Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp Tourist trailer

The Tourist just jumped way up on my must-see list. Aside from the obvious front page headline-pairing of mega-superstars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, it just looks like a good movie. There is the fear that when a team-up like this comes along, finally, the filmmakers will attempt to sell the project on starpower alone and forget to come up with an intriguing storyline. Not so here. The Tourist makes me want to see it, not because of who’s in it, but because it’s the right mix of starpower and storytelling.

Depp, ever so coy, plays Frank, an American tourist in Venice, who is attempting to mend his own broken heart. Along the way he falls into the sights of Elise (Jolie), who deliberately involves him in a plot that could be the end of them both. From the strangers on a train beginning to the action scenes throughout, this appears to be one dramatic thriller that makes great use of Hitchcock and the likeability of its two primary talents. Throw in some Paul Bettany for good measure, and December 10, 2010, just got to be a very interesting day at the movies.