Movies are an American Pasttime. One of the greatest ways to tell a story is to actually watch it happen. Going to the movies has always been fun, but now more than ever you can watch movies in your own home, on a flat screen HD tv. There's a lot out there. This section is devoted to movies in theaters and on DVD.
Because there needs to be a better system for doing both DVD and Movie reviews, we have changed the system to one that is more comprehensive and understandable and familiar: A+ - F, obviously "A+" being the best and "F" being the worst. There will also be a percentage breakdown for the film.
This past summer was full of not only great summer movies, but sequels and franchise continuations as well. Whether it was the �final� X-Men movie or the continuing antics of Captain Jack Sparrow, this summer had its big stars and big movies. While I will still stand my ground and stand up for Superman Returns, there was one movie released a month before Superman that was probably one of the most fun, entertaining and best action flicks I have seen in a while. Also another continuation of a franchise, this movie had my attention since I saw the first TV spot for it during the Super Bowl. Mission: Impossible III behind Superman Returns was without a doubt my favorite movie this summer, it had all the humor, action, emotion and drama that one could possibly want from both a summer movie and a good movie.
Tom Cruise really gets a bad rap these days. He is a little bit over the top and may seem a little whacko but the guy hasn�t produced or been in a bad movie in a really long time. (I give MI:2 credit because it is an entertaining action flick). However, with celebrity worship and following at an all-time high, it�s unfortunate that one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood has to put in such negative light. Anyone who follows Hollywood knows that publicity sells movies, and anyone who has followed Tom Cruise over the past few years has some opinion about the man. MI:3 made $133 million at the US Box Office, but failed to pass its productions budget of $150 million, thus classifying it as a failure, even though the worldwide take was over $395 million. But a lot of people would not go see MI:3 because they did not want to support Tom Cruise for whatever reason, mostly because of his off-screen and public antics with Katie Holmes or his un-Tom like comment to Matt Lauer during an interview that still seems surreal. But he�s America�s biggest star and my only qualm came not with him but with Katie Holmes when Warner Brothers asked her not to bring him to the premiere of Batman Begins because it was supposed to be Christian Bale�s big night. But that is neither here nor there and Tom Cruise, the same man who told Val Kilmer he was �dangerous� and played one of my favorite characters ever, Vincent in Collateral is either loved or hated by America.
Personally, I could care less about his personal life and whether or not he bought a sonogram machine, he is an amazing actor and brings a life and enthusiasm to his characters that few actors can. One of the greatest comments an actor has ever made was Kevin Spacey saying in regards to his sexuality and personal life, "It's not that I want to create some bullshit mystique by maintaining a silence about my personal life, it is just that the less you know about me, the easier it is to convince you that I am that character on screen. It allows an audience to come into a movie theatre and believe I am that person." And a lot of people cannot see through an actor and see only a character. This appears to be the case with Tom Cruise, hence why a number of people said they would not see MI:3.
Now on to the movie itself, MI:3 is hands-down a fantastic and exciting action movie. Tom Cruise brings a raw emotion and depth to the character of Ethan Hunt that we had not seen from the first two films, as well as matures Ethan to having a wife being �out of the game.� From the get go, Hunt acknowledges that he is not the same IMF agent that broke into the CIA nor could he free climb at Yosemite; he is older, wiser and has happily set into his civilian and domesticated life. Ethan Hunt is a mentor to new younger agents and he is set happily into his role until one of his prot�g�s goes missing and he is the best man to save her. Ethan is drawn back into the field feeling that it is his responsibility to save the agent and recruits his old front man Luther Stickel (Ving Rhames) and two younger agents to rescue the agent. In a role I would have loved to see more of Keri Russell drops the Felicity look, straightens her hair and goes completely bad ass when Ethan hits her with a shot of adrenaline and the two start to tear up the bad guys. The action packed warehouse scene has great action from Luther�s computer controlled machine guns all the way to helicopter chase that when watching, leaves you at the edge of your seat.
One of the best performances comes from Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman (2006 Best Actor, Captoe) as international arms dealer Owen Davian. I�m sorry to Kevin Spacey, but Hoffman�s Davian was a much more sinister and sadistic villain than Lex Luthor this summer. Davian has the money and the power to manipulate whomever he wants and basically do whatever he wants. His capture is done in classic suspense and the chemistry between Cruise and Hoffman was off the charts. That is especially the chase during the airplane sequence when Ethan hangs Davian out of the airplane�s drop-hatch while Ethan asks questions about the super weapon, Rabbit�s foot and Davian continues to rant about killing Ethan. The action continues throughout the entire film, the bridge sequence, the final fight scenes, this movie has everything and action fan salivates for, and in my book ranks among the top tier of great action movies. One thing that really drive my respect level for Tom Cruise higher is the fact that he did his own stunts, yes the guy getting thrown into the side of the car on the bridge is Tom Cruise. The guy knows how to take a few bumps and you have to respect him as an actor for that.
J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost) may have written one of the most awkward and mythos-changing Superman scripts I have ever read, but he has put forth two amazing television shows in the past few years. MI:3 being his feature directorial debut is such a wild success for him that I would love to see Abrams do even more spy and action films. He has a sense of action and a sense of thrill that is hard to come by and only few others such as Bryan Singer or Michael Bay can surpass. Abrams captures not only the feel of MI but also makes it his own by packing it with more emotion and more drama than previously seen. The plot is quite simple but it works out very well for this movie. The first Mission: Impossible had a plot that you HAD to pay attention to really know what was going on, the second not as much and this third movie has a very tight story as well as a mostly believable execution. Throw in little plot devices like the mask-making machine and you�ve got a few really cool scenes. The writing is also on point, consistent characters both old and new add to the film as well as minor roles such as the IMF IT man who adds humor to the film at the perfect times.
The movie itself is definitely in the top tier of my favorites, and is definitely one of my favorite action movies, and anyone who wants to see an entertaining movie that should leave you satisfied needs to forget about Tom Cruise�s public antics and watch this movie. Not only does it give further development to a relatively decent character but it also gives us one hell of a good villain in Seymour�s Davian.
I picked up the two-disc collector�s set because I loved the movie when I saw it in theaters and I do own the 2 disc sets of the previous two installments. After watching the movie I went through all the special features and I am still not done with them. There are so many good featurettes and making-ofs that it reminds me why I want to get into the film industry, J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise look like they had so much fun making this movie and the special featurettes really convey their passion not only for this film but for what they do. One featurette also talks about the making of the mask sequence and how Abrams wanted to reveal a little of IMF�s magic. The featurettes are really what every DVD of a decent movie should come with, while the commentary is so-so, the features on making the movie, the action and really hearing Abrams� and Cruise�s love for the film and for the series is really wonderful, the two have a great deal of respect for one another and that makes the film that much better.
Movie: 89% B+/A- DVD: 94% A