Reviews : Mildred Pierce and the film Salt

Watched both the first episode of Mildred Pierce on HBO ON Demand (yes I found it finally, on channel 200) and the film Salt.

The first episode of Mildred Pierce was actually quite good. ( Mildred Pierce review, cut for spoilers )

Quite good, if you like this sort of thing. It's not to everyone's taste. Humor tends not to make much of an appearance, and there's a slow plodding weariness that parallels reality. We are meant to feel the mundane, and drab of Mildred's everyday life.

Salt - directed by Philip Noyce and starring Angelina Jolie and Lev Schrieber...is not what you think it is. I was somewhat surprised by it - I was expecting a sort of Jason Bourne drama, which in truth turned out to be a female version of The Punisher meets Jason Bourne. Quite a few chase scenes. Little dialogue. And there are bits that appear to come out of nowhere. I don't quite by Schrieber's character and he underplays the role to such an extent that you wonder...if he was just phoning it in. Schrieber can be quite good, but not here. Jolie does a good job with very little.

While I find the female revenge fantasy action genre rather cathartic at times, I admittedly struggle with suspension of disbelief. She survives things that make me roll my eyes. Also, the love interest, which is relatively minor - is hard to feel anything for. I had troubles caring about the people or Evelyn Salt.

Interesting tidbit - this was originally written for a man. They changed the script slightly when Angelina Jolie signed on. One of the items they changed was in the original Edwin Salt saves
his wife and child, the film-makers felt that it wasn't realistic for a woman to do that or it would turn off the audience. I find this odd, after watching the film, considering the other things she does - she literally is punched in the face and remains conscious and without a broken nose. The saving hubby and child is actually more believable. It's tempting to compare Salt to Bourne Identity and The Punisher tropes - where the avenger is usually male.

I wish I could say Salt was as good as the Bourne triology, featuring Matt Damon, but it's not.
The direction is sketchy and jarring in places. Also it is almost too abrupt. I found one scene a bit too over-the-top, to the point of being kitschy. Shame. If you want to watch this trope well done - go rent Luc Besson's original film La Femme Nikita - which remains the best of the spy woman avenger genre. Haven't seen the newest addition - Hanna.

Overall? Mildred Pierce episode 1 - A, Salt - C.

(no subject)

The second episode of Game of Thrones was much much better than the first. And they are moving rapidly through the book. In some respects it works better - the jumping from points of views, which in the book often felt jarring, you'd be in one, there'd be a cliff-hanger, and suddenly you are in another for about 30 pages. Here it's faster. Less plodding through intricate and textured description. We don't need descriptions of each character, their clothing, etc.

( vague spoilers for the episode and series )