It starts off with a slow burn credit sequence that teases you with the title delivering it to the screen piece by piece. It then transfers to a dreamy introductory shot of the mining crew waking from their cryo-slumber. It’s this very brief scene that immediately reminds me of 2001: A Space Odyssey, yet it never returns to that well ever again. It is a very classic example of modern science fiction, rather than Kubrick’s trippy existential journey...[more]...

This is Pixar’s Brad Bird’s live action debut. For someone who is used to directing and planning action based on limitless imagination. He definitely did not hold back. This one is probably has the most adrenaline of all of them. Considering what we saw in his great movies, The Iron Giant and The Incredibles, he is obviously a big fan of science fiction. Old school Cold War paranoia retro-sci-fi to boot. This comes through in his work on Mission Impossible. He takes advantage of both the flashy and utilitarian technology mixing both of them more than not: from an eye scanner communicator hidden in an ancient payphone to a big foldable screen that reflects the image behind it to match the person in the front’s eyesight. There are a few surprisingly awkward deus ex machine gadgets, but a good chunk of the main mission is definitely more espionage based...[more]...

J. J. Abrams returns to what made DePalma’s first entry did best. He has crafted an expertly twisty story that still adheres to a fairly simple 3 act structure. Abrams cashes in the elliptical story telling for a chronological storyline that progresses intelligently. This works because the ante is effectively upped around every corner. Nothing is easy for Ethan Hunt which makes the thrills palpable, as opposed to Woo’s neutered action movie. Hunt is still lacking expendability but the well-being of his mission, team, and fiancé are put on the table instead. At a superficial level, Abrams style of gadgetry is much like DePalama’s. They are very task oriented, but still a little showier than DePalma...[more]...

Famed director, John Woo, takes over directing duties from DePalma. He is notorious for his action-heavy thrillers filled with 360 degree shootouts and slo-mo action sequences brought to great dramaticism by the white doves that take up the background. This style has gotten Woo very far. He has a very dedicated and loyal fanbase who has turned his Hong Kong films into international sensations. But for some reason this trademark style just does not translate to the Mission: Impossible franchise. It basically views like a video game you cannot play. The lack of real danger for any of the characters neuters the thrills...[more]...

The spy genre by Briana DePalma. The spy genre is known for its sleekness and sexiness. Adventurers go to exotic locales and bed exotic women. They have a gadget to resolve any problem, yet it never crimps their tuxedo. The spy knows exactly what to say and when to say matching his bravado with his sarcasm breaking all the covert rules that spies should probably follow. Instead of living up to these tropes, DePalma sucks all the romanticism out of the James Bond prototype. His gritty crime thriller style suits the genre surprisingly well. The gadgetry is sophisticated science fiction yet practical and lo-fi. If I had to guess, it is far closer to being realistic, at least as realistic as a movie about a spy from the Impossible Mission Force could be...[more]...

This is a love letter to a by-gone era of cinema. The movie itself is not just about silent movies, but is a silent movie. It is shot in black and white with the only sound being the overlaying music track. There is an undeniable retro charm to it all. It felt like an accurate experience. The only way it could feel more accurate is if an actual orchestra was playing at the front of the theater. As charming as the gimmick is, it is still a handicap...[more]...

Charlize Theron plays one of the most insufferable human beings ever, Mavis. Mavis is a writer of young adult fiction. She writes stories about an impossibly attractive and popular girl in highschool. At one point, it is even referenced that she won prom queen at a school she didn’t even attend. This is appropriate considering Mavis is still living in highschool. Her ego has been artificially blown up based on all the praise and attention she used to get in highschool. She still thinks of herself as gorgeous even though she hit the age where her horrible personality starts overwriting how attractive people find her. She is without any kind of empathy or compassion, and she is not averse to ruining other people’s lives for her own selfish gain. The tragic spin on it would be she is suffering from depression, but I think she is a little too giddy about some things to meet the criteria...[more]...

Two movies in and I can already see that the strength of director Steve McQueen and star Michael Fassbender is their brutally honest and unflinching look at controversial subjects. We live in a time when it is easy to forget that sex addiction is real when every cheating celebrity hides behind it. But there is a big difference between Tiger Woods having affairs with gorgeous women and men who are completely preoccupied with having orgasms that they will be intimate with anyone willing if not their own hand...[more]...

David Fincher time and time again proves how great of a director he really is. When it comes to stylish and plot-heavy thrillers, no one directs them better. He has a great eye capturing a beauty and ferocity of the European winter at the same time. His camera work is devoid of anything gimmicky or over-styled, yet in its simplicity, it still feels like it has surgical precision in maximizing the level of thrill and dread from any given scene. Not to mention it starts off with a wonderful James Bondian credit sequence with an absolutely badass cover of The Immigrant Song...[more]...

The first installment to this Sherlock Holmes variation was a big surprise. Guy Ritchie’s stylish action movie bravado and Robert Downey Jr’s lightning fast witticism makes for a perfect union. It is then blended surprisingly well with Holmes’ home time period and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fastidious plotting. All of those things are back, and back in a big way. So much so it borders on sequelitis (when filmmakers misunderstand the audiences wants and give them an exponential amount of what they liked and none of what made the story work as a whole). Holmes, this time around, is driven to the brink of madness. Between his inability to capture Moriarty, the loss of a loved one, and Watson’s retirement has left him alone with his thoughts, bound to make the most secure mind loose. Thankfully, Guy doesn’t take Watson out of the picture for too long. Downey and Jude Law’s on screen chemistry is probably the best thing about either of the movies...[more]...

I thought the relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud would be interesting. They are two of the most inquisitive minds when it comes to understanding human behavior. Instead, what we get is a very clinical discourse of dialog. They were more like humorless aliens poking and prodding the human race. It is as if their years of studying textbook observations it has neutered them to human compassion. Of course, Viggo Mortenson, in the role of Sigmund Freud, injects a lot of dry humor to their conversations...[more]...

Owen Wilson is a pretty good Woody Allen counterpart. He excels here at being charmingly awkward and humorously sincere. In fact, this may very well be Wilson’s best role outside of Wes Anderson films. He is essentially a shy man trying to break out of his shell and his funk. He proves that he doesn’t need a lot of snazzy dialog to show how uneasy (or easy) the people surrounding him make him feel...[more]...

The movie opens with a married couple, Bill and Alice (played by Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman who were actually married at the time) just going through the motions. She is asks how she looks while sitting on the toilet relieving herself, and her husband answers “You always look good” without even looking at her. They are very bland boring people who consider them to be of the social elite and even attend a party full of the social elite. When chance sexual encounters happen to the two of them while at the party, they air out some dirty laundry when they get home. This is the catalyst for Bill’s late night sexual odyssey...[more]...

This movie may be one of the most visceral horror movies I have ever seen. On a completely superficial level, there is a lot of crying and screaming and ugliness. At times it can get annoying, but it is off-putting by design. The repetitiveness of it without answer is what makes it really scary. I think one of our basest fears, one that is sometimes taken for granted in most horror movies, is the feeling that we are helpless and no one will hear us. Even when their screams are answered, it is a fleeting light of hope. Enough to bait them, but not enough to save them. Most of the hostage takers are like cold, instinctual animals. They are very blunt in their violence and harassment leaving very little to the imagination. They are balanced by an effectively creepy leader who hovers over the father...[more]...

Just Friends hangs its hat on the idea that in order to get an attractive girlfriend, you need to be an insufferable jerk or else you will be stuck in the friend zone. The cynic in me wants to agree, while the romantic in me fights back. Regardless, it is a stock premise for plenty of romantic comedies and sitcom episodes. It is just too bad the movie forgets to be romantic or funny...[more]...

“How can you not get romantic about baseball?” – Brad Pitt as Billy Beane...[more]...

The Descendants is a meditation on the responsibility we have to our families. The respect we need to show each other. The things we have to say, the things we don’t. On a small scale, Matt King juggles his two very different daughters. One is still young and naïve bubbling with enthusiasm and hope. She has not been beaten into cynicism by the real world yet. The other is a brash teenager forced into cynicism when she reaches an age where her parents’ flaws are more apparent than their strengths. On the bigger scale, Matt is forced to run the gamut of different close and distant relatives burying hatchets and looking for closure. It is an eye-opening and honest portrayal. One that is not afraid to be funny and light-hearted, which is very impressive given that indie movie scene enjoys going as dark and deep as it possibly can...[more]...

This Vacation movie stands out a little more than the others simply because it is really different than the rest. Instead of Clark trying to get them some place, he brings the vacation to them and opens their house to their many relatives including the obnoxious Cousin Eddie. While many of the Vacations are based around The Griswolds experiencing and then leaving behind the problems they face along the way, the problems compound themselves much more when they just stay at home. With this in mind, Chevy Chase better portrays a slow-burn fall into insanity rather than the bent up explosion of emotions we usually see in these movies. That is not to say that the Vacation motifs are not still present. For one, Clark meets an attractive woman over the course of the movie and pretends he has a shot with her. Plus the station wagon is still present...[more]...

Die Hard is, in my opinion, the greatest action movie of all time. The Expendables might have the all star cast. Black Hawk Down may have an abundance of used bullet casings. All the superhero movies may have the best CGI, but for my money Die Hard does every single thing right...[more]...

The oldest, and possibly only, Christmas trope is that an entire cast of people have forgotten the true meaning of the holiday, and one wide-eyed wonderer needs to break them out of their funk. This is the basic premise of Elf. Now, most of the time adhering to classic tropes can seem unoriginal, but Elf has an overwhelming charm that you cannot help but smile and laugh at...[more]...