Film: Traitor

So on Tuesday, September 2, I played a bit of hooky and went to see Traitor.  Interesting, I thought it was good, but not great.  Not really as engaging as it could be, and it took me a little while to figure out why.  It's the way the lead, Don Cheadle's character Samir, was written.  In Traitor, Samir is an undercover agent going to extreme lengths to penetrate a terrorist cell.  The character goes through a lot of angst about what the choices he has to make (mainly, the people he has to kill to achieve his goal).  But we never really feel that he could be discovered and killed.  He actually penetrates the cell quite easily, and in this sense, the character is too successful.  As a result, we, the audience, watch him with interest, but don't live his experiences with him.  Otherwise, the movie is well executed, and Don Cheadle, Guy Pierce and Neal McDonough do a nice job.  

Film: Transiberian

Saw Transiberian today.  This less-than-publicized movie is really good.  It drags for a few moments in the first third, and then really takes off.  Solid script, direction and acting, especially by Emily Mortimer.  And as I always say, there are Brits everywhere in film.  Ben Kingsley is the obvious one, but Emily Mortimer, for those of you that don't know her, is a Brit as well.  If you ever need to study a performance of someone who is hiding secrets, trying to hold back her own terror and fear, take a look at this one.  She rocks.  

In any case, definitely worth checking out.  Woody Harrelson, Kate Mara and Eduardo Noriega put in solid performances.  Written and directed by Brad Anderson.