Mission Impossible 4 Ghost Protocol

The Mission Impossible tv series was to me always about the team, everyone pulling together with their set special skills to achieve the mission objective. This to me was what was lacking in the movie incarnation with Tom Cruise firmly taking centre stage and very much a star veichle for his set of skills.
    However Brian De Palma's first movie and J J Abrahams third episode were until now the stand out episodes of the series with great action set pieces. The second was a John Woo orgy of all his stylistic cinematic traits, which left me bored.
    Brad Bird comes to this installment with fresh eyes and a new vision. His background in animation allowing for a smooth transition into live action. His previous films have been tight with story telling and character and his Pixar Movie The Incredibles was filled with story and great action moments.
    In this fourth and in my view the best of the series so far each character has an important role to play and each has their own standout moment in the film. Ethan Hunt still leads but Cruise is standout in a story that is both easy to follow with heart pounding action and stunt work that had my heart in my mouth. The stunt work really is standout especially knowing that alot of his was performed live without the benefit of CGI , and the pace doesn't let up for one second.
    In this episode the IMF team has been disavowed, after being set up by the films main protaganist. The stakes are high. Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton all are given their moments and deliver.  This is up there with Fast and Furious Five as one of the best action films of the year and a brilliant new direction for the franchise. Brad Bird brilliantly keeps the film the film on course with an excellant mix of character development and action. I eagerly await his next film with keen anticipation.
   An excellant closure for 2011 and if there is one must see for the start of 2012 this film is it. If I'm honest I can't wait to see this film again. 

Happy New Year 2012

A new cinematic year arrives and the old one gently fades out. Actually not so gently as my cinema going for 2011 concluded with two great movies, one from a cinematic hero Mr Spielberg and another a new addition from the Mission Impossible Franchise which left me shaken and very stirred. A brilliant way to end the old year. So I will be posting my reviews shortly but suffice to say The Adventures of Tintin left me grinning like a loon and Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol hit the cinematic motherlode.
Now newspaper columns and cinematic websites post their top ten lists and attempt postmortems of the also rans of the year.
   For me personally 2011 was a lacklustre year , the superhero conveyor belt continued to belt them out with mixed results for every Thor, there was a Greenlantern or Green hornet. So close and yet so far. Leading lights of film were celebrated and genre classics revisited again with mixed results. The Thing merely proved that recycling ideas and adding a CGI sheen only cheapend a great original.
  2011 was also the year that critics critised the cost cutting efforts of the multiplexes specifically with those screens that projected films in both 3D and 2D with 2D presentations looking as dim as their 3D counterparts. As a footnote, I saw Tintin at our local boutique cinema in Pauatanhui Light house and it was clear bright and wonderfully dimensional in its presentation. A direct contrast to other 3D presentations and not only that I got to see the Hobbit trailer in all its big screen glory. WONDERFUL, and I offically cant wait. The idea of seeing a 48fps projection of the movie fills me with anticipation. Its not a new concept high frame rates. Doug Trumbull was one of the first to attempt mainstream acceptance of the idea with his film Brainstorm back in the early 80's but at that time it was a costly excercise.
  2012 therefore promises much, Mr Nolan will deliver the final part of his Dark Knight trilogy , Bond will return with Skyfall, and Hobbits will once again roam Middle Earth. But for me the one film that stands out for me is Prometheus and the return of Ridley Scott to the Science Fiction arena. This prequel which from the trailer most deffinately holds the Alien DNA will either be yet another outstanding addition to the saga or a dramatic misfire. I eagerly await after the disapointment with the Thing prequel.
    So happy new year, lets hope its a blinder. Hopefully for me this will be the week I get to see a film at the Roxy before my return to work. If this pans out I will have crossed another item of my personal cinematic bucket list.