The Citizen Review " A man goes to the movies. A critic must be honest enough to admit that he is that man." -Robert Warshow

"Salt"

by Jack Meriwether 7/23/10

With Salt, Phillip Noyce's more than just a little over the top jolt ride, we have even more proof that Angelina Jolie is everyone's favorite superwoman. If maybe you are that moviegoer who shies away from big blockbusters with titles like "Salt", who is also tired of nearly falling asleep to a dozen "art" films, Salt may be the perfect punch of flavor to wake you up a tad.

The film stars Angelina Jolie as Evelyn Salt, an American CIA agent, married to a loving German scientist, with a mysterious past. She's accused of being a Russian spy, which she isn't, which she is, then isn't all over again. Let's not fret too much over the story of this movie because it's not really about that. Salt is a well-made film that knows it's place in it's genre and uses the idiosyncrasies of said genre to give you one heck of a motion picture. We find the silky-haired action dame falling onto speeding trucks, dashing bullets, altering her appearance not only by hair color but as well as gender, use liquor bottles as deadly weapons, and looking slick good doing so. I got a special feeling watching Jolie beat the bad guys and deliver clever lines, she had the air of a classy actress who knew what she was doing.

The film eventually takes Evelyn Salt to the secret corridor in the White House where the President goes to be safe from the bad guys, nice try Chief of State. She is bloodied, beaten-up, bruised and still willing to konk her way out of a moving helicopter into icy water. I won't tell you whether or not she was doing this to be a good guy or a bad guy. We'll let this film have some sort of mystery.

Yes of course there a major, stun-gunner plot twists and all-out action sequences, and it's these ridiculously realized elements along with the charisma of a truly good actress that make Salt a good film to see in theaters this summer.

Overall grade: A-

Matthew Says: A-

Well, Pixar just can't let go. Toy Story was their first film, and arguably their most acclaimed film, giving them the success they now have today. And the story continues with a third and probably final chapter that will be welcomed well among the other two.

Andy is going to college, and the toys haven't been played with in years. The toys decide they will go in the attic and wait until (possibly) Andy has children of his own. Until then, they will still all be together. Not everyone is on board with this plan, but Woody wants to be loyal to Andy. However, fate has other plans. They eventually (after a series of events) get placed in a donation box for Sunnyside Daycare. They think it will be a dream come true, but later realize it's their worst nightmare. And soon enough, it's escape time!

This movie truly has everything. Adventure, wit, horror, and sadness. By the end of it, I had laughed, cried, been scared and held at the edge of my seat.

The movie picks up right where it left breathlessly. It's as if the story wasn't managed or adjusted by people or companies, but just continued on by itself. But the true power of this movie lies in it's true, ironic human quality. It shows the most endearing, dark and emotional parts of humans throughout the movie. And by the end, you just feel so moved by these toys that have showed you these things. They are saying goodbye to Andy, but really we are saying goodbye to them. And a sad farewell it is.

Jack says: A-

Everyone loves Pixar, just admit it. The storytellers and animators at work behind those doors have the ability to move us in a way that no other production company does with its movies. Ever since their first release, a movie called Toy Story, they have set their own little standard for comedy, adventure, animation and heartfelt storytelling. Their newest release has toys moving us from the edge of our seats, to fits of laughter and eventually to tears. Only Pixar can do this.

The third and most likely last installment in the Toy Story franchise has just been released and it manages to pack it all in. It opens with the beautifully familiar cast of toys griping over the fact that Andy, their devoted owner, is all grown up and moving away to college later that week. They are all discouraged and Woody, their faithful leader, tells them not to worry. Panic once again arises when they find out that they are likely to be thrown away when Andy does leave. This hurts the gang, how could their lifelong pal, Andy, abandon them like this? This sets off a roller coaster and thrills and chase sequences and mad escape scenes, just like we know Toy Story to do.

Like I said, Toy Story 3 has the ability to move the viewer. When Andy is looking at his old toys with trepidation and longing, wondering whether to throw them out, we feel heartache. When the gang is about to be devoured by evil flames, we are truly scared and wonder about their fate. When the final scenes play out, we feel sadness and comfort as well.

The film has the ability to reach such heights because it tells a story we can all relate to, or feel we could. We've literally grown up with these characters in real time. Pixar didn't skip around with its film's timeline. When the film opens up eleven years later, eleven years really have passed. Maybe we think about how much we've changed since we last saw Woody and Buzz. So we feel a certain familial tie to the characters. As we see Andy grown up and ready for college, it makes us sad too. It's also affecting on the viewers side because we all feel that Toy Story is finally ending, it's poignant on many levels .

Toy Story 3 has a common life theme: change. Change with the familiarity of life. Change from the 'good old days' when you were played with. Its theme is also feeling loved. It is said often in this movie that all the toys want is to be played with. The antagonist in the story is shown being deeply, psychologically affected by feeling unloved. The film shows us what happens when we feel unnecessary. The same can be said of humans, all we want is to be loved. It's the deepest desire of our hearts. But Toy Story 3 also teaches us that we not only want to be played with, but we want to be played with by the people who matter.

Sincerely,

10. Howl's Moving Castle

9. Ponyo

8. Sita Sings the Blues

7. Persepolis

6. Fantastic Mr. Fox

5. Ratatouille

4. Wall-E

3. Finding Nemo

2. The Polar Express

1. Spirited Away

Matthew says: A

Wild at Heart can only be summed up by a great line said by Laura Dern in the film, "This whole world is wild at heart and weird on top." Such is the movie. At the core of the movie, is a wild, free spirit, having fun. And on the top, a weird, puzzling, visually striking film.

The film is technically a "road movie" but really, it's a romance. There's humor, violence, fantasy, crime, but essentially the wild, passionate love between Sailor and Lula is what carries this film. At the begging of the movie, Sailor is just getting out of jail, and Lula runs away from her strict, crazy mother to be with him. Together, they hit the road in search of God knows what. On the way, they run into all sorts of strange, dangerous events that act as foreshadow and warning.

Wild at Heart would not be what it is without it's striking visual style. There are several Wizard of Oz allusions. And, in a way, the film is sort of a messed-up re-telling of that story. The way to go into seeing this film is with an open mind. A mind for a wild plot, weird twists and a great movie.

Should win- Avatar

Will win- The Hurt Locker

Should win- Collin Firth

Will win- Jeff Bridges

Should win- Gabourey Sidibe

Will win- Sandra Bullock

Should win- Christoph Waltz

Will win- Christoph Waltz

Should win- Mo'Nique

Will win- Mo'Nique

Should win- Kathryn Bigelow

Will win- Kathryn Bigelow

Should win- Up

Will win- Up

Should win- The Cove

Will win- The Cove

Should win- The White Ribbon

Will win- The White Ribbon

Should win- Inglorious Basterds

Will Win- Inglorious Basterds

Should win- An Education

Will win- Up in the Air

Sincerely,

Matthew for The Citizen Review

The Academy Awards are in one week and with such little time, I would like to reflect on this year's nominees. There is much to say about some categories and very little about others. There are some upsets and some shoo-ins as well. Let's start with Best Supporting Actress.

Well actually, it's not really called Bes Supporting Actress this year. Nope, in my mind this category is owned and dominated by Mo'Nique as Mary Jones in Precious. It's been this way for a long time. No, I have not seen the film but one does not need to see the whole film to understand the power, the villainy and the conviction of Mo'Nique's performance.

If any one else wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, it will not only be an upset, it will be unfair. The rest of the actresses in this category just look better by having Mo'Nique amongst them.

Next, the Best Actress category. This one is less simple and straightforward. There are two nominees that completely deserve the Oscar. There are two others that don't deserve it. And then there's Helen Mirren, sorry Helen.

Gabourey Sidibe for Precious and Carrey Mulligan for An Education deserve the award, but neither of them has any chance of really winning. However Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia (whom I love, but she doesn't deserve it) and Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side are both the current contenders for Oscar gold. This is ridiculous. It is so obvious that Carey Mulligan (a resurrected Audrey Hepburn) and Gabourey Sidibe (a dramatic force of nature on and off screen) have the best performances of the year.

Very rarely do I feel so strongly about two actresses but these two women deserve the award, either one of them. Now, Meryl Streep is obviously an amazing actress, probably the best actress alive but Julie & Julia is not her best performance nor the best performance of the year. It's a shame that she was nominated so many other times for so many other great movie and Julie & Julia had to be the won to win her another Oscar (um...Doubt?)

Sandra Bullock is another very talented artist. She has been in some other good roles and has proved herself worthy of a nomination. But for The Blind Side? The sappy, predictable, cheap feel-good movie? No. It wasn't a bad performance, it was very good. But she doesn't deserve an Oscar. It's a complete sham that the Academy would recognize these performances from these actress from so many other good ones they've had over the other two nominated. It's criminal.

So who will win? My money is on Bullock. She won the Golden Globe and her 'Oscar-winning campaign' is too revved up to be denied. I have a small, microscopic, infinitesimal hope that either Sidibe or Mulligan will get the Oscar this coming Sunday.

The saddest part is that this is a worthy host of great actresses: Meryl Streep, Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren and now these budding stars in the making. It's not a battle of worthiness, but of material.

Sincerely,

Jack for The Citizen Review