Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Running Time: 130 minutes.
Media: DVD

Now, despite the crazy Scientology crap he's received from the press, the couch jumping on Oprah several years ago and three ex-wives, Tom Cruise has managed to put all this behind him and score big with this film. You know, Philippa Hawker of The Sydney Morning Herald rated this film 3 stars out of 5, and said it was "ludicrously improbable, but also quite fun." To Philippa I say, Have you not seen the previous three films? The reason it's quite fun is because it is ludicrously improbable!

Explosive gum, helicopters flying into the tunnel, skydiving from an airline jet, face masks, voice chips, explosive charges injected into the brain, and now it's magnetic suits, electronic climbing gloves and perspective projection screens... The entire Mission: Impossible series has been based on the audience's ability to suspend their systems of belief for two-and-a-bit hours and enjoy the film for what it is; good, clean and wholesome fun.

The good, clean and wholesome fun starts with Tom as the ever-athletic and acrobatic Agent Ethan Hunt trying to escape a Russian prison when he is alerted by his fellow agent Benji Dunn, played by the jocular Simon Pegg. Pegg's been a very busy boy lately, especially with his latest movie coming out later this year, Star Trek: Into Darkness; so he's moved about a fair bit. Kudos to Simon Pegg for his performance in this film. I have to confess, he's actually grown up considerably in this sequel, it's actually quite engaging.

Pegg is joined by one other agent, Jane Carter, played by someone who's a bit of an unknown to me, Paula Patton... Now, it took me a little Googling to figure out where I had seen her before, she was the female lead in Déjà Vu, also starring Val Kilmer and Denzel Washington. In that film she was the "damsel in distress", whereas here she is far from it, she's kick-ass, vigilant and very independent. She could certainly take me down in a fight... Not that I would, she's also very alluring... That comes in very handy later on in the film, as you will no doubt find out.

Tom Cruise is still rather refreshing as a seasoned IMF agent such as Ethan Hunt. He's determined, means business and doesn't like to give up on anything without a fight. Tom Cruise is actually quite the bankable actor. This film alone has hit $694 million worldwide, $209 million of that in North America alone. It was the highest grossing film in the franchise, the fifth highest grossing film in 2011, and currently the highest grossing film our boy Tom has made at that time, which has knocked out War of the Worlds flat on its back. Given how ridiculous the plot line was for *that* film, it's a much received change for the title. Tom Cruise is actually making it big on the Hollywood Stock Exchange (HSX), trading at $H96.89 at the time of writing, with a trailing average gross of $103 million. Given his latest movie, Jack Reacher, has yet to finish its four week release, it's possible that this too may be another hit. It seems of late that there's very little to slow him down now that he has his second wind.

One of the other IMF members to join the team is none other than Jeremy Renner, as Agent William Brandt, and quite predictably, his character is a brooding anti-hero who doesn't know his true worth until later on in the film. I hate to say this, but this is a recurring pattern for him of late. Observe:

1. Agent William Brandt (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol), a brooding agent who doesn't know how big his contribution is to the mission until later in the film.
2. James Coughlin (The Town), a brooding bank robber.
3. Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (Marvel's The Avengers), a brooding superhero who doesn't realize his worth until he becomes one of the team.
4. Aaron Cross (The Bourne Legacy), a brooding assassin who doesn't realize his involvement with the American government until he meets up with Rachel Weisz.

There are a few more examples, but I'd rather not go into them. Now, seeing a brooding Jeremy Renner, isn't a bad thing either. On HSX, he actually is a more lucrative investment, trading at $H127.86 and rising. His trailing average gross is at over $130 million, even higher than Cruise himself. Renner, is bound to be one if those stars that is bound to have a huge career ahead of him; especially with two sequels, for The Avengers and Bourne sequels releasing in the years to come.

Another addition to the cast that I did not expect was the appearance of Michael Nyqvist, star of the Swedish trilogy, the Millenium series, which includes The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I think what threw me was the almost perfect British accent he used when he is brought into the scene where we first come across him. Also, in this film he's got dark hair and looks like a seasoned actor and quite debonair. In the Millenium series he was blond, looked a little haggard and much older than he appears in this film. It was actually a delight to see him in this movie. Nyqvist takes his time with films after having received international attention from the Millenium trilogy and he has already had another hit with Abduction back in September, 2011.

These five characters interact incredibly well within the plot line which sees the IMF organization getting completely disavowed when a Swedish nuclear strategist played by Nyqvist steals the Russian nuclear launch codes from the Kremlin, and blows it up; leaving Agents Carter, Dunn and Hunt accused of doing it. With the help of Brandt, who has his own inner demons regarding a previous mission gone wrong (thus the brooding) and some rather unreliable IMF equipment, they get the job done after traveling to places like Russia, The UAE and India. The pace is seasoned with enough drama and humor to move it along and the action is not as "in your face" to keep you firmly riveted to your seat. The movie is there to make the experience fun, and the movie is quite enjoyable, I kept on wondering what was going to happen next.

J.J Abrams and Brad Bird... Never in my wildest dreams did I think that there would be a producer and director combination like this for a movie. Abrams has directed a number of films including the new Star Trek remake and its soon-to-be-released sequel, Star Trek: Into Darkness, and when Abrams is involved with a film, it's usually a smash. Brad Bird up until recently has been involved more with animated films like the Iron Giant, Ratatouille and The Incredibles to name but a few. Ghost Protocol was his live-action directorial debut, and he has excelled expectations. I hope to see more of his work in the future.

Now, although the flow of this movie was well-paced and the actors were great in their performances, the impact of the action sequences don't hit you like an unexpected punch in the face. There is a general build up to these points, there's no la-di-dah and then Wham! I don't know if this crescendo effect is a good thing. The very first movie had things we did not expect, the second and third kinda petered a little. This fourth movie has a few unexpected turns, but they're not enough to leave you hanging on the edge of your seat. Don't get me wrong, the whole Jim Phelps betrayal in the original sparked controversy throughout online and offline. There's none of that here in this film. I think there's a general pattern to this franchise where it all works out in the end, but there is a final twist in the very end that kinda ties things up from the third movie, and a few uncredited cameos which add the cherry on top. This said, I'm giving Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol 4½ stars, and hope that when Simon Pegg and Tom Cruise start on the fifth film that there's a little more umph!

Quartet

Running Time: 98 minutes.

Media: Cinematic Release, Hoyts Penrith, NSW.

I must admit, I had some hesitations about seeing this film at first... It's a bit of a stand-alone film, distributed by The Weinstein Company and BBC Films... it's a British comedy, and in my belief they kinda stopped being funny after "Are You Being Served" disappeared off TVs worldwide... I was also concerned that this movie was not going to get its point across in the 98 minute time frame. I mean, what a challenge, I thought! I sat there in my seat at Hoyts Penrith at 4:50 p.m. wondering whether I was going to enjoy this along side of my fiancée.

I found that I had considerable time to think, as it took 30 minutes from the projected starting time for them to get the film on the projector. I did sit through a half-hour's worth of movie reviews and ads, and I have to say, I could feel the audience's mounting anticipation too... That being said, I sensed everyone's relief when the screen curtains parted further to signal the beginning of the film.

Now, British comedies are a sort of like Forrest Gump's "box of chocolates" analogy, you'll never know what you're gonna get; particularly when you're dealing with a plot line such as that in this film, but I wasn't sure what to get from a directorial debut film by Dustin Hoffman. Pauline Collins, Tom Courtenay and Billy Connolly play three-quarters of a operatic quartet that sang Verdi's Rigoletto several years ago. Now the've since retired and living in a retirement home for gifted musicians, who put on a concert on Giuseppe Verdi's birthday every year. Reg, played by Tom Courtenay, is quite comfortable with his life there, giving talks to young kids about music, and his occasional performance. Enter Reg's ex-wife, Jean, played by Maggie Smith... Reg's life is run a-shambles as a result... It seems that he hasn't forgiven her all those years ago.

Reg is accompanied by his other Rigoletto members, Wilfred, played by lovable Scottish larrikin, Billy Connolly; and Cecily, also known as "Cissy", played by Pauline Collins, who is known for her role as Shirley Valentine in both the play and 1989 movie. Jean is still not ready to accept the idea of singing in public again, stating she's a confirmed retiree; Reg can't get over Jean's presence; Wilfred keeps flirting with staff... and the leading doctor... and other retired musicians; and Cecily keeps forgetting things... supposedly due to an inferred case of Alzheimer's. Combine these personalities with the rather loud and obnoxious character of Cedric Livingstone, played by Michael Gambon, and you've got a very interesting dynamic. Michael Gambon as most people would know played the part of Professor Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series after Sir Richard Attenborough's death. Strange as this may sound, it seems that Gambon decided to raid Dumbledore's wardrobe and use it for the role of Cedric; he's shown in a number of robes and unusual hats that could only be found Hogwart's School of Wizadry and Magic. Most amusing.

Courtenay plays the role of Reginald well, and despite my lack of knowledge of other films I've seen him star in, he is a fine actor in Quartet. He plays the betrayed soul quite well, and hams it up just a bit to seem like a drama queen, but without overdoing it. I wish I could say the same about Gambon...

Billy Connolly... he's an enigma, this one... I know I used this word in a previous review, but he is... I'm not sure why he got the role, but I think it was simply due to the nature of his character, a rather randy musician who likes to talk up the ladies. His one-liners and brazen boldness in chatting to anyone with cleavage brought a number of laughs to the audience, including myself. But one thing kinda keeps niggling at me... Connolly isn't known for his operatic vocals... if any. So how did he land a role that involved his "attempts" at singing, and singing opera no less? The mind boggles as to the reasons.

Pauline Collins is a great actress, and she shines in this film. She seems younger than she's meant to portray and I think that's kinda reflected in her character's occasional bouts of Alzheimer's which send her back a few decades, making her think she's still a young girl, or making her forget simple facts. My heart went out to Cissy, and it's an incredible film that can make you want to reach out to a character on the screen and give them a hug. Her BAFTA for Shirley Valentine is testament to her performance ability.

Maggie Smith, another Harry Potter alumnus like Michael Gambon, is supposedly the star of the show. When Reg, Wilfred and Cecily approach Jean (Smith's character) about the idea of singing their Rigoletto quartet at the annual concert, her reactions are quite astounding. She's accepted and yet not quite accepted her age, and her now retired vocation as an opera singer, she comes to blows with Reg about their past (which is never fully revealed) and there is the still lingering love between her and Reg that is the focus of the story and Jean's shell which she is desperately trying to come out of in order to move forward.

The dynamics of the quartet are healthy, albeit a little dry, but enjoyable to watch. Gambon's flamboyance throughout the film are somewhat of a annoyance, however... Honestly, he wasn't this annoying in the Harry Potter series, but then again, one shouldn't pigeon-hole him. I am a little disappointed that the film didn't show the quartet singing (even if they were miming, it would have been pleasant to watch), but there is some compensation with a number of the cast being portrayed in the ending credits in their long-ago performances. It seems a number of the cast were indeed stage and musical performers in their own right, and this final realization has salvaged my ritique of this film. As a result, Quartet, gets a star for each of its four main characters. Four stars.

The overall experience in the cinema itself also gets four stars, but they would have gotten the full five if it weren't for the plethora of ads and previews they inundated us with before the actual movie.

The Hunger Games

Running Time: 142 minutes.

Media: Blu-Ray.

A friend of mine decided to do something rather silly for me when he loaded the Blu-Ray for the first time. Having not seen the movie on the big screen, I looked forward to seeing the film. My friend decided to switch the subtitles to Hungarian... Thus turning "The Hunger Games" to "The Hungarian Games"... I know, it was a bad joke, but to be honest it had no change to my thoughts on the film.

I have to confess, this movie was intriguing. It's medieval and at the same time, it's futuristic. It's full of normal people and also filled with... "freaks" for the lack of a better word... This clash of old and new, young and old, past and future... it pulls you in and grabs your attention.

The Hunger Games put simply is what would happen if the game "Mortal Kombat" had mated with the reality show "Big Brother". The film is set in what seems like a post-apocalyptic world where twelve districts in the nation of Panem every year send two tributes each in a fight to the death. Katniss Everdeen, played by the very youthful and very ravishing Jennifer Lawrence is one of the latest tributes to have been recruited into the Hunger Games, an annual fight to the death competition forced on twenty-four randomly picked kids, after volunteering herself to compete in place of her sister when she gets picked. Katniss is somewhat an anti-hero in this film, she doesn't want to be famous or be anyone's savior, she just wants to survive, live well with her family and grow old.

Lawrence, who is a blonde, dyed her hair dark to play the role of Katniss, embodies the role with all her being... I'm guessing she's read the books prior to starring as her nuances are pretty much how I had pictured as I read the first book. She's only 22, and already has managed to star in not only this movie, but a number of others including X-Men: First Class, The Poker House, and the somewhat controversial Mel Gibson movie, The Beaver. Some would say that Mel finally cracked with that movie because he's talking through a puppet... But I digress. Lawrence does hook and reel you in, and you find yourself living the Hunger Games themselves, as though you were an observer from within the playing field. I can see this movie franchise raking in big in the upcoming sequels based on her performance alone, with The Hunger Games: Catching Fire currently in post-production, and coming out later this year.

Josh Hutcherson, who plays the male lead in the film, Peeta Mellark, is a bit of an enigma; and I think this is simply because he's starred in a rather diverse miasma of B-grade films. I don't mean this in a bad way, but it's these films that have built up his filmography extensively; The Polar Express back in 2004, RV starring Robin Williams, Zathura, Bridge to Terabithia, and most recently the new Red Dawn remake, which is not so B-grade, but has so far collected a modest 43 million in the box office. Mellark, Hutcherson's character is the other tribute from Katniss's region of whom she despises at first but then kinda warms up to slowly once it's revealed he has a thing for her. And how complex does it get when someone who likes you ends up being someone who has the possible option of killing you in a forced competition in a post-apocalyptic Earth? If can get pretty complicated indeed. But somehow, Hutcherson pulls Mellark's character off rather well, albeit making him seem like a fairly timid but strong character within the film.

Secondary characters such as Haymitch, their mentor, played by Woody Harrelson give a little meat to the film. Harrelson in this film looks like Aragorn straight out of the Renaissance. I actually pictured the character from the book to be a bit older, uglier and crueler; but somehow Woody wins me over with his performance with his lax and somewhat inebriated character portrayal. Elizabeth Banks, who is an absolute hottie off-screen, is probably the closest thing to comedy relief as playing the part of Effie Trinket, Peeta's and Katniss's chaperone, who attempts to go one over Lady Gaga with her outlandish hair, makeup and wardrobe... She seems to represent the upper class in Panem's Capitol, but I think her entire goal throughout the movie is to not be taken seriously, which isn't hard to do... I found myself stifling bouts of laughter every time she came on the screen... I have to admit, it's rather sad to see her like this. I absolutely adore Elizabeth, she's talented, witty, and an utter babe - but this role kinda undermined her true talent.

There is a somewhat obligatory casting of Donald Sutherland as yet another person high up in the food chain with a slight hint of evil in his agenda... You know, I hate to say this, but Donald's been cast a lot in these types of roles of late, and when I say "of late" I mean, even before he played the role of X in JFK back in 1991. What is it about him that attracts these kind of roles? He's a strong silent type, granted, but is it the way he looks? He plays the part of President Snow, a somewhat elderly gent who is resistant to the possible uprisings of the remaining twelve districts within Panem, and wants nothing more than to see the districts trodden underfoot. He doesn't stay on for very long on screen, so hopefully we may see some further character development in the sequels.

Finally, I have to give kudos to Lenny Kravitz, playing the role of Cinna, Katniss's pre-competition stylist. I don't think  have ever seen Lenny without the nose rings, the wild hair and sunglasses until now... But, man, I am impressed, the man can act! And he does it so well... I had to re-read the start of the book and picture him playing Cinna, and it just clicks. It's a bit of a juxtaposition, seeing him very plain-clothed and toned down in comparison to who he is in real life and his known performance value, and then realizing that the outlandish side of Kravitz in the film is manifested in the wardrobe choices worn by Katniss and Peeta. I think this movie would not have been the same or as appealing without Lenny being cast in the film, as his character adds a considerable amount of emotionality and balance to the craziness and violence surrounding the rest of the film.

The death scenes are not as explicit as I thought they would be, having read the book prior to watching this. If anything, they were a lot more subdued than I had anticipated; I found a Coca-Cola ad inspired by the film to be incredibly gory in comparison. The timeline for the film doesn't jump around with respect to the book, so you don't go questioning the linearity of it, and the film towards the end leaving you with a sense that there is definitely something to follow. I enjoyed this film, but I can't say that I felt completely convinced to award this a full five stars. It feels like there is something missing, I'm not sure what, maybe a little more blood... But it is something worth seeing, and I'm sure with it currently raking in over $680 million in the box office that Suzanne Collins, the author of the book series will be pleased to know that she can retire comfortably in her gold-plated yacht for many years to come. The Hunger Games scores 4½ stars.