Monday, July 26, 2010

The Winner Of The Ham Battle Is You!

Yes, the time stamp is right. It's almost 2 (2?!) in the morning. Had to make an airport run. So, my grand plan of analyzing Mad Men is on hold, though not only for the late hour. Tonight's season premiere was similar in tone to last season's finale, which is to say that it was unlike every other episode of the show. I was initially put off a little bit by the light, comedic tone, but that tone made sense as the show went on and we learned about where Draper is in his life right now and what he (thinks he) has to do to overcome that situation, whether it's being an asshole or being roughed up by prostitutes. So, a second watching is in order so I can see how the tone jives throughout. I wouldn't do that with most shows, but Mad Men, the best show currently on TV (yeah, I put it a notch ahead of Breaking Bad) merits that.

I also went this morning to see Salt, after hearing a lot of surprisingly good reviews, and I can add mine to the list. It's a hell of a lot of fun. It's pretty much like the Bourne movies with a quick pace and a few nice twists and turns. Also, like the Bourne movies, you have more competent acting than you'd see in most action films; here with Angelina Jolie and a really, really strong performance from Liev Schrieber. It's going to be a franchise and I think it has the origin story to merit that. Inception is on a different level from every other movie this year, but I think Salt is my favorite summer popcorn movie thus far. Iron Man 2 was entertaining, but really easy to nitpick. Maybe everything in Salt falls neatly into place as the plot unfolds, but that lack of loose ends means there's nothing there to pick apart.

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