TRAITOR

A Brief Review: TRAITOR

I went to see the movie TRAITOR today, rounding up my season of summer movies. TRAITOR stars Don Cheadle as Samir Horn, a naturalized Sudanese-American who served in the U.S. Army and then "went off the grid." After a brief flashback which opens the movie, we see Horn trying to sell Semtec explosives to terrorists in Yemen. Meanwhile, two anti-terrorist FBI agents (played with brio by the always interesting Guy Pearce and Neal McDonough), working well outside their jurisdiction, are hot on the heels of the terrorists and, as it turns out, Horn. This initial run-in sets up a cat-and-mouse game between the enigmatic Horn and the FBI agents that lasts for the entire movie. Add in Horn's recruitment to a terrorist cell by the charismatic Omar (Said Taghmaoui) and we have razor's edge drama that cuts between the FBI's attempts to track down Horn and head off a tragic attack and Horn's seemingly energetic and occasionally ingenious efforts to carry out terrorist acts throughout Europe and the United States. Is Horn a double agent? If he is a terrorist, does Horn, who is established as a truly devout Muslim, have the heart for jihad and can he carry out the terrorist mastermind's ultimate plan?

At times this movie simmered when it felt like it should have burned--the pace is just a bit too relaxed at times given the circumstances--but Cheadle is solid as always, especially given that he has to play such an enigmatic character, the movie is necessarily thoughtful and it takes pains to differentiate between Muslim terrorist cells and Islam at large, which is something that a lot of movies with terrorism as a key plotline fail to do. The movie has a twist ending that may cause many to chuckle (it happened at my screening) even though it involves the death of some innocent people, but when you think about it the twist represents the most logical way for Samir to extricate himself from the predicament he has found himself in. Overall, I'd say TRAITOR represents a good transition from the summer movie excess to the generally more thoughtful and "adult" movies of the fall/winter season. TRAITOR was gripping from beginning to end. My Grade: B

TRAITOR stars Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Neal McDonough, Archie Panjabi, Said Taghmaoui and Jeff Daniels. It is Rated PG-13 for adult themes and violence (interestingly, there is almost no profanity in the movie). Written and directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff from a story by Nachmanoff and Steve Martin (yes, THAT Steve Martin).

My Five Best Movies of the Summer Season (May 1- September 1)
1. The Dark Knight
2. Iron Man
3. Tropic Thunder
4. Traitor
5. Step Brothers

One Last Thing About Sarah Palin

GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin (pictured above) is avid hunter, NRA member, supporter of drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, anti-abortion (even in the case of rape or incest) anti-affirmative action conservative Republican. If you really think that McCain picked her because he thought she would be the best choice as his number two--and not just because she was a woman who would bolster his (undeserved) maverick reputation and establish his candidacy as just as much an agent of "change" as the Obama campaign is--then ask yourself the following question:

What a white male candidate with Palin's beliefs and level of experience have ever been considered for the nomination?
Of course not!

By Thursday, I'll lay out my fourth annual NFL Preview for you.

Peace.