Thursday, July 2, 2009

Pick of the Week 7/6/09

THE SAINT

Once in a while a movie drops in theaters and gets a perfectly respectable audience reaction, then goes on to become a bone of contention between movie aficionados. The Saint is one such movie.
I’m of the opinion that The Saint is a great movie in the way that action, conspiracy, humor, compelling story and competent writing make something that warms the heart and gets the blood pumping at the appropriate times. If you are looking for the best movie of the year, or a golden globe nomination, then best look somewhere else. Those awards don’t mean anything anyway. They only come about because enough subjective opinions come together to form a lopsided consensus. Anyway, enough of that.
The story revolves around legendary thief Simon Templar (Val Kilmer), that becomes embroiled in political maneuvering and the controversy surrounding renewable energy. His services are aquired to steal the formula for Cold Fusion, a new free energy source, from beautiful physicist Emma Russell (Elisabeth Shue). Even back in the late 90’s screenwriter’s had already discovered that renewable energy could make for an interesting plot base. This whole thing might sound somewhat contrived, but add to the mix Russian oil patriarchs, the mafia and some well placed action, and you get a solid movie that can’t fail to make you feel like your time was used well.

Starring: Val Kilmer, Elisabeth Shue and Rade Serbedzija.
Released in 1997.

You can now watch movies online by going to iReel, a Video On Demand web based streaming service. There is no cost to join, and subscriptions, premium accounts and download to own options are available. Follow the link to The Saint here: http://www.ireel.com/search_result/index?q=the+saint&f=s. iReel has a selection of major, minor and independent film titles in standard definition and high definition ready to stream to your computer right now. No plug in or downloaded software required. Check them out!