“Mission: Impossible – Fallout” Review

Listen what I’m about to say very carefully: out of everyone currently working in the movie business, Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (otherwise known as Tom Cruise) works the hardest to earn his paychecks. In the sixth entry of a franchise that spans 22 years, Cruise and company continue to reinvent the series with glorious results. Believe all of the hype: this is one of the greatest action movies ever made.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the MI franchise, and unfortunately there are many of you, here is my breakdown of the choices of viewership for this film: Die-hard fandom enjoyment, optimal enjoyment, and required enjoyment. I’ll highlight each of the options below:

1. Die-hard fandom enjoyment – Watch all 5 Mission: Impossible movies prior to seeing this one. This is the option I went with.
2. Optimal enjoyment – Watch Mission: Impossible 3, Ghost Protocol, and Rogue Nation. These movies showcase all of the characters that you will become the most familiar with in the franchise.
3. Required enjoyment – At the bare minimum, watch Rogue Nation. Fallout takes place after the events of the 5th, and is the first movie in the franchise to have a story directly linked with the previous one. Would you watch Harry Potter 7 part 2 without watching part 1? Didn’t think so.

Another thing—while this may be too late for most of you, I want to reiterate my philosophy for my blog, which is No Trailers. Ever since Dark Knight Rises in 2012, I stopped watching trailers for movies that I knew I was going to watch/was interested in seeing. Out of all my years practicing the mantra of No Trailers, I would say that this film might have the biggest payoff in not seeing any of the promotional footage. So for the small percentage of you who haven’t seen the trailers, keep it that way. Trust me, it’s worth it.

This movie is a masterpiece. Christopher McQuarrie, the first repeat director of the franchise, did a hell of a job with Rogue Nation in capturing Tom Cruise’s death wish on camera. Each film, so different from the other, enrich different aspects of the series. The first film showed that one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood was capable of spearheading his own franchise. The second film, although much maligned by critics (and also me), showed that Cruise has an itch for unblemished action and establishes his character as a multi-faceted spy hero. The third film set the tone for exhilarating and blood-pumping action that the franchise is capable of. The fourth film emphasizes the chemistry and need of the team while doubling down on extreme stunt work, and the fifth film establishes a cast of characters that are worth sticking with and investing in. Amongst many of the other technical and narrative differences in each movie that make each their own, Fallout takes the best aspects out of all of them and blends them in a way that makes it feel refreshingly new.

All of the performances here are awesome. Henry Cavill is a welcome addition to the series, and his legendary ‘stache responsible for causing major production problems with the Justice League film makes all of the comic book movie’s shortcomings worth it. His massive figure and towering presence makes him a great contrasting character to Cruise, who kind of looks like your average Joe. Rebecca Ferguson returns as the brilliant Ilsa Faust, who I absolutely ADORE. Seriously, she is the definition of femme fatale. Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames round out the familiar cast and both play their parts perfectly. Vanessa Kirby, another newcomer, is also fantastic, and is probably the one character in the movie that I wish I got to see more of.

The reason this action film is set apart from almost all the other films in its genre is due to Cruise’s insistence on making every shot feel real because well, it was real. When you watch this film and you think to yourself, “did they actually do this?” Yes. Yes. Yes they did. Everything was done with little to no CGI, and no green screen. Every action scene, whether it be a chase scene on foot, or a chase scene on a bike, or a chase scene in some other vehicle, was made to look as thrillingly white-knuckled as possible because of countless hours of rehearsing, masterclass execution, and a big set of cajones from the entire cast. While each action scene might not have an excess of shooting or explosions going on, every part of it was incredibly exciting and at the top of its class. I truthfully believe that Cruise is going to die making this franchise, because with each iteration he continues to step up the insanity of all his stunts.

The story may be the weakest point of this masterpiece. This is not your typical action film where you can leave your brain at the door. There are so many double and triple crossings that you might find yourself a bit puzzled at times, but I found it to be pretty easy to follow because of how invested I was. While it doesn’t break any new ground with its storytelling, it gives you exactly what you want—high stakes, well placed humor, stunts to make you take the movie seriously, and a plot that is impossible enough to remind you that this is a completely fictitious but enjoyable film. All of the characters are utilized to test their strengths, and it gives just enough screen time for all of them to get fleshed out without feeling too rushed. Clocking in at 2 hours and 28 minutes, this is the longest MI movie to date, but you won’t notice its length because of how well its pacing is.

McQuarrie really outdoes himself with this film. Fallout is the first film that gave me Christopher Nolan vibes, whether its due to the fact that it’s shot in IMAX and 35mm film, or that he emphasizes practical effects more than digital. However, this is not a slight against McQuarrie, and that he’s only good because his film has imitations of Nolan’s style, or that Nolan monopolizes all these practices. In fact, I think he does some things in this movie that Nolan has never tried, and executes it masterfully. I make this comparison because I love films like The Dark Knight, and I swear there are some scenes where I felt it was the extension of that film. The way the film is cut together, the graininess of the film, and even the music (you’ll recognize it when you hear it), all of it reminded me of the time I watched one of my favorite movies of all time. Oh yea, and that third act? Straight up Dunkirk vibes.

I’m absolutely enthralled by how this franchise continues to evolve. This movie doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but man does that wheel look nice and shiny. Each film gets better and better, and it seems like there’s no stopping this train. Tom Cruise is 56. He is going out there and literally cheating death to make these films. We are not worthy of his dedication to his craft. I immediately wanted to watch this movie again after finishing it. I most likely will be rewatching this movie this weekend. Why is this series so special? Because the mission was impossible. But they accomplished it six times.

Grade: A+/97

“Eighth Grade” Review

A24 does it again with a knockout directorial debut from comedian Bo Burnham, helming a movie that might just be the most violently awkward movie I’ve ever seen. Detailing the life of Kayla (played by Elsie Fisher) in her last week of eighth grade, Kayla hopes to make her final days in middle school end on a high note, through aspiring YouTube videos and conquering her inner demons one agonizing social interaction at a time.

Right from the beginning, this film assaults you with its awkwardness and makes you viscerally uncomfortable. If you’re not laughing during this film, you’re curled up into a ball wishing you were dead. Burnham’s screenplay includes all the um’s and uh’s that you would normally expect from an eighth grader, along with all the pregnant pauses that make each character interaction deeply hilarious and agonizingly cringe-worthy. It’s so effective in immersing you in one of the least memorable stages of our adolescent lives.

One of the best parts of this film is its commitment to Kayla’s perspective. Elsie Fisher does an extremely great job of playing her character, most likely because it’s a reflection of her real-life persona. The movie is focused on her thoughts and her thoughts alone, resulting in a more intimate connection between the viewer and her. You don’t get any other perspective from the outside characters, which means that the audience rides and dies with every decision Kayla makes. This causes all of her personal victories to be doubly effective and all the more meaningful, almost as if we were right there with her cheering her on.

Some of the supporting cast is excellent too, most notably a boy she meets at a pool party named Gabe (played by Jake Ryan). They have very few interactions throughout the movie, but they are incredibly hilarious to the point you kind of wish the entire movie focused on just the two of them. The dad, played by Josh Hamilton, also does a fantastic job of being both a caring and sympathetic parent while also possessing the traits of a cringey father figure failing to identify with her 13 year old daughter. All of the moments shared between Kayla and her father feel scarily relatable and realistic, with an equal share of frustrating and heartwarming moments.

Whether or not this film is an accurate depiction of our generation’s teenagers, it certainly feels like it: the depressingly deep permeation of social media into each kids’ lives, the way-too-early curiosity of sexual exploration, and the unbridled pursuit of vanity all add to the realism of this film. All the shots of Kayla mindlessly scrolling through her Instagram and Snapchat filters create a sort of atmospheric comedy, something of which I feel like I’ve never seen or felt before. I really have to give it to Burnham for crafting such an intricate story with such a basic premise.

The highs and lows of Kayla’s life are so effectively portrayed in this film. I actually don’t know if it’s something I could watch again, because some of the scenes are that painfully uncomfortable (but also hilarious). However, it’s all masterfully crafted to its benefit that I can’t help but applaud this movie. If you ever feel like returning to one of the most awkward periods of your life, I would recommend seeing this film. There’s something to be said about a comedy that gives you similar feelings of tension from a crime thriller. Beneath it all is a very sincere portrayal of a young girl trying to fit in and make her mark in the world, making for one of the most charming films of the year.

Grade: B+/82

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” Review

This is not a good film.

Of all the Marvel movies that have come out in the past few years, this one feels the most phoned in. Following up Infinity War is no easy task, and I think Marvel knew that so they wanted to go in a completely different direction with a more small-scale, self-contained film. However, the terms small-scale and self-contained are not synonymous with lazily written and poorly conceived. This film’s plot feels as if they took something that would be a subplot in another Marvel film, and stretched it out for 2 hours with the hopes that the film would get on by the charm of its characters to keep you entertained.

Evangeline Lilly’s character as the Wasp is easily the best part of the movie, but that’s really not saying much. She doesn’t really have any interesting character development, and the chemistry she shares with Paul Rudd is basically watered down to her beating up everyone with ease while Ant-Man kind of bumbles around like an idiot. I don’t really recall the first Ant-Man film very well, but I don’t really remember him having the same level of stupidity as shown in the sequel. I get that a lot of it is for the purpose of comedic effect, which goes into my next point: this is easily the most unfunny Marvel movie to date. So many jokes were cringey and missed the mark. Barely anyone laughed in my theater, and the biggest reaction that came out of my friend and I was a small scoff. Randall Park’s character as the detective is a bit pitiful in that he seems like a complete cartoon character. The writing just seemed really forced and I would say almost all the jokes were big misfires.

The film also deals with the quantum realm, which I suppose is going to be a key concept going forward in future movies. There’s so much talk of science, tech and the quantum realm in this film that you expect them to explain a bit of what it is, but none of that is effectively achieved here. The biggest weakness of this film is that it tries to boast the importance and impact of all the sci-fi aspects of the Marvel universe, yet at the same time expects you to make leaps and bounds in suspending your unbelief. There were so many things that didn’t make sense, like how no one seems to notice a massive building being shrunk and un-shrunk constantly. I don’t believe in comic book movies having to explain everything, because nitpicking is really detrimental for these types of movies and the overall purpose is to have fun. However, towards the end there are a lot of things that are left unexplained, and even a small morsel of information would have helped. However, nothing is really explained and you’re just forced to accept everything that’s happening.

This film isn’t offensive to the soul. It still has some bright spots, such as decent action (which I often take for granted because all Marvel movies have pretty great action sequences) and some solid effects. I’d say the best part of this film were the scenes when some characters were digitally de-aged in flashback scenes, and they looked incredible. However, there were so many missed opportunities to flesh out the cast of characters since it doesn’t have the burden of tying itself to the Marvel universe, and it failed to do that in spectacular fashion. The film also doesn’t really have a good villain, and in fact you could argue that the film doesn’t even have one. I guess Walton Goggins counts, for the 10 minutes that he’s in it. He basically plays the same characters from the Quentin Tarantino movies he’s in, and the other “villain” named Ghost is a very uninspired, bland conflicted character.

I would say that this film is really only for die-hard Marvel fans. It’s a whole lotta nothing, but is still somewhat entertaining enough to keep you distracted. When I think of previous smaller scale Marvel films like Spider-Man Homecoming, it reminds me that they have the potential to create great self-contained films. Homecoming succeeds on almost all levels as a comic book film, because it has a charming cast of characters, a fantastic villain, and a story that is impactful to the development of the main protagonist. Ant-Man and the Wasp doesn’t seem to demonstrate any of these qualities, and seems like something that all the writers and producers slapped together after 10 minutes of brainstorming.

Grade: C/65

 

“Ocean’s 8” Review

I finally got around to watching this movie after putting it off for a while. I was initially quite excited to see it, seeing as how I’m a fan of the Soderbergh trilogy. After seeing some of the reviews, I got a little bit less eager to see it, but I still wanted to give it a fair shake seeing as how Ocean’s Twelve and Thirteen didn’t get stellar reviews either.

Ocean’s 8 is a bit of a mixed bag. There are many comparisons you can draw to the original, even opening with a very similar sequence to Eleven. The problem with movies like this is that it’s inevitable to compare the two films; but if the sequel does something to differentiate itself, then it’s a sequel worth making. However, that doesn’t really seem to be the case here. The heist itself is pretty standard, and the overall pacing of the film is a bit quick. Films like this need the cast of characters to shine, and a number of them do, while the others aren’t as good.

Sandra Bullock plays Debbie Ocean, sister to Clooney’s Danny Ocean. Naturally, this places her as the leader of her group of female criminals. Her performance didn’t really strike me as particularly good or charismatic, as a thief in the Oceans world would. Cate Blanchett does her best impression of Brad Pitt’s Rusty, and I think it worked pretty well. I found her character interesting and a good contrast and voice of reason to Bullock’s character. The actors that surprised me the most were Helena Bonham Carter’s and Sarah Paulson’s characters, as I was curious to see how they’d fit into the group. Both of them performed their parts very well, and it was cool to see all the characters try to get a feel of each other’s styles and work together in the heist. Anne Hathaway is also pretty good in her performance here, but she plays an annoying character (so in that sense, she does a good job of it).

Along with Bullock’s performance, I wasn’t very impressed with the other half of the cast. Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, and Awkwafina are all noticeably weaker in their performances, granted they don’t have as much experience as the other half. However, regardless of whether or not some performances were good or some were bad, it’s really the writing that does them in. The writing felt very forced and disingenuous at times, trying hard to capture the feel of the Ocean’s trilogy but not being able to competently imitate it. There weren’t many funny moments in the film even though they definitely tried to make them funny, with most of the comedic beats landing on a flat note. Regardless of how well of an actor you are, it’s hard to perform well when the script isn’t up to par.

Perhaps the weakest part of the film is the lack of stakes. When it comes to a heist movie, you want there to be high stakes. There was no such thing in this movie. There’s no tension, no risk, and there isn’t even a real antagonist. Throughout the movie you kind of just see the crew of characters pull off a heist, but you don’t really ever seem to care about whether or not they fail or succeed. You want the payoff to matter, but in this film it kind of seems like an afterthought.

This film is in no way a terrible film, it’s just really disappointing. With a cast like this, you’d wish that there were more moments where the characters get to mesh well with each other, and share great scenes together. The absence of that is pretty jarring, but it still ends up being an average heist film. It’s clear that they called it Ocean’s 8 because they want to make two more movies to complete their own trilogy, but I hope that the future movies can capture their own charm. There are bits and pieces of the original trilogy and some cool call-backs, but there needs to be more in order to keep this franchise afloat.

Grade: C+/69

“Incredibles 2” Review

After over a decade, the sequel to my favorite Pixar movie has arrived. The Incredibles movie has always put an interesting spin on the superhero genre, as it focused more on family than the typical hero’s journey. Incredibles 2 continues that path of exploring different themes over familiar superhero tropes, and does so in an effective manner.

Pixar continues to show the world why they are one of the top animation studios. All the animation is fantastic, especially in the action scenes. The movie goes through great lengths to show how Elastigirl can utilize all of her powers, in a way that probably fits the animated space better than live action (sorry, Fantastic Four). Animated superhero movies always have a bit of an advantage in what they can show without it looking weird, and this film makes the most of it with every action scene.

One thing that sticks out about the film is its devotion to certain characters over others. Elastigirl and Jack-Jack take up a lot of the screen time, which is both good and bad. The narrative of the film focuses more on the mom’s responsibilities and the majority of the comedic parts are on all of Jack-Jack’s scenes, which works really well since he is both an interesting and also hilarious character to focus on. However, when you throw in a couple more plot points on top of those two, there really are a lot of different things going on the entire time, which made me a bit sad that they didn’t focus on the family as a whole more. I think the charm of the first movie was seeing all the family members interact with each other throughout each characters’ development, and that is something you don’t see as much in this film.

With that one complaint aside, it’s still an endlessly entertaining movie. It is still very funny, and a well put-together movie. Incredibles 2 does a good job of exploring themes of parenthood, personal responsibility, desire, and fanaticism in a complex but palatable way. At the end of the day, it’s a fun movie, and one of Pixar’s best sequels. It sets up for a potential third movie, which is something I would love to see. Still not entirely sure why it took us 14 years to get a sequel to this and yet we have 3 Cars movies…kids must like the toys more.

Grade: B+/83

 

“American Animals” Review

2018 has been a weird year. There have been a fair share of good/great movies mixed in with not so good/bad movies, but many of the good/great movies have come with a fat asterisk attached to them. Just looking back at some of the films I’ve enjoyed, a lot of them come with a disclaimer that they are entertaining as long as you disregard its absurdity and stupidity (Ready Player One, Batman Ninja), or are good but terrifying (Hereditary), or good but confusing (Annihilation). I found it hard to believe that it’s taken over half the year to find my first movie that I would recommend to everyone, but here we are at American Animals.

American Animals follows the true story of a bunch of college kids who decide to plan a heist over some very precious books. This film is directed by Bart Layton, who directed the documentary The Imposter, a film with a story that is almost too crazy to be true. If you’ve seen The Imposter, then you know how Layton creatively crafts a film that blends both fiction and reality together; and with his newest film, Layton does that masterfully in American Animals.

I really don’t want to spoil anything in this film. It’s a very unique heist movie, and it has very high thrills throughout. Not only that, but there’s some good time dedicated to developing the characters. You’ll wish that there was more interaction between them all, as some of them are introduced quite late. This film has a fantastic pacing to it, and will keep you invested throughout. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this film, and I hope that this will be the movie that gets Layton more exposure to the general public.

The two lead performances are fantastic. Evan Peters of X-Men fame has his breakout role here, as he plays the eccentric “leader” of the group of guys. Barry Keoghan also gives a terrific performance, although his character is more subdued and pensive. Both actors work really well off of each other, and their contrasting personalities add to the drama in the film. These two are definitely stars on the rise.

This has been one of the most surprising films of the year for me, and I would recommend this film to anyone. It’s creatively engineered, surprisingly thrilling, and fantastically acted. In a year where dumb, confusing, or terrifying movies have entertained me the most, American Animals is the first fantastic movie of the year, with no strings attached.

Grade: B+/84