Strange But True..."American Made"

American Made (2017)

Rated R

Starring Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright,

Directed by Doug Liman

The Story:

In 1978, Barry Seal (Cruise) was a burned out TWA pilot who was recruited by the CIA to fly reconnaissance missions for them. In the years that follow that would turn to drug and arms smuggling for both sides. However when you work for the cartels and they suspect you're double-crossing them, your story will not have a happy ending.

Naturally, based on a true story goes without saying here.

Liman and Cruise are together again in the exploits of Barry Seal.

The story jumps around with what happens next, inter-spliced with video narratives by Seal taping confessionals of his unbelievable story to a camcorder.

And it was a wild ride that Barry lived.

Dramatic license or not with the actual events, this is a guy who flew spy missions for the CIA and smuggled drugs for Pablo Escobar.

Throw in arms dealing in a little thing called the Iran Contra Affair and the story is just over the top crazy.

But it's true.

It's also a pretty good film.

And that's never a bad thing.

Final Grade:  B-

Create And Destroy A Universe All In One Movie..."The Mummy"

The Mummy (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson

Directed by Alex Kurtzman

The Story:

An ancient evil is uncovered during the war. It claims the life of Nick (Cruise) and Veil (Johnson) before giving them the power to return from the dead. Meanwhile Dr. Henry Jekyll (Crowe) is convinced that Nick could be just the research experiment he needs.

Let's put the cart before the horse and see what happens!

Instead of rolling out the latest relaunch of the Universal Monsters, Universal decided that like Marvel, but really, more like DC, they wanted to have their own cinematic universe.

Imagine the possibilities with Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man and all the rest sharing screen time once again.

Except...

The film isn't really that good.

Don't get me wrong, it's not bad nor is it unwatchable.

But...

Forgetting the 30s and 40s Universal Monster movies...

This makes Brendan Fraser's turn with The Mummy franchise nearly 20 years ago, look like Indiana Jones.

And please, don't take that as any sign that Fraser's Mummy was terrible. I loved it then, after watching this version, I love it even more!!

No, this was like Universal was excited to get Cruise as their leading man.

However, Cruise wanted to make another Mission Impossible movie.

Which probably made Universal see all kinds of dollar signs, except the execution was poor.

Instead, they shoehorn in a Dr. Jekyll story, instead of making that the standalone beginning to the universe, so that when he shows up, briefly at the end, it would be more like Nick Fury assembling the Avengers.

Versus DC just shoving all the characters in your face at once, and saying don't you just love what we've done?

Clearly, audiences just didn't gel with this attempt, and Universal has since shelved pretty much everything else they had lined up to follow.

That's a shame, really.

Not that they are abandoning the "Dark Universe", but that they are going to let these properties sit in mothballs.

As the low-budget horror films have proven time and again, and even the bigger budgeted It, audiences still love a good scare, as long as you craft a halfway decent thrill-ride to entertain us with.

Try again.

Don't worry about a big star, it's the name on the franchise that will get us through the door.

Final Grade:  C-

Cruise Control..."Jack Reacher: Never Go Back"

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

Rated PG-13

Starring Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Danika Yarosh,

Directed by Edward Zwick

The Story:

Jack Reacher (Cruise) has been helping Major Turner (Smulders) on a recent investigation. He promises to stop by for dinner when he finds himself in DC. When he finally arrives, he learns that Turner is in jail for crimes Reacher believes she could not have committed. So he decides to get her out and uncover the truth for himself. However the bad guys may finally have the edge on Reacher, and a way to hurt him personally.

Game on.

In all honesty, I barely remember the first Jack Reacher movie.

I think at the end of the day, there were some stunts that were pretty good, but if memory serves, they seemed to make Cruise more of an 80s throwback action hero, but it was still watchable.

So nearly 5 years later, I approach the sequel with a shrug and a "we'll see" attitude.

I honestly had no problem with this movie.

It told the story it wanted to tell, kept me interested and entertained along the way.

The lethal game of cat and mouse moves across country as Reacher tries to stay one step ahead of those chasing him, while hunting down the people in charge so they can get their lives back.

I may have to go back and see if the first one still holds up, because this may be a case where the sequel outperforms the original.

And either way, I'll take this series over any of the Bourne films any day.

Final Grade:  B-

Your Review, Should You Choose To Read It..."Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation"

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)

Rated PG-13

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

Written and Directed by Christopher McQuarrie

The Story:

CIA Director Hunley (Baldwin) convinces the Senate to disband the Impossible Mission force because they are reckless and are doing more harm than good. While this is happening, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) realizes that there is a sinister agency known as The Syndicate out to destroy the IM Force. He is now alone, but calls in those he trusts the most (Pegg, Rhames) to help him track the mysterious Isla Faust (Ferguson) and stop the Syndicate once and for all.

Over the past few years, the Mission Impossible movies have been getting better and better.

I prefer this series to the Bourne franchise, and I hate to say it, but even Bond is beginning to take a backseat to the IMF.

Sacrilege, I know.

I think a lot of it may be in the handling of the spies themselves.

Whereas Bourne and Bond are unstoppable machines that can pretty much do anything unassisted (gadgets notwithstanding), Hunt relies on the teammates to help him overcome the odds and win the day.

This allows others to shine in the series and make Cruise look good, but vulnerable as our main character.

Twists and turns abound, and these movies take on an air of con-man/heist film in addition to being a spy thriller.

That works for me.

The teamwork required to pull off the elaborate ruse is always a joy, and the addition to Pegg as comic relief has elevated this series nicely.

I enjoyed Ghost Protocol, but I may have to give a tip of the hate to Rogue Nation for being the best of the series.

Like the Fast and Furious franchise, the Mission Impossible series is simply getting better with each installment.

Looking forward to # 6

Final Grade: B+

The Fate Of The World Is In Tom Cruise's Hands..."Edge Of Tomorrow"

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

PG-13

Starring Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton,

Directed by Doug Liman

The Story:

An alien menace has invaded earth in the near future, and they are wreaking havoc across Europe and Asia. The world forces are combined to stop them, and on the eve of a massive attack to stop them, an American officer (Cruise) who works public relations is forced to join the ranks of the fighters. While trying to survive, he notices the war's greatest fighter (Blunt) just before she is killed. Suddenly the enemy is upon him and then... he wakes up to start the last day over again. And again. And again. Can the valuable lessons he learns each day keep him alive, and help him turn the tide of the war?

So how did this movie fail at the box office?

It is a well-done production, from start to finish.

The easiest guess, the title blows. :)

It sounds like a cheesy soap opera from daytime tv that you must tune in to tomorrow to find out who's backstabbing who!

The tagline for the film: Live. Die. Repeat. is actually better (and much more accurate) than the title itself.

It could be the sci-fi genre itself. It doesn't exactly appeal to every moviegoer out there, although Guardians of the Galaxy could argue against that rule of movies.

:D

Or perhaps people have tired of Tom Cruise?

That seems the most likely scenario.

Which is both amusing, and sad at the same time.

Cruise has been playing Tom Cruise his entire career, so why are people getting tired of him now?

He actually does a fine job in this film, starting as a coward who grows into a hero as the movie progresses.

If you passed it by in theaters, don't let this one get away on DVD.


Final Grade: Solid B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch this one again, pretty entertaining from start to finish.

"The Firm" Encourages You To Ignore This Movie

The Firm (1993)

Rated R

Starring Tom Cruise, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Wilford Brimley, Ed Harris,

Directed by Sydney Pollack

The Story:

Mitch McDeere (Cruise) is a hotshot law school graduate who has his pick of law firms.  When a small firm in Memphis comes calling, they make him an offer that he literally can't refuse. As Mitch gets deeper and deeper into the law firm, he discovers some secrets that put his life in jeopardy. Mitch enters a desperate gambit to break free of their clutches and avoid going to prison himself.

I forgot how much I really enjoy this film.

Probably my favorite John Grisham adaptation, Cruise is at the top of his game as the smartest lawyer in school who moves on to be a great lawyer in his own right.

Littered with an all-star cast, every player in the film adds their own layer of intrigue to the film.

The intrigue and paranoia ratchet up a notch as each minute passes.

The movie is long, nearly 2 1/2 hours, but it never feels like it.

Ready for a great legal thriller, look no further.

It still holds up really well for being over 20 years old.


Available to stream on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I already own it, but it had been over a decade since I last watched it. Still holds up.

Take A Cruise Into..."Oblivion"

It's the end of the world as Tom Cruise knows it... but he feels fine!

The Story:

Jack (Tom Cruise) is a repair technician on Earth who repairs the drones that protect the planet from the Scavs.  The drones are protecting these giant processors that are converting the ocean water to send to the human outpost on Titan since Earth has been abandoned due to the wars.  But Jack is having some serious flashbacks to events that happened before the war and things just aren't making sense.  Then a spacecraft lands on Earth, and Jack's world is about to get turned upside down.

To say more would spoil the fun this movie is trying to serve up.

I'll admit, I went in with low expectations for this film.

And the film managed to hit those low expectations easily, and turn in quite the nifty little story by the time it was all said and done. ;)

Cruise always serves up a serviceable role.  To be quite honest, he plays Tom Cruise better than anyone else in Hollywood.

:)

I'm pleased with the events as they unfolded as we learned more and more about what really happened, so bonus points to the writers for writing a story that didn't just follow the numbers, but didn't serve up any gratuitous "AHA, we fooled you!" twists and turns.  Everything was logically created.

Directed by 2nd time director Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy), based on a graphic novel he wrote, I'll have to say I'm pretty impressed.

Absolutely loved the apocalyptic future earth that they presented, great special effects.

Nothing earth-shattering, and while I don't know that this will go down as a Sci-Fi cult hit, it's not bad at all.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: While I have no plans for either, I also wouldn't be opposed. :)

"Jack Reacher" Tries A Little Too Hard To Entertain...

Steven Seagal proved that nobody is Above the Law...

Tom Cruise did not get that memo.

The Story:

An assassin (Jai Courtney) kills 5 seemingly random people in Pennsylvania.  The police grab a suspect who happens to be a former military sniper.  The D.A. (Richard Jenkins) is ready to fry the man, but he maintains that he is innocent.  His request?  Get Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) a former military investigator who has seemingly dropped off the radar.  When Reacher blows into town, he teams with Helen, the defense lawyer (Rosamund Pike) and they begin to unravel a cover-up that could cost Reacher and Helen their lives.

This movie didn't know whether it wanted to be played as a straight action movie thriller, or for laughs as a throwback to the great action films of the 80s/90s.

I think it suffers a bit because of that.

It's otherwise an almost engaging thriller...

But then Cruise starts spouting one-liners that were better suited for Stallone or Ah-Nuhld back in the 80s.. and it sort of pulls you out of the film.

Then there is the completely over-the-top, played for a gag, henchmen attack in the bathroom.  The first stunt makes you laugh, then it quickly devolves into Stooges territory.

Yeah, a little too much levity sprinkled in odd doses make it an poorly paced action/thriller.

People need to go back and look at Lethal Weapon or Die Hard to figure out the pacing and be able to know when to install a joke/gag and when to play it straight.

Jack Reacher tried, but you should laugh because the joke/gag is funny, not poorly delivered or out of place.  Overall, it's not a bad movie, just a bit too disjointed from start to finish to make me want to watch it again.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I'll have to pass on this one.  Head back to the Mission Impossible franchise Mr. Cruise.  The last ones have been really good.