December 19, 2011

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible series has always been one of my guilty pleasures. Even the second one, which is the weakest of the bunch, still benefited from John Woo's crazy style. Prior to this entry it almost seemed as if each of the MI movies existed in their own continuity. Sure, some of the characters are the same, and they all star Dreamy McHawtpants (Tom Cruise), but the stories always seemed to be their own thing. Ghost Protocol is the first one, in my opinion, that is a true "sequel", meaning that it fits in the same universe that JJ "ManGod" Abrams created with the third film. And that's a positive. Abrams' MI seemed more "grounded", as if you could ever accuse a spy flick of being grounded in reality. Perhaps it's because the characters are treated like characters, rather than just a bunch of scenes thrown together that make Ethan Hunt look cool (I'm looking at you, Woo).

Ghost Protocol also represents the first live action flick from another ManGod: Brad Bird. For those of you not in the know, Mr. Bird is the guy who gave us The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, and Ratatouille. I wouldn't hesitate to put all three of those flicks in my top 20 movies of all time. Does Ghost Protocol make that list? Ummmm not sure yet. Maybe. Ask me again in 2 years. If I've watched MI:GP multiple times then yes, it probably will be. If not, the only criticism I can level at the film is that it is an extremely competent, entertaining, masterfully crafted action flick.

July 17, 2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is an epic end to an epic series.


The series has been a part of my life for, golly gee, forever. My first experience with the young wizard happened when I worked at a Borders book store (soon to be defunct, btw). I worked behind the coffee counter making delicious cappuccinos, mochas, lattes, and other posh names for coffee. I had heard of the Harry Potter series but had at that point not read any of them. My manager loved it because it was well written and, let’s be honest, padded the store’s margins quite a bit. So, in the winter of double-oh it was beknownst to all that the fourth Harry Potter book, The Goblet of Fire, was to be released. The store got all geared up, I had to come up with a drink analogous to something called “butterbeer”, and we had to put on silly costumes all in preparation for a midnight sale. I wore a robe which on any other night could easily have been mistaken for a dress. With frills.
Now, let me tell you about midnight sales. Imagine, if you will, a thousand screaming children running mad through a bookstore. Add to that two thousand tired and annoyed parents who for some reason or another decided to attend a midnight book sale. Now, put all those tired and cranky adults in one big, never ending line in front of the barista and you have a recipe for a night which would seem like just another steamy day in the 9th level of hell. After that night, as you might guess, I wanted to find this Harry Potter and wring his scrawny wizarding neck.

June 11, 2011

X-men: First Class (with bonus X-rant!)

"I have been at the mercy of those who claimed to be following orders. Never again."

Those words changed the whole X-men dynamic for me. It brought to light a previously overlooked truth to the X-men mythos: Magneto has a very convincing point-of-view.

I grew up collecting X-men comics. I loved the characters, the melodrama, the angst and betrayel, the epic story arcs, and the little character moments that punctuated the series. X-men, X-factor, X-force, and all the other interconnected sagas now gather dust in some forgotten box in the garage. Maybe I should go dig those up.



I remember watching the X-men cartoon as a kid, and being blown away. This was the first time I was introduced to something that wasn't "canon", but still managed to be true to the spirit of a series. The cartoon strayed quite a bit from the books, but was still well executed, and most importantly, entertaining. When the movies were announced I bounced with cheerful glee. Finally, my X-men were going to be realized on the big screen!

The first X-men flick was great, yet marred by a low budget. Comic book movies usually failed miserably at the box office, so the producers got pretty stingy when it came to writing checks. But Bryan Singer did something great: he made an X-men movie that also happened to be a good movie. The reason? The low budget forced Singer to concentrate on the characters. Remember when Rogue asked Wolverine if it hurt when his claws came out? Remember his answer? He looks down at his hand holding the steering wheel, you can tell that he desperately wants to avoid answering, yet the truth must come out: "Every time" he says. In those brief seconds we get to know Wolverine the character, know that he is more than just Hugh Jackman with a nice set of CGI claws. That, in my opinion, is the second best character moment in the entire series. The best moment happens in First Class with the quote above.