Action

1995 – The Usual Suspects

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Usual Suspects
  • IMDb: link

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

The Usual SuspectsOn or around this date 20 years ago The Usual Suspects hit theaters for the first time. Written by Christopher McQuarrie (who recently gave us the best Mission: Impossible movie yet) and directed by Bryan Singer (who has struggled to make a film even half as good ever since), The Usual Suspects introduces us five criminals through a series of flashbacks which recount the events which brought them all together in a police line-up and what then led them to the docks a fateful night leaving only a single member of the group alive to tell the tale.

Despite the fact that the film hinges on reveal and twist ending, it works as well on the twelfth viewing as it does the first. Kevin Spacey stars as Verbal Kent (a role that would earn him an Academy Award and make him a star) who recounts the events of the crew’s movements to Customs Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) while attempting to keep certain facts about the boat and the mythical Keyser Soze from coming to light. The definition of an unreliable narrator, Verbal’s accounts are all Kujan and the audience are given to deduce the truth for themselves.

…

1995 – The Usual SuspectsRead More »

1995 – The Usual Suspects Read More »

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
  • IMDb: link

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Two things are immediately evident from watching Henry Cavill in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. First, there’s no disputing that the man is a bona fide movie star. Despite having issues with some of the projects he’s chosen (such as Zach Snyder‘s horrific re-imagining of Superman), there’s no doubt Cavill has “it.” Second, based on his appearance as con man turned super-spy Napoleon Solo, it’s obvious that he would make a terrific James Bond balancing the swagger and inner-bastard of the character with aplomb. Not since Connery have we seen a character like this on-screen.

And he isn’t the only one worthy of note. Armie Hammer‘s portrayal of the brutish Russian killer may be a bit one-note, but it certainly washes away the lingering bad taste of The Lone Ranger. Alicia Vikander proves to be a lovely third wheel while, much to my surprise, co-writer/director Guy Ritchie holds back on his usual frantic pace to deliver an equally humorous and cool film about Cold War spies that constantly impresses. Ritchie has struggled to adapt his high-octane style to period pieces in the past (see Sherlock Holmes), but that’s not the case here as only once does Ritchie’s grittier nature appear on-screen. Thankfully, he quickly remembers what kind of film he was hired to deliver.

…

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Read More »

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Read More »

Still Craptastic

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Fantastic Four (2015)
  • IMDb: link

Fantastic FourThe first pre-screening I ever attended as a critic was 2005’s Fantastic Four. It was, in retrospect, a brutal rite of passage. One would hope that after a decade full of comic book films (the good, the bad, and everything in-between) 20th Century Fox would have learned their lesson and seen fit not to unleash such a travesty onto an unsuspecting movie-going audience yet again. One would be wrong.

Fantastic? After three movies somebody really needs to sue Fox for false advertising. The series made substantial improvements with 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer but still could only squeeze mediocrity out of one the best stories Marvel Comics has ever published.

Choosing to wipe the slate clean by adapting the Ultimate Marvel versions of the characters (an alternate timeline of the Marvel Universe I had little interest in going into this screening and even less on exiting), screenwriters Simon Kinberg, Jeremy Slater, and Josh Trank weave a tale of boy geniuses, alternate dimensions, and maniacal villains who are evil solely because the plot is dependent on them to be.

…

Still CraptasticRead More »

Still Craptastic Read More »

Mission: Impossible

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Mission: Impossible
  • IMDb: link

Mission: ImpossibleAlthough it began a series of increasingly good summer blockbuster over the course of two decades, 1996’s relaunch of the television series of the same name as a theatrical film (which introduced the world to Tom Cruise‘s most successful ongoing character in IMF Agent Ethan Hunt) is problematic at best. Poorly plotted, including a huge fuck you to fans of the original series by turning the television show’s central hero (Peter Graves) into a greedy villain (Jon Voight) selling CIA secrets to the highest bidder, the film hasn’t aged well. Turning Jim Phelps into a villain would be like rebooting Superman into a coldblooded killer. What kind of an asshole would do that?

Opening with the death of an IMF team (Kristin Scott Thomas, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Emilio Estevez) and Ethan on the run from his former bosses who believe he is responsible, the film climaxes early on with a break-in at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. It’s this sequence, and really only this sequence, that’s worth noting from the otherwise forgettable tale.

…

Mission: ImpossibleRead More »

Mission: Impossible Read More »

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
  • IMDb: link

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

While Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol and Mission: Imposible III may have more dramatic weight given the personal motivations that drive each film, director Christopher McQuarrie instead focuses solely on delivering an immensely enjoyable summer popcorn flick that feels like an old Bond film (complete with multiple locations around the globe and a swagger the Daniel Craig films lack) mixed with the sensibilities of Ocean’s Eleven. The result may or may not be the best in the franchise, but it is arguably the most fun film the series has produced.

What makes my enjoyment of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation all the more surprising is I’m not the biggest fan of the plot-framing device McQuarrie chooses to recycle in planting our heroes on the outside of their agency working essentially as rogue agents to save the day for those not smart enough to listen to them (here played by Alec Baldwin). The series tried it once, with Brian De Palma‘s bastardization of the original series, with mixed results. The plot is so common the Bond franchise has used it multiple times (License to Kill, Quantum of Solace, Diamonds Are Forever to name three – none of which would be considered among the series’ best).

…

Mission: Impossible – Rogue NationRead More »

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Read More »