Another fine (and not-so-fine) batch of mini-reviews this week. Starting off is this week’s new release of Salt. Then my three Netflix DVDs for The Diary of Anne Frank, Vicky Christina Barcelona and The Accidental Tourist. Also, I continue my review of the final season of Soap.

So, here is what I watched this weekend:

SALT

Fun doesn’t always have to make sense and although Salt is far from a great film, it has enough action, emotion and intrigue to please many. Taking many of the best cues from the Bourne franchise, this tale of Russian sleeper agents and American counter-intelligence has twists and turns that while predictable are worth watching just to see how they resolve themselves. Angelina Jolie may have been the perfect choice for this film, her highly regarded dramatic roles in recent films like Changeling and A Mighty Heart give her the ability to connect with audiences emotionally while her many varied action projects prepared her for creating a believable, kick-ass super spy.

A sequel is inevitable and although I doubt the franchise can rival either the currently-stalled Bond or the likely future Bourne films, it may carve a nice niche within the genre. They will need to do a great deal of work to make the next plot believable, but with the few questionable narrative conveniences delivered in the original, I have little doubt the possibilities will be endless. And perhaps they’ll tie up a few loose ends in the next film, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.

Strangely, the largest point of confusion for me with this film was how did Andre Braugher who was on screen for maybe two minutes rate an individual on-screen credit when August Diehl who played Salt’s husband Michael Krause who appeared in several scenes and had at least five times the dialogue of Braugher didn’t even get that much. I guess ego helps immeasurably.

THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK

Many U.S. school children are familiar with the harrowing saga of Anne Frank, the young girl who was forced to hide with her family and other Jews as the Nazis stormed through Amsterdam looking to put all they could into concentration camps. Her diary, celebrated around the world, details the terrifying and brave story and has been made into a small handful of films few of which could possibly hold a candle to George Stevens’ masterful adaptation of the book.

Although Ed Wynn and Shelley Winters, the latter having won the Oscar, were the sole acting nominees from the film, it’s really Joseph Schildkraut and Gusti Huber as Anne’s parents Otto and Edith that give the film’s best performances. Both play their roles perfectly creating emotional buoys for the rest of the cast to work off of. Not to discredit Winters who does a fine job, but name recognition was clearly a factor in the nominations for Wynn, a popular television comedian of the time with a handful of dramatic offerings, who does very little in the film but protest loudly and often about how they should all expect to be caught any day. There’s nothing touching, creative or nomination-worthy in his performance. But even with the terrific performances of Schildkraut and Huber, the film’s finest achievement is its use of sound. Stevens ably conveys isolation, terror and apprehension. It’s the kind of quality craftsmanship that should provide plenty of inspiration and guidance for future filmmakers interested in how to use audio to its fullest effect. Sometimes, silence is more important than music or dialogue.

Below is an original plot summary and short review that I wrote some years ago and only now rediscovered.

Basic Plot

Based on the diary of a young girl caught in Holocaust Germany, Anne Frank, her family and another must lock themselves in the attic of Mr. Frank’s still-running shop. During the day they must remain absolutely still and quiet so they do not bring any attention to their hiding place. At nighty must keep the windows covered as to not let their light out. This is the story of people trapped for a long period of time in a cramped space.

Short Review

Shelley Winters caps a stellar cast as the powerful Mrs. Van Daan. Shelley’s performance says a lot about the film and brings its human element into brilliant focus. Along with the rest of the cast, George Stevens directs The Diary of Anne Frank into one of the best films ever made and certainly the most memorable. Through wonderful cinematography, William C. Mellor won an Oscar for bringing us inside a cramped attic and helping us to feel the pain of entrapment and the story of a little girl trapped in the Holocaust.

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA

Woody Allen has been fading as a filmmaker for years. Although Match Point was a nice re-invigoration of his brand, it’s a high point in a long list of duds. Vicky Christina Barcelona falls on the side of dud, barely registering as a capable filmmaker’s feature. To start, the narration is distracting and ill-fitting. We get all the information without getting to see it. The performances aren’t all that great. Rebecca Hall is probably the best thing in the film, but even though I like Chris Messina, Patricia Clarkson and Scarlett Johnasson, they are not at the top of their respective games. Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz are good choices for their respective rolls, but neither really creates a permeable impression on the film. Bardem doesn’t feel like he has the soul of a painter and Cruz does crazy pretty well, but so do lots of actors which makes her Oscar win a bit of a mystery to me.

The plot, while ambitious and interesting, is nevertheless rote. The film is filled with excessively unrealistic dialogue from the mouths of New York pseudo-intellectuals and is focused more on the intrigues of architecture than the architecture of intrigue.

THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST

You can feel the ’80s permeating off this film from the eccentric fashion to the contemporaneous dialogue. Perhaps it made more of an impression in its day, but today it seems hopelessly out of date. The only reason the film succeeds at all is the magic of Geena Davis who enlivens much of the production while William Hurt and Kathleen Turner seem to suck the life out of their own scenes. Davis is the only actor to display anything in the way of credible emotion despite seeming loony for the early parts of the film. Desperate to find someone to be with, she shamelessly flirts with a travel guide writer attempting to kennel his dog while he flies off to write his next book.

Hurt’s writer is damaged goods having lost his son to a senseless act of violence. His only really good scene is when he must identify his son’s body) and his wife has left him because he’s been unable to connect with her. For much of the film Hurt’s performance seems to make sense, but even after he’s realized what he wants to do and who he wants to be with, he doesn’t seem to perk up emotionally leaving us wondering what kind of life it must be to live with him. His family is unnecessarily quirky and doesn’t really seem to be of need to the plot except to stretch it to its two-hour length. David Ogden Stiers, Ed Begley Jr and Amy Wright appear, opine and evaporate. There are a few kernels of wisdom within the framework of the film, but overall it’s a rather pale film lacking imagination or interest.

SOAP

I’m now about half way through Season 4 and the show has definitely gone past his prime. They’ve gone too far overboard with a number of things, including making Danny, Mary Campbell’s son, more stupid than he’s ever been, but not downplaying the savior complex. They’ve so far let a number of plots drop (such as Chester and Dutch purchasing Burt’s construction company). Even the performances seem to have dimmed with even Katharine Helmond seeming to have grown tired of playing the perpetually ditsy and loves-everyone Jessica. Hopefully, the show goes out on a high note, but so far it’s not very compelling.