Posts Tagged Salt
I Lost A Sunday To Football Manager 2010…
Image Source: Uproxx
Rather than discuss the following topics in depth, it’s wiser to give a brief overview of what I’ve been watching, playing and doing with my time recently.
The biggest news is obviously my return to Football Manager 2010. Fresh from watching the SEGA marketing video discussing the new features in FM11 and with the Premiership in full swing, I decided to return to my 2019 Barnet save. I lost the whole of my Sunday (13 hours playing the game straight) as a result, seeing my newly promoted team relegated in their debut season in the top flight. Surprisingly, despite being dumped back to the Championship, thanks to the fairplay rule, Barnet are in the Europa Cup with Inter, Dortmund and Partizan. Updates when they come.
Elsewhere, I’d been playing Forza 3 for the first time. It’s fantastic and makes me less depressed about missing Gran Turismo (if it ever gets released) after defecting to the Xbox 360 this generation. It takes time getting used to a simulation again (after sliding around in Grid), but once I’d turned off the counterproductive driving aids, it proves a much more enjoyable experience.
I caught Salt last week at the cinema and my full thoughts can be found here. At the weekend, I invested over two hours into The Pianist (2002), Polanski’s Warsaw Ghetto true story. Adrien Brody is excellent as the protagonist and it’s a depressing tale of the horror that was the holocaust.
Here’s my favourite photo of the week.
Finally, I’m planning on doing another page feature for GAMES? and that’ll appear at the start of September, while I’m away for three weeks in the states on holiday. More on that to follow.
Stay frosty marines.
Salty With A Chance of Spyballs
Having just watched Angelina Jolie star in spy thriller Salt, you can’t help think how fortunate the film has been with the recent US and Russia spy saga. It seems Cold War mistrust still exists in the twenty-first century and clandestine activities continue to run riot in both Russia and the US/UK. What the news has done is indirectly market Salt a pseudo-realistic thriller. No amount of viral PR could illicit the same result than the Chapman news has and while watching, you can’t help but draw comparisons between reality (however far-fetched it is) and the film.
Anyway context aside, it’s difficult to discuss Salt. It’s a film that weaves so effectively through the clever script, that talking about anything but the trailer, risks ruining it. Throughout the film, the writers manage to sustain your second-guessing as more characters reveal their truths. Paths interlink, alliances are broken and surprises are in abundance. Salt is an extremely competent narrative that’s helped by its frantic pace. It doesn’t slow down and refuses to release its grip on the audience. It’s definitely not a film that risks putting you to sleep.
Spy sleeper cells have always been loved by conspiracy theorists, and as more Cold War information is gradually made publicly available, Salt’s concept will garner more truth. Sure, there’s a few over-the-top moments that have little purpose outside of drama and shifting the film forward, but the majority of the set-pieces are believable. Consider the fact that its one of Jolie’s strongest performances to date and you’ve got one very polished film.
She takes total ownership of the character and portrays Evelyn Salt as a rugged cross between Bond, Bourne and Ethan Hunt. Salt is quick thinking, ruthless and extremely engaging. Highly recommended.
My Travel Website
- Northern Myanmar: Land of 1960s Travel 17 February, 2013
- Photographing Buddhist Clarity 3 February, 2013
- Face to Face with Dead Monks: Hidden Temples in Bangkok 29 January, 2013
- Getting a Thai Tourist Visa in the UK: The Facts 22 January, 2013
- A Love Letter to London Underground 16 January, 2013