Quick Review: Salt

"Salt" is definitely a summer movie in that you will enjoy it more if you just let go. Don't think of how the plot's machinations are outlandish or implausible. A Russian defector is being interrogated by the CIA. He talks of a Russian plan to destroy the United States using sleeper agents trained (brainwashed?) since childhood. The act that will set this plan into high gear is the assassination of the president of Russia at the funeral of the U.S. Vice President. The CIA is disinclined to take the defector seriously until he reveals the name of the sleeper agent assigned to carry out the killing: CIA agent Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie), the agent conducting the interrogation. She denies the accuation. One of her colleagues (Liev Schreiber, who I find to be very attractive, for what it's worth -- so enjoy the photo) thinks she may be telling the truth, but another (Chiwetel Ejiofor) doesn't. Then stuff happens, and Salt has to escape in order to find a way to clear her name and stop the assassination...or so it would seem. It's fast-paced and looks good, and from what I've read there's not nearly as much usage of CGI effects to fake the action sequences. Again, don't think, just let go and have fun. My grade: B.

Quick Review: Repo Men

Hard to believe they've been sitting on this movie since it was filmed way back in 2007. "Repo Men" stars Jude Law and Forest Whitaker as Remy and Jake. They're, well, repo men. They repossess their company's property from people who fail to keep up with the payments. However, what they're repossessing is artificial organs. This is a film set in the near future, where the science of artificial hearts, livers, etc. has been perfected. No more messy transplants of human body parts. However, it is expensive. After all, a heartless (no pun intended) corporation has to make its profit. In charge in some capacity is Frank (Liev Schreiber). He sends guys like Remy and Jake out to catch the deadbeats, slice 'em open and take out the organ to return to the company. The poor...repossess-ees? Repossessed? What's the word I'm looking for? Anyway, they're left on the floor, gutted open. Now that's health care reform! So something unfortunate happens that turns Remy into a customer. Then he falls behind in his payments. Uh-oh... It's more of a black comedy at first, and shows a little potential, but then it turns into a standard action movie with chase scenes and wild fights and is much less interesting. And I'm mad at myself for not seeing the twist at the very end coming. My grade: C.