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Safe House


    Hey, everyone. I watched a terrific movie tonight that I thought you might like to hear about. It is a spy flick, which is one of my favorite genres. The title, as you might assume, is Safe House. One might wonder if the name for such residences is entirely apropos after watching this film.
    Denzel Washington stars as Tobin Frost, a rogue agent from a CIA background. He has no loyalties to anyone, anymore, other than to himself. He is in the business of avoiding the agents of a dozen intelligence services and of selling secrets to the highest bidder. Let me say right here that I will resist the urge to say that Tobin Frost is a cool guy. That would be sophomoric.
     Tobin runs into a bit of a jam. He is in South Africa and has bought some intel from a British agent who is slightly crooked. He takes the info, which is stored on a chip, and injects it into his body with a needle. I find this personally abhorrent and rather gross. It is clear to me that the spy game is not desirable as an occupation.
     Tobin walks into a U.S. Consulate and is immediately arrested. He is taken to a safe house. This is a secure location that is owned or rented through a dummy corporation or individual who cannot be traced back to the clandestine source. Each safe house, at least in this show, is kept by a watcher, a keeper, who answers the phone, mans the surveillance systems and is generally bored.
    Matt (Ryan Reynolds) is the keeper for this safe house and is a little freaked out when a team arrives with Tobin in tow. They begin to interrogate their captive with tactics that would have been deemed a little rough, in most places. Matt is disturbed about the truth of his chosen profession, which he had thought was pretty cool just moments before. In fact, he had just been  begging his boss for a more action-filled role in the espionage game.
    Tobin is amused by the kid and sees himself, the Tobin of his youth, in Matt's naivete. They seem to hit it off just a little. Until a 12 man team of killers show up and kill all the CIA dudes in the place. Except for Matt and Tobin, of course. These two mismatched traveling companions are on the run together, hoping to find a safe house that might be truly safe. They would also like to find out if one of Matt's compadres at "The Company" has sold them out.
    This movie is a 5 star action flick. It is well acted by all involved, which means top notch direction. I recommend it without reservation. Check it out, if you like.
     From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
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