Tag Archives: Janet McTeer

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

Reviewing Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning (MI:TFR) via some Q & A…

Does Tom Cruise do his own stunts? 

Yes. So we are told. The new film’s money shot is an aerial chase involving century old technology… biplanes, like the one Lindy flew to Paris 98 years ago. My concern while watching the scene was not the welfare of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) but instead… how did they do it? How much time was spent digitally erasing the tethers? Where were the cameras placed on the planes and copters and drones? Did Tom realize he looked like Moe Howard when the wind pushed his hair down over his face?

Is it necessary to have seen 2023’s Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning (Part One) (MI:DR) to enjoy the new movie? 

No. There’s a voice over at the beginning of MI:TFR that goes over much of the activity and set up from the earlier film. And MI:DR is available for streaming on Prime Video if you’re interested. Watching it can help provide context for the new film. (My review of MI:DR from July 2023: https://davidcraigmovies.com/2023/07/11/mission-impossible-dead-reckoning-part-one/)

Are there other amazing stunts beside the biplane chase? 

Oh, yes! The submarine dive which comes in the middle of the movie offers big thrills and tension as Ethan goes into the sunken Russian sub to retrieve a vital element of “the entity.” His ingenuity as he escapes via a torpedo tube and the clever way the scene is resolved are true highlights of MI:TFR.

What is “the entity?” 

It’s a rogue software program that threatens to destroy everything that is online throughout the world. Or selectively, if a person or a nation has control of the entity. MI:DR’s plot was pursuing the two pieces of a key that can unlock the entity. MI:TFR’s plot is gaining access to the other elements that can enable or disable the entity.

Is there actually a server farm that contains all of humanity’s knowledge hidden deep underground somewhere? 

Who knows? But the image of the one seen is MI:TFR may provide a clue to digital storage capabilities that Amazon and Microsoft (and others in foreign lands) have now and are constantly expanding to accommodate AI.

Could a woman be our president? A Black woman? 

Well, maybe. (One such real life person did get 75 million votes last November.) Angela Bassett brings an even-tempered level of gravitas to her role as POTUS in MI:TFR. 

Can Nick Offerman play a heavy? 

Yes. He’s a general, one of the president’s key advisers. The question of destroying a U.S. city in a weird defensive strategy is debated among the POTUS and her inner circle. 

Do the other members of the Impossible Mission Force play important roles in aiding Ethan in his mission? 

You betcha! Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rames) provide the hacking and other assistance needed at key junctures. The newest member of the IMF, Grace (Hayley Atwell), demonstrates physical abilities beyond picking pockets in a violent fight scene early in the film.

Is Gabriel (Esai Morales) a capable villain? 

Yes, if you like your villains handsome and swarthy with a bit of charm. 

Anybody else of note in the cast? 

Yes. Henry Czerny is back as CIA chief Kittridge. Also supporting are Hannah Waddington, Janet McTier and, as the curious character Paris, Pom Klementieff.

Is MI:TFR too long? 

No. Not at all. Except for a few sections of exposition, the film moves quickly from locale to locale, from task to task, from peril to peril. Just under two hours and fifty minutes.

Should I get the large popcorn? 

Absolutely, yes. The mondo bucket size.

When will Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning be available on streaming platforms?

In a few months. But do yourself a favor and see this one in a theater. IMAX if you can swing it.

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“The Woman in Black”—((Goosebumps!))

“The Woman in Black” is creepy good. With a tension-building musical score and clever lighting, the movie keeps the tingle going from scare to scare.

With an “all growed up” Daniel Radcliffe as the centerpiece of the movie, TWIB brings some old-fashioned fright. As opposed to many recent films that scare with outrageous CGI creatures and unbelievable settings, “Woman” takes us places we’ve all been. Darkened hallways, strange house noises, shadows in windows, late night door knocks, nervous dog barks, odd looks from strangers, sudden weird behavior from seemingly normal people—these occurrences in the movie help root the story in real life.

Radcliffe is Arthur Kibbs, an early 1900’s London attorney who is sent to a rural England town to go through a recently deceased woman’s papers. His job is to ascertain that the will his firm has is the correct one. Many of the townspeople give him dirty looks. Some discourage him from going to the woman’s home, a classic haunted house. Its location, on a hill, at the end of a long causeway, surrounded by a coastal marsh, adds to the mystique of the house.

When he arrives at the house, the spooky stuff begins. A favorite scene has Arthur exploring the upstairs of this haunted mansion. The creepy soundtrack music goes silent, allowing us to hear the creaks, pops and other vague noises that the house (and whoever else may be there) produces.

Arthur finds two useful allies in Mr. and Mrs. Daily, played by Ciaran Hinds and recent Oscar nominee Janet McTeer. They are rich enough to own the only car in town, but they share a particular sorrow with many others in the town.

Radcliffe, now 22, demonstrates that he is now old enough to grow whiskers and successfully portray a young adult. He’ll always be Harry, but he has a big future ahead that may someday equal his success of the past decade at Hogwarts.

If you’re a parent who allows kids younger than 13 to attend PG-13 movies like this one, take note. There are some scary elements that may engender nightmares and/or late night interruptions of your sleep by your troubled offspring.

 

 

 

 

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“Albert Nobbs” ~Glenn Not Even Close~

The best cross-dressing movies are comedies. For a cross-dressing drama to work, we have to believe—at least a little bit—that the character really could pass for the gender she/he has chosen.

Glenn Close has, to my mind, a masculine shape to her face. However, she does not look at all like a man in “Albert Nobbs.” Janet McTeer, another woman who passes as a man in this movie, also looks like a woman dressed as a man. McTeer comes closer than Close because of her 6’1” stature.

If you can convince yourself that these two women could actually pass for males, you might be able to enjoy the story. Both women are talented actors. The Academy just gave Oscar nominations to both. Apparently somebody in Hollywood thinks these women make good men.

I do not. The reality, believability and overall quality of this movie is compromised by these two portrayals.

If you are a person who tries to see all of the major Oscar nominated performances, “Albert Nobbs” offers two for the price of one. If you want to see a movie with a story that could have been taken from real life, choose again.

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