A Pretty Good Season for Blockbusters

I've been having more fun at the movies this summer than I expected. Really enjoyed "Batman Begins" for its darkness, cleverness, brooding psychological torment, tasty special effects, and the ability of Christian Bale to breathe life into a two-dimensional icon. I liked "War of the Worlds" better than I expected (though it can't hold a candle to the previous Spielberg/Cruise vehicle, "Minority Report" and the story didn't stick with me beyond the door to the theater).

"Mr. & Mrs. Smith" was quite entertaining; the first half-hour's over-long exposition, showing the marital difficulties between Brad Pitt's and Angelina Jolie's characters, was disappointingly drawn-out and short on humor, but once things started kicking into gear, action built consistently and humor galloped along well. I loved director Doug Liman's "Swingers" and have been a big Vince Vaughn fan ever since, so it was a treat to see Vaughn in a small part under Limon's direction again. Pitt and Jolie could have engaged me by just appearing in the succession of attractive outfits and turning their sculpted heads at their best angles, they are so pretty and charismatic, but damn, they actually made some effort to act in this thing, clearly practiced their moves so that every crazy showdown, each death-defying gunfight, all the scenes of twisting and triangulating had a beautiful sleekness to them. The editing was excellent and kept the adrenaline flowing, much as in Limon's two films with Matt Damon, "The Bourne Identity" and "the Bourne Supremacy." And I give the set designer props for building a modern dreamhome with every fabulous built-in amenity, knowing that the whole wonderland of high-end tech toys and appliances would be laid waste by movie's end.

Pitt was, at times, stiff in the role, and he's pretty consistently outfoxed by the Jolie character, so he uncharacteristically has to play the outsmarted, outclassed second-banana. He's a good sport and I admire him for it--the previous generation's most similar movie star, Robert Redford, would never have allowed himself to play this sort of role and lose a little of his sheen. But, of course, it's Brad Pitt, so even roughed up a little he's still, you know, Brad Pitt. Jolie was a real pleasure to watch, not only because of her interesting, fetish-worthy looks, moves and outfits, but because, as usual in her roles, one can see the character's mind working through each action as she performs. She never just walks through a scene; even in disappointingly small roles like the one she had in the pretty but hollow "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" she can steal the movie, and she's able to take comic book-style roles, as in her Lara Croft movies, without diminishing her stature in Hollywood.

My favorite Angelina Jolie role is still in "Pushing Tin," an underrated comedy with some wickedly good acting by Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton, John Cusack doing his ever-enjoyable, charmingly angst-ridden, articulate, angry young man schtick, and Cate Blanchett doing a funny, touching, and surprising job as a New Jersey housewife. It's definitely worth a rental.