Maggie, is played by Hilary Swank and she picked up her second Best Actress Oscar for this role and it is very deserving. The movie also took home Oscars for Best Picture, Director (Eastwood) and Supporting Actor (Freeman). One of the finest films of the past decade and is a must see.

98 - "Forget Paris" (1995)

     This is one movie on the list that I don't think a lot of people may have seen and that's unfortunate. Forget Paris is a very underrated comedy and there are several times in the film when I find myself laughing out loud. Billy Crystal stars as Mickey Gordon, an NBA referee who loses his father and takes his body to Paris where his father helped fight WWII and his last wish was to be buried next to where his war friends passed away. While in Paris, Mickey meets a woman named Ellen, played by the wonderful actress Debra Winger. The two have an instant chemistry together and start dating. Mickey convinces Ellen to come back to the States and the two begin an on-again, off-again relationship. This doesn't sound like a typical comedy plot but trust me, the laughs come fast and furious. Some of the funniest scenes deal with Mickey doing his job as an NBA referee. He is several feet shorter than most of the players and this fact alone leads to a lot of good laughs. The romantic-comedy genre is one of my least favorites and I can tell you ahead of time that there will not be a lot of them on this list, but Forget Paris is too good to be omitted. If you haven't seen it, make sure you find it somewhere and give it a shot, I don't think you will regret it.

99 - "The Sixth Sense" (1999)

     I'm a big fan of movies that have a big twist as long as it is done properly. The Sixth Sense is one of those films that really gets it right. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the movie yet, don't worry. The film stars Bruce Willis as child psychologist Malcolm Crowe. He starts treating a little boy named Cole Sear, played by Haley Joel Osment, who displays problems very similar to a patient Malcolm treated previously and failed to cure. This patient from Malcom's past ended up taking his own life after breaking into Malcolm's home and shooting Malcolm. Some time has passed and Malcolm has recovered from his gunshot wounds and is now troubled by Cole's similar problems. Can Malcolm cure Cole and exorcise those demons from his past? The Sixth Sense is directed by M. Night Shyamalan who would go on to make the films Unbreakable and Signs, two other films I enjoyed but this one is the cream of the crop.

100 - "Ocean's Eleven" (2001)

     Ocean's Eleven kicks off the list of my 100 favorite films. George Clooney stars as Danny Ocean who hires 10 assistants including his best friend Rusty (Brad Pitt) to knock off 3 Las Vegas casinos owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). There are personal reasons involved as Benedict is with Ocean's ex-wife Tess, played by Julia Roberts. Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Don Cheadle and Bernie Mac also have roles as members of Ocean's crew. Ocean's Eleven is one of those movies that's just simply fun to watch. The heist is one of those things where you have to suspend your belief for a little bit and go with it, but the way everything unfolds is enjoyable. You can tell the actors are having fun with their roles. Most of them would go onto bigger, more dramatic roles, but occasionally it's nice to just have some fun and Ocean's Eleven provides plenty of that.
(Also recommended:  Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Thirteen)

100 Favorite Films Of All-Time - How I Got There

     Well, I wanted to do a big project to give my blog a kick and make something that people would want to come back and check out. Back in the late 90's I actually got crazy enough and came up with my list of the 100 films that I enjoyed the most. It was a big task but it was fun doing it. So I decided to give it a try again as a big project for this blog. I knew it would take some time and it did. I started by going on Wikipedia year by year and looking at every film that was released each year. This was a daunting task to say the least and took several days to accomplish. I pulled out and made a list of any film that I thought had even a slight chance to make it. I initially ended up with a list of 170 and started paring down from there. It was easy to cut the first 20 or so but after that I had to start making some tough decisions. When I got down to 110, I was really splitting hairs but ultimately I did get it narrowed down to 100. Then I proceeded to rank them which was a whole new level of difficulty. What I ended up with is my 100 favorite films of all-time. Some notes regarding the list:
     1. The main thing to remember about the list is it is strictly my opinion and is not to be taken seriously. These are movies that I really enjoyed and think you might as well if you give them a chance. That's why I am not calling this the 100 Best Movies of All-Time. Are there films out there that are better than stuff on my list? Absolutely. I'm sure there are. I've seen a small, minute fraction of movies that have been released. So please take it with a grain of salt.
     2. This list is VERY heavy with movies released in the 1980's and 1990's. There are only a handful of films on my list that were released prior to 1970. I know this will be blasphemous to some people but refer back to note number one if you have any issues. The reason there so many films from these 2 decades actually makes perfect sense....These are the times when I saw the most movies. Pure and simple. The more movies you see, the better chance one has of making the list. I lived in theaters in the 90's and saw just about everything major that came out. My exposure to movies from the "Golden Age" is very limited, hence the list being very modern. Also, I stopped at 2010, so there will be nothing from the current year in the list but it will be interesting to see if anything can crack the list down the line. I hope so, that will keep my faith in movies alive.
     3. I did not list sequels. That would have made things even more difficult. If a movie on my list has a sequel worth mentioning, I will put it in the review. Yes, this is a way of cheating a bit since it's "technically" more than 100 movies, but what can you do. It's just for fun.
     4. The reviews will be just mini reviews. Some of these movies I will eventually get around to doing full reviews for later on but for the purposes of this list I will keep it short.
     5. When it comes to the rankings part, this is another thing to take with a grain of salt. Is there really going to be much difference between movie number 62 and 79? No, not really. I gave it a legitimate effort to put them in order but these are all movies that I would consider 4 or 5 star movies. The cut off line seems to be in around the 30 range. Anything above that give or take is a 5 star film, anything below is a 4 star film using my ratings system. Plus the 70 movies I cut would probably all make the 4 star list, 3 1/2 stars at worst.
     6. I plan to keep this list and update it as need be. My opinions on some movies have changed over time, and therefore the list might as well. I remember the first time I saw Pulp Fiction, I hated it. Then years later I saw it again and got a better appreciation for it. Then I started seeing it more and more and it grew on me. Did it make the list? Spoiler alert: No it didn't, but it was one of the last films cut. But if you would have asked if it was even possible after seeing it the first time I would have called you crazy. So things do change as some movies gain appreciation, and vice versa, over time.

Anyways, that's the deal. I will probably release one or two movies at a time in countdown form. Hopefully, that will give it some suspense (What will be next??) I hope you enjoy it at least. Feel free to leave comments. Tell me I'm crazy for putting a certain movie on the list, just keep it clean. Remember these are opinions. If you find a movie on the list you totally agree with, let me know that too. I look forward to the ride and I hope you enjoy it.

Movie Review - "Good Will Hunting" (1997) *****

     I often hear people say that there are no more good actors or actresses any more. While I will agree that too many movies these days are too focused on special effects, the fact that there are no more good actors is just false. In this column previously I have mentioned my appreciation of Kevin Costner's work but he is by far not the only one. Edward Norton, Jake Gyllenhaal, George Clooney, John Cusack, and Jeremy Renner are just some names that come to the top of my mind of actors who generally excel in their roles, even if some of their films fall flat. But the name that would be at the top of that list for me is Matt Damon. Damon has been in a ton of great films and in almost every one, he is the primary reason for the success. One of Damon's earliest roles, and possibly one of his finest, is the title role in Gus Van Sant's 1997 Best Picture nominee Good Will Hunting. In addition to starring in the film, Damon and best buddy Ben Affleck, who also stars in the film, were awarded the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for writing the script. There have been rumors floating around for years that other more accomplished writers had a go at the script but all of those rumors have been debunked.
      The film is about Damon's character, Will Hunting, who on the surface when we first see him seems to be a bit of a loser. He works as a janitor at MIT and hangs out with his 3 friends (Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck and Cole Hauser) who all appear to have no desires except to bust each others chops and hang out at the local bar. The friends are at a ball field one day and see a guy who used to beat Will up when they were in Kindergarten. Later on they see the guy walking down the street with some friends and they jump out of their car and start a fight for no specific reason, other than the guy used to beat Will up many years ago. The scene is pretty brutal as Will appears to beat the guy pretty severely and is arrested. During the arrest he assaults one of the police officers as well. We can tell that Will is a very troubled young man. But there is something deeper with him. Earlier in the movie we see him prove a mathematical theory that stumps all of the students of MIT professor Gerald Lambeau, played by Stellan Skarsgard. When Lambeau calls on his students to identify who solved the problem, none of the students comes forward. He put another theory on the board which is even more difficult. This time Lambeau and his associate stumble upon Will working the problem and try to confront him but Will runs off. Thinking he is a janitor who was just messing around, they are shocked to find that Will was able to prove the theory which has stumped the greatest Math minds of all time. Lambeau tracks down Will through his parole officer and makes a deal with the judge to look after Will. Lambeau wants Will to work Math problems for him and to also seek counseling, which Will thinks is a waste of time. We go through a handful of therapists who are mocked by Will and can't get through to him. As a last resort, Lambeau goes to an old college roommate of his, Sean Maguire, who is teaching Psychology at a local community college.
      Maguire is the other central character in the film and is played brilliantly by Robin Williams who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for this role. Williams is known for his manic comedy roles but in my opinion he is at his best when he pulls back the reins and shows that when he wants to he can really act. The scenes between Williams and Damon provide the central story arc for Good Will Hunting and the two feed off each other so well it's as if they have starred together if dozens of films, but that's simply not the case. It's just two actors giving master class performances, pure and simple. The relationship between Will and Sean starts off tenuous when Will mocks the death of Sean's wife causing Sean to threaten Will. Lambeau tells Sean that he will not bring Will back, but Sean wants to see him again. Even though he was insulted by Will, Sean sees through the facade and calls him out on it on their next visit. It is this scene, set in a park, where the movie really starts earning it's stripes and ultimately it's five star rating from me. Sean points out all of  Will's genius but challenges him on the true aspects of life. We can see for the first time Will putting his guard down and letting someone inside. We no longer see a punk kid, but a troubled kid who acts like a punk to cover up a lot of insecurities in his life which resulted from years of abuse while in foster care. From this point on, the movie is filled with great scenes that reflect this struggle in Will.
      Along with Sean and Prof. Lambeau, there are two other characters who play a major role in Will's life. His best friend Chuckie played by Ben Affleck and his girlfriend Skylar played by Minnie Driver. Both of these characters have a moment with Will similar to the park scene between Will and Sean, and combined they provide the pathway to end of the movie. Chuckie is truly a best friend and we can't imagine him without Will, but in a great scene he explains to Will that it will be an insult to Chuckie if Will is still around at an old age. He recognizes Will's gift and his hope is that one day his friend will recognize what a chance he has at life and try to make the best of himself. Skylar comes into the scene early in the movie when the four friends are visiting a bar near Harvard. Will stands up for Chuckie and draws the eye of Skylar and the two start dating. Their relationship works well until Skylar tries to get into the deepest parts of Will's heart. Once again, the defense mechanisms go up and in one of the other key scenes in the film, Will breaks up with Skylar and tells her he doesn't love her. We know he does, but by this time we know of the struggles Will has with opening up to people. All of these scenes lead to the conclusion when Sean must get Will to finally put those barriers down for good. This scene ("It's not your fault") has been parodied and mocked in pop culture for years but that's unfortunate because it is one of the most touching scenes in cinema history, at least that's my opinion.
      Good Will Hunting gets my highest recommendation. The script is wonderful, the acting is all superb, everything just feels "right" about this movie. The movie is rated R based almost strictly on its profanity, but I don't mind the profanity here because it seems real. I have a feeling that 4 buddies growing up in Boston on the streets truly talk like this so there is some authenticity to it I'm sure. Still, even though the language can be harsh I don't think it's anything an older teenager couldn't handle. I'm sure they have heard worse before. The only reason this concerns me is because this is one of those movies that I think everyone could enjoy and it should be available to the widest audience possible. Either way, it's a fabulous film and if you have never given it a chance before I encourage you to seek it out.

Movie Review - "Scream 4" (2011) ***

     Back in 1996, a friend that I was working with at Books-A-Million recommended that I go see a movie that had just been released called Scream. He had seen it opening night and really enjoyed it and knowing that I liked horror films he thought I should see it. At this time I wasn't a big horror fan because most of the stuff coming out in the years prior to that was just awful. I thought horror was....well, dead. But I decided to take his recommendation and I went on that Sunday afternoon and sat in a theater by myself with perhaps five other people in the audience, if that. What happened for the next couple of hours was nothing but pure enjoyment. For the first time in a LONG time, I was legitimately scared sitting in a theater. The first 10 minutes of that movie were so intense and I remember thinking that horror was back. Fortunately, the rest of the film didn't let me down and what I saw was one of the best horror films I had ever seen. It was followed by two sequels that while not as good, were at least adequate and watchable. After Scream 3 in 2000, it was expected that that was the end of the series. The trilogy was complete.
      Fast forward to 2011.........and Scream is back. Neve Campbell returns as the lead character, Sidney Prescott. Sidney has written a self-help book about the horrors that she experienced and has returned to Woodsboro on the anniversary of the original killings to promote her book. David Arquette and Courteney Cox are back as well as the now married couple Dewey Riley and Gale Weathers-Riley. Dewey has graduated from deputy to sheriff and Gale is writing fiction books. And of course it wouldn't be a Scream without Mr. Ghostface returning to cause chaos. There is also a whole new cast of teenagers just waiting for a visit, or phone call, from Ghostface. The Scream series is notable for it's opening death scenes, going back to the original classic which featured Drew Barrymore being duped into a wrong trivia answer and ultimately becoming victim of Ghostface. The opening of Scream 4 I believe is done very cleverly and I really enjoyed it. I can't tell too much about it or who is in the scene because it will be very easy to spoil. But I loved the creativeness of it and liked the tone that was set for the film. Unfortunately, the rest of the movie doesn't live up to the opening. There isn't a whole lot here that is going to shock anyone. We meet a bunch of teenagers and when it comes to knowing their horror films, almost all of them have a 4.0 GPA. However, we do question their GPA's on EVERY other subject. There are a couple of film school geeks just like Randy from the earlier films. There are bumbling cops. There is enough bloodshed to satisfy those looking for gore. The one thing that is lacking are the scares. There are times I found this to be more of a comedy than a horror film. And that is probably appropriate since the Scream films are intended to be parodies of their selves in a way. But it would have been nice to get a couple of really good scares in there, instead I think I maybe half flinched only once. There is nothing like the intensity of that opening scene in the original film and that's unfortunate.
      But all that being said, this is a fun film and I did ultimately enjoy it. Part of the fun of the Scream films is trying to guess who the killer is.........or killers plural. I had a guess while watching Scream 4 but I ended up being wrong. After learning who is behind the mask I guess it's plausible enough. It's not quite as ridiculous as Scream 3 but not as creative as the original with Billy and Stu being the dynamic duo. Also with the series, there is always the question if the big stars will all survive to the end of the movie. I'm not here to spoil anything of course but it's fun to play along and see who survives and who ultimately falls victim. Fun is the key word here. This is not the scariest movie ever made and will not be remembered as a classic by any means, but the movie does have plenty of moments where it's just "fun". If you enjoyed anything in the series previously you will probably have a good time. If you didn't, there is nothing here that will change your mind. I give Scream 4 a mild recommendation, just don't go in with expectations set too high. You could do a lot worse though.

Movie Review - "Source Code" (2011) **1/2

     As I sit down to write this review I have come to a realization, I have no idea how to describe this movie. I will keep this short as to be truthful I really can't do this film justice by talking about it. I "think" I understand it, but heck, I'm not 100% sure. And that is the biggest problem here to me, this movie is more complicated than it probably should be. First off, there is a lot here to like. Some of the images are absolutely wonderful and Jake Gyllenhaal is always likable as an actor and usually gives top notch performances. The story, while very confusing at times, is also interesting enough that you never get bored with it and that's a good thing. Probably my favorite thing about the film is the fact that it absolutely breezes by. It's only an hour and a half long and I really felt like I was in the theater for only an hour, if that. If this movie would have dragged itself out for two hours I feel like it would have lost me for good, so I'm happy with the run time.
     Here's the best I can do in regards to a plot. Gyllenhaal plays Colter Stevens, an Army helicopter pilot who's last memory is of him on a mission in Afghanistan. As the movie opens, he wakes up on a train but has no idea why he is there. There is a woman sitting across from him who speaks as if she knows him but he has no idea who she is. She calls him Sean which is even more confusing. He ends up going to the bathroom and wh0en he looks in the mirror the face he sees is not his own. Eight minutes later, the train blows up and Stevens all of a sudden finds himself inside of some kind of chamber and there is a woman he does not recognize on a tv monitor. The lady is played by Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air) and she gives somewhat of an explanation about what is going on. Through some kind of virtual reality, Stevens is placed in the "source code" and is able to take over Sean's body for eight minutes. He is told that there is a bomb aboard the train and he needs to go back and try and find it. Stevens then finds himself back on the train in the same circumstances as the movie opened.
      That's pretty much how the movie plays out from this moment on. He keeps going back and forth and each time is able to put a little piece of the puzzle together. The people running the source code are having him do this because they fell a bigger bomb explosion is imminent and if they can track down who bombs the train, they will find out who is about to set off the bigger dirty bomb. I was reminded a lot of the film Groundhog Day, except this time only 8 minutes need to be relived each time rather than a full day. But there is definitely a deja vu feeling to the whole thing. And if the movie would have just stayed that way throughout it's entirety I think I would have enjoyed it a bit more. But about midway through things get "deeper" and that's where it starts to get a little too confusing, to me at least.
     I have talked to several people who really enjoyed this film a lot and I can definitely see their point. Like I said there is stuff here to like. And upon another viewing, perhaps my appreciation of the film will increase. But going on this initial showing I was a bit letdown with the result. I am giving it the very slightest of recommendations and hopefully you will find more here than I did and be pleasantly surprised.

Movie Review - "Insidious" (2011) ****

     There is a trend that seems to be developing in the horror film genre and I am all for it. With the recent success of the Paranormal Activity series it seems that we are getting away from the "torture porn" and massive gore that horror seems to have become exclusively and we are back to making some good old-fashioned SCARY movies. Haunted houses and things that go bump in the night are making a comeback and I hope it continues. The latest film that matches this description is Insidious from Director James Wan, who ironically was the director of the first Saw film, the series that launched the "torture porn" horror wave that I criticize. Actually I really enjoyed the first Saw film but that series went downhill pretty quick. But in that first film I could see the tension that would help Wan direct a film like Insidious. Here there is very little blood, no nudity, and only mild profanity. For that reason, the film received a PG-13 rating and that is also a trend that I hope continues. Let's get back to making "scary" movies, not "gore" movies.
     Insidious opens with a family of five who has just moved into a house that would look just right parked next to the house from The Amityville Horror. Any normal person would take one look at it and go "Yeah, that's gotta be haunted" and move onto the next house. It's huge, beautiful and I'm sure was a heck of a bargain. Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne play Josh and Renai Lambert, the "lucky" couple who has bought the house. They have three children, 2 young boys and an infant girl. Renai stays home and tends to the house and the children while Josh brings home the bacon as a teacher, who all of a sudden is having to work long hours which leaves Renai alone with the children quite a bit. Things start off simple at first, a few books misplaced, a missing box, a strange sound from an attic. Then one night one of the boys gets up into the attic and falls off a ladder and bumps his head. At first he is okay, but the next morning when Josh tries to wake him up the kid will not stir. They take him to the hospital where we learn the child is in a coma....but there is no sign of trauma to the brain. The doctors have no idea how to explain the condition. After three months Josh and Renai take their boy home and a nurse comes to help them with the care. It's right about here when the scares really start to pick up as we move from little stuff to seeing "people" in the house.... or do we? I think it's best to stop explaining the plot at this point as I wouldn't want to spoil anything for you.
      The first hour of this film has some of the best scare moments in recent horror memory. The tension is absolutely tense at times. What keeps the film from receiving an even higher score than I already gave it is the explanation of everything that must come in the final 30-45 minutes. We learn why things are happening and while it's not hard to follow, the payoff does not match the buildup. There's a paranormal team that comes to help out with the situation and this group is lead by the wonderful actress Lin Shaye who is perfect for this role. These scenes definitely gave me a Poltergeist vibe which I really enjoyed, but ultimately Shaye is there to provide an answer to what is happening and that's the only part where the film is lacking to me. But Shaye, and the other primary actors including Barbara Hershey who has a small part as Josh's mother, all give decent performances. Nothing to write home about but respectable for sure.
     I give Insidious a very high recommendation. If you enjoy being scared, there is enough here to keep you busy for a bit. If you are someone who likes a lot of gore and a high body count, this movie won't be for you, it's just not that type of movie. I, for one, find that very refreshing.

Movie Review - "Due Date" (2010) *

     I'm not going to spend a lot of time talking about this film. I really was expecting this to be a lot of fun. I enjoyed The Hangover very much and with this movie coming from the same director, Todd Phillips, and one of the primary stars, Zach Galifianakis, I was sure this would be a winner. Boy was I ever wrong. I found this film painful to sit through. It wants to be Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, a movie that I believe is one of the funniest ever made, but it fails on so many levels to match the humor and the heart that Planes has. Due Date just simply didn't make me laugh. There were a couple of scenes that got a chuckle or two, primarily one that takes place in a Western Union office with Danny McBride, but these scenes are few and far between. I recognize the talent that Robert Downey Jr. has and I understand why some people love him, but he has just never connected to me that much and here is no different. I just feel he is miscast in this role. I don't know, there are probably a lot of people who will disagree with me on this movie, but I will always give my honest opinion and I think this is a waste of time. If you're going to be a comedy, you have to make me laugh. Due Date didn't succeed in that.

Movie Review - "Salt" (2010) ***

     We watch movies for many different reasons. Sometimes we want to be moved or inspired, to see a film that challenges our thinking. Other times we want to be entertained by being scared or to laugh out loud. There may be times where we want to be educated perhaps. And then there are those times when we just want pure flat-out action, something we don't have to think about a lot. Well, if you fall into this last category I want to introduce you to the Angelina Jolie thriller Salt. Salt is one of those films where if you throw logic out of the window and just go along with the ride, you will find yourself surprisingly entertained at the end.
     The film stars Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt, a CIA agent who could be described as the love child of Jack Bauer and Nina Myers (kudos to you who understand that reference). She is bad to the bone and one of the top spies in our country. Her boss is agent Ted Winter played by Liev Schreiber who is probably best known for his role as Cotton Weary in the Scream films. Both of these characters are leaving the office late one day when a Russian spy comes in and provides details of an upcoming assassination attempt of the President of Russia during the funeral of the Vice President of the United States. Agent Salt is performing the interrogation and not believing or interested in the story until the spy speaks one final piece of evidence: that the assassin will be a spy named Evelyn Salt. Her colleagues become wary of her right away because machines show that the witness is telling the truth. When Salt realizes she is about to be detained, she goes on the run......That's where I will stop with the plot of this film. There are many twists and turns in the upcoming story, plenty enough to keep you scratching your head.
     The movie gets bogged down a bit in it's story and by the end I wasn't 100% sure I had kept up with everything along the way, but I got enough out of it. But I still enjoyed the film because I was able to ignore logic for two hours and just enjoy the ride. And what a ride it is. When this movie gets going it doesn't let up and give you opportunities to breathe too often. Agent Salt scales tall buildings, jumps from roof to roof of trucks going down the highway, descends an elevator shaft about as quickly as an elevator cab can, and kicks her fair share of butt along the way. If you go in looking at this film from a logic standpoint you will be rolling your eyes early and often. So my advice would be to just suspend your belief for awhile and enjoy the action. Because if you do, there is a lot to enjoy here. There's nothing spectacular about any of the acting, directing or writing but Jolie does a fine enough job in the title role. She's obviously easy on the eyes and her action scenes don't look awkward in any way. If you want to have a fun time there are worse ways you can blow two hours. I give Salt a light recommendation, just don't go in with your expectations too high.