"Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation" ADVANCED Review

Yesterday, thanks to my good friend Spencer Cohen, I had the enormous honor of attending the Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation red carpet premiere in New York City. It was a surreal experience lining up in the middle of Times Square, receiving free movie memorabilia such as shirts, sunglasses, hats and a poster. I actually had the opportunity to talk to Jeremy Renner and JJ Abrams very briefly and get autographs from Christopher McQuarrie and Abrams. After the red carpet event where we were able to get up close with the cast of the movie, we were sent to the AMC Empire on 42nd street where we were all treated to popcorn, soda, and a free screening of the film in IMAX. This was a magnificent and memorable experience which I will not soon forget. And thankfully, that applies to the movie too.

Picking up a few years after the events of the last film in the franchise, we find Ethan Hunt and the IMF team going up against the mysterious Syndicate. They must also contend with the opposition they are receiving from the CIA. With few resources, and not many they trust, Ethan and his team must take on forces which they do not fully understand. 

What I love most about the Mission Impossible series is that it doesn't oversaturate itself. There is only a movie released every 4 to 5 years, and when the films do come out, they aren't hastily assembled. They're well written, magnificently choreographed, relevant to the technology and fears that surround society at the time. They're all great films, and they don't come around often enough for you to grow tired of them. 

Rogue Nation is a classic spy versus its own resources tale where the protagonist must contend with multiple forces attempting to bring it down, and it thrusts our cast into a whirlwind adventure where the edge of the seat is the only place you want to find yourself. The story never lets you drift away. There are moments when you are positive you know it will happen one way, and soon a wrench is thrown in to the mix. You never know where it's headed, and all for the better. 

The stunt work in this film is absolutely incredible. The imaginative crafting of such unbelievable fights and feats is only made much more enthralling by the knowledge that they were accomplished in real life with out the aid of CGI. When you see Tom Cruise holding on to the side of an airplane as it takes off, you will feel as though you are on it with him, because it's so authentically majestic. 

Cruise gives yet another focused and stellar turn as our hero Ethan Hunt. What makes this role so uniquely his is how his character has aura about him in which all and nothing are revealed at the same time. You don't know whether he is crazy or brilliant, and that speaks to the duplicity with which Cruise sets off on his course. 

While it's obviously Cruise's film, it would be nothing without it's magnificent supporting cast. Simon Pegg's charming comic relief mixed with his never ending loyalty make him a joy to see brought to life. Jeremy Renner's cavalier attitude which makes him integral to the Avengers carries over to this film. Ving Rhames doesn't have a large part, but he also plays an essential role. Alec Baldwin is a new addition, believable in his quasi-antagonism but devoted to his intentions. And finally, Rebecca Ferguson is a new face, but one which I hope to see more of as she is an enigma unto herself. You never know where she lies. And that's all part of the fun. 

See this movie. See it in IMAX for the plane scene alone. But see it. It's classic action filmmaking and it's a never ending dose of adrenaline. 

A

"Yeah, I'm thinking I'm Back"

Yes, it's been a while. As some of you may know, I'm currently interning with a creative media outlet alongside working my two regular jobs and (if you can believe it) spending a good deal of time in the gym. Suffice to say, I've been pretty tied up with things and unable to write many reviews, let alone tape an episode of Flick Check. But growing up is about balancing life, and now I believe I am in a place where I can throw reviewing back into the mix. So as much as I can, I will be posting written reviews again. However, for the time being, Flick Check is on hiatus. I promise it will be back in the next month with new episodes, but for the time being, this is the place to look for my movie reviews. In any case.....

In order to kick off my return, let's start with six brief reviews of what I've seen since my last review in May. 

I've never really cared much for Melissa McCarthy. She's never seemed deep to me. But then I saw Spy and discovered a level of emotion in her I didn't know about. It's a roaringly hilarious secret agent film which plays amongst the tropes (even if some seem Austin Powers-y) but also discovers heart in the main protagonist. McCarthy is ready for stronger roles, and the fact that she was able to make me feel something in the middle of what I assumed would be just another blockbuster has made me see her in a whole new light. But the real joy of this film and the biggest surprise in years is Jason Statham. Like McCarthy, he's only ever seemed to be one person. Just your average tough British man who uses his fists as weapons and talks a big game. Never in the summers that i've watched him beat the crap out of random henchmen could I have ever imagined that the man was actually funny! Sure he's just playing a parody of his normal characters, but he does it so brilliantly. The absolute absurdity and timing of his comedy works to his advantage. His back and forth with McCarthy sold this film. I sincerely hope that this does for him what 21 Jump Street did for Channing Tatum. 

A-

In the new season of Trailer Park Boys, the writers decided to shake things up by adding a new twist: Sunnyvale is now a retirement community. Why bring that up? Because it kept the show from growing stale. The only way that a new Jurassic Park film could have worked was if they did something different. They did: this time the park is open. While the dinos done wild is still here, it's fresher. In many ways, Jurassic World works. Chris Pratt's trademark charm is undeniably a pro. His animal trainer carries the film while showing that he can play the role straighter than he usually has while also letting him be quirky. And the nostalgia that the film has for the original is certainly appealing to the mass audience, if not a little cheating. Yet where it falters is the children. The young protagonists are just not convincing and feel out of place. The kids in the first movie didn't feel like they were shoehorned, but this time they feel like they were added to try and replicate a formula. Their plot is just way too unfocused. Also, Ty Simpkins still seems very hollow as an actor. I know he's young, and hopefully he'll get more of a range, but he doesn't seem any better than he did in Iron Man 3. But it's still a fun movie, and the 2nd best in the series.

B+

Dope is one of those films that look great in the trailers, yet you go into the theater not knowing what it's really about. When it's over, you realize it's not going to be one of your favorite movies, but damn was it good. The raw, tense story of growing up in Inglewood, CA where the schools have metal detectors and the drug dealers run amok. It's a brutally real story of Malcolm whose only wish is to have a normal life and make it into Harvard while staying out of trouble. Life has other plans for him. The brilliance of this film is that it's comprised of a relatively unknown cast with the exception of Blake Anderson of Workaholics. What this does is make you feel the story through a unique perspective without a preconceived notion of who the characters are. Shameik Moore gives a wonderfully troubled performance which showcases how much of a change he grows through and how real it feels. He just wants to be a kid, but life won't let him. The film gets a little heavy handed with it's message in the third act, but it's a brilliant story.

A-

It's been two years since the last Pixar movie, and five since the last great one. Inside Out is a real return to form for the company. It's a touching story inside the head of a young girl named Riley navigating life in a new city, and putting her emotions on display as they guide her. The story of Riley herself is nothing particularly new, but her emotions and their adventures make it all worth the journey. It's a unique perspective on what would be an otherwise mundane tale, and the way it's told will grab your heart and not let go. It's profound, funny, sweet, and endearing all at once. The cast bring warmth and perspective into these characters and it absolutely pops. I'll admit, by the end, I was crying. And I say that proudly. 

A

Ted 2 is pretty much what you would expect. It's hilarious if you enjoy Seth McFarlane's sense of humor, and appallingly offensive if you don't. But what it boils down to is more of the same. It's always fun to see Mark Wahlberg play it loosely, and he manages some great one liners, but it's not enough to save Ted 2 from being a retread. There are funny cameos, one in particular that will never get old, but I wouldn't advise you seeing Ted 2 on that basis. It's funny, just not ticket price funny. 

C+

If a movie is awful but I still like it, odds are it has Arnold Schwarzenegger in it. He's always been my kryptonite. Most likely due to the fact that I grew up on his films. When he left office as Governor, I was all too thrilled to have him acting again. When I heard he was returning to the fading Terminator franchise, I looked forward to having the spark back after Christian Bale extinguished it. But Terminator: Genisys takes a franchise already known for it's confusing paradoxes and flimsy continuity and smacks it with a sledgehammer. It's a long, twisted mess of a movie that features way too much going on and can't keep itself in check. It's certainly more interesting than the last two films, but that doesn't say much at all. Emilia Clarke does her best, but she can't replace Linda Hamilton. Jason Clarke is satisfactory, but the movie feels beneath him. And try as they might, Hollywood just can't seem to figure out what to do with Jai Courtney. Whereas Arnold Schwarzenegger is usually just an excuse to see a bad movie, in this one, he's the only thing saving it. The same mono-tonal, yet heartfelt work that he did in T2 is here. He's as alive as a cyborg can be. He doesn't need the movie to focus on him, yet he steals the show with his committed and purposefully dry performance. He always said he would be back, and for the first time since leaving office, he truly is. 

C-