[wushuliu]

Saw it this weekend. Win-win film for the gf and I - she loves cate blanchett and I dig Eric Bana. This is a great, creative twist on the 'femme nikita' genre of trained badazz grl on the run. It seems shot for the rave generation: trippy visuals, meditative vistas, quirky bad guys with soundtrack by Chemical Brothers. But all done very well and paced, not the MTV editing that has owned American movies for the past two decades. Takes place in Morocco, Finland, and Germany and cements my belief that the most interesting action movies take place internationally; cramped space and old architecture just makes for more inventive scenes. Anyways, it's probably too violent for young teens and there is a tender scene between two young girls that is very innocent but may make some parents out there a tad nervous (dang those creepy Europeans!)

Blanchett is immaculate as always. Bana can do no wrong as far as I am concerned since Chopper.

Grimm's Fairytales is a thermatic undercurrent to the film and aptly so (the real Grimm's, not Disney).

Highly recommended.

[Rob Babcock]

This one's definitely on my to-see list!

[ajzepp]

Blanchette is an AMAZING actress...

Can't wait to see this one!

[wushuliu]

Blanchette is an AMAZING actress...

Can't wait to see this one!

Yes she is. Someone mentioned Hollywood being more like the stdio system back in the day, and I think it's true: so many films now have the flavor of the moment actress who doesn't hold a candle to Streep or Blanchett, to the point where they have to go to Austrialia or NZ for some reason to find 'good' actors which is a shame. Most of the actors I consider truly multi-facted have been plucked from somewhere down-under: Weaving, Blanchett, Crowe (when his ego isnt exploding), Bana, Kidman, Blanchett, Pierce, LaPaglia(! thought he was from NY!), etc. The 'craft' as far as American influence is concerned, is over. Heck I saw Lion King in Vegas 2 weekends ago and the best voice in the show came from... Sydney.

[jeffreybehr]

Wow.  I saw this a few weeks ago and almost walked out.  It's full of mindless chases and not a single person I cared about.  What a waste.

[wushuliu]

Wow.  I saw this a few weeks ago and almost walked out.  It's full of mindless chases and not a single person I cared about.  What a waste.

Of your time. Too bad.

[ajzepp]

Yes she is. Someone mentioned Hollywood being more like the stdio system back in the day, and I think it's true: so many films now have the flavor of the moment actress who doesn't hold a candle to Streep or Blanchett, to the point where they have to go to Austrialia or NZ for some reason to find 'good' actors which is a shame. Most of the actors I consider truly multi-facted have been plucked from somewhere down-under: Weaving, Blanchett, Crowe (when his ego isnt exploding), Bana, Kidman, Blanchett, Pierce, LaPaglia(! thought he was from NY!), etc. The 'craft' as far as American influence is concerned, is over. Heck I saw Lion King in Vegas 2 weekends ago and the best voice in the show came from... Sydney.

So true. That's why I'll prioritize any Phillip Seymour Hoffman film (my favorite actor) over just about anything else. Along with a guy like Paul Giamatti, he's one of our best American actors and I have enjoyed just about everything he's done. But the list of great character actors from this country seems to get smaller every year and, like you, I find that many of the best ones are from abroad.

This is exactly why I tend to be so hard on a guy like Ben Affleck. While he's shown some pretty strong talent behind the camera, when he's in front of it he tends to come off the same way in every film, in my opinion. This is truly one of the luckiest guys on earth, as he's gotten role after role, and even when the film flops - which has happened more than once for him - he continues to be a sought after actor.