Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018)

Tags

Action, Drama, Thriller

Danger after danger,
And mission after mission,
Facing constant opposition,
Can exact a taxing toll
On the few who fight for strangers
Who know nothing of their role.

Mission after mission
Must depend on these defenders
Who know nothing of surrenders.
They are safety’s heart and soul,
Keeping evil in remission
And the world under control.
_____________________

MPAA rating:  PG-13

Well, it took a little longer than I was expecting, but here at last is the final installment of my Mission: Impossible marathon, a chance to catch up with this franchise that started way back in August. I had intended to see Fallout at a second-run theater after watching Rogue Nation, but sadly I missed it and had to wait for the DVD. Hearing all the praise for this latest film only raised my hopes that it would match its predecessors, and, at least in the action department, it didn’t disappoint.

One thing I’ve enjoyed about M:I films since J.J. Abrams got involved back with Mission: Impossible III is the greater focus on continuity. They each had their own storylines and their own characters that were mysteriously never seen again, but there were carryovers beyond Tom Cruise/Ethan Hunt alone. Ving Rhames is still around since the first film, and Fallout sees the welcome return of other characters too, like Simon Pegg’s Benji Dunn, Alec Baldwin’s IMF Secretary, Michelle Monaghan as Hunt’s wife Julia, Rebecca Ferguson’s British agent Ilsa Faust, and Sean Harris’s hissable villain Solomon Lane from Rogue Nation. As the only villain to not be outright killed by movie’s end, it made sense to bring Lane back for another round, though I really wish they could have gotten Jeremy Renner back again. While the constant action depends on the characterization established in past films, the IMF crew have their team dynamic down to a science, and they bounce off each other splendidly, with Ferguson fitting in well in her second outing as Hunt’s female equivalent.

Of course, there are new faces too, most notably Henry Cavill’s FBI agent ordered to accompany the IMF team on their latest mission to recover three nuclear cores they neglectfully lost before a group of terrorists can use them. Honestly, Cavill is a passable Superman, but his muscles and deep voice are better served in this kind of role (plus, he’s got a beard and mustache, much to my VC’s delight), and his stoic delivery leaves his loyalties in doubt from the start. Yet it’s still the familiar faces that make M:I better than your typical action movie, particularly Cruise, whose character is faced with several moral tests along the way, making him question the value of one life over many.

So what about the claims that Fallout is the best film of the franchise and even one of the best action films of all time? I’d say that’s debatable, the former assertion more than the latter. I would agree that this is the most action-packed movie of the series, culminating in one of the most intense climaxes of them all. Cruise continues to dazzle with his absurdly ambitious stunts (watching him break his leg during the shoot is still painful), and the chases and fistfights are as good as they’ve ever been. There’s a one-take skydive that is particularly awe-inspiring and nail-biting. As far as action, it delivers in spades, but the plot takes a little while to settle in. This series is known for its twists, but the story gets a little muddled changing directions in the first half before we get to the villain goals and what must be done to stop them. At one point, there are three double-crosses in quick succession so it takes some effort to keep up.

As far as rankings, I just can’t quite decide. I’ve said before that I like M:I:iii, Ghost Protocol, and Rogue Nation about equally, but for different reasons. M:I:iii has the most personal stakes and best ending, while Ghost Protocol has the best plot and team dynamic, and Rogue Nation has the best script and mixture of everything the series does well. I have no problem adding Fallout to the grouping, since it has the best climax, though I was a bit disappointed with how it backtracked on the happy ending of the third film. Fallout is once again a credit to the series and could act as a good conclusion if they decide to stop here. I don’t know if Cruise and company will continue churning out these action hits, but if they do, I’m game for whatever comes next.

Best line: (Walker, frustrated with the lack of a plan) “Hope is not a strategy.”   (Ilsa) “Oh, you’re new!”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (joining the last three sequels)

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
600 Followers and Counting!

 

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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

Tags

Action, Sci-fi, Thriller

History repeats itself more often than it should,
For man is vain and foolish even after childhood.

The same mistakes will plague mankind until at last we learn,
Though when that may or may not come is cause for some concern.

Self-destruction is a right we mastered long ago;
We’re just too curious to see, this time, how it will go,
And so we do not slow.
__________________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

For starters, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom was never very high on my list of highly anticipated movies this year. The first Jurassic World was good and I like anything with Chris Pratt, but the law of diminishing returns definitely applies here. Some years after the incidents of Jurassic World, Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Owen (Pratt) are called back to the island of dinosaurs to rescue as many as possible before the volcano erupts, and naturally the sponsor of the expedition has some ulterior motives.

It wasn’t until I actually saw the movie that I realized why my excitement for it was so low: the trailers. The entire first half of the movie on the island was spoiled in the trailers, making even scary or spectacular scenes carry zero tension for me. I’m sure future viewers who didn’t see the trailers beforehand might not have this problem, but I wish the trailer editors wouldn’t divulge so much, even the ending itself. Granted, the second half, mostly set in an expansive mansion on a dark and stormy night, carries a great deal more anxiety, shock value, and stylish horror flourishes, but skilled director J.A Bayona can’t completely reinvent the wheel.  Arrogant characters still make dumb decisions, and despite efforts to stay inventive, it feels like this series doesn’t have much new to offer.

There’s an ongoing argument of whether the dinosaurs should be allowed to die out again or not, a question about which my VC felt strongly. She didn’t see why everyone was insisting on saving the dinos, and while I lean more toward the conservationist viewpoint of keeping them alive but contained, I do think the film’s message is left muddled. (Plus, why Claire is suddenly so protective of the dinos, I don’t know.) By the end, one character sides with saving the deadly animals above all other concerns, putting their lives above human ones, which is a thoroughly wrong-headed sentiment that left a sour taste none of the other sequels have. My VC and I agreed that “because they’re alive” isn’t a good enough reason to put human lives in danger when it comes down to either us or them.

Oh, and one other thing. Everyone was talking about the dinosaurs becoming extinct again after the volcanic eruption on Isla Nublar. What about Site B on Isla Sorna, which has never been mentioned since Jurassic Park III? There should still be dinosaurs on that island, right? Anyway, I don’t mean to sound like I hated it, since it still had many of the ingredients that made the first Jurassic Park and Jurassic World enjoyable, just watered down and overly spoiled by trailers. Time will tell if the next sequel can redeem this one’s weaknesses.

Best line: (Ian Malcolm, in a welcome but all-too-brief cameo) “Change is like death. You don’t know what it looks like till you’re standing at the gates.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
599 Followers and Counting

 

VC Pick: Nighthawks (1981)

Tags

Drama, Thriller, VC Pick

 

There once was a cop in a dress
Who left criminals in a mess.
One terrorist came
With destruction his aim.
Who won? Well, I think you can guess.
___________________

MPAA rating: R (mainly for language and some violence)

I waited too long to review one of my VC’s movies last time, so I thought I’d squeeze a little one in before another month went by.  Nighthawks happens to be one of her favorite Sylvester Stallone films, and while that mainly has to do with Stallone’s rugged beard and mustache, it really is a well-made urban thriller with a great villain played by Rutger Hauer in his American debut.

I wasn’t entirely surprised when I read that Nighthawks was originally intended for Gene Hackman’s Popeye Doyle but ultimately retooled for Stallone. His character of NYPD Detective Deke DaSilva is similarly gruff and uncompromising toward criminals, though he’s more reluctant to kill and more eager to dress in drag. (Where else are you going to see Stallone in a dress while beating up thieves?) He’s less than thrilled to be pulled from active duty to join a counter-terrorism unit, but he finds a worthy adversary when international terrorist Wulfgar (Hauer, in stellar psychotic killer mode) arrives to make his mark on New York City.

It’s interesting to note that Nighthawks’ focus on the ruthlessness of terrorism was a bit ahead of its time. The U.S. wasn’t used to the idea of terrorist attacks on American soil in 1981, so the plot was seen as vaguely implausible, though certainly not so now. Wulfgar’s motivations aren’t particularly specific, but he makes for a coldly calculating monster, especially in how Hauer manages to feign normal nice-guy behavior at times.

Nighthawks isn’t the most memorable thriller, even among those from the ‘80s, but Hauer’s villainy and Stallone’s beard do help distinguish it. Due to aggressive editing, subplots like DaSilva’s estranged ex-wife fall by the wayside, but the plot still retains focus; and the ending boasts one of the great “gotcha” moments of the genre. The title may sound like one of those totally undescriptive names that was picked to sound cool (it’s actually a nickname for nighttime patrol cops), but I can see why my VC is fond of Nighthawks.

Best line:  (Pam, a woman Wulfgar is seducing) “Yes. What do you do for a living?”   (Wulfgar, sarcastically) “I’m an international terrorist wanted by the police in half the countries in Europe. And I am currently laying low for the moment.”   (Pam) “Oh, sure!”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
592 Followers and Counting

 

2018 Blindspot Pick #9: Hush (2016)

Tags

Horror, Thriller

 

I can see you through the window.
I can see you through the door.
I could speak and mark my presence
As I’ve often done before,
Yet you’d heedlessly ignore.

I could detail all the lurid
Games I plan to play with you,
But my words would all be wasted
While you never had a clue,
While I linger out of view.

I could hover right behind you,
So amused you cannot hear,
But if I proceed too quickly,
It would be a waste of fear.
Never do I waste, my dear.

So enjoy your ignorance,
The bliss of danger still concealed.
Soon I’ll get to see it shatter
When my secret is revealed.
Then you’ll know your fate is sealed.
_________________________

MPAA rating:  R (for violence and brief language)

I haven’t been able to watch many movies specifically for Halloween this year, but I always intended this Blindspot for October. Among my Blindspots, Hush represents not only the horror genre but a subgenre I’ve intentionally avoided for the most part: the slasher. I’m honestly not sure if I’ve ever seen a true slasher film. (I’m not counting something like Alien or The Terminator, which might technically fit some of the requirements but have additional science fiction elements that set them apart). Actually, I might take that back, since I just thought of Psycho and Audrey Hepburn’s Wait Until Dark, though I’m not sure those fully qualify. Yet, just as Wait Until Dark was unique in pitting its killers against a blind woman, Hush does the same in making the target a deaf woman and using that important detail to its advantage.

Hush has a brilliance of economy to it, with a minimum of dialogue and only five speaking roles. Kate Siegel (the wife of the director Mike Flanagan) plays Maddie Young, a reclusive novelist in true Stephen King fashion (one of King’s books can be spotted early on), and her attempts at cooking provide a brief glimpse into what it’s like in a world with no sound. While it feels odd to not hear a frying pan sizzling, it’s much more alarming to not hear a masked psycho outside your window. Before this killer (John Gallagher, Jr.) makes his presence known, his stalking is utterly creepy considering how oblivious Maddie is, but the tension still remains high even after she becomes aware of the threat.

Hush is very much a game of cat and mouse, with Maddie testing how best to escape while the killer cuts off every chance with only his sadism keeping him from simply breaking into the house. He intentionally toys with her, boasting every advantage, including sound, and it was a genuine thrill to see how she turns the tables on him while never veering into unrealistic territory. What I most appreciated was how well the plot played out visually. Since Maddie is deaf and mute, most of her confrontations with the killer are wordless, made more intense by the absence of screaming you’d expect from a horror movie.

Unfortunately, Hush was rather bloodier than I typically like, with one little twisty shock and several bloody injuries being exchanged, but it was an enjoyable horror-thriller, even if it may adhere to some typical slasher conventions, as far as I know them. There were no hateful characters (aside from the killer) or annoyingly dumb decisions, and the acting was strong and entirely believable. Though he doesn’t wear it that long, even the killer’s mask is effective, resembling Michael Myers’ visage but with a slight smile that reflects the playful malevolence of the psycho behind it.

Since I’m not counting Psycho, it probably doesn’t mean much to say this is the best true slasher film I’ve seen (#1 of 1!), but it’s a good Halloween find all the same. Aside from disliking the gruesomeness, I suppose I’ve avoided the genre due to how many bad movies it seems to churn out, but I’m glad my first sampling was a high-quality breath-catcher like Hush. Now, if you’ll excuse me, some of us have to stay silent and hide from those trick-or-treaters lurking outside.

Best line:  (Maddie) “….”

(I love how that’s actually listed as a quote on iMDB!)

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
592 Followers and Counting

 

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)

Tags

Action, Drama, Thriller

There once was a spy on the front
Who could save the whole world with a stunt.
He often was hunted
But did as he wanted,
For no one could match Ethan Hunt.
___________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

At this point, I’m not surprised that Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is yet another great addition to this series. What distinguishes it, though, is how it finally recognizes the value of continuity, something I put great value on in both TV show and film franchise. From the very first scene, we get Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) bantering with Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) in three different locations, only for all three to be dumbfounded at Tom Cruise/Ethan Hunt’s latest death-defying stunt to save the day. It’s a perfect combination of this series’ strengths, and for once, the audience already knows everyone involved, like catching up with old friends.

That only continues when Brandt is called by the FBI director (Alec Baldwin) to answer for the IMF’s riskier plays in Ghost Protocol, followed by Ethan being ambushed by the mysterious organization known as the Syndicate (namedropped at the end of the previous movie). Beyond the refreshing continuity, it’s also nice to make new friends, and the film quickly charts its own course with the introduction of Rebecca Ferguson as a mysterious agent undercover in the Syndicate. With Ethan wanted by both the Syndicate and the FBI, he must rely on his usual daring and teamwork to outsmart the Syndicate’s Moriarty-like mastermind (Sean Harris).

Rogue Nation really shines through its stars. Cruise is as cleverly fearless as ever, while Ferguson maintains an arm’s-length chemistry with him as her allegiances constantly seem to shift. Meanwhile, Pegg, Rhames, and Renner are ideal companions for Cruise, particularly Renner’s second guessing of one of Cruise’s risky decisions (which seemed ripped right out of the second National Treasure, by the way). When they cite their loyalty and friendship, it means something since we’ve gotten to see it develop over two-plus movies, and Christopher McQuarrie’s script and direction highlight how well they all work together.

My VC liked Rogue Nation better than Ghost Protocol, placing it just shy of the third film, while I tend to view the last three movies as tied, just for different reasons. The third film had the best villain and the most emotional stakes, the fourth film had the best plot and some of the coolest action scenes, and Rogue Nation has the best mixture of everything this series does well and possibly the best script, including some outstanding “gotcha” moments that felt so good.

That being said, I do feel that this one is just a little more generic than the others. The best and most original action scene is Tom Cruise’s minutes-long foray into an underwater data tank, but much of the rest consists of foot chases, car chases, motorcycle chases, and fistfights, which are all executed masterfully but can’t quite escape that feeling of déjà vu. Likewise, a tense scene in an opera kept me guessing all the way through, but also reminded me of a similar scene in Quantum of Solace.  Writing this review a couple weeks after watching it, I already feel like this will be the entry that remains in my memory the least.

I hate to sound so negative, because Rogue Nation is still a great movie. It’s just that, with three great entries in a row now, I’m starting to have to nitpick to figure out where they rank in this series. I’m happy to group it in with its two predecessors, and I’m more excited than ever to finally see Fallout, now that I’ve completed my catch-up marathon of prior films. I’m especially glad to see that the villain’s open ending in Rogue Nation will get a continuation in Fallout, but I’m also rather disappointed that Jeremy Renner is nowhere to be found in the cast list. Based on its glowing reviews, though, I still hope that Fallout will be the finale to this marathon for which I’ve been hoping.

Best line: (Benji, sarcastically) “Join the IMF! See the world! On a monitor. In a closet.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (joining the previous two)

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
591 Followers and Counting

 

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Tags

Action, Drama, Thriller

Doing the impossible
(Repeatedly, if possible)
Is so much easier to pull
When backs are braced and funds are full,
For then a hero dutiful
Can fight for right as usual
And put up with a villain’s bull.

It’s harder when support is gone,
Blindsided, chased, and set upon,
A dangerous phenomenon,
For then the evildoers spawn
While tempting good to stay withdrawn.
It’s then that heroes’ brains and brawn
Are specially depended on.
_______________________

MPAA rating:  PG-13

I’m so glad I finally decided to catch up on this series. The Mission: Impossible films may have gotten off to a rocky start, but J.J. Abrams’ third installment breathed new life into the franchise, which Brad Bird’s Ghost Protocol builds on even further. Every review I’ve seen has proclaimed Ghost Protocol the best installment of the series, but I think it’s more of a tie with its predecessor, though for different reasons (and of course I withhold judgment until I see the next two as well).

Ghost Protocol may have seemed like an odd choice for Brad Bird’s first foray into live-action, but he did nail the super-spy vibe in The Incredibles and does the same here. Delivering a similar brilliant eye for action, he puts Ethan Hunt and the Impossible Mission Force through the ringer as they endeavor to stop a Russian madman (Michael Nyqvist) from initiating a nuclear war. From infiltrations gone wrong to the extended foot chases from which Tom Cruise must get most of his exercise, the fast-paced thrills are as good as they’ve ever been, with the crown jewel being that famous high-hanging sequence with Cruise actually clinging to the outside of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa skyscraper. The whole caper surrounding that scene is the film’s “high” point (see what I did there?), but other sequences also impress, like the spies employing some fascinating new toys or the high-stakes struggle for a briefcase in one of the coolest parking garages I’ve ever seen.

My VC thought Ghost Protocol had more lulls than its immediate predecessor, and perhaps that’s true, especially with some early undercover scenes and elements that require patience to be explained, but that’s minor quibble. What Ghost Protocol has over any of its brethren is the team it assembled. Ving Rhames may be sadly missing for most of the runtime, but never has Ethan had such strong supporting players.  As a new field agent promoted from his tech job in M:i:III, Simon Pegg is more than welcome in a larger comic relief role, while Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner deliver actual motivation and personality as circumstances fling them onto Ethan’s team, offering more than just the competence of the interchangeable teammates in the past (Maggie Q, John Polson, etc.; you might be asking “Who were they again?”). It was nice seeing Josh Holloway as well (Lost alert!), even if it was a disappointingly brief appearance.

So, while I’m not raving as much as some critics, I still found Ghost Protocol to be a darn entertaining entry in the series. (And it came out in 2011? How am I just now getting to this?) The villain wasn’t as memorable as Philip Seymour Hoffman, and it didn’t quite nail the satisfying conclusion of the third film, its ever-increasing stakes being not as personal as Ethan’s struggle for his wife, but Ghost Protocol matched or exceeded it in just about every other respect. The plot had plenty of the twists I’ve come to expect from these films, and the way gadgets repeatedly malfunctioned or were unavailable kept the IMF team guessing and the suspense high. It’s not often that the fourth film in a series can still leave viewers eager for the next installment, but now I’m looking forward to Rogue Nation even more.

Best line: (Benji Dunn, complaining about their code names) “Why am I Pluto? It’s not even a planet anymore!”   (William Brandt) “Well, Uranus is still available.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (joining Mission: Impossible III)

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
589 Followers and Counting

 

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Tags

Action, Drama, Thriller

The thrill of a life that is lived on the edge
Lasts only as long as one’s love for the ledge.
Eventually, danger
Is no more a stranger,
And those once so thrilled
Can be left unfulfilled.

And yet who can blame them for normalcy’s dream,
For craving some quiet when life’s been a scream?
While risk has its place
In its white-knuckle pace,
Who wouldn’t wish for
Just a little bit more?
______________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Now that I’ve gotten around to watching the third Mission: Impossible film, I finally see the unlikely trend that this series seems to have pulled off. Unlike most franchises, its sequels are getting better. Perhaps it was too early to tell that when J.J. Abrams’ third entry hit theaters in 2006, but Mission: Impossible III is easily the best MI so far.

Having shed his long-hair phase and Thandie Newton as his girlfriend-of-the-week, the Ethan Hunt in this threequel is far from the confident flirt in M:i-2; he’s now happily engaged to Julia (Michelle Monaghan) and content to train new agents rather than risk his life in the field, all while keeping Julia and her friends in the dark as to his top-secret career. However, he is soon drawn back to the field to rescue his captured protégé (Keri Russell) and stop a highly dangerous arms dealer (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

Leave it to J.J. Abrams to once again reignite a series’ potential, and I bet it was this franchise stint that made him desirable to direct the Star Trek reboot three years later, aided by his frequent co-writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. From the very first intense scene, he sets the stakes high before flashing back to show how events led there, which isn’t the only Abrams trademark you may notice. (Who else revives characters by pounding on their chest?) Eschewing the over-emphasized slow-motion of its predecessor, this feels like the Mission: Impossible movie I’ve been waiting for. The first two had their defining moments, but M:i:III  has all the twists and turns you’d expect from a spy thriller while building to a surprisingly satisfying conclusion.

Ethan’s desire for a normal relationship and life makes him far more personable than his past appearances, and you can feel his desperation when that life is threatened. Likewise, the villain makes more of an impression, with Hoffman relishing and making the most of his coldly murderous role as black marketeer Owen Davian. One detail I especially liked was the revelation of how those famous face masks are made, including the spy trickery of copying someone’s voice, which is revealed to not be as fast and easy as the second film made it seem.

As I said, this is a Mission: Impossible film done right. Despite the overly-complex plot and the occasional line of hackneyed dialogue, the twists and fast-paced action kept me entertained from start to finish. My VC even pronounced it as (probably) her favorite Tom Cruise movie. If the other films in the series are supposed to be better than this one, I can’t wait for more. Ghost Protocol, here I come!

Best line: (IMF leader Brassel) “Mr. Musgrave, please don’t interrupt me when I’m asking rhetorical questions.” (Although Ethan’s “I’m gonna die unless you kill me” comes close too.)

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
589 Followers and Counting

 

Mission: Impossible II (2000)

Tags

Action, Thriller

The job of the IMF agent
Before he or she needs a coffin
Is mounting impossible missions
For heroes no danger can soften,
Yet lately the best of the bravest
Have been going rogue far too often.

I can’t speak to why these trained agents
Are letting their loyalty lapse,
More focused on garnering riches
Than keeping the world from collapse,
But IMF might try improving
Their benefits package perhaps.
_________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Now for the second Mission: Impossible film, the one that seems to be widely considered the most inferior of the bunch. I can see why. Mission: Impossible II isn’t necessarily awful, but it’s highly inconsistent, only sometimes feeling like an actual M: I installment as opposed to a rip-off of ‘90s James Bond.

In this entry, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise in his thankfully brief long-haired phase) must vie against a rogue IMF agent (Dougray Scott) who aims to steal a deadly bio-engineered virus called Chimera.  I could tell early that this entry would have problems. We first see Ethan free-climbing a high rock formation in the Utah desert, and while it shows off Cruise’s impressive strength for stunts, it also inadvertently echoes that other worst-movie-in-its-series, Star Trek V, which also features Kirk free-climbing in Yosemite. After that, Ethan recruits a thief named Nyah (Thandie Newton) for his team and engages in some awkward scenes of innuendo and seduction that strengthen the James Bond comparison I made earlier and just don’t feel like Mission: Impossible.

It’s not these faults that drag down M:I 2 the most; that can be summed up in two words: slow motion. I don’t know if this is a trademark of director John Woo or what, but the slow-mo scenes are distractingly frequent, from the long sultry looks exchanged when Ethan first sees Nyah to the mid-action interludes that are thrown in as if to say to the audience, “Look at this! Isn’t it cool?” Sometimes it is admittedly very cool, but there are plenty of other movies that have used slow-mo more judiciously. Except for The Matrix, it’s best when such scenes don’t draw attention to themselves.

I don’t mean to sound like I hated it. Around the midpoint, it does hit its stride with another spy heist that is even more like the one in National Treasure than the first M:I film. And the slow motion aside, the action scenes are still thrilling, while the face mask tactics are even more entertainingly clever, though I’m starting to wonder how those convincing face masks can be applied so quickly.

There’s extra epicness to the music this time around, and the cast is strong as well, especially the returning uber-competence of Cruise and Ving Rhames and a surprising uncredited role for Anthony Hopkins; plus, I must mention a Lost alert for William Mapother (whose island role was named Ethan, oddly enough) as one of the villain’s henchmen. Despite the world-threatening perils, though, the plot feels strangely shallow, thanks mainly to the short-term chemistry of Thandie Newton, who I don’t believe is in the rest of the sequels. M:I 2 is a good effort, but it ultimately takes the series in a less interesting direction that I sincerely hope the other films will rectify.

Best line: (Mission Commander Swanbeck) “Mr. Hunt, this isn’t mission difficult, it’s mission impossible. ‘Difficult’ should be a walk in the park for you.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
588 Followers and Counting

 

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Tags

Action, Thriller

 

Missions preventing or triggering wars
Are shrouded in subterfuge no one explores,
And those who enact them
Are quick to redact them
With names only spoken behind their closed doors.

Missions accomplished with such secrecy
Are kept as discreet as we need them to be.
And though you and I
Never know how or why,
Such missions are part of what keeps us all free.
__________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

It seems that any franchise I didn’t watch growing up simply has to work up enough buzz for me to finally catch up on it. I’d heard that the first three Mission: Impossible movies had mixed reviews, but with three critically acclaimed entries in more recent years, I think it’s finally time for me to see if Tom Cruise’s spy thrillers are all they’re cracked up to be. I was pleasantly surprised last year when I watched the latest Planet of the Apes trilogy, so I’m hoping for good things. My mission, if I choose to accept it, is to watch all six of the M:I films in the coming weeks and review each one before seeing the next, so that I don’t get confused on which explosion or double cross happened in which sequel. But you have to start with the beginning, and that means the 1996 original.

Having never seen the 1960s-70s TV series on which it is based, I didn’t have any major expectations, aside from the famous theme music and the self-destructing tape that details a mission, if they choose to accept it. (On a side note, I always thought the tape would cause some big explosion, not just go poof with a little smoke. Isn’t it fun to learn how wrong you are sometimes?) The man listening to that tape is Jim Phelps, played by Jon Voight, but despite the presence of Voight and other stars like Emilio Estevez and Kristin Scott Thomas, we all know Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt is the star, which becomes even clearer after the mission backfires and shaves down the team considerably. Now suspected as a mole behind the sabotage, Hunt goes on the run to figure out who the real criminal mastermind is.

I suppose I’ll just come out and say it: I liked it. The British have James Bond, and Ethan Hunt is sort of his American counterpart, just with less womanizing and more disguises and hacking. As a product of the ‘90s, the technology in this first Mission: Impossible is unavoidably dated, with spies fighting over floppy disks and a hidden video early on that seemed almost like the quality of a parody. But it also has a twisty plot and the same kind of heist-style infiltration by which my beloved National Treasure was clearly inspired. Though most of the film lacks the daring stunts that the series has become known for, the climax boasts some especially thrilling (albeit CGI) action with a bullet train and a helicopter.

I do see why my parents never got me into the series early on because this first one apparently trampled all over the original they remembered, particularly the character of Jim Phelps. Those with nostalgia for the original series will likely take offense, but I as a newcomer found a lot to enjoy. I’m still not convinced whether this qualifies as List-Worthy in my book, but I’m excited to continue the series and do think that it has the potential to join my favorites. Now for the supposedly bad one, Mission: Impossible II….

Best line: (tech guy Jack Harmon, describing a gum-like explosive) “Hasta lasagna, don’t get any on ya.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up (for now)

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
588 Followers and Counting

 

A Quiet Place (2018)

Tags

Drama, Horror, Thriller

Stop, do you hear that? I do, but do they?
The runaway rhythm of hearts in dismay,
It pounds ever harder and makes the rib cage
A tight echo chamber, a tremulous gauge
Of the worry of war that no man wished to wage.

Hide each hollow creak and conceal every crunch
From our foolhardy feet or an indiscreet lunch.
Outlasting this long is no right to survive
When one simple slip-up that fate can contrive
Might cut your luck short when the sentries arrive.

Each whisper so slight from beneath our caught breath
Resounds with regret as it promises death.
Escaping means nothing, nor hiding from view,
When stubbing your toe puts a target on you.
Stop, do you hear that? I fear that they do.
_______________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Faithful readers may know that I have very particular tastes when it comes to horror movies. Generally, the more blood there is, the less likely I’ll enjoy it, because I’d much rather be creeped out by atmosphere and implication than by ever more nauseating murders. That’s why A Quiet Place caught my interest, and indeed it is exactly the kind of scary movie for me, the kind that plays with your nerves rather than your stomach and even gets you to care about the characters in danger.

The film begins several months into an apocalyptic proliferation of monsters who detect their prey by sound and who have effectively ended civilization as we know it, leaving the unnamed Abbott family to scavenge supplies and survive in silence. Over a year later, they’ve built a fairly stable and silent life in their monster-prepared country home, complete with warning lights and trails of sand to soften their footsteps. The father Lee (director John Krasinski) does his best to prepare both his deaf daughter (Millicent Simmonds of Wonderstruck) with hearing aids and his son (Noah Jupe) with survival experience, while mother Evelyn (Emily Blunt, Krasinski’s real wife) tries to make their precarious existence as livable as possible. Yet in films of this type, half the tension is waiting for something to go wrong, and even if those with little patience may be a tad bored by the wordless beginning, they only need wait for the shoe to drop…noisily.

As far as the plot itself, it’s honestly nothing I haven’t seen before. That’s because it is literally a combination of 2002’s Signs (mysterious creatures with a hidden weakness, two kids in danger, a cornfield) and 2015’s Hidden (a genuinely lovable and caring family living in fear of being discovered if they’re too loud). Luckily, I love both Signs and Hidden, and even if I could write a whole post on how similar A Quiet Place is to them, its combination is different enough to be worthwhile and adeptly made enough to make it far scarier than either earlier film.

Krasinski certainly has an eye for tension, and the sound design heightens the threat of even everyday items. Sometimes, you see the potential scream a mile away (one scene is particularly painful to watch), while others sneak up on you. Yes, there are plenty of effective jump scares, and keeping the creatures out of sight until late in the film adds to their mystery and threat. The fact that Evelyn is pregnant also contributes to the inevitability of sound, and with so much of the film lacking dialogue, the sounds that do attract the creatures are potently jarring for the audience as well.

Every performance is outstanding in its fear, grief, and familial love, with Krasinski and Simmonds (who is actually deaf) being the stand-outs. Even relying on sign language, they’re entirely believable as a close family, the kind that says grace together before meals, albeit haunted by the trauma of their situation, and their resourcefulness proves quite clever when dangerous situations arise. I kept wondering why they wouldn’t close doors to keep the creatures out, but then I remembered that a closing door would only cause more noise. Some may wonder how they could have built some of their safety measures without making sound (they’re shown to have canned much of their food, and the electricity must run off a noise-making generator), but if you can ignore those niggling critiques, A Quiet Place is the latest proof that an intensely scary movie depends more on the craft behind it than the body count.

Best line (out of not many): (Evelyn, to Lee) “Who are we if we can’t protect them? We have to protect them.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (tied with Hidden)

 

© 2018 S.G. Liput
582 Followers and Counting