Wednesday Whoa - Top Gun Maverick

 Highway to the Danger Zone - thanks Kenny Loggins  for your awesome tune. 

Tom Cruise nailed it for Memorial Weekend.  Top Gun Maverick is action packed adventure, nostalgia, and  just hot shot edge of your seat zoom zoom effects.  Ray said he felt clenched at times. I was wishing I took  some Dramamine. 

This movie is the right mix of some looking back (oh Goose, oh those young guys - Iceman, Maverick, etc. ), and also current day.  Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is still "just" a Captain. So what?  He's the  BEST.  Don't think,  just fly. Oh, he's still annoying higher ups (Jon Hamm), and yes Iceman (Val Kilmer) - now Admiral of the Pacific Fleet has kept  Maverick in the loop and in a job.  They handle Val Kilmer's current life condition (throat cancer, etc) well and dang, that's a bit of a sniffle. 

And now Goose's son, Rooster (an  excellent Miles Teller) is in the mix for a top mission but of course there's some bad blood issues. Gee - do you think there's some drama?  Oh yeah. 

Jennifer Connelly is the love interest and it's good to see her on screen. She's pretty, age appropriate, and holds her own in scenes. 

I won't give the plot but you can count on Maverick (Tom Cruise)  to save the day. (no Huge plot surprise).  Just go. Enjoy.!!!  Bask in the big screen and a perfect movie  to get us excited about movies again. 

Hello Summer Blockbusters!

Movie Review Madness: Mission Impossible - Fallout

Mission Impossible – Fallout is incredible movie making and a top notch addition to the whole series. Tom Cruise (plays Ethan Hunt) is aging but still believable as he foils the plot of M16 operative turned anarchist Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). Cruise dives, dashes, zooms, careens, and also climbs into a helicopter. His derring-do stunts are legendary and gasp worthy.  His sidekicks played by Ving Rhames (Luther), Simon Pegg (Benji), and Rebecca Ferguson (Ilsa) are reliable and add some humor and drama to the movie.

There are plenty of double-triple crosses.  Vanessa Kirby’s White Widow brings a lot of energy to the film – is she good or bad?  Henry Cavill’s CIA operative is assigned to shadow the group. Oh, he’s a cool cucumber and there are some tight scenes with Cruise. Angela Bassett is a top dog and she and Alec Baldwin go toe to toe in regards to the departmental power struggle. There’s plutonium out there with the potential for disaster. Tick Tock Tick….

Lots of travel, action, kick moves, and more. The plot almost goes too quick – I had to think a bit to keep track of who was doing what to whom and why? But there’s heart in this film too – some golden moments with Ethan and his people demonstrating a little fatigue, some world weary concern. Whew! This is a quality summer blockbuster. Cruise runs and runs, defies gravity at times, hangs from a rope, and more. He is his own mission impossible against time.  But I recommend you use your time to see MI – Fallout

Movie Review: Mission Impossible Rogue Nation

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is darn awesome summer movie making. It starts off with Tom Cruise (as Ethan Hunt) hanging off a huge Russian airplane. The thrills accelerate from there. I won’t go into plot because of course it’s convoluted. Ethan and gang have been chasing the Syndicate, but the CIA says there is no syndicate, but of course, there’s a syndicate. And these “dead” spies that appear to be alive have gone rogue.  

A key question in Mission Impossible movies is who works for whom?  Where do loyalties lie? Who can we trust or not trust, or maybe sorta trust and they sorta trust us and we all use each other?  Ethan has his loyal crew played by Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, and Jeremy Renner. Poor Jeremy is stuck back in CIA HQ answering to Alec Baldwin – the joke is “I cannot confirm or deny the existence of that.” Meanwhile, Ethan is chasing the syndicate, but keeps encountering Rebecca Ferguson – she’s maybe British intelligence, or maybe working for the bad dude, or straddling many worlds. Either way, she saves Ethan’s butt a few times and vice versa. Ferguson is a pretty actress who appears to have the smarts and the athletic ability to pull off killings, all while removing great shoes. 

Tom Cruise looks great and is so perfect for this role. He can just gaze at someone, crinkle his eyes, toss off a line, and then spring into action. He makes it look effortless after this many years in the business. I think it’s easy to take for granted how smooth he is as an actor. The Mission Impossible franchise keeps upping the ante successfully. It has not jumped the shark or gone cheesy.  Rogue Nation is a worthy addition. So hang on tight, hold your breath, and wear a seatbelt – this movie will take you for quite an entertaining ride.

Movie Review: Jack Reacher

Author Lee Child's created Jack Reacher, over six feet tall, two hundred pounds, blond hair, blue eyes, brains and brawn in a magnificent package. Now who shall we cast in that role? Hmmm. Thinking, thinking. Did you think of Tom Cruise - all five foot seven or so, less than two hundred pounds, brown hair and dark eyes? Well, that's the cinematic Jack Reacher in the movie of the same name, and it turned out okay.

The key to any Lee Child's book is the action, and the movie brings his book, One Shot, to life with crazy violence, plenty of intrigue, government rogue operators, and lots of twists and turns. Tom Cruise has always played smart, so he's perfect in that regards. Snappy dialogue raises the stakes of what could be a regular action thriller movie. Instead, this is sharp with plenty of give and take. Throw in Robert DuVall at the end and you've got cinematic gold. Nothing like an old coot who can shoot a gun, and out act anyone in the room.

The key to Jack Reacher is he can't be found unless he wants to be found. He shows up at the CIA HQ just when a sniper gives Reacher's name. Why did this guy snap and shoot five civilians? Leave it to Jack to start figuring out if it was random or if there was a connection between the victims. And then the whole thing goes international with some nasty characters in the mix.

This is a very hard R with over the top violence. But I call it movie violence - just a barrage of bad guys shooting bad guys and good guys shooting better. I don't condone violence, but I can handle this because it's non-malicious cinema shooting. Great car chases abound, and of course Jack Reacher can fight and win over five guys. He's quick, clever, and has Special Forces super duper secret moves.

If you haven't read the books, you'll enjoy Jack Reacher for sheer action. If you have read the books, just give it up and go with Tom Cruise. If it's okay with Lee Child, then it's okay for you and me. Not a mission impossible to grasp.

Movie Review: Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is so much better as a stage show. I loved seeing the live production. It had the decadence of 80s tunes, the energy, the nastiness, the sleaze, and naughty bits. Sadly the Hollywood film version is cleaned up and maybe a tad boring.

Great tunes - I love 80s metal hair bands, the pop, and any Journey. Julianne Hough is so damn cute as our heroine. She's pretty - can sing and can dance. The hero - Diego B. is okay - fairly forgettable. Alex Baldwin and Russell Brand as the bar owner and manager are brilliant - truly they are scene stealers. Russell Brand just looks the part. Truly fab. Mary J.Blige can sing her heart out - she's good as the madame of the Venus Club.

Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx, the super duper rock-wasted star - is very good, yet he's Tom Cruise. To me he looked too buff. The stage show had a great Stacee - a bit too skinny wastedness. Tom was a tad too old for this role. He looked great - maybe too great. He has a pleasant voice and did a decent job, yet I always knew it was Tom Cruise on screen. Trying too hard.

Paul Giamatti is genius as the sleazoid agent. He's just such a creative actor, often overlooked for his genius Catherine Zeta-Jones annoyed me immensely in her role. They changed up a bunch in this area from the stage show, as to who was evil. I liked Catherine in Chicago - she can sing and dance, I'll give her that. Here - she was miscast and really annoying.

The problem with this movie version was the energy level. The stage show kept accelerating. The movie had a lot of lapses - yawn city. I found myself checking my watch - not a good sign.

Rock of Ages - okay for rental and I predict it'll be there soon. Not a screen success. Don't Stop Believing...........that's the key to 80s music. This movie didn't totally deliver. Wait for rental. Enjoy some bad wigs and then sing along.