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Wednesday, August 12, 2015

"The Man from U.N.C.L.E"


From 8/03/15 press screening:

Coming into the screening of "The Man from U.N.C.L.E," I didn't know what to expect.  Unlike "Mission Impossible," I never saw the original TV series in the 1960s and the only recollection I had of a Guy Ritchie's film was "Sherlock Holmes."  That was fun, so at least that was my hope for this movie.  As it turns out, "The Man from U.N.C.L.E" was beyond that.

Henry Cavill ("Man of Steel") and Armie Hammer ("J. Edgar," "The Social Network") play former adversaries-turned-buddy spies to the hilt.  It started out on the rough side.  While both have colorful backgrounds and special talents, they're polar-opposites.  Cavill is Napoleon Solo, a former art thief turned CIA agent, charming and cavalier in his ways.  Hammer is Illya Kuryakin, a volatile yet steadfast KGB operative.

The American agent and Russian operative, when introduced by their respective handler that they would be working together as partners, make it clear that they're only doing this for the greater good.  Sizing each other up, they try to kill each other on their first day of working together.  Their joint mission is to infiltrate a criminal network and dismantle its plan to misuse technology and propagate nuclear weapons, subverting the power balance during the Cold War period.

Their link to the mysterious network is an East German auto mechanic, Gaby Teller (Alicia Vikander, "Ex-Machina"), the estranged daughter of a vanished Nazi rocket scientist.  Gaby reaches out to her  uncle, Rudi (Sylvester Groth), at a splashy event under the pretense that she would like to find her father and see him since she's getting married.  Illya is the groom-to-be, pretending to be a Russian architect in love.  The uncle is connected to a power-hungry couple in the nuclear venture, Victoria (Elizabeth Debicki) and Alexander Vinciguerra (Luca Calvani).  Between the two, Victoria makes an impression as the brain behind the operations.  Napoleon crashes the event, casts his eyes on the icy villainess, and gains her interest through his sleight of hand tricks and debonair manner.  

A gleeful spy game ensues.  Playing hide-and-seek and racing against time, there are hidden agenda, deception and double-crosses.  Sparks also fly among the trio.  The tough and whip-smart Gaby clashes with Illya, although there may be a different kind of spark there.  Flamboyant Napoleon and intense Illya butt head over methods and tricks to get the upper hand over their enemy.  What makes this slyly funny is the glut of dark, situational humor, including quick-witted banters and deadpan dialogues with hilarious happenings in the background.  Irony at its best.  All acted well by the principal actors.

Speaking of happenings, it's got plenty of actions.  A riotous sequence that opens the film with a bang, involving an elaborate street chase, spin and shootouts,  narrow alleys and narrower escape in the dark of the night.  Electrifying torture chair.  Speedboat trailing, truck crash-landing and boat sinking.  Off-roading pursuit with a vintage motorbike, modified jeep and ATV.

The movie glossily captures the vibe of the era with flair.  Old-fashioned elegance in couture, art and architecture against contrasting color palettes, cool in Berlin and  warm in Italy.  Music that is distinctively impactful, dramatically enhancing the ambiance and action, often dominant in silent and split-screen scenes.

The film ends with a boom, an official team formation, and a potential for a sequel.  It looks like U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command of Law and Enforcement) is in business.  This period espionage is filled with comedic beats, intrigue and style.  "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." is stylish, flashy and fun.


Monday, August 10, 2015

Upcoming Movies: November 2015


[Originally published on 10/31/15]

November 6
"Spectre" (http://www.007.com/) - A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind Spectre.

"The Peanuts Movie" (http://www.peanutsmovie.com/) - Snoopy embarks upon his greatest mission as he and his team take to the skies to pursue their arch-nemesis, while his best pal Charlie Brown begins his own epic quest back home.

November 13
"By the Sea" - Set in France during the mid-1970s, a former dancer and her American writer husband travel the country together. They seem to be growing apart, but when they linger in one quiet, seaside town they begin to draw close to some of its more vibrant inhabitants, such as a local bar/cafĂ©-keeper and a hotel owner.

"The 33" - Based on the real-life event, when a gold and copper mine collapses, it traps 33 miners underground for 69 days.

November 20
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" (https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/mockingjaypart2/) - After being symbolized as the "Mockingjay", Katniss Everdeen and District 13 engage in an all-out revolution against the autocratic Capitol.

"Secret in Their Eyes" (http://secretintheireyes.movie/) - A tight-knit team of rising investigators, along with their supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.

November 27
"The Good Dinosaur" (http://movies.disney.com/the-good-dinosaur) - An epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus makes an unlikely human friend.

"The Danish Girl" (https://www.workingtitlefilms.com/films/view/film/124) - The remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda's marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili's groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

"The Gift"


Great psychological thrillers ("Black Swan," "Shutter Island") are hard to come by these days.  So when one comes along, it knocks your socks off. 

Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall, "Transcendence," "Iron Man 3," "The Town") are a married couple recently moved to Los Angeles from Chicago for a new start.  One day they run into an old high school friend of Simon, Gordo (Joel Edgerton, "The Great Gatsby").  Soon Gordo begins to get obsessed with the couple, starting with an innocuous gift at the front door step.  But the gifts keep on coming and things get weirder.  It's no slasher, but you'd feel a sense of dread creeping up even when you don't see him onscreen. 

As the movie progresses, Robyn discovers an unsavory history between Gordo and her husband.  And that her husband may not be the Mr. Nice Guy she's married to.  As they say, revenge is best served cold.  Go in cold; steer clear of anything resembling spoilers.  

Along the lines of the crazy sick twist in "Old Boy," prepare for a wicked ending that will haunt your mind. 


Sunday, August 2, 2015

"Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation"


After an incredibly accomplished mission in "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," Tom Cruise ("Edge of Tomorrow," "Oblivion," "Jack Reacher") returns to accept another impossible mission as agent Ethan Hunt.  Or rather, forced to accept.

Ethan is on the run from the CIA (Alec Baldwin, "To Rome With Love"), and on the hunt for the Syndicate, a shadowy organization consisting of rogue agents, missing or presumed dead, that has been disrupting governmental structures around the world under the guise of global catastrophes.  It looks like IMF (Impossible Mission Force) might have met its match.

IMF faces the oversight committee for its unorthodox tactics, unnecessarily reckless and leaving international chaos behind.  The CIA also believes that the Syndicate is a figment of Ethan's imagination. The IMF is dismantled and lead agent William Brandt (Jeremy Renner, "The Avengers: Age of Ultron"," "American Hustle," "The Bourne Legacy") and tech sidekick Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) are folded into the CIA.  The timing couldn't be worse, as the Syndicate is yet again successful in its elaborate attempts in assassinating a world leader.

A cold-blooded face represents the Syndicate, Solomon Lane (Sean Harris).  Solomon is after a ledger containing crucial information about the organization's operations.  Eventually, Ethan reunites with his team, and also joined by long-time operative Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), trailing and putting together clues from Vienna, Casablanca and London.  The veteran team gels well, with occasional humorous interactions.

The presence of a new superspy, Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) brings a fresh dynamic.  A female version of Ethan Hunt, not only she capably holds her own in every fight, run or chase, she also manages to save Ethan's life.  Yet, she purposely leaves him behind each time.  Friend or foe, she's elusive and sophisticated, a mysterious piece of the puzzle.  Paula Patton was great in 'Ghost Protocol,' but a lot can be explored with Ferguson's character and hopefully she returns for another mission.

Directed and written by Christopher McQuarrie ("The Tourist"), 'Rogue Nation' is chocked full of show-stopping set pieces and action sequences from start to finish.  As if scaling Burj Khalifa wasn't enough, Cruise leaps and clings onto the side of an Airbus taking off before parachuting with a secret cargo.  And diving deep into an abyss of water, holding his breath and gets spun around.  Other standout sequences include sharpshooting, rooftop running and rappelling down an opera house, and high-speed motorcycle chase through a desert highway and hairpin turns.

It's not all death-defying stunts, however.  The movie piles on twist after twist almost to the point of being overplotted.  But it wraps itself satisfyingly in the end.

Following its big, bold and breathtaking predecessor, the perils and intrigues in "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation" makes this latest entry impossibly thrilling.

http://www.sdentertainer.com/movies/movie-review-mission-impossible-rogue-nation/

DVD: http://tinyurl.com/roguenationvideo
DVD (blu-ray): http://tinyurl.com/roguenationdvd