Columbia Pictures probably thought they were just phoning it in when they released a teaser poster for its upcoming spy thriller Salt which contained nothing other than Angelina Jolie's face and the tagline "Who is Salt?" But there's times when you don't need to be all that inventive to light up the internet like a Christmas tree with buzz about your film.

Across the web, film sites are responding to the news that the new Angelina Jolie film will feature Angelina Jolie's face and puzzling what that says about the film, the campaign behind it, the chances of passing meaningful health care reform under this Congress and the state of civilization at large.

Fanboy central joblo.com which was given the exclusive first right to bring this poster to the world, points to the main issues raised by the image, explaining that the poster, "bravely puts Jolie front and center with little explanation about the film itself. What it does though is tease you a little bit with this striking pose (as a teaser poster should do) and then direct you to WhoisSalt.com where people will no doubt be headed. It should be noted that while this version of the poster is static, there is another version you'll see in theater lobbies that will have Jolie in motion. "

Jeffery Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere labels the poster, "a disappointment," noting that it fails to build on the previously established fact that, yes, it is Angelina Jolie. But on the other hand, he goes on, it's not Angelina Jolie enough. "The other problem is that the face could almost belong to someone else. Is it Angie or a cyborg or Megan Fox's malevolent sister?"

At Collider, while heralding the majesty of the face, blogger Matthew Goldberg astutely identifies the thinness of any inquiries that might be sparked by the tagline. "That question sounds like one a person with a learning disability would ask. I would think that the leap to get people to accept the title Salt would be tough enough but phrasing it in the context of a question does the movie no favors. Who is Salt? I don't know. Who is Pepper? Who is Cinnamon? Maybe it's just the worst stripper name of all-time. I don't know and I think they should just use my tagline, "Angelina Jolie Looks Hot and Beats People Up."

At firstshowing.net however, Alex Billington stands by the tag, saying "I like that they're trying to build up as much mystery and intrigue as possible." He goes on however, to point his finger at the elephant smack dab in the middle of this whole campaign; the fatal flaw right at the dead center of the empire that might just bring the whole darn colonial edifice crashing down. He demands, "The face on this also seems off-center and I'm not sure if that's part of the design or what?"

Or what indeed!

Perhaps you thought you could live way the hell up in Nowheresville McFrozenTown, ME, and be safe from the worries of the outside world? Sorry, Charlie. You are just a fresh, promising, "emerging market" for sellers of heroin, one of the world's last marketable goods (others: tampons, snack cakes, matches).

Perhaps you would like to get a driver's license, or conduct some official state busines in California today? Sorry, Charlie. Government offices are closed today, in order to pay workers less. Go out and enjoy life, why don't you? Oh. Because you don't have a driver's license. Too bad.

Perhaps you are a sex offender in Miami? Your parole officer would like you to live under a bridge. Seriously.

Perhaps you would like to be a family living in a house, in America. Good luck!

Perhaps you thought you could just leave a big old pile of road salt sitting in a storage depot in Washtenaw County, Michigan? Two hundred tons or so? Without round-the-clock armed guards. You foolish, foolish person. It is all gone. "Those responsible must have needed at least a dozen dump trucks or loads to haul away the salt."

That's a good omen for GM.

Over on his blog, in addition to mentioning his wife who hasn't yet left him (although the last mention was on July 25th so you never know), Beavan also tackles some hard questions:

Why was I born?

Where is it that I'm hurrying to before I die?

What is the thing in this life that has true value?

Does anything endure?

How should I spend my life?

If life is over in the blink of an eye, who or what is it that is doing the blinking?

Earlier: No Toilet Paper But Plenty of Ass