Arrival

Science-fiction movies have become a lot different to what the genre is supposed to be about. Instead of asking philosophical questions about the nature of man, like we see in Forbidden Planet and 2001: A Space Odyssey, the genre has become another extension of the action genre with movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Independence Day. Denis Villeneuve's latest movie, however, puts the sci-fi elements firmly in the backseat and focuses instead on the human involvement in an alien arrival on Earth.

The world plunges into chaos as twelve mysterious alien vessels land at various spots around the globe. While the public starts to question why they came and why the aliens haven't reached out, the militaries of the country that each vessel is in becomes proactive about looking for answers. Linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is contacted by Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) to lead the team that will attempt to speak to the aliens. With her to try and interpret the answers is theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner). Lurking in the background is CIA Agent Halpern (Michael Stuhlbarg), who seems to make his decisions based on what the Russian and Chinese forces are doing in regard to their alien vessels.

It is incredibly hard to talk about this film in broad brush strokes so as to not ruin the film, because so much of makes Arrival great is in its detail. The whole theme of language that runs throughout the film is pretty fantastic because it makes the point of how vital language is to our culture. This is something that we take for granted everyday and never stop to think how everything would fall apart without it. Even the way the film breaks down simple sentence structure really makes you think. And if what I just said makes you roll your eyes, then you probably weren't thinking that this movie was going to be a two hour linguistics class, which it kind of is. Because of this, the movie works at its own pace and isn't hurried along in the way that other movies feel the need to. There was one explosion, but I feel like this was included just because the studio said there should be one.

The other fantastic thing about this movie is that it has a female lead who isn't overshadowed by her male co-stars that seems to happen when a blockbuster has a female lead. The whole way through, Amy Adams commands the screen and she doesn't get shafted by the male characters thinking they know better. Another good turn that this movie does with her is around her recruitment to the mission. Sci-fi movies have the trope of the team of experts being chosen just because they happen to be lying around, but here Louise has to prove that she is the top person for the job. Adams performance is also one of the best I've seen her give. This isn't a spoiler, but the film begins with a whole montage of her raising her daughter and ultimately has to give her up because she dies from a rare disease. This montage lasts a total of two minutes and really lets you get a feel for who the character is through an amazing performance.

The writing did have a few dodgy areas that felt a bit jarring. Once the film gets going and the team starts to be able to communicate with the aliens, there is a montage showing them learning the language with a voice over about their language. Instead of having linguist Laura giving this monologue, it is Ian, the theoretical physicist doing it. It just felt like a weird logical point not to have the linguist character not talking about language. The was line where the on site doctor bluntly asked Louise if she was pregnant. This does have a point in the movie but it was delivered in a bit of a harsh way and takes you out of the film for just a second.

I'm going to give Arrival the top score for its originality and ability to distinguish itself for other films being released in the genre. Villeneuve is able to focus on the human element of the film which is something that so many alien movies are unable to do. The threat in the movie doesn't come from the other, but rather those we are familiar. Also it had a twist that ended up making me second guess myself.

Jack's Thoughts - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

My face after leaving this movie

While Ed praised the latest Mission: Impossible instalment, he admitted that he wasn't the resident fan of the series. That's where I come in.

I said in my review of the first Mission: Impossible film that the franchise began as Hollywood's response to James Bond. Five movies in and they have cemented that fact, whilst becoming their own thing entirely.

I'm not going to go into plot details because you can read those on our official review. This is just going to be me explaining how much I love this movie and the reasons why. The first being the plot. I know, I know, I wasn't going to go into it and I'm not. But this movie's plot works really well. The franchise is known for its twists and turns, some you see coming and some you don't. All in all though, it's one hell of a roller coaster ride that will keep the adrenaline running throughout the entire film.

Secondly, Tom Cruise. Say what you will about him having an insane private life, but that doesn't distract from the fact that he is a really really good actor. And that stems from the fact that he loves what he does and it shows in his performances, but none so more than the character of Ethan Hunt. Hunt is Cruise's own character that he has perfected over the last twenty years and no one else could play him, making him the complete opposite of James Bond. What I love about Hunt in relation to Bond is that while he is almost an unstoppable machine, he is also infallible. Right from day one, the character has found himself in more dire situations than any character and Cruise puts himself in those situations for the authenticity, such as hanging off a flying plane. Insane!

Now specifically this movie is great because it is entirely self-referential to the entire series. There are overt and covert references to every movie, from a rabbits foot to a super subtle reference to chewing gum that will only appeal to die hard fans of the series. The film also throws in the famous mission giving sequence, but with a huge twist, thus throwing the entire conceit on its head. We also have a huge number of jokes about how this mission can't quite be impossible.

But what about all the other great characters in this movie. Well, as Ed said, Benji (Simon Pegg) is the stand-in for the main audience, always amazed at Ethan's complete and utter insanity as well as caring for him (although I have always found Ethan Hunt the more relatable character). Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) is the other hallmark of the series bringing his dry, but funny charm to the movie (he also represents the long standing fan of the films). Brandt (Jeremy Renner) represents the audience members who try and think about these movies from a rational point, but failing to do so and in the end coming around to see things "the only way".

That brings me to the character of Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). Instead of playing the usual "Bond girl" of the Mission: Impossible series, she is presented as a female equivalent of Ethan Hunt. She is often as ruthless as he, but her motives are also the same. What I love about this movie in particular is that there is no sexual element between Ethan and Ilsa as there has been in the past movies. He truly respects her and sees her as an equal, which I think is a huge step forward for a big Hollywood movie like this.

"Your mission should you choose to accept it...." is find a bigger fan of this film series than me. Because Rogue Nation just cemented my already strong love. I might even go so far as to say I love it more than Bond....

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Smashing through the box office gates every few years comes the latest Mission Impossible flick, America's answer to Bond, just with less kissing and more gadgets. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation hits screens this week with writer/director Christopher McQuarrie at the wheel. Will this prove to be the latest capstone in a strong series, or is Ethan Hunt getting as tedious as a school band playing the Mission Impossible theme?

After years hunting a mysterious group known as the Syndicate, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) believes he has enough proof to confirm their existence. When reporting to a secret IMF station about his interception of a nerve gas shipment, he is captured by the Syndicate. Escaping in usual brawling fashion, he is assisted by a disavowed British agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), and pursues the elusive blonde man that he saw just before he was captured, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris).

After a senate committee finds their actions reckless, the IMF is dissolved, with CIA director Alan Huntley (Alec Baldwin) picking up the pieces. William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) are questioned about the whereabouts of Hunt, now a rogue agent, but neither crack and Ethan continues to evade capture. He tricks Benji into flying to Vienna for the Opera, however in reality it's a ploy to get Dunn's assistance in taking down the Syndicate. The two team up with Ilsa to infiltrate a high-security server that should assist them in tracking down Lane.

I'm not our resident MI fan, but having caught up on Ghost Protocol before meandering into this fifth installment, I was ready for some tense action, and it's safe to say that I wasn't disappointed. The pace is set in the opening sequence, which sees Hunt clinging for dear life to the side of a cargo plane as it takes off. It might not quite trump the Dubai skyscraper scenes from the previous film, but the tension remains palpable, especially when you realise that this was done for real, by cruise. This is followed up by a dramatic fight at the opera, claustrophobic chase sequences through the streets of Morocco and a free-dive into a giant water-cooled computer mainframe.

It's exhilarating stuff, as you would expect from McQuarrie (writer of The Usual Suspects and Valkyrie) and regular action-cinematographer Robert Elswit. The plot can turn on it's head without warning - as is typical with the series - leaving you constantly second guessing the motives of the array of different characters, and as long as you don't over-think it then it's great fun to follow along with. Although at times you do find yourself glossing over the current story and sitting back to anticipate the next action sequence, testimony to the effectiveness of the action.

Cruise continues to cheat his way through the ageing process, seemingly still in peak physical condition. He punches, kicks, dodges and flips his way through his enemies and of coarse, still does his own stunts. Benji and Ethan work closer than ever here as the IMF struggles to find solid ground yet again, and Pegg continues to be the most likable character in the series. Benji is ultimately the nerdy kid's channel into this world, operating his vast array of gadgets with occasional precision. Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa is fast and nimble, taking down any enemy brute thrown at her, and Renner's Brandt....well he's sometimes useful. This seems to be a common issue with a lot of the supporting cast, namely that they really don't do that much. Alec Baldwin cracks open his 'annoying useless obstacle' persona which I haven't personally seen him do since the awful The Cat in the Hat film, and Sean Harris transforms into the stock-standard turtle-necked bad guy. His character develops less as a man who you expect to be foiled by his own heinous ambitions, and more as a lemming lining up waiting to be thrown off the cliff.

But the character assassinations are just nit-picking for an action film like this. Ultimately, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is a solid and visceral addition to the franchise that will keep you thoroughly entertained.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

I think it's safe to say that Marvel Studios have gotten themselves to a safe enough place to be comfortable and confident in the movies they are making. The latest films have been branching out into various genres (political thriller with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, comedy sci-fi with Guardians of the Galaxy) and they have now reserved the main Avengers movies for the generic beat-em-up that most superheroes become. Despite this, Age of Ultron isn't entirely a slugfest and does try to take a softer approach with a few of its characters.

The movie starts right in the middle of an intense action sequence, with the team of the Avengers (Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Black Widow, The Hulk and Hawkeye) assaulting a fortress in the European country of Sokovia in an attempt to retrieve the sceptre of Loki from Hydra (see Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Once Tony Stark gets his hands on it, he realises that the sceptre possesses the technology to develop complex artificial intelligence, something that he and Bruce Banner have been interested in developing for a while. But Stark's plans for this AI program, named Ultron, goes awry and the program soon goes rogue with plans to destroy mankind. It's up to the Avengers to, you know, save the day.

In this film, we get to have a closer look some of the characters outside the big three (Thor, Cap, Iron Man) and it is slightly refreshing. The relationship between Black Widow and Hulk is explored and heavily hinted at being romantic and Hawkeye is revealed to have a wife and children, a fact that surprised not only the audience, the characters in the film. These smaller arcs are somewhat refreshing and satisfying.

There is a lot of assumed knowledge that comes with watching this film. Not only are you expected to have done your homework and be completely up to date with the Cinematic Universe, but you are also expected to have some knowledge of what is happening in the comic books or else you will be left in the dark as to who some of these new characters are. This film introduces us to three new heroes on top of the villain, whose storyline does make sense. The new characters are the Maximoff twins, Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) (otherwise known as Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver). We of course saw a much better version of Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but that is beside the point. We also are introduced to Vision (Paul Bettany), who is another advanced cyborg imprinted with Tony Stark's manservant Jarvis' own AI.

This movie is definitely the kind that moves from action sequence to action sequence with a little talking in between, just enough so you know what's going on. And it's pretty impressive too. The action is enough to keep you amazed at what's going on. There is also an array of humour in the movie, enough for everyone to have a laugh.

Most of the performances are pretty stock standard, as all the actors have gone way too deep with these characters. The ones that stuck out the most for me were James Spader (Stargate) lending his amazingly authoritative and terrifying voice to Ultron and Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch, although her accent did drop a few times. Of all the Avengers, Chris Hemsworth probably gave the best performance. His outsider status as an Aussie probably helps him get in the mindset of the god Thor.

Ultimately this film is incredibly entertaining and isn't extremely taxing. Fans of the movies will get all sorts of excited and people with limited knowledge of this things will still enjoy the large scale of the film.

Kill The Messenger

Movies about journalists stumbling onto conspiracies involving the government come along far too long for my liking. And when you watch them, they always seem over the top, filled with action sequences and other things that never happened to the real people. Kill The Messenger, however, doesn't rely on these theatrics to get people engaged. It uses a gripping true story that is hard to comes to terms with because the real world implications are terrifying.

Gary Webb (Jeremy Renner) is a journalist who works for the San Jose Mercury News. He finds out about a conspiracy that involves the CIA wilfully letting drug dealers sell crack cocaine in South Central Los Angeles in order to fund a revolution in Nicaragua that it backs. Webb writes an explosive three-part story that gets everyone riled up. He then has to deal with people attacking his ethics and whether or not the story is true.

This movie takes an interesting approach to the way the history is shown. While the story of Webb and his investigation goes on, the film sometimes cuts away to media footage from the time as well as film taken of the actors as though they were in the 90s. Although this is a fun technique, I found at times that it was slightly distracting.

Jeremy Renner dominates this movie. I know that he is the star, but there is never a scene where he isn't there. I feel that with a movie like this there should be at least one or two scenes where we don't need to see the lead actor. Mary Winstead is amazing as Gary's editor who really wants him to succeed, but feels pressure from her bosses.

Apart from these two actors, everyone else features intermittently or dropped a couple of scenes after they have served their purpose. Barry Pepper, Michael Sheen and Michael K. Williams are all fantastic actors who appear for a scene or two, but their characters are underdeveloped, especially Williams, who plays drug dealer "Freeway" Rick Ross, a man who probably deserves a movie to be made about his own life.

Verdict: A decent movie that tells a part of history that everybody would already know about, hopefully. Not essential watching.