Page 26 THE VILLADOM TIMES I & III • December 22, 2010 Spy thriller ‘Salt’ tops list of movies to hit small screens by Dennis Seuling In “Salt” (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment), the plot is straightforward. CIA officer Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is accused by a Russian defector of being a Russian spy. Her superiors have to take the accusation seriously. Her immediate superior, Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber), and Counterintelligence Officer Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) attempt to detain her for questioning, but she manages an elaborate escape. Is she fleeing because she is a Russian counteragent or because she has to clear her name? The character-on-the-run is a plot device favored by master director Alfred Hitchcock. He frequently placed characters in compromising and dangerous situations, leaving them to extricate themselves because they can’t rely on the law to protect them. In “Salt,” the twist is that it isn’t clear whether Salt is one of the good guys or one of the bad guys. Jolie is a good fit for the role. Originally written for a male lead (Tom Cruise was once scheduled to star), the film works with a stunning female lead, especially in light of the FBI’s recent discovery of a Russian spy ring that included the redheaded beauty Anya Kushchenko. Jolie conveys intelligence, ferocity, and sex appeal, so she is easy to accept as both the prim, happily married woman with a nine-to-five desk job and the highly skilled, fearless field Angelina Jolie is a CIA agent on the run in ‘Salt.’ agent. Blu-ray extras on the unrated deluxe edition include a look at the making of “Salt;” featurettes on real CIA agents, director Phillip Noyce, and female action heroes; and a spy cam picture-in-picture track that reveals how the movie’s stunts and action were created. “Salt” is also available on DVD. For fans of classic silent films, Kino on Video has released “Metropolis” and “Sherlock Jr.”/“Three Ages” on Blu-ray. “Metropolis” has been available before, but in the summer of 2008, a copy of the movie in 16-millimeter dupe negative was discovered by the curator of the Buenos Aires Museo del Cine that was much longer than any existing print. “The Complete Metropolis” incorporates those 25 extra minutes. Pictorial quality varies between the existing and new footage, and the Blu-ray doesn’t really make the movie look any better than on DVD. Made at the height of the silent period in 1927 (the same year “The Jazz Singer” rocked the industry as the first “talkie”), “Metropolis” is a dazzling, expressionist science fiction allegory directed by Fritz Lang. At a point in the unspecified future, the City of Metropolis is a playground for a ruling class living in luxury and decadence. They and the city are sustained by a much larger population of workers who labor as virtual slaves below ground among steam-spewing machines, moving robotically from their grim, tenement-like homes to their bleak, long shifts and back again. When Freder, the son of the master of Metropolis, makes his way into the bowels of the city and sees the misery of his fellow men, he is appalled and decides to do something to help them even as rumblings of unrest grow among the workers. (continued on next page) ������� ������������� ������� ������ ��������������������������������������������� ���������� ������� �������������� �������������� ����������������� ���������������� ������������������������� ����������������������� ������������������������������������ ������������������������������������� ������������������������ ����������� ��������������������������� LIVE BAND ������������������������ ��������������������������� Open Christmas Eve for lunch and dinner. Special Christmas dinner served 4-9pm. Call for reservations. ���������� Join us for �������������� ��������� ��������� ��������� Sunday & Monday NFL Ticket on Direct TV Football Menu & Bar Specials Regular Menu also available ���������� ������������������������ HAPPY HOUR �������������������� �������������������������������� ������������������������������������������������ ������������������������������������������� ����������������������