Gil Mansergh’s Cinema Toast
New Releases For the Week of 7/27/18
Mission Impossible: Fallout (PG-13)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Henry Cavill, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin, Angela Bassett, Sean Harris
Directed by: Christopher McQuarrie
The Mission Impossible movies are all about the real-time stunts that Tom Cruise performs himself so there is no doubt that it he is the actor that we see. and Mission Impossible: Fallout is no exception. Co-star Simon Pegg sums things up: “He’s genuinely risking his life to entertain people—which is incredibly valiant—and daft.” If you want to save some time and money, director Christopher McQuarrie has posted a slick “All Stunts” short on YouTube that features behind the scenes shots and these stunts: The Long Line; The Downward Spiral; The Motorcycle Chase; The Rooftop Jump; and The Halo Jump. You can even see where Cruise explains how, “I stuck my foot out to soften the impact [when slamming into a building], and could instantly tell it was broken.” In true “the show must go on” style, Cruise then climbs up to the rooftop and limps away. Notoriously famous for only having three expressions, the other performers (most notably Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson and Angela Bassett) act circles around Cruise. But he is the “star” here, and everyone makes sure the audience knows this vital piece of information. The plot? If it matters, it’s about capturing a former British Intelligence Agent turned terrorist by repeatedly putting yourself in imminent danger after tacitly agreeing to take “the mission—should you wish to accept it.”
3 pieces of a 57-year-old actor doggedly continuing to accept these so-called “Impossible” missions toast
Don’t Worry: He Won’t Get Far On Foot (R)
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Rooney Mara, Jack Black, Beth Ditto, Kim Gordon, Udo Kier
Directed by: Gus Van Sant
Joaquin Phoenix turns in yet another Oscar-worthy performance playing the alcohol-addicted, wheel-chair-bound cartoonist John Callahan in Don’t Worry: He Won’t Get Far On Foot, but because of director Gus Van Sant’s love of confusing, time-fractured, out of sequence story-telling, you’ll have to work harder than necessary to appreciate the nuance of Phoenix’s work. The same is true for Jonah Hill’s turn as the AA sponsor looking after his brood of addicted “piglets” as they go through group therapy while surviving one-day-at-a-time.
3 pieces of AA group sessions have never been better depicted toast
Blindspotting (R)
Starring: Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Janina Gavenkar, Ethan Embry
Directed by: Carlos Lopez-Estrada
The gentrification of their Oakland hometown prompted Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal to write and star in this should see (despite being difficult to find among the summer blockbusters) film. Diggs plays Collin, a young black man on the last three days of probation who works beside his white buddy Miles (Casal), at a moving company. The catalyst for the film is a police shooting witnessed by Collin, and the moral dilemma (and probable loss of freedom) he faces if he steps forward to reveal what he saw. There is real talent in the film’s words, dialogue and acting skill (Casal is a prize-winning slam-poet, and Diggs played in Hamilton), but the whiplash shift from buddy-comedy, to social commentary, to racist reality might have been aided by stronger director.
3 pieces of should see for the questions raised and the fresh, new talent showcased toast
Teen Titans GO! To the Movies (PG)
Starring the voices of: Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Tara Strong, Hynden Walch, Will Arnett, Kristen Bell, Nicolas Cage
Directed by: Aaron Horvath, Peter Rida Michail
As the title announces to one and all, Teen Titans, the fart-joke-laced Cartoon Network show has come to the big screen. Everything is presented with a jovial, sophomoric sense of “lets make fun of the superhero schticks,” and even Stan Lee gets to laugh at himself in a cameo. Adults should enjoy the asides about DC superhero movie failures, and the kids will enjoy watching the TV-familiar antics of Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven while learning the importance of teamwork, friendship, and egocentrism.
3 pieces of who decided all movies aimed at adolescents need to have fart jokes? toast
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