Because Everybody Else Has One

Six movies in and no sign of slowing down... watch out 007! And, no, I'm not apologizing for that rating. This film achieves what it sets out to do almost perfectly. This review is also up on Channel 24 What it’s about After a mission to retrieve weaponized plutonium from a group of international terrorists goes awry, Ethan Hunt and his team must infiltrate the organization to stop them from launching a group of coordinated nuclear attacks against a number of major targets. His mission, should he choose to accept it, has him crossing paths once again with old loves and old enemies, as well as a new foe that may just be his match. What we thought Despite the protestations of Bourne fans, the Mission Impossible franchise is America’s most successful answer to James Bond and not only does the latest instalment further solidify the series as the ultimate spy franchise to come out of the good ol’ US of A, it makes a pretty good case for Bond now really being the British ver...

Cruise is back! That didn't take long... This review is also up at Channel 24 What It's About Barry Seal is a successful TWA pilot whose small-time smuggling side business catches the eye of the CIA who enlists him to help spy on communist training camps in Latin America. It's not long, however, before he comes to the attention of the up and coming Medellin drug cartel who in turn make him an offer he can't refuse to smuggle their drugs into the United States while on his missions for the CIA. Based loosely on a true story. What We Thought After the Mummy proved to be Tom Cruise's first genuinely bad movie in a very long time, it's particularly pleasing to see him back on such fine form just a few months later in a role that seems all but written for him. Cruise's particular mix of serious charisma and just the right amount of crazy has long made him one of Hollywood's most undeniable movie stars and it's that very combination t...

You know, people like to complain about the gamut of superhero movies but, is it just me, or have the only blockbusters to be any good at all this year have been adaptations of Marvel and DC Comics? That's rather troubling to sure but, really, who in their right mind would complain about Wonder Woman or Logan when the alternative is so often something like the Mummy. And that despite the fact that the Mummy clearly took a huge chunk out of the corporate superhero rulebook...  This review is also up at Channel 24 . What it's about Nick Morton is a career soldier and amateur thief who uses his tours in the Middle East to unearth valuable antiquities to sell on the black market but when he and his partner in crime come across an ancient Egyptian tomb in the middle of Iraq, he soon finds himself targeted by a powerful evil. What we thought Taking a cue from the “shared universes” of DC and Marvel, the Mummy – which actually has almost nothing to do with the 19...

How the hell is this series still going so strong?! This review is also up at Channel 24 What it's about As the MIF are disbanded as a government agency and Ethan Hunt is discredited by his superiors, Hunt and his team go rogue to stop a covert organization called the Syndicate and its shadowy leader, Solomon Lane. What we thought Four sequels in and the Mission Impossible franchise shows no sign whatsoever of slowing down, even as it has started to feel more and more like America's (very impressive) answer to James Bond, rather than anything to do with the original TV series. Rogue Nation may not quite be the best of series (its ludicrously mad predecessor still holds that particular honour) but it remains an exceptionally entertaining thrill ride that will have you clamouring for round six. Sticking to the series' accidental tradition of having a new director for each film, Christopher McQuarrie takes the helm this time as both director and co-w...

All You Need is Kill! All You Need is Kill! All You Need is Kill!!!!! No. I will not drop it. This review is also up at Channel 24 . What it's about As the endgame of a long and brutal war with an invading alien force quickly approaches, humanity's last and greatest hope lies in the unlikely form of PR Officer and overall coward, Major William Cage. Cage has spent his military career doing whatever he can to avoid any actual military action and when he is forced to join the frontlines of humanity's most desperate battle yet, all of his fears and cowardice proves true as he is summarily killed in action by a particularly strange alien aggressor. This turns out to be only the beginning for Major Cage though, as his death causes him to be stuck in an apparent time loop where every time he dies, he “resets” the day. What at first seems to be nothing more than a painful source of aggravation, soon becomes humanity's most powerful weapon against the invaders, as...

Another month, another very solid Tom Cruise film. Why do people hate him so much again? Also at Channel 24 What it's about With the earth left a nuclear wasteland after its nations unleashed its collective nuclear arsenals against an invading alien force, Jack (Tom Cruise) and Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) are a two-man task team working together on Earth to ensure the success of an operation to extract the last of the planet's natural resources for their colony on Titan. But when Jack starts having dreams of a mysterious woman, he is soon confronted with possibility that nothing is what it seems. What we thought One of the best things about Oblivion is just how unpredictable it is. Not unpredictable in the sense that it goes to places where you would never expect it to, let alone somewhere truly original, but unpredictable in the sense that you just never know which science fiction movie it's going to crib from next. Writer/ director Joseph Kosinski...

The moment you've all  been waiting for... The Amazing Spi- Sorry, no, never mind. You're going to have to wait for next week for that. For now though, how's about a big stupid musical built around 80s hair metal! Hello? Hello? Where'd everyone go? Also posted at Channel24 What it's about Sherrie and Drew are two young musicians trying to hit the big time on the Sunset Strip and it's not long before they become involved with each other and a struggling night club whose owners are just waiting for the one big gig to save them from bankruptcy. What we thought If 1980s hair-metal/ poodle-rock has one saving grace is that it is daft, cheesy fun. In the history of rock and roll, it is largely and rightly considered to be one of the genre's low points and with its banal melodies, inane lyrics, plodding rhythms and all the edginess of, well, a poodle, it's not hard to see why. And yet, for all of that, unlike say, Grunge, it does at least ha...

With a long weekend coming up, this week's film come out a day early. Not that there is a wide variety to see, of course. There's the new Alvin and the Chipmunks movie for the kids and Free Men, which I know nothing about, for the art crowd. Best of all, though, we have this surprisingly awesome entry in the Mission Impossible series... Also at Channel24   What it's about: Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his new team find themselves working on their own to clear their name and bring down a nuclear terrorist, after being framed for bombing the Kremlin. What we thought: With the James Blond franchise having refashioned itself as a more "realistic", down to earth take on the spy film, it's up to the Mission: Impossible series to keep the sillier side of the genre alive. And, boy, does it. While the previous Mission: Impossible films have had very little to do with one another, Ghost Protocol keeps the tone very much in keeping with what JJ Abram...