Ready, Set, SALT!

'Salt'

Review: 2/5

Director Phillip Noyce has a slew of reputable action-thrillers to his name; foremost among those being the Jack Ryan films, 'Patriot Games,' and 'Clear and Present Danger.' Unfortunately, his venture into the world of 21st century pyrotechnics is alarmingly static, suggesting that his retro 90s-inspired directorial sensibilities have been rendered archaic. The camera-direction is shy and often unmotivated, the aesthetic is overtly bland, expositional dialogue reigns paramount over visual storytelling, and gifted actors Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor are reduced to one-dimensional CIA caricatures. The queen of the show, of course, is Angelina Jolie, whose enigmatic character alters frantically between heightened panic and brooding allure - it's a conflicting duality.

The story is centered on Jolie's character, Evelyn Salt (Why such an odd last name? No explanation in the film. It must have sounded pretty cool on paper). She's, supposedly, a member of the CIA. Or is she? When an ominous Russian spy, who's apparently psychic, tells her that she's going to kill the US President (yet another histrionic character given ludicrous dialogue), she flees and the chase ensues. Granted a few of the stunts are exciting, we don't know enough about Salt's character to truly care for her. The premise is an obvious excuse for gratuitous action, which could have possibly been the film's redeeming attribute (come on, it's summer), but the inept script demands a serious devotion to political realism, contradicting the silly warfare that ultimately ensues.

All this being said, it's only fair to commend Noyce for his willingness to redefine his spy-thriller roots. Look at the man's credits: he's clearly talented (his 2006 thriller 'Catch a Fire' was arguably one of the best of the year). Regrettably, this suspense-caper is highly forgettable, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to the director's next undertaking.

Dream Big: 'Inception' Does

'Inception'

Review: 5/5

"You're waiting for a train..." the existentially tormented idea-extractor Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is told in a dream by his late wife, Mal (Marion Cotillard, who will be nominated for an Oscar for this iconic role). But is it really a dream? Or is it reality? Is Mal actually dead? Is Cobb? What's the significance of the train? These are all questions viewers will likely be asking themselves when Christopher Nolan's highly intricate, riddle-wrapped within a puzzle-labyrinthian 'Inception' cuts to black. It's a cerebral visual achievement at the highest level - a film that defines a genre all its own, with deftly positioned pawns that manifest in the form of elegantly clad dream-inhabitants, all functioning under the strict command of Cobb; a self-proclaimed idea-thief of the highest order.

When corporate-magnate Saito (Ken Watanabe) recruits Cobb to perform the near impossible task of inception (planting an idea in someone's mind instead of stealing one), Cobb reluctantly accepts, pending an all-too-appealing promise made to him by Saito himself. Cobb will need the most efficient team, of course, and in a kind of avant-garde re-imagining of the heist genre, a frenzied Cobb quickly assembles the most capable group of idea thieves - the most interesting of which may be Ariadne (research the significance of the name prior to seeing the film), a college student studying architecture. The others include Yusef (a chemist), Eames (a forger) and Arthur, Cobb's right hand man. Together the group travels through various levels of dream territory, always attempting to avoid the presence of the seemingly evil Mal.

This dream-voyage necessitates astounding visual architecture. Stanley Kubrick, M.C. Escher, and Salvador Dali might be cited as influences for such an aesthetic feat. That these images only exist as service to the story, and are not arbitrarily included as mere 'eye candy,' is a credit to a highly detailed script (supposedly it took Nolan ten years to put the finishing touches on the multifaceted dream-inspired narrative), as well as exceptional execution by cinematographer Wally Pfister, and production designer Guy Dyas; you've never seen anything quite like it.

A Cold, Bleak 'Winter'

'Winter's Bone'

Review: 4.5/5

There's beauty in simplicity. Sounds cliche', I know, but Debra Granik's infinitely tense meditation on blood-ties set against the stinging, bitter Ozark Mountains affirms this archetypal proverb with a crushing disquiet that resonates, throbbing and lingering in the psyche long after the credits roll. It's a testament to purely visual filmmaking - a narrative that progresses with startling discovery and observation, holding the spectator in a taut unease. And it never once lets up.

Ree Dolly (in an Oscar-worthy performance by Jennifer Lawrence), an impoverished, 17-year-old sister to two younger siblings, and daughter to an emotionally flatlined mother, maintains an unwavering doggedness after her drug-dealing father disappears, leaving her to care for her siblings with no financial support. Solving the problem seems simple for Ree: locate her father. Her family, all glaring and unusually suspicious, appears to have valuable information. Extracting that information is another story. Why is everyone so resistant to interrogation? Why is Ree's mother psychologically devastated? How come the county's police sheriff is more interested in preserving his reputation rather than helping to locate Ree's father?

The film, shot by Michael McDonough with a frozen, blue aesthetic that emphasizes the grim, desolate terrain, unfolds visually. Each image evokes an escalating sense of dread, conveying an isolated, claustrophobic realm wherein all hope has been forfeited: with the exception of the virtuous 'Ree.' Any other family would have been proud.

The Bad Guy You Love to...Love?

'Despicable Me'

Review: 3/5

For the most part, not enough credit is given to animated films that exist outside the parameters of the 'Pixar' realm. Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case with Universal's 'Despicable Me,' which has opened to critical praise and triumphant weekend box-office numbers - and with good reason. Coated with glossy highlights and soaked in a vibrant 'rainbow' aesthetic, the world inhabited by two dueling arch-nemeses comes across as a playfully irreverent province: a welcomed stage for screwball antics and overly-ambitious absurdity.

Front and center is the world's second-best super villain, 'Gru:' a lovable, middle-aged oaf whose retro villainy is undermined by a much younger, technically savvy 'Vector' (their rivalry always escalating in a very PG-rated manner). How does Gru plan to finally upstage the ADHD 'Vector?' Suffice it to say, if Gru's plan is executed properly, the world would turn into a dark, dark place (literally). Let's hope that, somehow, Mr. Gru learns to renounce his evil ways.

In the meantime, watch how the misunderstood protagonist struts and scowls simultaneously, embracing his sugar-coated wrongdoing - he thoroughly loves his profession, narcissism intact and emphasized by original music from hip-hop producer/rapper/singer Pharrell Williams, whose cool, jazz-influenced hip-hop compositions add a sense of debonair silkiness to Gru's distinctive journey.