The Grey

I like Liam Neeson (Unknown) a lot.  He was under my radar for a while, and the only thing I remembered him for was Schindler’s List, which is old as hell.  Recently he’s been featured in roles that show him as heroic and resourceful, and I think he displays an understated strength on screen.  It’s actually quite attractive.  Ever since Taken he has proven capable of taking roles that challenge his character and test his resilience.  And he’s pretty hot for an old(er) guy.

The Grey is the story of a group of oil drillers who survive an airplane crash, leaving them stranded in the Alaskan wilderness.  Neeson is featured as Ottway, a solitary man whose job it is to protect the drillers from wolves while they work.  The drillers have a thankless job, working in bone-chilling whether, completely isolated from everyone but each other.  Ottway is very lonely, and we learn through dreamy flashbacks that he has lost a woman he loved.  His cold environment does nothing to warm his heart, and he even contemplates suicide.  Well, obviously we know he’s not going to pull the trigger or else The Grey would have only lasted about 30 minutes.  I thought his aborted suicide attempt was perhaps a bit of foreshadowing, since I knew from the trailer that their plane was going to crash.  Maybe Ottway is resilient, and this fortitude will serve him well later.  When their plane goes down, he quickly emerges as natural leader of the small band of survivors.

The majority of the movie shows Ottway and six other survivors as they traverse the bleak landscape, trying desperately to evade a large pack of predatory wolves.  The wolves quickly claimed their first victim shortly after the plane went down, and Ottway determines that they cannot remain near the wreckage.  Thus begins their arduous journey over the frozen tundra.  Not only must they navigate the frigid terrain, they must harness their competing egos and stick together if they hope to survive.

Neeson gave a good performance, and he was believable as the resourceful hero.  Unfortunately, I don’t have anything else good to say about this movie.  I thought it would be an action-packed tale of survival and triumph, as the men (or most of them) emerged victorious after learning to appreciate their lives and finding true purpose.  Instead, The Grey was a bleak, meandering tale riddled with implausible scenarios and befuddling behavior.  There’s one scene that is just fu**ing impossible.  I won’t spoil it for you – not that you’d care.  There is nothing triumphant about this movie.  I’ve been told that if you stick around for the credits (I did not), you’ll have an extra scene.  Yeah, let’s save cool features like that for good movies, not tripe like this.  I heard about the scene, and even if I would’ve stuck around for it I don’t think my opinion would be any different.  This one would be a waste of money folks.   Good thing I snuck in.

Safe House

Denzel Washington (Unstoppable) has built an immensely successful career that is both prolific and praiseworthy.  His body of work includes biopics, period pieces, action movies, and dramas alike.  He’s an award winning A-list actor that has managed to retain some degree of realism and accessibility, despite the well-deserved fame.  However, Washington is not immune from being pigeonholed like any other actor who routinely chooses similar roles.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing, because he does it well.  I’m just saying, whether it’s The Taking of Pelham 123, Déjà Vu, Man on Fire, or the aforementioned Unstoppable  – we’ve seen it before: Washington saves the day.  Safe House features Washington in a departure from his customary heroic roles, though he winds up an unlikely protagonist by the time the credits roll.

Washington stars as Tobin Frost, a rogue CIA agent who has been off the grid for years.   He resurfaces seeking amnesty at a U.S. consulate after a deal goes wrong and his criminal counterparts begin deadly pursuit.  Next he is transported to a government safe house manned by novice agent Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds, The Change-Up).  Frost was once an elite operative, trained in psychological manipulation and interrogation.  Now he is public enemy no. 1, a criminal so elusive that it seems the only way he could be caught is if he surrendered.  Frost is in possession of a data chip containing valuable classified info, and there are several factions who will stop at nothing to get it; but now he is in the custody of the CIA equivalent of the mailroom guy.  When the safe house is ambushed, Weston is faced with some tough choices.  He must secure the high level asset without getting himself killed.  Meanwhile Frost is yammering the whole time, planting little seeds of doubt in Weston’s head about the Agency, causing him to question the circumstances surrounding their fortuitous coup of the nation’s top traitor.

Safe House featured Washington at his charismatic best.  There was one early scene where he practically radiated off the screen, eyes twinkling, head cocked to the side.  “Don’t I look good?” he asks another character.  “Yes,” says the woman sitting next to me in the theater.  I had to chuckle.  He’s still got “it,” but I’ll admit I found some of the physical scenes a little unrealistic, especially one where he runs from rooftop to rooftop in hard bottom shoes.  Safe House is rightfully marketed as a Denzel Washington flick, as the rest of the cast dwindled by comparison.  Reynolds did a capable job as the wet-behind-the ears newbie, but it’s hard to hold your own next to Washington.  He wasn’t bad, but he just seemed a step behind Denzel, both in terms of character and performance.  Vera Farmiga (Source Code) is always pretty good, but her role was a basic one.

Safe House was an enjoyable movie for me, mainly because of Denzel Washington.  He carried the movie, and he’s the main attraction.  I thought he was worth the price of admission, though the movie itself wasn’t as smart as some of his others.  It was a little formulaic and not very suspenseful.  It’s made clear from the outset that Frost is being set up and who’s responsible.  The movie’s so-called twist hardly qualifies as a surprise, and the plot wasn’t terribly intricate.  Just sit back and bask in the Denzeliness. Grade: B+

Man on a Ledge

Lots of factors play into my decision whether or not to see a particular movie.  Sometimes the story itself looks intriguing, like Limitless or the recent Chronicle.  Other times, it’s the director that draws me in.  I’ll go see an M. Night Shyamalan movie just off GP, because I’m a fan.  More often than not though, it’s the cast that attracts me.  I like Sam Worthington (Avatar, Clash of the Titans), so when I belatedly heard about Man on a Ledge, I didn’t need much convincing.

Worthington stars as Nick Cassidy, a former police officer wrongly convicted of stealing a priceless gem from Wall Street titan David Englander, played by a scary-looking Ed Harris (Appaloosa).  Englander framed Cassidy, who was disgraced after being sentenced to prison.  After being denied parole, Nick decides to take desperate action to clear his name.  I won’t reveal the elaborate ruse that takes place, but lets just say that he devises a plan to escape from prison and soon he’s a fugitive.  Everything that happens next is all part of a carefully designed plan to exonerate Nick while finding out which other cops on the force helped set him up with Englander.  He enlists the help of Officer Lydia Mercer, (Elizabeth Banks, The Next Three Days) who is called in to talk him off the ledge.  Ah, the ledge.  Why is Nick on the ledge, and how can that help him clear his name?  Well, if I told you all that I’d spoil the movie wouldn’t I?  While Nick is on the ledge he forms a cautious bond with Mercer.  A recent mistake in the course of duty has caused her to lose favor with her peers on the force, just as Nick did when he went to prison.  This bond proves useful, because when the you-know-what hits the fan, Mercer is Nick’s only ally.

I think a lot of people are reluctant to see this movie because it seems familiar, or one note.  It’s a little smarter than that though.  It was relatively suspenseful throughout, and certain elements of the movie made it a solid caper.  Worthington let his natural Australian accent creep in a few times, but other than that he gave an earnest performance as the unlikely villain turned hero.  Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau) and Edward Burns also make appearances.  I wasn’t blown away by any one particular performance, but this wasn’t that kind of movie.  It was more plot-driven than character-driven, though the cast was more than capable.  I enjoyed the way it all unfolded, and by the time it’s over we see that Nick had a very strategic plan in place, using his law enforcement experience to predict everyone else’s moves.  The movie even offers a slight commentary on society (or at least jaded New Yorkers) by showing the perverse fascination with which passersby watch Nick, rooting for him to jump.  Was this movie deep and twisty like The Usual Suspects or as clever as Inside Man?  Of course not, but sometimes a distant second is good enough.  You won’t be blown away, but you won’t be disappointed either.  Wow. I just read the previous sentence and that was a lukewarm endorsement LOL. I’ll put it in better terms: Grade B

Chronicle

When I saw the trailer for Chronicle, I just thought it looked cool.  Three high school buddies make a discovery that leads to supernatural telekinetic capabilities.  They’re on some Magneto type shit.  The tagline for the movies asks, “What are you capable of?”  Chronicle examines this question as well as the circumstances that teenagers face as they try to navigate the difficult path to adulthood.

Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) is a withdrawn high school senior.  His nights are spent caring for his dying mother while fending off an abusive father, and his days are spent being bullied at school.  The lone bright spot of his day seems to be when his cousin Matt (Alex Russell) picks up him in the morning.  Like Andrew, Matt also rejects the social norms of high school, but their similarities don’t go beyond a shared disdain for the social pecking order.  Andrew lacks the social skills necessary to form meaningful friendships with most of his peers.  This deficit is highlighted by his decision to chronicle his life experiences at home and school.  Originally it seemed that he just wanted to document his father’s abuse, but he ends up taking a video camera to school and filming his peers, which doesn’t always go over well.  Andrew is thoughtful and passive, hardly deserving of the stream of abuse he seems to get from everywhere.  You can’t help but feel sorry for him, and the depiction of his torment is especially relevant in this age of bullying.

Matt tries to get Andrew out of his shell and persuades him to attend a party, where he encounters Steve Montgomery (Michael B. Jordan, Red Tails), the most popular guy in school.  Steve is one of those rare guys that actually is smart, popular, ambitious, and…nice.  Despite his athletic prowess and immense popularity, he is genuine and friendly.  He takes a liking to Andrew even though their paths never cross at school.  I thought this was a little unrealistic, because teenagers aren’t known for their willingness to step outside the box and transcend the clearly defined social roles they occupy.  Keep in mind that the movie is a chronicle of Andrew’s life, and the story is always told through the lens of his camera and his perspective.  Steve tells Andrew that he and Matt have found something cool that might be worth filming.  They take him to an open field near the house party where they see a huge crater that has formed a tunnel beneath the ground’s surface.  Eventually Andrew follows Matt and Steve underground where they encounter an otherworldly source of light and sound.  As they get closer their noses begin to bleed, and eventually they are scared off.

A short time later, the boys realize that their experience has left them with telekinetic powers.  They have the ability to move objects with their minds.  Think Carrie mixed with the aforementioned Magneto.  Initially their powers are weak, but the more that they use them, the stronger they get, and very quickly.  They spend a Saturday practicing their powers by playing pranks on unsuspecting shoppers at the mall.  It’s harmless, but it shows their willingness to screw with people without regard for their feelings.  Matt makes a teddy bear chase a little girl in a toy store, which is not funny – it’s terrifying.  In a bit of foreshadowing, when it is Andrew’s turn for a trick, things take a turn for the worse.  As the guys are driving home, an impatient vehicle begins blowing its horn behind them.  With a small waive of his hand, Andrew sends the vehicle careening off the side of the road into a lake.  The driver survives, but Matt is compelled to lay down some ground rules after the incident.  He doesn’t want them to use their power on other people or in public.  Matt and Steve are content with their existing strength, but Andrew has been victimized his whole life and this new ability is wildly empowering.  Their unique bond solidifies their friendship, but Andrew’s abusive past has left him unequipped to deal with his new powers, with devastating consequences.

I enjoyed Chronicle because it showed how the seduction of power can corrupt even the meekest among us.  It can be difficult to display humanity when your life experiences have not been very humane.  Likewise, the movie also showed the difficult choices that must be made when a friendship becomes toxic.  It captured the angst, uncertainty, foolishness, and blissful naiveté of the teenage years, and posed some very thoughtful questions.  Visually, there was some stunning imagery, including a scene where the boys play football in the clouds.  Good movie.

Red Tails

African-American cinema is a tricky thing.  There is enough diversity within the genre to avoid painting it with a broad brush, but there are certain negative things that come to mind when you say something is a “Black” movie.  Does this mean there will be buffoonery, and is there something wrong with laughing at ourselves, as long as we’re the ones telling the joke?  I think our experiences run the gamut, but unfortunately some of the movies that are most profitable aren’t the most edifying.  Movies like Norbit and any one featuring Madea come to mind as examples of movies  that I tend to avoid.  Every now and then, however – a movie comes along that is worthy of our collective attention.  I think Red Tails was such a movie.  More than just a “Black” movie, it is an American story.

Red Tails is the story of the famed Tuskegee Airmen, an all-black aviation unit that served with distinction in World War II; despite initial reluctance to place the soldiers in combat situations.  Jim Crow’s insidious reach extended to the armed forces, and Black soldiers were deemed inferior due to the bigoted perception that they lacked the mental aptitude and courage for war.  Of course nothing could have been further from the truth, and when the airmen were given their opportunity to serve as bomber escorts, they made the most of their chance.  Comprised largely of the 332nd fighter group, the “Tuskegee Airmen” came to be known as Red Tails due to the unique scarlet markings on the tails of their planes.   Displaying uncommon bravery, the Red Tails proved to be heroic and victorious in their abilities.  Red Tails brings the story of the airmen to a new generation, and it is an important chapter in American history, not just Black history.  Produced by George Lucas, the movie reportedly had a difficult time being made because studios doubted the profitability of telling this story.  I’m happy that Lucas was willing to personally finance its creation, though I wish the movie reflected more of his deft story-telling ability.

Red Tails boasts a young, talented cast whose camaraderie and chemistry radiated off the screen.  Nate Parker (The Great Debaters), Tristan Wilds (The Wire), Terrence Howard (Law & Order: LA), David Oyelowo (The Help), and Cuba Gooding, Jr (The Hit List) were just a few notable cast members.  Parker and Oyelowo had the most screen time and gave the most inspired performances as “Easy” and “Lightning,” respectively.  Easy is the more level-headed and practical leader, while Lightning plays the flashy showboat.  Through it all, they are loyal friends who have each other’s backs in the air and on the ground.  I don’t want to nitpick, but this is a review, right?  Everything wasn’t perfect, and I had an issue with a couple of the casting decisions.  I adore young Tristan Wilds, and I think he’s talented.  However, I thought an older actor would have been better suited for his role of “Junior.”  He looks like he’s about 19, yet his character is supposed to have a wife and child and is told by another soldier that he is the bravest and best he’s ever met.  I guess that is possible, but his character’s backstory seems like it would belong to a more seasoned individual.  Similarly, Cuba Gooding’s role as Major Stance was a little derivative.  We’ve seen the grisly old pipe-chewing commander before.  I could have sworn I’ve seen Gene Hackman or somebody do this already.  Gooding seemed to be over-acting a lot of the time, and it got old.  Terrence Howard wasn’t as irksome as usual, so thank God for small cinematic favors.

I’ve found that you can never underestimate what the younger generation doesn’t know, and I’m pretty sure there are some folks who saw this movie and learned something new.  That alone is reason enough for me to give it my stamp of approval; because this is a story that needed to be told.  HBO made a movie about the Tuskegee Airmen years ago, but it needed a grand stage.  In this day and age our military more accurately reflects the tapestry of American life, but it is nice to have a reminder of our less than glorious past sometimes to appreciate what we have now.  G.I. Joe? No, the Tuskegee Airmen were real American heroes.

Haywire

When I saw the trailer for Haywire I was instantly hooked.  This was my kind of movie.  I love watching a believable female lead do damage, a la The Bride in Kill Bill.  No weak “chick” fights, I wanna see something real.  To that end, Haywire seemed like it would deliver.  It stars Gina Carano, a real-life world champion MMA fighter.  If nothing else, the scenes promised to be authentic.  When I saw Michael Fassbender drop her with a sucker punch, I was sold.

The man behind the lens is acclaimed director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Thirteen, Out of Sight), and his imprint is clear.  Haywire was slick and stylish, even when the action turned nasty.  The non-linear storytelling is another common feature of Soderbergh’s movies.  Haywire opens with our heroine outlining a mission gone wrong.  Carano is Mallory Kane, a covert operative who does freelance work for the government.  I think.  She was sent on a rescue mission to recover a hostage, a Chinese journalist.  When he winds up dead, Mallory learns that her superiors have attempted to frame her for his murder.  The storyline wasn’t too complicated, but there were little things that didn’t add up here and there.  One minute it appears that everyone is in on the betrayal, the next minute it seems as if key people are unaware.  Also perplexing was the fact that no reason for the betrayal was ever presented.  Mallory hadn’t acquired any new enemies and was admittedly an asset to her employer.  So why was she set up?  I guess I can just go along with the idea that she was expendable, but there were a couple of problems in the details for this flick.

Despite its flaws, I found Haywire to be enjoyable largely because of Carano.  It’s still odd to see a man and woman fight on screen as equals, and I couldn’t help rooting for Mallory to prevail.  For an inexperienced actress, I thought Carano gave a capable performance, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she reprised the role in the future.  It looks like this movie died relatively quickly at the box office, despite its noteworthy cast.   Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class), Michael Douglas (Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps), Antonio Banderas (Puss in Boots), and Channing Tatum (The Eagle) round out the cast nicely, though they aren’t given great material to work with.  Usually Soderbergh’s movies are better than this, but fortunately Carano’s deft fighting ability was enough to sustain the film, for the most part.  Less talking, more fighting please.  The format of the movie was intriguing in the beginning, but as the movie progressed, more implausible things started to happen with the plot development.  Mallory’s ability to fight her way out of any situation was actually more plausible than the whole frame-up scenario.

I liked Haywire, but there are too many other choices in theaters right now for me to give it a strong recommendation.  Wait for the DVD.

Contraband

Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter) has got to be one of the coolest actors around.  His career has only gotten better over the years, and I’ve always been a fan.  I think the first movie I remember seeing him in was Fear, and he showed flashes of greatness even back then.  He’s been nominated for an Academy Award, and I hope one day he’ll take one home.  He’s demonstrated that he can do more than play the tough guy, but that’s one of the roles in which he excels.

In Contraband he portrays a tough guy but a family man, a reluctant hero thrust into a situation beyond his control.  He stars as Chris Farraday, a reformed smuggler of illegal contraband.  Chris has gone straight, and is now the owner of a small home security company.  With his wife Kate (Kate Beckinsale, Underworld: Awakening) and two sons, he has carved out a nice normal existence.  That safe haven is threatened when his wife’s little brother Andy (Caleb Jones, X-Men: First Class) gets himself in trouble with local drug dealer and scumbag Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi, The Rum Diary).  He was transporting cocaine on a cargo ship when it was busted by border patrol and he had to dump the product in the water.  Instead of chalking up the loss to the cost of doing business, Briggs will extract his debt in blood.  In an effort to save Andy’s life, Chris assumes the debt.  The only way he can repay what Andy owes is by agreeing to do a smuggling job for Briggs.  His best friend Sebastien (Ben Foster, The Mechanic) helps arrange the job and also keeps an eye on Kate and the boys while Chris is gone.

Contraband was successful because of its straightforward plot and relatable performances.  Even though the average person will never find themselves thrust into such a dangerous situation, there are few forces more powerful than self-preservation and the need to protect one’s family.  Initially Chris is focused on saving the life of his brother-in-law, but eventually his wife and children become the object of Briggs’ vengeful rage.  As a viewer, I never doubted Wahlberg’s resolve.  Maybe it was his blue-collar Boston roots shining through that made the performance so believable.  Additionally, he and Kate Beckinsale had great chemistry and their performances were delivered with remarkable realism, particularly Kate’s frustration with her brother.  Sometimes your family puts you in the worst position, but you never turn your back on them.  Beckinsale, Jones, and Wahlberg captured the unconditional love that characterizes the bond between family.

It looks like the movie will end up being #1 at the box office, and I think it’s a worthy entrant at that position, though it will probably be a short-lived stay at the top.  It wasn’t a terribly original movie, but that’s ok.  I mean, we’ve seen the overall plot of man saving his family about a million times, but Contraband was exciting and intense and kept me on the edge of my seat. You really can’t ask for much more from a thriller.  I particularly enjoyed the clever way Chris managed to evade authorities while loading the contraband on the boat.  A lot of movies falter at the halfway point, but writer Aaron Guzikowski crafted a storyline that started strong and maintained its intensity throughout.  Contraband had a throwback B-movie vibe that ultimately proved successful, and it’s definitely worth checking out.

This article first appeared at Poptimal at http://poptimal.com/2012/01/contraband-review-wahlberg-brings-it-in-his-latest/ on Contraband’s opening weekend, and was reprinted with permission.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

When it comes to words, I’ll admit that I have a flair for the dramatic.  When I love something, the superlatives flow. Not too long ago I watched a movie on Netflix streaming and proclaimed it one of the best movies I’d ever seen in my life.  That’s that flair for the dramatic I was talking about.  But this time I meant it.  The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was a slice of noveau noir that any Hitchcock fan would love.  Even the Swedish dialogue and English subtitles didn’t bother me, and that’s saying a lot.

Based on the popular Millennium series’ book of the same name by author Steig Larsson, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was the harrowing tale of Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker with a disturbing psychological and criminal history.  Out on some sort of parole, she augments her legit income by moonlighting as a free-lance hacker.  In this capacity she encounters journalist Mikael Blomkvist, while performing a background check on behalf of a wealthy financier named Henrik Vanger.  Vanger wants the journalist to find his long lost niece but must ensure that Blomkvist is fit for the job, given some recent legal troubles.  Lisbeth is hacking Blomkvist, so when he begins to investigate the Vanger disappearance, she does too.  Eventually they team up for what proves to be a mysterious journey into the depths of human depravity.  Lisbeth is dark and brooding on the surface, but her exterior belies a compassion and fortitude that most of the world doesn’t see.  Fiercely resilient and protective, she is a survivor in every sense of the word.  Her physical appearance is a study in contrasts: a thin seemingly fragile frame juxtaposed with harsh piercings and a jagged Mohawk.  Jet-black hair and alabaster skin complete the shocking picture.  In turn, Blomkvist becomes an ally, friend, lover and protector.  His warmth and her initial icy disposition eventually meld together in a natural way, and their chemistry is palpable.

I apologize for rambling on like that, but I needed to convey all of these things about the original version so you’d understand why the updated version from David Fincher (The Social Network, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) just doesn’t measure up.  The Swedish version was released in 2009.  Are we really remaking 2 year old movies now?  Why, because arrogant Americans can’t bear to read subtitles?  The Swedish version was amazing, and I can understand a phenomenal filmmaker like Fincher wanting to introduce the story to new audiences.  However, when something is fantastic, you have to stay true to it because it’s inherently difficult to improve something that’s already great.  There is source material to work with here.  I have not read the books in the Millennium series, but everyone says that they are fantastic.  Great literary material and a great original cinematic interpretation.  Yet I feel that Fincher found a way to come up short, by comparison.  I saw the movie with two friends who had both read the books but not seen the Swedish version.  One really liked Fincher’s take (I think b/c she had nothing to compare it to) and the other didn’t think it stayed true to the books.  That, my friends spells disappointment.

Despite my dissatisfaction with the movie itself, I want to be clear that I thought the casting and the performances were excellent.  Rooney Mara (The Social Network) and Daniel Craig (Dream House) were great in their roles.  I attribute any lack of chemistry between the two to Fincher, not to their acting.  The original movie did a better job of fleshing out each character’s background and motivation.  We understood why they were drawn to each other and why Lisbeth was so broken after all that she’d endured.  She was a tormented character, and that was not conveyed as ably in the remake.

Perhaps if I hadn’t seen the original version I could let this one stand on its own merits, but I just can’t.  Some things are better left untouched.  When I watched the original I felt like I was watching something special; it was enthralling.  This 2011 version was just another day at the movies: good, but not great.  Try to see the Swedish version first, if you haven’t read the book.  2009 version: A+ 2011 version: B

Mission: Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol

Tom Cruise (most recently of Knight and Day) used to be one of my favorite actors.  Then, his public perception began to decline after marrying Katie Holmes.  An unfortunate appearance on Oprah and some ill-advised comments about Brooke Shields’ post partum depression didn’t help matters.  It seemed like people were no longer focusing on the movies; they were focused on the Scientology and the wacky behavior.  Cruise has been a certified hit machine since Risky Business.  He’s given us classics like Top Gun and Rain Man.  It would take the passage of time and several enjoyable movies for people to move past the punch lines of a few years ago.  With the latest edition to his blockbuster Mission: Impossible franchise, maybe Cruise has finally returned to being the likable star he once was.

The Mission: Impossible franchise has always been a good one, with the first movie in the series opening in 1996.  It’s the only Mission: Impossible that I own on DVD and it remains the most suspenseful of the four movies.   Ghost Protocol finds Ethan Hunt being busted out of a Russian prison by fellow IMF agents Jane (Paula Patton, Precious) and Benji (Simon Pegg, Hot Fuzz).  They need Ethan’s help to find the assassin who recently killed another agent.  Furthermore, Ethan’s official mission is to prevent the same assassin from delivering nuclear launch codes to a Russian madman.  When the team botches a plan to break into the Kremlin, the entire agency is disavowed in the wake of a perceived potential return to the Cold War era.  ‘Ghost Protocol’ is initiated, and the agents are on their own. They must clear themselves of the Kremlin incident and still prevent the Russian lunatic from getting the launch codes.  After Hunt’s contact tells him about the Ghost Protocol, they add government analyst and former agent Jeremy Renner (The Town, The Hurt Locker) to the mix.

Ok, let’s talk about what worked and what did not work.  First of all, the plot was very simplified this time around.  I’ve seen a million action movies, and sometimes the plot gets really intricate, almost to the point of being unnecessary.  Here, things are pretty straightforward.  Nuclear weapons are bad. Russian man wants to launch one.  That would be bad; he must be stopped.  If you’ve seen more than one Mission: Impossible movie, you know there will be lots of action and some great stunt work.  I tip my hat to Cruise for always being up for the challenge.  His scenes on the side of a skyscraper in Dubai were heart stopping.  The gadgets can’t compare to those in the 007 movies, but the cars and high-speed chases make up for that.  Cruise is still in great shape after all these years, and I laughed at an extended foot chase scene similar to one featured in Mission: Impossible 3.  He’s still got ‘it.’  You can count on him and Will Smith to run their asses off in a movie.  Tom Cruise was even running like the wind all over town in The Firm, briefcase flopping everywhere – remember that movie? I digress.

Mission: Impossible 4 – Ghost Protocol was an entertaining movie, but it was good – not great.  A few really great scenes, including a suspenseful opening sequence, and the aforementioned foot chase through a blinding sandstorm, held the movie together.  Cruise can play Ethan Hunt in his sleep.  Jeremy Renner continues to show his versatility, and Simon Pegg provided great comedic timing and comic relief.  Which brings me to Paula Patton.  She turned down a recurring role on Law & Order: SVU to take this role, and at first I thought that was a mistake.   There’s an obvious upside to appearing alongside Tom Cruise, but I thought the stability of a television series with a strong following would have been better for her career.  Is Thandie Newton (For Colored Girls) a big star because she was in Mission: Impossible 2? I don’t think so.  But, after further consideration – I think I was wrong.  Ghost Protocol was a good look for Ms. Patton.  She showed that she could hold her own in an action movie and look beautiful while doing it.  However, there were some awkward moments that could have been left on the cutting room floor.  I picked up on some unintentional comedy in the way she delivered a few of her lines, and I think she should continue to improve as an actress.

You know what you’re getting with Mission: Impossible, but I thought it made for an enjoyable day at the movies.  It wasn’t the best installment in the franchise, but it’s definitely worth checking out.

The Sitter

Sometimes you just want a movie to do what it’s supposed to do.  It doesn’t have to be the greatest movie ever made; it just needs to do its job.  If it’s a horror flick –  just make me jump a few times and be at least mildly frightening.  If it’s a love story – just make me shed a tear or two, and we’re good.  That being said, The Sitter was a movie that did its job.

I’m an 80’s baby so when I saw commercials for The Sitter I immediately thought of Adventures in Babysitting, the 80′s movie about a babysitter’s wild night out with the kiddies.  In The Sitter our reluctant hero and sitter is Noah Griffith, played by Jonah Hill (Get Him to the Greek).  Hill looks rather slim nowadays, but very recently looked like this.  Not that it matters one way or another, it’s just weird to see such a drastic difference in his appearance.  Noah is a lovable loser type of guy who is living with his mother after flunking out of school.  He has a “girlfriend,” Marisa, exceptt instead of a life partner she’s more like a selfish boss who allows Noah the privilege of answering her every beck and call.  Their relationship is one-sided in every respect, and Noah is essentially a doormat.  His parents are divorced, and his dad hasn’t paid alimony or child support in years, despite owning a thriving jewelry store.  Noah loves his mother and wants to see her happy, so he volunteers to babysit for his neighbors so they can take her out for a blind date with a friend.  Little does he know this routine act of kindness will end up being a life-changing experience.

When Noah meets the kids for the first time we can tell that this will be an interesting experience.  The eldest boy Slater (Max Records) is about 13, followed by the adopted Rodrigo (Kevin Hernandez) who is roughly 11, followed by Blithe (Landry Bender), an adorable girl of about 8.  Slater is melancholy and anxious, dependent upon pills to get through the day.  Rodrigo has pyromaniac tendencies and is equipped with a GPS device to prevent him from running away too far.  Blithe is obsessed with the ‘celebutante’ world of reality TV and acts like she’s 8 going on 21.

Noah has a DUI on his record, so he is prohibited from using the family car while babysitting.  That goes out the window almost immediately when he gets a call from Marisa asking him to bring her some coke to a party in the City.  It’s an absurd request, and she asks as if coke the cocaine was as easy to get as coke the cola.  She promises that she’ll give him some nookie if he brings it to the party, so he foolishly agrees.  He has to get the yayo from a dealer named Karl (Sam Rockwell, Iron Man 2), so he takes the three kids and rolls out in the minivan.  Predictably, Slater is anxious about their outing, Blithe is excited, and Rodrigo is just menacing.  It should be no surprise that a night of babysitting would go downhill shortly after taking the kids to a drug den – and that’s exactly what happens.

This precocious bunch doesn’t exactly follow directions, so when Noah instructs them to wait in the car, their obedience is short-lived.  Rodrigo ends up swiping some drugs from Karl, and before Noah can return the package it gets destroyed.  When Karl notices that the drugs are gone, he tells Noah that he has a couple of hours to return it or give him $10,000.  Meanwhile, Marisa still expects him at the party, and the kids need to be tucked in their beds by the time their parents get home.  Making matters worse is the fact that Rodrigo likes to run off from time to time.

The movie largely follows Noah and the kids as they try to get the money to pay Karl while seeming to get in one scrape after another.  Noah runs into a former classmate who finally opens his eyes to the fact that he’s a good guy who deserves better than Marisa, who only seems to care about getting the coke that Noah promised he’d bring.  Through all of the mishaps, Noah manages to bond with the kids and realizes that they are more than just little pains in the rear.  Slater suffers from anxiety because he’s pretending to be someone that he’s not.  Rodrigo misbehaves because he’s never had structure and stability and is afraid to trust his new family.  Blithe idolizes celebrities because she hasn’t learned to be herself and love who she is on the inside.  So, at the end of the day what began as the night from hell ended up being a learning experience that changed several lives for the better.

The Sitter worked because it had the right mix of humor and heart.  It wasn’t corny or overly sentimental, and the laughs were timed perfectly.  Jonah Hill has shown time and again they he’s a great comedic actor.  The R rating lets you know that just because there are kids in this movie doesn’t make it a ‘kid’ movie; it’s not.  The kids use and hear foul language, and obviously cocaine is an essential plot element.  That being said, leave the kids at home with the sitter and go check out The Sitter, a comedy that did what just what it was supposed to do: make you laugh.

This article first appeared at http://poptimal.com/2011/12/the-sitter-review-it-just-works/ and was reprinted with permission.