A Mighty Heart
By Michael Winterbottom
Give this to Angelina Jolie: she’s not afraid to branch out. From seductress to action hero to mental patient, she’s managed to cast a wide net, but this is her most ambitious endeavor. The role of Mariane Pearl, Daniel Pearl’s wife, is, to say the least, an intensely dramatic character, and Jolie pulls it off, accent and all, in some of her finest work to date. In our tense political environment, this movie could have been a bluntly patriotic affair with little regard to the bigger picture. It could have been overly focused on heroism. But thankfully, it chose a more subtle path, one in which all sides are represented honestly. And while the Karachi that is portrayed is the dirtier, slummier side of the city, it’s nonetheless an accurate depiction. Above all, this is a very human story of courage, and the movie does it justice.
 

You Kill Me
By John Dahl
Ben Kingsley as an assassin; what a great idea. I’d happily watch Ben Kingsley star in a toothpaste commercial, so I was delighted to hear about this movie. It’s not a completely unfamiliar role; in Sexy Beast, Sir Kingsley gave a must-be-seen-to-be-believed performance as a rough and tough gangster with an uncanny cockney accent and an amazing command of profane language. In You Kill Me, he’s not quite as potent as Frank Falenczyk, a drunk hit man whose prime ambition is to get sober enough to start killing again. Much of the understated black comedy in the movie lies in the way co-stars Tea Leoni and Luke Wilson manage to overlook the murderer while empathizing with the alcoholic.
 

Ocean's 13
By Steven Soderbergh
We tend to avoid the blockbusters on Vis.A.Vis, but I mention Ocean’s 13 because this seems to be the summer of trilogies … make that trilogies that didn’t need to be made. Spiderman 3 cast too many villains, and everybody short of Stan Lee ended up in tears of shame by the end of the movie. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was such a mess that it curbed my deep respect for Johnny Depp’s abilities. Even  Shrek 3 overplayed a winning hand. So that leaves Ocean’s 13, which was much better than Ocean’s 12. All the major players are back, with a campy Al Pacino anchoring the all-star cast and more unnecessarily complex plots to bring down the bad guy. The chemistry is still strong, the Mexican dice factory side-story is hilarious, and Clooney and Pitt are their charming selves. This one’s the best of the bunch.