Salt

Director: Phillip Noyce                                                      Genre: Action | Espionage Thriller | Mystery & Suspense

Date Release: July 23, 2010                                              Runtime: 1 hr. 29 min
Rated: PG-13

If you are looking for twist & turn action-thrillers movie starring Angelina Jolie, then you're in luck-- for that's exactly what Salt is. Humdrum in its opening stretch, the film becomes increasingly tense as the loyalties and motives of our main character come into question. And even if the picture ultimately winds up being exactly what we figured it would be when we saw the very first preview for it, it still manages to hold our attention throughout. 

Jolie plays the title character Evelyn Salt as a CIA agent who highly respected by all, including her boss, Ted Winter. Out of the blue, a Russian spy walks into their offices and offers a vital piece of information: the President of Russia will be assassinated during his forthcoming visit to New York City to attend the funeral of the recently deceased U.S. Vice President. The name of the assassin: Evelyn Salt. Concerned about the safety of her husband, who she cannot contact, she goes on the run. Winter refuses to accept that she is a mole or a double agent but her actions begin to raise doubts. Just who is Evelyn Salt and what is she planning? 

As a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor and country. Her loyalty will be tested when a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture. Salt's efforts to prove her innocence only serve to cast doubt on her motives, as the hunt to uncover the truth behind her identity continues and the question remains: "Who is Salt?"

Cast:
Angelina Jolie
Liev Schreiber
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Daniel Olbrychski


Screenwriter: Kurt Wimmer, Brian Helgeland 
Producer: Lorenzo Di Bonaventura, Sunil Perkash 
Total U.S Box Office: $103.4M

My Rating:
7/10

Kick-Ass

Director: Matthew Vaughn                                                                    Genre: Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama
Date Release: Apr 16, 2010                                                                  Runtime: 1 hr. 57 mins
Rated: R [See Full Rating](for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use - some involving children)

                                                            

Mark Millar's violent comic tale of wannabe superheroes is adapted by writer-director Matthew Vaughn (LAYER CAKE) with this Marv Films production. Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and a comic book fan with few friends and who lives alone with his father. His life is not very difficult and his personal trials not that overwhelming. However, one day he makes the simple decision to become a super-hero even though he has no powers or training.

One day he is inspired by all these comic books to become Kick-Ass, a superhero with no powers. Later, he is joined by Red Mist, Hit Girl and her father Big Daddy and they form a vigilante team, fighting drug dealers and vandals.

Cast:

Aaron Johnson as Kick-Ass / Dave Lizewski

Nicolas Cage as Big Daddy / Damon Macready

Chloe Moretz as Hit-Girl / Mindy Macready

Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Red Mist / Chris D'Amico

Mark Strong as Frank D’Amico

Clark Duke as Marty

Even Peters as Todd

Lyndsy Fonseca as Katie Beauxma

Screenwriter: Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman, Mark Millar (Comic book), John Romita, Jr.(Comic book illustrator) 
Producer: Matthew Vaughn, Brad Pitt, Kris Thykier, Adam Bohling, Tarquin Pack, David Reid

Total U.S Box Office: $19,750,000 

My Rating:
8.5/10

 

Avatar

Director: James Cameron                                                                        Genre: Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi
Date Release: Dec 18, 2009                                                                    Runtime: 2 hrs. 42 mins
Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] (for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking)                                            

From the creator of the highest grossing movie of all time, Titanic (1997) comes another worldwide box office film and distributed by 20^th Century Fox, Avatar is the story of an ex-Marine who finds himself thrust into hostilities on an alien planet filled with exotic life forms.

In the future, Marine Jake Sully, a paraplegic war veteran, decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora, when his brother is killed in a robbery. As an Avatar, a human mind in an alien body, he finds himself torn between two worlds, in a desperate fight for his own survival and that of the indigenous people.

There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid called "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

Cast: 
Sam Worthington as Jake Sully

Zoe Saldana as Neytiri

Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch

Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Grace Augustine

Michelle Rodriguez as Trudy Chacon

Giovanni Ribisi as Parker Selfridge

Screenwriter: James Cameron
Producer: James Cameron, Jon Landau

Total U.S Box Office: $743,688,973

My Rating:
9/10

Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Director: Chris Columbus                                                                                          Genre: Adventure | Fantasy | Action 
Date Release: Feb. 12, 2010                                                                                      Runtime: 2 hrs
Rated: PG (for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild language)

Produced by Fox 2000 Pictures, comes the story of a teenage boy who is a demigod - half human, half god. His name is Percy Jackson. He is the son of god of the sea, Poseidon. Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief entails Greek mythology and how gods of Mount Olympus seem to have walked out on the 21st century which is Percy's generation, his Greek mythology texts and into his life. At the same time, the powerful gods on Olympus are feuding, which could launch a war enveloping our entire planet.

Now, Percy must prepare for the adventure of a lifetime, and the stakes couldn't be higher. 

With ominous storm clouds brewing over Earth and his own life now in peril, Percy travels to a special enclave called Camp Half Blood, where he trains to harness his newly discovered powers and prevent a devastating war among the gods. There, Percy meets two fellow demigods - the warrior Annabeth, who is searching for her mother, the goddess Athena; and his friend and protector, Grover, who is actually a brave but untested satyr. 

Grover and Annabeth then join Percy on an incredible transcontinental odyssey that takes them six hundred stories above New York City (the portal to Mount Olympus) and to the iconic Hollywood sign, under which burn the fires of the Underworld. At journey's end rests the fate of the world - and the life of Percy's mother Sally, whom Percy must rescue from the depths of Hell itself.

Cast: 
Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson 
Brandon Jackson as Grover Underwood 
Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth 
Uma Thurman as Medusa 
Pierce Brosnan as Mr. Brunner / Chiron 
Kevin McKidd as Poseidon 
Sean Bean as Zeus

Screenwriter: Chris Columbus, Craig Titley
Producer: Greg Mooradian, Guy Oseary, Mark Morgan
Total U.S Box Office: $87,159,279


My Rating:
9/10

The Blind Side

Director: John Lee Hancock                                                                                                               Genre: Drama | Sport
Date Release: Nov. 20, 2009                                                                                                             Runtime: 2 hrs. 8 mins
Rated: PG-13 (for one scene involving brief violence, drug and sexual references)

From Warner Bros. Studio comes a remarkable true story of a homeless African-American youngster named as Michael Oher, from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys of a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. "The Blind Side" signifies Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle.

 
Cast:

Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy 

Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher 

Tim McGraw as Sean Tuohy, Leign Anne's husband 

Kathy Bates as Miss Sue, Oher's tutor

Jae Head as S.J  Tuohy

Lily Collins as Collins Tuohy

Screenwriter: John Lee Hancock
Producer: Gil Netter, Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove
Total U.S Box Office: $255,740,350

My Rating: 
9/10