"Toy Story 3"

I’ve watched Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and now I’ve watched Toy Story 3. The Pixar people are absolute geniuses. When I saw Toy Story I thought it was superbly written; when Toy Story 2 came out, I thought they couldn’t have written a better sequel. So when they came out with Toy Story 3, I didn’t read any reviews because I wanted to see it for myself and enjoy.

The cartoon short before the feature was “Night and Day” I can’t describe it except that it gave me the giggles.  I took my 4yr old niece with me, so we had to watch it in 3-D. But when the movie started, I really didn’t notice the difference.

The story was original, except for one small flaw, Lotso the Bear was just a re-treaded Stinky Pete, but his “story” was no less poignant.  Was I the only one who cried in Toy Story 2 when Jesse’s story was told with Sarah McLachlan singing “When She Loved Me”? At the time, I thought it was just gut wrenching. I had a tear drop down in this movie too; it was just so achingly ‘real’. Call me a sentimentalist, but we all recall the instant when we left behind our childish ways and became an adult. Once we cross that line, we can’t go back. 

I really liked the addition of the Ken doll in this movie, he was the comic relief.

My niece never moved from her seat, she never fiddled with her 3D glasses and every now and then I’d see her mouth hanging open in abject awe.

This is a must see movie.

"Inception"

The writing was superb, the acting was subtle and the pace was uncompromising. It takes on the question "Are we dreaming the dream or is the dream dreaming us?" The script is smart without being condescending.

DiCaprio leads a cast of Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, with Michael Caine in a small role, just to name a few. Christopher Nolan's direction is another great job done.

Having been a fan of "3rd Rock From the Sun", I am really glad that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is maturing into a really good actor.

I won't give out spoilers but one thing I can tell you is that the "kick" (the method to wake you from dreaming) is the playing of Edith Piaf's "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien", which was Marion Cotillard's award winning role. I wonder if it was some kind of inside joke?

I would have liked to have seen it with someone else so we could have discussed it afterwards. But sometimes I've been in movies where the writing is so convoluted, that I needed to lean over to ask someone what I was supposed to be seeing. But this movie had me completely enraptured.

I sat still for the entire movie, something uncommon. I even forgot to eat my popcorn!

In short, see the movie.

"Salt"

I still remember when I saw “Aliens” and saw Ellen Ripley kick alien ass. That was the iconic role that created a whole new genre, female action star. Since then, we’ve seen a slew of action heroines on the big screen and on the small screen. We can point to Jennifer Garner on “Alias”, Uma Thurman in the “Kill Bill” movies, there is Mila Jovovich in the Resident Evil movies.  But for me, the biggest female action star is Angelina Jolie, she started with the Lara Croft movies, then “Mr & Mrs. Smith”, “Wanted” and now “Salt”.

 There is no doubt the woman can act, from the unbelievably expressive eyes to the funny way she stands with her hands at the ready for a fight. She looks like that spunky little tomboy who ignores the fact that even though she’s up against a bigger, stronger guy and will probably get hurt, she’s still going in fighting. She won’t give up until she’s bloody and scarred, but she won’t let anyone take her without a fight.

Like every action movie, the star will persevere under extraordinary odds, s/he will leap tall buildings, battle armies and even when the odds are arraigned against them, they will find a way. It’s a movie, it is fiction and we suspend belief to enjoy the visceral joy of living vicariously through their battles.

I always come out of a movie theater driving a little too fast. I take a curb (or try to) on two wheels. It’s the adrenaline rush. As a kid I came out of “Conan the Barbarian” practicing how to hold my sword (broom handle), leaping across the living room, bouncing off the couch and diving under the dining room table.

I know Jolie is wired and harnessed as she does her scenes, some are obviously stunt doubles. The movie itself was fair. I think the only reason the movie works is because it’s Jolie. And she’s got some very good supporting actors, Live Schrieber  stars as Salt’s boss and Chiwetel Ejiofor is a counterintelligence agent who set out to catch Salt after she’s been accused of being a Russian mole.

In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him role is Andre Braugher, wasted in a group scene. I don’t remember him even having a line.

The movie is predictable; I had a suspicion of how it would turn out very early on. I think Hollywood needs to rethink their concept of what a trailer should be. Before the feature film came on, there were trailers for other movies and I wondered just how much of the action sequences were given away? Some trailers are better than what the movie turns out to be.

You’ll get no spoilers from my review; I don’t read the ‘professional’ reviews,nor the hype machine until after I watch the movie. I came out of watching “Wanted” scared at how skinny Jolie looked. Her sunken eyes, thin, almost cadaverous frame, but then I learned that it was the first movie she made after her beloved mother’s death. So I took that into account. But in Salt, she looks frail.

There’s a scene early on when she’s running from the CIA agents, a backpack slung across her back, her hair tucked into a plain brown knit winter cap and I swear I was reminded of the little boy in the Japanese Gozilla movies. Her backpack bounced on her back just like the little kid. In fact, she looked like a little kid and looked like she was struggling to run fast. Her arms pumping hard, she looked awfully thin. Her clothes hang from her, look at her legs.

I want to invite her to a nice rich Italian dinner full of meat sauce and pasta, please get some meat on those bones!

I really liked “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” not because of the eye candy Brangelina, but because it had a sense of humor. Maybe if they give Angelina Jolie a script with action and just a hint of humor, she could truly be a premier action heroine. She’s got a beautiful smile, but most of her action roles has her frowning and glowering, she’s such a good actress that when she glowers like that, I’m afraid of ever meeting her.

If you get the chance to see the movie without paying $10, then go ahead. I paid more for my nachos & cheese and pop than I did for the movie. But I always felt that if you like an actor, the type of movie, then go spend the money.

To see this movie you have to suspend disbelief, sure, a body can go flinging off a movie vehicle and end up in another one without falling. Hey, she’s a trained spy operative! Will I buy the DVD? Probably, it IS Angelina Jolie. But if you’re not a fan of action movies, hate predictability, maybe you should skip this one.