A Pinch of ‘Salt’ Leads to Some Wild Action
July 28th, 2010 by Aaron Neuwirth
After months of ad campaigns asking film-goers, “Who is Salt?,” only to be met mostly with a response sounding like, “who cares?,” it’s safe to say that the actual film does answer that question, and also manages to be a pretty effective action thriller. However, it does go into some hardcore ridiculous territory, but I appreciated Jolie’s work as a super spy, along with the very high stakes this movie presents. The solid, over-the-top action matches and sometimes diminishes the ridiculous story. Continue reading ‘A Pinch of ‘Salt’ Leads to Some Wild Action’
I can already feel the masses getting their torches and pitchforks ready for me on this one. Is this my Avatar of 2010? What I’m getting at is last year I was the lone wolf here on Why So Blu, ultimately not impressed by Avatar like the rest of the world was. Not quite getting the fanfare of the blue aliens, Christopher Nolan’s Inception has still garnered a significant amount of ooh’s and ah’s from a public that waits with anticipation to see this film. I was one of those people representing the eager public. 
Silence. You can hear a pin drop. Tension. Everyone is on the edge of his or her seat. Suspension. What’s going to happen next? Thrilling. Don’t dare take your eyes off the screen as every moment is of grave importance. Such was the atmosphere this week at the press screening for Christopher Nolan’s newest masterpiece, Inception. I have to admit; during the screening I noticed there was something really different about this particular movie outing/experience. 
The last movie involving the famous Predator race was Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, a horrible bit of garbage that had the potential of a space rocket, but ultimately produced box office result similar to Chernobyl. I can count the good scenes from that film on one hand and the good acting, well, I don’t think I can count that at all. So here we are three years later and the Predators are back on the big screen, this time brought to us by El Mariachi himself, Robert Rodriguez. 
Avatar, oops I mean The Last Airbender, is the first film of a planned trilogy. So get used to the name because I don’t suspect we shall be forgetting it anytime soon. This newest M. Night Shyamalan film is a live-action film adaptation based on the first season of the animated television series Avatar: The Last Airbender. Now I finally understand what all the fuss was about in regards to this animated show at 2008’s San Diego Comic-Con. I remember a guy looked at me weird just because I said I never heard of the cartoon. 
What are up with these mega all-star cast films nowadays? Seems like we just can’t get enough of them no matter how bad they are. Hollywood studios slap a label on a one-sheet poster with five or more big box-office stars and all they have to do is sit back on their laurels and count the cash that rolls in during the film’s opening weekend despite any negative critical reviews. 
I for one have never been on the ‘Hate-Tom-Cruise Wagon’. I think he’s a tremendously gifted actor as well as an excellent stuntman. What he does in his personal life is his business. Cameron Diaz has also shown herself very versatile in the past few years, and with movies like Identity, Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma under his belt, James Mangold is a great choice as director. Does Knight and Day live up to it’s hype? 
It’s not a coincidence that all of the Toy Story films have 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, they’re just that good. Pixar has had a long string of successful movies that go all the way back to the original film in this franchise in 1995, and Pixar knows Toy Story is their baby. So, does this one live up to all the hype surrounding it? Check out my video review below and find out! 
As special effects progressed and stories got more creative, the western became an increasingly difficult genre to sell to the general public. Compared to 40 and 50 years ago, the days of cowboys and Indians on the big screen is pretty much non-existent. How does one revive the category or even get one good film out there? You’ve got to break the formula. 
I first became interested in Jonah Hex last summer after seeing a sneak peak of several scenes at Warner Brothers’ Comic-Con panel (see here). I have to admit; I have never read a single page of the DC Comics’ title. So I guess you can say that I am a Jonah Hex virgin. Sometimes that’s a good thing, right? Anyway, I’m a big Josh Brolin fan from back in the days, but what really sold me on this movie, much to my astonishment, was the sultry Megan Fox. 
Love or hate the 80’s, it became a pop culture mecca, spitting out one frame of success after another. As a kid, the The A-Team was one of my favorite television shows. I didn’t know anything about melding as a group back then or what good acting or bad acting was. I did know that show had lots of action with some good guys that were framed and they drove around in a really wicked van…with a spoiler! Then, earlier this year, I saw the trailer to…could it be…an A-Team movie?! 
The Karate Kid is no doubt a re-imagining of the 1984 film, but for the life of me, I can’t figure out why they changed the original title of the film, The Kung Fu Kid. Other than a very quick reference or two made in dialog, the film has nothing to do with karate. However, it has everything to do with the good old original film that we all intimately know and love. But we’ll cover that shortly. For now, rest assured, the film is not a blatant rip-off. Ralph Macchio will always be the “Karate Kid.” 
With the Blackhawks throwing away game 3 in the Stanley Cup Finals, and also game 4 as I write this, I needed a definite pick-me-up this week. MacGruber was recommended to me by a co-worker a few days ago, but honestly, I cannot bring myself to anything more than a rental for that film. Was I doomed to an anti-laughing purgatory to start off the month of June? I did notice some film called Get Him to the Greek was coming out on June 4th, which slightly diverted my interest. 
And I thought I had seen it all… Ah, Splice, words can’t even describe the disturbing visions I still have floating around in my head. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I’m not sure yet. I guess I need to let Tuesday night’s viewing experience sink in some more, cultivate and see what I think about in a few weeks as my mind continually digests what I witnessed on the silver screen. It’s actually hard to talk about here too. 
Every once in awhile, being a reviewer means you have to see and sit through movies that you really have no interest in (to put it politely). I accept that. It comes with the territory and the job title. Sure I may moan and groan about the film beforehand, but sometimes, just sometimes, you are pleasantly surprised by a movie that just rocks your world unexpectedly, much like my screening of 
Queen Latifah has had a busy decade in terms of her film career. From appearing on episodes of the television show Spin City in 2001 to last year’s third installment in the Ice Age franchise, she has also had a variety of projects dotting the landscape along the way. Latifah has appeared comedies such as Scary Movie 3 and the critically acclaimed musical Chicago. The rapper-turned-actress has had a very productive 2010 as she co-starred in Valentine’s Day and now takes top billing in her latest work, Just Wright. 
It was 2001 when the original Shrek captured the attention of audiences around the globe. Kids liked it for the fun characters and colorful delivery. Adults enjoyed it for the cleverly placed humor throughout the film. The sequel came out three years later and it was another round of laughs and adventure for theater-goers and big bucks for Dreamworks. You know Hollywood. Where success was once found, try and try again. 
