Posts tagged Italy
“The Tourist” Very Disappointing Movie
Dec 15th
“Very Disappointing Movie”
THE TOURIST stars Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie, and so what more do you need to know in order to see this movie?
Well, whether or not it is any good would be nice, and in this case, it is not.
Oh, it looks well enough, that is for sure, taking place in Venice, Italy, and once the two stars check into a fabulous hotel, every scene in the movie looks like a picture postcard.
And, then, of course, it stars Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie.
The movie even starts in Paris, where Angelina is a target and being followed by who we eventually learn is Scotland Yard.
She receives a note by courier, telling her to take a train to Venice, and in addition the note says, “Pick someone my height and build, and make them believe it is me.”
So, Angelina, knowing she is being followed, heads for the subway and loses her followers by the old subway trick.
We then learn that the note was from a man named Alexander Pearce, who stole an enormous amount of money from an international mobster and is wanted in 14 countries, so Angelina is also being followed by Interpol and the mobster’s men.
When she gets on the train, Angelina sees Johnny sitting alone, picks him, and sits down across from him, engaging him in conversation.
He tells her that he is a math teacher from Madison, Wisconsin, and once the surveillance team identifies him, we learn even more about him.
Unfortunately, the mobster and his men believe Johnny is Pearce, and after Angelina entices him to check into the hotel with her, it is picture postcard time–except for the mobster and his men, of course.
So, now there are going to be chases throughout Venice, and it almost becomes a comedy when Johnny is chased across rooftops in his pajamas.
However, once the story shifts to a fancy dress ball, the movie begins to go downhill fast.
The premise makes no sense if we are to believe all the so-called “facts” we are given, and the audience is played for suckers.
The movie is better as the film it pretends to be instead of the one it turns out to be.
THE TOURIST has a good premise, excellent previews, preposterous execution, and, finally, is very disappointing.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
The Tourist – Movie Trailer
Dec 13th
American tourist Frank (Johnny Depp) meets a mysterious beauty who drags him into a dangerous world of intrigue and espionage while traveling through Europe in director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s paranoid thriller. When Frank met Elise (Angelina Jolie) on the train, he thought it was a chance encounter. Little did Frank realize it was all part of a much bigger plan, one that would soon find him dodging bullets through both the historic streets of Paris and the winding canals of Venice. Now, the faster Frank and Elise run, the more intense their romance grows.
“The American” The Red Herring
Sep 14th
“The Red Herring”
THE AMERICAN stars George Clooney as the title character in what is essentially a foreign film and not just because it leaves a lot of questions unanswered.
Most of the film takes place in Italy, and because Clooney is one of the producers and also owns a home in Italy, cynics could say that Clooney made the film just so he would be able to sleep in his own villa every night.
Clooney plays Jack, although he sometimes goes by the name of Edward. The story opens in Sweden, and we see Jack and a beautiful woman out walking in the snow when suddenly they are shot at. Jack pulls out a pistol to the surprise of his companion and kills the man shooting at them.
Jack says to the woman, “Go to the house and call the police.”
What happens next is just the first of the many unanswered questions.
The next thing we know, Jack is in Italy, and he’s not wearing a beard anymore. He calls on a man who appears to be his handler and is told to leave town and to wait for a call from the man.
So, Jack drives to a small town and sets up shop, so to speak.
He tells a priest he meets that he is a photographer on a working vacation, but we never see him with any cameras. He also claims that he is not good with machines, but later he fixes the priest’s small truck for him when it won’t start.
Jack also exercises a lot and keeps looking out the window of his room with a pair of binoculars.
Then he meets a woman in a cafe by arrangement, and they have a very technical discussion, but there is also the suspicion that they are being watched.
Jack starts visiting a prostitute named Clara, and when he goes back and she isn’t working that night, he just leaves.
As you might have guessed by now, Jack could possibly be a hired assassin or he might not be. And if he is, you might have guessed who his next victim is going to be.
Unfortunately, we will never know, because the whole movie is one big buildup without any satisfactory payoff.
THE AMERICAN, in other words, is nothing more than one long, extended red herring.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”