Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Just call Tom Cruise Ponce De Leon. He’s found the fountain of youth, and at a spry fifty-six years old, he doesn’t look a day over forty. Notorious for doing his own stunts, even to the chagrin of Paramount’s insurance policy, he takes things to another level with a HALO (high altitude low opening) jump out of a plane at a frosty and frightening twenty-five thousand feet. Reportedly, he made the jump over one hundred times to get the shot just right for the film. That’s dedication to his craft and for that among other stunts, he’s the most prolific action star of our generation.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back for the sixth time since Brian DePalma resurrected the franchise from 1960’s television graveyard in 1996. He’s tasked with going off the grid with his team of fellow tech-nerd super-spies Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames) as well as the MI6 agent Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) from the last installment, “Rogue Nation.” The team gallivants around the globe, chasing plutonium bombs, and a group of sophisticated anarchist terrorists called “The Apostles.” Joining the team this time around is the CIA agent known only as Walker (Henry Cavil). He’s the muscle that the franchise has been sorely lacking, and actually complements Ethan’s petite physique nicely, as demonstrated in a great bathroom fight scene.

Director Christopher McQuarrie has been writing and directing Tom Cruise movies since 2008, so they clearly enjoy working with each other. I wonder though, if the franchise could use a little bit of freshening up. Maybe a young writer to spice things up a bit more than the cookie-cutter, predictable films that we see from Ethan Hunt. Thinking about Ian Fleming and his iconic spy, James Bond, there just seem to be more memorable antagonists, stronger themes, and tendrils of storylines that add up to more than just “Stop the nuclear madman”. Is that asking too much?

At a hefty two and a half hours, the story is dense and full of typical franchise intrigue and spy moves. Double crosses, plans that seemingly fall apart only to have been masterfully orchestrated to perfection in the first place, and of course, the obligatory wire-cutting as the bomb countdown ticks ever-closer to zero. It seems to cross the line from traditional “Mission: Impossible” to a more mainstream action film, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I did miss some of the more elaborate spy sequences which gave way to massive stunts. Not a bad trade-off, but definitely moving in a different direction for the franchise.

What could have been stronger? The humor was nearly non-existent, Alec Baldwin could have had more screentime as IMF chief Hunley, and they could have picked two different looking females to play the British agent (Ferguson) and Hunt’s long-lost love (Michelle Monaghan). They could play twin sisters, didn’t someone in casting catch this? Worth noting as well is that the “twist” they throw at audiences near the end could be seen a mile away, which really could have been done differently to throw us off the scent.

In spite of these minor complaints, Tom Cruise is on top of his game. The film delivers some of the best car and motorcycle chases of 2018, some pretty cool air-to-air helicopter action, and of course, Tom Cruise jumping out of a plane at twenty-five thousand feet. You’ll want to see this film for the same reason you line up to see any summer blockbuster, and I have to tell you, this one is pretty entertaining. After a string of disappointing films recently, this is finally one I’d recommend. 8/10.

Annual Top 100

It's been awhile since I updated my top 100 list, so I thought it might be a good summer evening task while I sit next to my air conditioner in my office. I've taken the approach of compiling these alphabetically as opposed to numerically because, let's be honest, it's arbitrary to decide which one belongs at number 37 and which one belongs at 36. Likewise, comparing comedies to dramas to thrillers to independent fare as well as films as current as 2017 to films as old as the 1940's is an arduous and futile endeavor.

I've made some changes to this list since last posted, and it's a new direction that I'm comfortable with. Gone are many of the "classics" that although are great films in their own right, and are artifacts of how film has progressed over the decades, are more or less relics and for the most part just don't hold up to the quality, innovation, acting, stories, and direction of more modern films. There are several nods I've given to directors who I believe to be worthy of recognition (if only to the particular audience who read this blog), so for that I chose their finest work. There are also several films that hold a special place for me because of how they made me feel the first time I watched them.

It's a subjective list, but one that I will defend to any and all comers. So bring your comments. Email me, post on the comment thread, or send me a text or instant message. I welcome it and honestly would love to hear your thoughts as well. So without further ado, here are Adam's Top 100 Movies of All-Time - 2018 edition.

2001
12 Angry Men
A Clockwork Orange
A History of Violence
Alien
Aliens
American Beauty
American History X
Animal House
Annie Hall
Apocalypse Now
Argo
Boogie Nights
Braveheart
Brokeback Mountain
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Caddyshack
Captain Phillips
Casablanca
Children of Men
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
Dazed and Confused
Dead Poets Society
Deer Hunter
Dr. Strangelove
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fargo
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Fight Club
Forrest Gump
Full Metal Jacket
Gladiator
Good Fellas
Good Will Hunting
Half Nelson
Heat
High Noon
Inception
Inglorious Basterds
It's a Wonderful Life
Jaws
LA Confidential
M.A.S.H
Manchester by the Sea
Moneyball
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Mystic River
No Country for Old Men
North by Northwest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Patton
Platoon
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Rear Window
Reservoir Dogs
Return of the Jedi
Road to Perdition
Rocky
Saving Private Ryan
Scarface
Schindler's List
Se7en
Seven Samurai
Sideways
Spotlight
Star Wars
Taxi Driver
The Dark Knight
The Departed
The Empire Strikes Back
The Exorcist
The French Connection
The Godfather
The Godfather 2
The Graduate
The Hurt Locker
The Martian
The Matrix
The Revenant
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shining
The Silence of the Lambs
The Sixth Sense
The Thing
The Truman Show
The Usual Suspects
There Will Be Blood
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Titanic
To Kill a Mockingbird
Tombstone
Training Day
Unforgiven
Up in the Air
Vertigo
Whiplash

Skyscraper

“Towering Inferno,” meet the twenty-first Century “Die Hard.” Move over Roland Emmerich, there’s a new disaster artist in town, and it’s none other than Rawson Marshall Thurber. Who? The guy who brought you “We’re the Millers” and “Dodgeball” of course. Surprised? Me too, but he captures devastation exceptionally well… If it were 1988.

The world’s tallest building has been completed in Hong Kong, and security expert Will Sawyer (Dwayne Johnson) and his family are the first to live in the residential segment. Located ninety stories up, there is a lush park separating the mixed use facility from the ground below. Rising high into the stratosphere is another hundred and thirty stories of apartments and condos simply awaiting the approval of the insurance provider and, you guessed it, the security expert.

Once an FBI hostage negotiator, Will has found redemption in the form of his loving family after a standoff-gone-wrong took his leg and his badge ten years prior. Now, he’s the only one who can save the day when a group of savvy European terrorists take over the Nakatomi, er, I mean Zhou Long Ji tower. Sound familiar? It should, because Bruce Willis got a little banged up back in 1988, and both heroes managed to sustain cuts, falls, bruises, burns, and still single-handedly defeat military-grade henchmen with nothing but a little duct tape, elbow grease. And ingenuity.

The similarities to the Bruce Willis classic don’t end with the characters, plot, tension, and high-flying explosions. There is a vibe attached to this film that in spite of the unabashedly transparent cliche and lack of originality, is just plain fun. The film certainly took me back to the 1980’s when action films took themselves too seriously, but also always maintained the feel that you were watching a movie. Not compelling enough to be immersive, and never believable in the slightest. Just good old fashioned popcorn munching entertainment.

Set in Hong Kong with many Chinese actors in critical roles (including Chinese superstar Chin Han), there is clearly an angle to dominate the Chinese market. Predicted to make around $40 million opening weekend domestically, on a budget of just $120 million, I see this being a tremendously profitable film for producer Dwayne Johnson and others. In fact, depending on his cut, I reckon he will top Hollywood’s earners list for 2018 without much competition.

I’m not saying this is a good movie. Quite the contrary, but it struck a nerve with me and for that I have to give it a slightly higher rating than if I were being truly objective. Perhaps a bit of nostalgia, and to be honest, the building had some pretty cool features that may or may not be architecturally accurate. The artificial leg didn’t seem to slow our hero down much, and was even used in a couple of innovative ways during his travails, but otherwise seemed to be a bit of a gimmick that they could have done without. It’s also hard to imagine Dwayne Johnson playing a meek anti-hero, so the film could have gone a different direction if they had a less imposing protagonist. But that’s not the point, is it? Nope, because we want to see muscles, rappelling, climbing monkey-bars two thousand feet in the sky, and punches that can knock guys out of their socks.

We all know that money drives sequels, so I’m already waiting on “Skyscraper 2: Higher and even more skyscrapier.” Maybe they can tackle Dubai this time. You should enjoy this one, so settle in, grab some popcorn, and reminisce about John McClane. 7/10.

Avengers Ruminations

After the shocking excitement of "Infinity War," I had to jot down some thoughts, predictions, ponderings, and Marvel fan fiction of sorts.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've seen "Avengers: Infinity War" at least once by now. The disposition of the fallen heroes is certainly not as terminal as it seems, with upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy 3," "Black Panther 2," "Spider-Man: Far from Home," and "Dr. Strange 2". It's foolish to kill off some of the MCEU's most profitable characters, and who doesn't love Tom Holland? Brilliant casting move.

No, the next Avengers film will add the most powerful of all in Captain Marvel (solo movie in February 2019), who will be the Superman of the Marvel universe. We also might be treated to an appearance by Adam Warlock, who was teased at the end of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."

So what will become of the MCEU after the devastation at the hands of Thanos? Well, I'll tell you my hypothesis, which is ever-evolving (isn't that the fun of it all?). My original hypothesis was that the vanished were actually the survivors. Makes sense, as they are the new characters driving new, profitable franchises. It would be a great twist and an easy out for the massive contracts of Thor, Hulk, Captain, Iron Man, Black Widow, War Machine, Rocket Raccoon. However, it's not going to be that easy, although it would have caused an uproar among fanboys and girls worldwide. I still like that version of things.

Assuming there isn't a massive twist, our survivors are all long-standing members, so this is an opportunity to say goodbye to them without sharing too much screentime with the young bucks. It's a proper sendoff into the sunset, and although some of them will certainly find their characters killed off, some will simply disappear, never to be seen again. Until the character is rebooted.

Here's the skinny. The rumored title of the next Avengers film follows two narratives, and I could be wrong on both counts, but one is "Avengers: Endgame" and another is "Avengers: F__ H___" which could be Fallen Heroes, or Final Hour, or Finding Hawkeye (not likely). Endgame seems to be the prevailing theory, so we'll go with that. Dr. Strange told Iron Man that they were in the Endgame, so it's on.

Gamora, Vision, and Loki are dead. Sorry guys, they aren't coming back. Iron Man was left on Titan with Nebula, so he is obviously the last hope for half the universe, so the two of them will chase down Thanos and try to get the Infinity Gauntlet back, and turn back the hands of time to save all their friends. Their mission will coincide with the Earth mission where Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, War Machine, and Rocket Raccoon will find Hawkeye, who has evolved into a new hero named Ronin (I'm pretty excited to see how this goes).

Where I'm uncertain is how Captain Marvel and potentially Adam Warlock will fit in with this narrative, they may be the third storyline, taking the supernatural approach and enlisting the help of the Nova Corp. in some mission in the vast reaches of space, no doubt linking up with Iron Man and Nebula.

Here's what's going to happen, and I'll lay it out in two ways. Who will die, and what the climactic sequences simply need to be in order to work effectively.

Who will die? Several of our heroes won't be returning. Among the fallen heroes, I predict Captain America, Iron Man, War Machine, Nebula, and possibly Ant-Man. I say the last one based on how the franchise might evolve, and I see the Wasp as a stronger addition to the New Avengers, and the death of Ant-Man could be an emotional tear-jerker.

Captain America will sacrifice himself to save the Avengers on Earth while Iron Man will make the ultimate sacrifice to save the universe in acquiring the soul stone. This means that what he loves most must be sacrificed, and it's either going to be himself (although how that will help things I'm not sure), or Pepper Potts and her unborn child... This could get super tragic, as it should because it's the end of the initial arc of the original Avengers.

Thanos will be found and defeated, time will be turned back, and life will continue to exist as if nothing happened in the first place. But whether the Avengers or half of humanity will have any after-effects remains to be seen. What's more certain is that we will enter a new age with a new core of heroes ready to take on new adventures.

This leads us to the New Avengers. Assuming all of the perished return, Dr. Strange will take up the role of leader in Tony Stark's stead. Black Widow and Hawkeye will retire, as will Nick Fury. Where SHIELD falls in the role of the new generation remains uncertain, but there will be a presence in future films as it's sort of the foundation of the organization and its funding.

Steven Strange will be surrounded by Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Falcon, Winter Soldier (the new Captain America), Scarlet Witch, The Wasp, and Spider-Man. Great new team which will grow and shrink over the coming decades. Where is Thor? He'll leave Earth conveniently to rebuild Asgaard, and the Guardians will return to their adventures in the cosmos. Where's Hulk? That leaves me a little befuddled. A solo franchise hasn't been announced, and Ruffalo has been with the group for quite awhile, so he might be ready to hang up the purple stretchy pants.

The key things to keep an eye on will be the deaths of Iron Man and Captain America, which are beyond inevitable. Also, how powerful will Captain Marvel be? We'll find out in February. There is the distinct possibility that making her too much like Superman will destroy the credibility of the universe, but Marvel has done a nice job with Thor and Hulk (and Scarlet Witch) in making their powers fallible and their personalities human-like. My wild card is Ronin. He's going to emerge as a fan favorite and will give Jeremy Renner a nice send-off

We'll see what happens, but what's clear is that Kevin Feige and his team are in control of this vehicle. "Dr. Strange," "Black Panther," "Captain Marvel," "Guardians" and "Spider-Man" will lead us into a new era of superhero excitement. Watch out, DC.

Ant-Man and the Wasp

Coming off the heels of the brilliant (“Black Panther”) and epic (“Avengers: Infinity War”), we have a short respite in “Ant-Man and the Wasp” or as I like to call it, Marvel lite. What it lacks in story or brawn, it makes up for in humor, but it never quite reaches as massive heights as when Ant-Man grows to nearly seven stories tall in the San Francisco harbor.

Paul Rudd returns as the tiny avenger, this time joined by a more capable hero; the Wasp (Evangeline Lilly). Together, they must help Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) venture into the unstable quantum realm to rescue his long lost wife, Janet Van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer). Naturally, there is a greedy villain played sleazily by Walton Goggins who’s after Hank’s technology for the financial value, while a mysterious apparition named Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) is chasing it for her own reasons. Neither of the antagonists quite measure up to the challenge of the task however, even though they are dealing with two elderly scientists, a bumbling thief in a cool suit, and a sidekick who turns out to be much more capable than our mini-hero. In other words, any of the real Avengers would have destroyed their adversaries easily.

But “Ant-Man” is a different type of superhero movie, isn’t it? More Paul Rudd and less Thanos. You know what I mean. Michael Pena returns as Luis, the wisecracking friend of Scott’s who at first seems unbearably annoying in his speedy quips, but it really does grows on you and in one particular scene, he redeems himself completely with the help of Rudd and Lilly. The film delivers on its promise from the previews, but don’t expect anything more than a mediocre good time.

Director Peyton Reed reprises his role manipulating the sizes of all types of objects: human, insect, and even Pez dispenser. He must have had a ball playing with these ideas, but the whole quantum realm thing gets a little out of hand with the half-hearted explanation of the scientific process. The action scenes were fun and effects were pretty cool, but there was something missing. I’m not sure if it’s so much that something was actually missing as it was just slightly unsatisfying and underwhelming. Unfortunately, even some of the effects seemed a bit beneath Marvel’s abilities.

Writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers have been busy with hits “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” and “The Lego Batman Movie” on their resume just in the last year and a half, so maybe they were feeling burned out and just cranked out what they could, putting too much focus on the witty repartee and not enough on the conflict.

As we’ve seen recently, the minds behind Marvel have an endgame in mind for the current band of Avengers, and Ant-Man and the Wasp are no exception. Going into the agonizing dry spell until the next installment, we are given time to contemplate and speculate where the heroes have gone, which is great for business. Next March, we will meet a game-changer in “Captain Marvel” (Brie Larson), and then we can all collectively exhale when we learn the true fate of our favorite heroes in May’s “Avengers 4.”

What’s next for the franchise? Well, as the post-credits scene suggests, this film fits right in where “Infinity War” left off, and will up the stakes even more as we wait for next May. I suppose they can’t all be winners, and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is definitely what I would call low-hanging fruit in the MCEU. Not the worst one we’ve seen, but definitely could have been better. But just like ice cream, Marvel movies are good even when they are bad. 6/10.