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PCR # 272  (Vol. 6, No. 23)  This edition is for the week of June 6--12, 2005.

This Week's PCR
Movie Review
"Mr. And Mrs. Smith"

Movie review by:
Michael A. Smith
Three stars

Movies are rated 0 to 4 stars

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THIS WEEK'S MOVIE REVIEW
"Mr. And Mrs. Smith"
 by Mike Smith
ASIAN FILM UPDATE
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
 by Peter Card
SPLASH PAGE
I'm Back....You Go, Iraqis....Revenge of the Madagascar....Fuel Some Flames
 by Brandon Jones
MIKE'S RANT
One of the Great Ones....Who Was The Graduate....Happy Birthday....Where's Matt?...JAWSFEST
 by Mike Smith
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20th Century Fox     
Starring: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Adam Brody, and Vince Vaughn
Directed by: Doug Liman
Rated: PG 13
Running Time: 2 hours


Like most married couples, John and Jane Smith (Pitt, Jolie) have their problems. Like most married couples they have attended counseling. The only difference between the Smith's and other couples are their jobs. They are both hired assassins completely oblivious to their partners vocation. When their respective "agencies" discover they are a couple, they put a contract out on them, fearing one will tell the other their secrets. John and Jane must now put their differences aside if their marriage and, more importantly, their very lives, are to go on.

As directed by Doug Liman ("Swingers"), "Mr and Mrs Smith" is a little bit of everything you could want in a summer movie. Romance. Action. Comedy. The film has all this and more. John and Jane are thrown together by fate in a foreign country when a local bad guy is killed and the police are told to round up all of the single tourists. In order to not appear single, John and Jane exchange glances and pretend to be a couple. Several drinks and dances later they are still a couple and eventually wed. John tells Jane that he is in construction. Jane tells John that she is a computer specialist. What they don't know is that each of them is actually a hired assassin, using their phony careers as a way to travel and carry out their missions. When their bosses find out about their relationship, they put out contracts on them. The catch: each is hired to kill the other.

So much has been made recently out of Pitt and Jolie's personal lives that it's a pleasure to see them on screen. Both stars are better known for their serious work so it's a treat to see them tackle comedy. They have a natural chemistry together and have a way with words that rivals that of Spencer Tracy and Kate Hepburn. Whether it's confessing their problems to the marriage counselor or discovering the lies they had to tell during their marriage (Jane reveals that she was never in the Peace Corps while John explains that he really didn't go to M.I.T), Pitt and Jolie work well together. The various gun battles and hit man escapades are well choreographed and there is a car chase that looks like it came straight out of "The Matrix: Reloaded." The supporting cast is fine as well, with Vince Vaughn standing out as a fellow assassin.

Are they? Aren't they? Will they? Did they? The only way to find out is to spend some time with Brad and Angie. On a scale of zero to four stars I give "Mr and Mrs Smith"  Three stars


This week's movie review of "Mr. And Mrs. Smith" is ©2005 by Michael A. Smith.  All graphics this page are creations of Nolan B. Canova, ©2005, all rights reserved. All contents of "Nolan's Pop Culture Review" are ©2005 by Nolan B. Canova.