The Star

The Star (2017)

Featuring the vocal talents of Steven Yeun, Zachary Levi, Gina Rodriguez, Keegan-Michael Key, Aidy Bryant, Kelly Clarkson, Patricia Heaton, Anthony Anderson, Kristin Chenoweth, Tracy Morgan, Tyler Perry, Kris Kristofferson, Ving Rhames, Gabriel Iglesias, Christopher Plummer, and Oprah Winfrey

Directed by Timothy Reckart

Written by Carlos Kotkin

***This film is currently streaming via Netflix*** 

Summary (in 500 words or less):  An animated retelling of the story of the birth of Jesus Christ told through the eyes of a young donkey traveling to Bethlehem.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C-

Mission: Impossible - Fallout

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Starring Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Angela Bassett, Michelle Monaghan, Vanessa Kirby, Wes Bentley, and Alec Baldwin

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

Written by Christopher McQuarrie

Summary (in 500 words or less):  When his team's mission fails, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his crew (Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg) are forced to be shadowed by CIA agent August Walker (Henry Cavill) at the behest of CIA director Erica Sloane (Angela Bassett).  At odds, Hunt and Walker attempt to track down missing plutonium before it falls into the hands of a terrorist group known as the "Apostles" who want to create several nuclear weapons and cause massive damage across the globe. 

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

-- Mission: Impossible Week --
Please note that all Mission: Impossible Week film reviews may contain spoilers related to both the film that is being reviewed and other films in the series.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, and Alec Baldwin

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

As we come to the end of our Mission: Impossible week, I've come to the determination that the Tom Cruise-led series is a solid entry into the American cinematic action pantheon.  Does that mean that the series is full of overly amazing movies?  No, but what is intriguing (and I'm spoiling my rating for this newest installment with this sentence) is that with the exception of the second film (which, as you'll recall I found absolutely abysmal), all of the films in the M:I series rank in the "B" range.  I'm not sure there are many other film franchises that have gone on for so long that manage to maintain that consistent quality throughout.

In Rogue Nation, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team have uncovered a seedy agency known as The Syndicate that attempts to take down world leaders and governments by creating situations that look like accidents yet cause a great amount of havoc.  Just as IMF head William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) attempts to fund Hunt on a mission to take down the group, he is told by CIA director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) that due to the numerous close calls that IMF missions have come under as of late (meaning the numerous close calls of the last two films), the US government has decided to defund the organization.  Not only that, but the CIA is under strict orders to now take down Hunt who refuses to return to the US, hellbent on finding the head of The Syndicate on his own if necessary.

Perhaps most interesting about Rogue Nation is that it's the least action-driven film since the first installment in the M:I series.  That isn't to say that there aren't some BIG moments filled with action, it's just that the film finds itself a little more focused on "talking" and duplicitous manipulation than big budget action sequences.  It's actually a bit of a relief and it works well for the film in an attempt to be a little different than its predecessors.

Part of the reason for the talkiness is due to the villain of the piece -- Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), head of the Syndicate and a Steve Jobs-ish lookalike in his turtleneck and glasses.  Lane is evil, no doubt, but his ability to keep his emotions in check and his temper under control makes him even scarier when he's got a gun to your head because you'll never expect him to shoot...and he will.  Lane is matched by Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), an undercover British MI-6 agent who may or may not have disavowed her homeland for Lane.  Surprisingly, the film does a very good job at keeping the audience guessing as to whether Faust is good or evil and this creates a nice amount of tension throughout the film as Lane matches wits with Hunt.

Tom Cruise has been the one through-line in the Mission: Impossible series of films and he's certainly captivating as the big screen action star.  This film perhaps gives him the least amount to do -- not in terms of stunts, but in terms of an emotional arc.  Rather than focus on aspects of his personal life, Rogue Nation places its emphasis squarely on taking down The Syndicate and I must say that I missed seeing Hunt's character grow...because he doesn't do any of that here.  Additionally, while I liked Jeremy Renner's newly introduced character in the last film, he's rather squandered here spending most of the film essentially sitting in a control room.  Seeing as how he is receiving second billing in the film, I expected a bit more from his character and didn't really get it.

Still, Rogue Nation is a solid entry into the M:I franchise -- I'd rate it second of the five.  [Ghost Protocol takes the top spot, M:I III takes third place, the original M:I fourth place, and M:I II an incredibly distant fifth place.]  Overall, the franchise is a winner in my book.  Should they make more, I'd definitely be along for the ride.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Mission: Impossible III

-- Mission: Impossible Week --
Please note that all Mission: Impossible Week film reviews may contain spoilers related to both the film that is being reviewed and other films in the series.

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Starring Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michelle Monaghan, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Keri Russell, Maggie Q, Simon Pegg, Eddie Marsan, and Laurence Fishburne

Directed by J.J. Abrams

After the absolute debacle that was Mission: Impossible II, anything -- and I mean absolutely anything -- would've been an improvement.  Fortunately, this third installment in the M:I series leaves behind John Woo's white doves and fiery orange color palette for an admittedly much more cookie-cutter action picture.  Still, director J.J. Abrams' debut feature film rounded up a great cast (which as mentioned before is a bit of a staple for the M:I pics) and showed Hollywood that he had potential as a feature film helmer.

The film begins with Ethan Hunt (Cruise) setting out on a mission (impossible) to rescue fellow IMF agent Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell) whom Hunt himself trained from an undercover assignment that has gone horribly wrong.  Unfortunately, the rescue is a failure and Lindsey ends up dead (much to the chagrin of this blogger and longtime fan of Ms. Russell).  Determined to find the person who killed her, Hunt and his team (this time made up of newcomers Maggie Q, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and returnee Ving Rhames) begin to hunt down arms dealer Declan Gormley (Philip Seymour Hoffman) whose "business" Lindsey was attempting to infiltrate.

While the action sequences are certainly solid, what makes Mission: Impossible III stand out is Philip Seymour Hoffman's villain.  Hoffman relishes the maniacal nature of his character and from his opening scene to his last, he brings a vibrancy to the flick that we hadn't quite seen yet in the pictures in the franchise.  To balance Hoffman out, Cruise's Hunt is given a serious love interest in this film in Michelle Monaghan's Julia and the relationship gives us a more well-rounded picture of the series' main protagonist.

The negative to this film -- and admittedly it's a bit of a problem -- is that it's oddly forgettable.  As I sit here typing up this review a week after watching the flick, I found myself finding it difficult to remember key action pieces.  Even in the dismal M:I II, I recalled moments.  With Mission: Impossible III, however, it feels a bit too generic for its own good.  Without a particularly unique stylization from an auteur, Abrams has crafted a well-made action movie, but one that feels like it could've been a part of any other franchise.  Still, the film works and it works pretty well.  However, as you'll see soon, improvements could still be made on the franchise to really make it shine.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Mission: Impossible II

-- Mission: Impossible Week --
Please note that all Mission: Impossible Week film reviews may contain spoilers related to both the film that is being reviewed and other films in the series.

Mission: Impossible II (2000)

Starring Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames, Richard Roxburgh, Brendan Gleeson, and Anthony Hopkins

Directed by John Woo

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Quite frankly, the fact that Mission: Impossible II is the highest-grossing film domestically in the M:I series shows that Americans have no taste whatsoever because this is without a doubt one of the worst action movies crafted for the big screen...ever.  We're talking Transformers series levels of bad here.  Like its predecessor, there's stylized direction on display here.  Unfortunately, John Woo's weird aesthetic overtakes the story and fails to add anything, instead creating an atmosphere that's laughable with horrible visuals, dialog, and acting.

M:I II goes in a completely different direction from its predecessor which felt like a more intelligent spy film as opposed to a straight action flick.  While the remainder of the series also eschews the aesthetics of the first flick, none of the remaining three films stoop to levels as low as this film.  Quite frankly, the majority of the blame falls squarely on director John Woo's plate.  Saturated with an orange palette, Woo creates some of the silliest action sequences in the M:I series (that finale motorcycle scene is simply ridiculous) and then peppers in some of the hokiest non-action moments as well -- white doves flying out of fire, a lengthy flamenco dance (filmed via sweeping camera) that the main characters watch but never participate in, poorly directed scenes of romance between Tom Cruise and Thandie Newton.  There really is nothing good to talk about here.  Nothing.

While I mentioned in the first film's review this series' expertise in bringing together great casts, Woo directs typically solid actors like Anthony Hopkins and Brendan Gleeson so poorly that they can't add anything to the film.  Dougray Scott and Richard Roxburgh play villains with such a caricaturish spin that I half expected them to grow mustaches to twirl as they maniacally laugh.  Tom Cruise admittedly is solid -- a trait that will continue for him throughout the series -- but his beaming smile isn't enough to save this piece of dreck.

While Woo is certainly responsible for most of the blame, the trio of screenwriters here (one of whom actually helped to write the first film) must accept some responsibility for this film's failure as well.  One of the key gadgets of the Mission: Impossible series is a machine that creates a realistic face mask, accurately duplicating a person's facial features and vocal timbre.  I lost count of the number of times the writers used this trick in this film and utilizing this "gotcha"-type moment numerous times rings cheap and feels like a cop out.

I remember when this flick was released in 2000, I thought it was one of the worst movies of that year.  Having not watched it in over 15 years, I had hoped that maybe my mind was maybe just playing tricks on me and it wasn't nearly as bad as I had remembered.  Unfortunately, I realized that I'm not that senile as Mission: Impossible II is one of the worst action movies I've ever seen.  Fortunately, we move in a slightly different direction as the series moves forward because had this caliber of film continued, the Mission: Impossible franchise would've been one I'd have abandoned.

The RyMickey Rating:  F

Movie Review - Mission: Impossible

-- Mission: Impossible Week --
Please note that all Mission: Impossible Week film reviews may contain spoilers related to both the film that is being reviewed and other films in the series.

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Starring Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Vanessa Redgrave

Directed by Brian De Palma

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

The first film in the series, Mission: Impossible stands in stark contrast to the rest of the films that followed it...and that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Much more of a spy film than an action picture, director Brian De Palma creates a unique look for the film layering it with gray and blue overtones (whereas many of the others are filled with red and black visuals) and eschewing the bigger budget action set pieces for a bit more of a character-driven piece.  That said, the film isn't without its problems.

The flick builds its conflict around the lengthy opening set piece in which a group of IMF agents -- that's the Impossible Mission Force -- infiltrate a party in Prague in an attempt to retrieve a stolen list of IMF agents, the release of which will wreak havoc over the US government and the capabilities of their spy agency.  The mission doesn't succeed and as the agents leave the party, they find themselves ambushed seemingly leaving all but agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) dead.  Seeing as how Hunt survived the attack, his IMF superiors wonder if he is the mastermind behind it and the remainder of the film finds Hunt on his own personal impossible mission to find out who killed his team members.

This first film in the M:I series is the only one that really attempts to create a mystery surrounding who is the "big baddie."  Sure, other films have moments of surprise and red herrings, but they pretty much reveal the bad guy from the outset.  That's not the case here...and it's only moderately successful in terms of creating a whodunit atmosphere.  The biggest problem is that there are so few characters in the film that the possibilities of who could be behind the IMF attack are extremely limited and, in the end, create a lack of surprise when the "villain" is revealed.  Don't be mistaken - the film doesn't fail on this front, it's just that it doesn't succeed as well as it should because of the rather obvious culprit.

While Tom Cruise is certainly the "star" and he handles the lead role quite well, what's been incredibly pleasurable about this series as I've watched it is that they've built incredibly solid ensembles around the Big Name.  Here we get added oomph and gravitas from Jon Voight as Jim Phelps (a holdover character from the original Mission: Impossible tv show), Kristin Scott Thomas as a fellow IMF agent, and Vanessa Redgrave as a mysterious crook who is desperate to get that mysterious IMF secret agent list to sell it to the highest bidder.

As mentioned, Brian De Palma creates a different aesthetic in this initial film than those that follow it.  We're not treated to quick cuts or edits, but rather a camera that flows and moves a bit more casually than we're used to in action sequences.  We see interesting framing of faces and images that are typical of De Palma and admittedly only work sometimes (jarringly screaming "CINEMATIC" at other times), but at least provide interesting visuals.

Pleasingly, Mission: Impossible is a little smarter than your typical action picture.  It's not entirely successful, but it's a promising start to the multi-billion dollar-grossing series.  It's a shame that its sequel will end up nearly ruining the goodwill this flick brought to the screen.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - Piranha 3D

Piranha 3D (2010)

Starring Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O'Connell, Ving Rhames, Christopher Lloyd, and Richard Dreyfuss

Directed by Alexandre Aja

I don't quite know where to go with this one.  Let's just start by saying that Piranha is not a good movie.  Nor does it have any intentions of being one.  It knows full well that it's awful.  The question then becomes does it reach the level of "so bad, it's good" which is the goal it sets out to achieve.

The answer is "it depends."

The problem with a movie like Piranha is that it isn't good or worth your time unless you're able to watch it with a group of people who can talk back to the screen.  Sitting and watching this flick in a theater with folks who are "forced" to be quiet is going to seriously dampen your fun...and it's going to make you realize that the movie doesn't quite hit the heinously hilarious levels it hoped it would.

When a pack of prehistoric-era killer piranhas is unleashed due to a seismic event (triggered -- no joke -- by a beer bottle falling into a lake), the town of Lake Victoria is in for some trouble.  Of course, it's Spring Break and tons of college hotties who are perfectly fine with dancing topless are ready for a dip in the town's lake.  There's really no point in explaining any more plot...killer piranhas attack senseless and obnoxious college students.  You don't need to know anything else.

We're treated to a who's who of has-been actors -- Elisabeth Shue, Ving Rhames, and Christopher Lloyd -- who are all surprisingly decent.  Thankfully, the director realized that watching a movie riddled with horrible actors like the obnoxious Jerry O'Connell would have been painful to sit through, so he actually cast a few decent people to counter the awful ones.

On one hand, it's nice that director Alexandre Aja recognized he was going for pure camp.  There's a scene towards the beginning where two buxom ladies strip down to nothing but flippers and swim through the surprisingly clean waters of Lake Victoria while proceeding to hump one another.  This scene goes on for at least two minutes and it's all set to a classical opera aria.  Alone, the nude ladies would have been just nude ladies, but set to classical music, it becomes a somewhat hilarious scene.  Aja at least has an eye for the corny and it certainly is necessary in a film like this.

The 3D -- which was a conversion and not shot in the format -- was disappointing.  It created a dark tone at times where it became nearly impossible to see what was going on.  In the end, the corniness would've been perfectly acceptable in 2D.

Even after writing this review, I'm still not quite sure where to go with the rating here.  I enjoyed myself, but I'm well aware that this movie sucks.  If I watched it alone at home, I would think it was one of the worst movies I'd seen this year.  In the setting in which I watched it, however -- with a group of seven talking back to the screen -- it was an enjoyable diversion.

In the end, just know what you're getting into with this and maybe you'll come out of it with some moderate enjoyment.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Surrogates (2009)

Starring Bruce Willis, Radha Mitchell, Rosamund Pike, Ving Rhames, and James Cromwell
Directed by Jonathan Mostow

Set in the near future, Surrogates depicts a life where nearly every human never leaves their homes, instead living their life through the robotic title characters. Crime has decreased tremendously, but there is a small sanction of humans who are against the rise of surrogacy. When a weapon is created that manages to ruin the mechanics of the surrogate and kill the human who is controlling them, FBI agents Greer (Bruce Willis) and Peters (Radha Mitchell) try to solve the case before too much havoc occurs.

After a rather promising initial twenty minutes setting up the premise of the film (I rather liked the opening credits sequence detailing the history of the surrogate program), the film falls apart. First off, the film looks like crap. Incredibly obviously filmed on a studio backlot, the film reminded me of cheesy 80s/90s sci-fi films like Total Recall...and in this case, that's not a good thing. I will say, to the director's credit, he did keep this flick moving at a pretty fast pace. It never really got dull...but it never really gave me an opportunity to give a shit about anything onscreen either.

The flick was horribly acted across the board. I realize that these people are playing robots without emotions, but it was ridiculously bad. How am I supposed to care about these people if they aren't emoting at all? And when they do emote, it's laughable. And Radha Mitchell's Australian accent kept coming in and out. This was probably one of the worst acting ensembles assembled this year.

So, after a somewhat promising start, this one fell apart during the last hour.

The RyMickey Rating: D

Movie Review - The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (2009)

Starring Jeremy Piven, Ving Rhames, Kathryn Hahn, James Brolin, Ed Helms, David Koechner, Jordana Spiro, Ken Jeong, and Alan Thicke(!)

Directed by Neil Brennen

I laughed surprisingly more than I thought I was going to during The Goods. Sure, Jeremy Piven is a prick (I don't think he was playing a character other than himself), but he was pretty damn funny as was his team of car salesmen (and woman -- the humorous Kathryn Hahn, who was so good in the serious Revolutionary Road) who travel to a small town in order to help James Brolin save his faltering car dealership.

There's really not much else here to discuss as there's no story other than what I wrote above. Similarly to this summer's The Hangover (which I didn't really care for either), this movie had me laughing for the first forty minutes or so, and then it kind of fell flat. That being said, I do think that I laughed more in this than during The Hangover and I liked the actors in this quite a bit more. I know everyone loved that raunchy Vegas movie back in June, but I'm gonna give this one a rating that's a half point higher.

The RyMickey Rating: C-