Double Dose of Clif-Notes: Salt & The American

I saw a few movies this week that I am just getting to telling ya about, so let's start with the rants:
Salt
Even though it took me long enough to get off my butt and see this one, I would say it was worth it. The story, for those who live under a rock, is about CIA agent Evelyn Salt and how she must deal with a Russian defective who claims that she is a Russian spy, planted in America to kill the Russian Prime Minister. When his neural scans read that he is telling the truth, Agent Salt sets off to make things right and save her husband, even though everyone thinks she really is a spy.
Originally written for a male lead (with Tom Cruise actually backing out from it), I'm glad they changed it to a female. Even though that seems to be the new thing for action movies, Jolie was pretty bad-ass and it's pretty fun to see a small, frail-looking lady kicking the asses of dudes everywhere she goes. And hot. There was nothing in this movie that makes it an absolutely must see, but very few films this summer have been (at least in my opinion). However, this movie was fun and awesome and that's a pretty good combo for me. You may want to wait until it's out on dvd to rent, but odds are you won't be disappointed if ya have to spend some extra money for the theater.

The American
When I first saw a trailer for this, my first thought was, "Great. George Clooney is trying to prove that he can be a good actor and a bad-ass" to which I usually think "no" to both. Don't get me wrong, he's not horrible, but he's just not my cup of tea. The American follows Clooney as he is fulfilling one last job as a hitman before he tries to leave the game (which always works out so great for people, right?). His last task is to help make a weapon for a client so that she can assassinate someone. While there, Clooney meets a prostitute who makes him want to actually and fully leave and stay in Italy with her (which always works out so great for people, right?).
To be up front with ya about it, this movie was very slow. There were some good cat-and-mouse scenes and some good looking action here-and-there and one scene where George Clooney was a total bad-ass (never thought I would say that statement), but it was a slow, character piece. And I thought it was great. They were able to match the pace with the story and I was with it the whole time. Very surprised by how much I actually liked this movie. Biggest compliment I can give it is that it makes me want to watch other Clooney movies. That is how much I was impressed. While it is one that could wait for renting, I would recommend seeing it whenever you can. One of the better surprises of the year for me.