MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL
Written by Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec
Directed by Brad Bird
Starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg

After seeing the third installment in the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE series, and after witnessing the self destruction of franchise star, Tom Cruise, over the last few years, I would have bet that the most impossible mission of all would be getting a fourth film made. And that is to say nothing of whether it would even be watchable. Yet here we are with a fourth film on our hands and it was created at the hands of a director famous for animated rats (RATATOUILLE) no less. Somehow though, not only does Brad Bird manage to reinvigorate a dying series in one grand sweep but he also succeeds in unleashing one of the most exciting blockbusters I’ve seen all year.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL is simply a non-stop blast of energy from start to finish. Drawing on his experience with the spy game (THE INCREDIBLES), Bird crafts a twisted trip for the viewer to get caught up in. His experience with the limitless genre of animation is directly applied to his intense and creative vision of the supposed real world. Of course, in real life, regular people don’t scale the biggest building in the world with their hands, but we can all agree this is pretty far away from real life. Audiences don’t want to watch Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team, - rounded out here by a hilariously endearing Simon Pegg, a stunning but not so intriguing Paula Patton and a solid, sexy Jeremy Renner - in reasonably tense scenarios. No, they want to see them in situations no one alive could ever get through but somehow still do. It isn’t about actual realism; it’s about finding out how far you can push implausibility and stopping just shy of that sweet spot.

Hunt is the perfect character for Cruise. He exhibits strength and smarts and does so with savvy. This is wear Cruise cruises. Hunt leads but he does so with few words and very little emoting. This is where Cruise usually crashes so its refreshing to watch him coast by on what he does best for a change. And as he leads his disavowed team on a mission to stop nuclear war from breaking out, he does so with a commanding stance and a reinvigorated sense of determination. It almost feels as though Cruise is not just fighting to save the world but he’s pushing it hard because he knows his career is on the line too. By the time he completes his mission, he has taken us on a ride so exhilarating, it actually had me getting flush from excitement and nerves. It is a mission both he and Bird can claim as accomplished with pride and as far as you’re concerned, it is well worth accepting.

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PAUL

Written by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost

Directed by Greg Mattola

Starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig

and Seth Rogen

Graeme Willy (at Comic-Con): I love it here. It feels right.

It has never been cool to be a nerd, but if the nerd community has proven anything in recent years, it is that they are a force to be reckoned with. They will band together when necessary to attend giant conventions where they can spend hundreds of dollars on autographs or they will rally thousands of signatures to ensure that their favorite television programs, no matter how obscure, stay on the air. And as their collective power has increased, the more they find themselves represented in the mainstream media, naturally allowing the masses to love them for their endearing social ineptitude. This newfound love of all things geeky is what makes movies like Greg Mattola’s new alien film, PAUL, possible and, boy oh boy, does it ever geek it up hardcore.

PAUL opens on a lone farm house in a large, empty field. Windmills start to turn frantically as a rocking chair rocks back and forth on a porch front. Before long, flashing lights fill the sky and a dog barks at the moon. This is quintessential aliens from outer space cinema and the kitch-tastic intro tells us right away that we will be both delighting in, and sending up, all that we have come to know about alien invader movies. As an added bonus though, stars and writers, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, (the former previously penned the hilarious SHAUN OF THE DEAD and HOT FUZZ), provide us with a rather touching look at the loneliness and insecurity that might accompany men who have never known anything other than their obsessions and each other. This is certainly no small feat considering their co-star is a little green guy voiced by Seth Rogen. The threesome embark on a road trip through a horribly unforgiving middle-America, in an attempt to get the little guy home – he had phoned in earlier – and run into a number of peculiar characters, from an actual man in black (Jason Bateman) to a religious zealot (Kristin Wiig). Ideas about God, the universe and space genitalia are exchanged en route.

Fortunately, geeky humour works for all – the geeks who get the inside jokes and everybody else who can just laugh at how incredibly geeky everything is. PAUL may be occasionally predictable or transparent but Mattola is sure to infuse this buddy movie with as much heart and sincerity as is possible, given the subject matter. His work may seem extreme at times (SUPERBAD anyone?) but it is also always relatable and genuine. While he has his audience distracted with the enjoyment they derive from immersing themselves in nerd culture, whether that inspires superiority in one viewer or solace for another, he manages to sneak something in that no one would see coming and that is humanity. Who knew that meeting an alien from another planet could make you feel more like you belong on this one?

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