[7.5/10] I really like the message in this one. It’s a little simplified, but the idea that Jimmy Junior’s dancing is unique and valuable even if it doesn’t fit into the strictures of some vaunted dance teacher is a really strong point to make. Art is subjective, and doing something that's special and individual to you is more important than anything tastemakers and gatekeepers can give or keep from you.
The A-story is also good for Tina and Zeke. I appreciate that Zeke wants to be supportive, but is worried about his friend because the same dance teacher drained his cousin’s love of the art by telling him he was no good. Tina being the voice of support, in an appropriately awkward way, but also one that vindicates the unique things Jimmy Junior does on his own is great. Not for nothing, Ken Marino is superb as always as the stuffy dance teacher who makes a big deal about his pupil being one of Gloria Estefan’s back-up dancers.
The B-story is a lot of fun too. The rest of the family and Teddy going to the body of water outside the minor league baseball stadium to try to nab home run balls is the sort of simple premise that has lots of comic potential you love to see from Bob’s Burgers. Teddy fretting over whether the family might have a bad time and take the lack of home run balls out on him is sweet. Louise hoping to make money off the home run balls is on brand. Gene fixating on getting a tan is low-key but amusing. And as always, I love Linda’s misadventures at the restaurant by herself, from spinning the stools to rearranging the menu board with lewd sayings. All good small scale humor.
Bob’s part in it is quality as well. The poor guy can’t catch a break, and his dream to nab a home run ball himself, which has apparently eluded him since childhood, is again, small scale but really relatable. His bad luck on the first day he goes out, only ending up with a sunburn and disappointment, makes the unlucky fella pitiable. His fomo when Linda’s day ot join the kids is a veritable hailstorm of homers, only for him to close the restaurant to realize his dream in characteristically clumsy and goofy fashion, ends things on a nice note.
Overall, a quality A-story that leads the Tina/Jimmy Jr./Zeke triumvirate in a heartening direction, and a good comic B-story which gives Bob a chuckle-worthy win.
It doesn’t take long to recognize that “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” is a good movie. Very good; nonstop exhilaration, incredible stunts, fluid camera movement complimented by the editing, goofy plot twists that work despite their conventionality, and all the character leads. This sounds like a negative, it's not, the best way to describe the experience is like watching a Saturday morning cartoon. Tom Cruise coupled with his lovable team up against the new villain is the groundwork for many children's television episodes. But, Of course, they take it up a bunch of notches, crafting an engaging, and thankfully classy blockbuster that is above many other wretched releases as of late. Never did I feel cheated or talked down to, it hearkens back to the noir films of the 30's (that meet-up at the beginning is a direct take on the gangster genre) while plucking the set pieces right out of classic James Bond. But Christopher McQuarrie shits all over them; he's making a name for delivering breath stopping action sequences, the helicopter finale shot in IMAX left my mouth hanging time to time. The sixth film in a surprise hit franchise is still improving upon itself, and Cruise still willing to do ridiculous stunts at the tender age of 56. I guess Scientology gives you superpowers, sign me up. He makes us all forget he was in The Mummy, and Rebecca Ferguson gets her career back on track after the sleeper "hit" The Snowman. A few last comments, I'm glad they kept the shot in where Cruise limps as he gets up on the building, he actually broke his foot filming that scene, that's why. It's funny, Tom just played Barry Seal in American Made, an expert pilot who transported in a drug cartel. Now in this, he can barely work a helicopter. Henry Cavil put up a damn good fight, that mustache took out an entire film franchise. I say worth it, that's a sick stache. I'm just glad the action was zany enough to marry with it's silly story. This was the right balance of everything. The dialogue is intense, which keeps the audience on their toes, giving the impression of being nonstop. You get your moneys worth.
While the trailers and adverts might make this seem like it's a happy romp, it's not. Believe me it's not. This, in my opinion, is a very sad film. It took me by surprised me and made me remember aspects of my childhood I don't normally keep at the forefront of my mind. This is despite the comedy and the happy joy-joy attitude seen for about 50% of the film. I really related to Riley, so much so that I actually cried quite a bit at the theatre. I felt a bit embarrassed but I really couldn't help it. It wasn't the acts in the film that made me sad, it was the explanation afterwards. Riley's motivations. Hearing it in words after seeing everything broke me. A Disney film hasn't made me cry like that ever.
You absolutely have to see Inside Out. But, don't go into it looking for it to put a smile on your face after a bad day. It's a really emotional ride. However, the message in the end is really worth it. It's a message that we should really get across to the children of today. I wish the message being put forward by this movie was being aimed at children back when I was a kid. It would have really helped. It would have indeed.
Brosnan returns for one final run as Bond in the twentieth film of the series. Hard to believe we’ve ploughed through 40 years of these now. The producers must have felt the same; this is a reference-laden film (there’s a throw-back to every previous episode, apparently).
Bond is sent to North Korea to blow up a weapons depot but gets caught as a result of a betrayal from a mole. 14 months later he is released and sets about trying to find out who did it. The plot thickens and as usual his investigation takes him all over the world.
Things open in a slightly different manner, there’s the usual pre-music action scenes but then the title sequence is used to further the plot rather than just being an abstract series of images. It’s clever and, despite a poor choice of song, innovative.
The next 90 minutes or so proceed to be ‘classic Bond’. The scenes in Cuba are fun and exotic. Bond meets his NSA counterpart Jinx, played by Halle Berry, and despite their very odd dialogue they have some memorable chemistry on screen. He also encounters old contacts along the way; the whole sequence feels like a throwback to the films of the 60s when he actually used to be a spy.
Things then take a steep nose dive as we get to invisible cars, ice palaces, solar death rays (used to melt the palace of course) and layer upon layer of entirely CG images. There’s also an element of face-changing which is the worst part of the Mission Impossible franchise, never mind James Bond. It gets really silly and really boring.
Brosnan is visibly enjoying himself though, and it’s very entertaining. The dialogue in this film is excruciatingly poor but he manages to sneak in lots of little mannerisms and affectations to just about make it all work. There are times when what he is saying makes literally no sense, and you can see him struggle to try and make it all seem normal. Same goes with Halle Berry, who sizzles on screen but if you close your eyes, her character is just talking bollocks.
Rosamund Pike is fine but suffers more from the shit script. Her character is literally called ‘Frost’ and guess what, she’s cold towards Bond. Not exactly much to work with. Toby Stephens plays a good villain and is genuinely loathsome in a rich public school kid way.
There’s a lot to like about Die Another Day but sadly there’s just too much to hate. It’s a decent enough final film for Brosnan overall, but not a good final 60 minutes.
http://benoliver999.com/film/2015/09/12/dieanotherday/
