Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol (3.5)

(Trailer)

The 2011 sequel by Brad Bird.

Tom Cruise. I didn't want to like you but you are great as Ethan Hunt in these films. You do the action thing well and without the Bond cockiness. Age was been kind to you too sir, keeping all in shape and stuff.

I liked how they keep the come-and-go comedy in this movie like they have in the previous films. Simon Pegg (The Adventures of Tintin) DEFINITELY helped in that. I heart that guy. He makes me laugh when he isn't even doing anything. I enjoyed him a lot in this movie.

Jeremy Renner was good next to Cruise and I thought he was suited to this roll. I have to admit that I haven't been overly impressed with him in his last couple of films. Not saying I hate him but I feel like he has sooo much to offer but the roles just aren't suiting him well enough (in my humble opinion). I'm just waiting for that next movie where he blows me away...

Everyone and their dog was telling me that this was such an amazing action movie and that I had to see it and blah blah...

I will admit, there were some cool, new ideas in this movie and there were some scenes that I highly enjoyed and made my heart beat a little faster. Still, a lot of what was happening I knew was going to happen 5 minutes before it did. Also, the whole bomb/Russians being the bad guys thing is OLD NEWS! I literally rolled my eyes when I knew that that was where the movie was heading. So, unlike the previous movies when the things they were trying to stop seemed interesting to me, this one wasn't from the start, so it had that going against it the entire time.

For an action movie it was good though. This would've been a great summer action flick me thinks, but after watching Moneyball, The Artist and War Horse it just didn't overly impress me.

3.5/5 ADSENSE HERE

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (3.5)

(Trailer)

The 2011 Thriller/Drama by Tomas Alfredson starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy about finding a mole within M16's spies during the Cold War.

Once again, this movie was on almost every single must see movies of 2011 list that I stumbled upon and so naturally I had to check it out.

It's been a long time since I've seen a solid drama based movie about espionage and/or the Cold War. Most of the time the drama is masked by pop-bang-boom action and not so impressive performances. This movie is one of the best spy related films I have seen in years. It just focused on finding the mole and there was nothing else. Well, if there was, there was a reason for it being there and I want to explain more but I'll spoil the ending and so I wont. But yes, any extras comes together in the end.

This script is INSANE. There were so many characters and the film was fast paced and just threw information at you from every angle and you had to go along for the ride.

Gary Oldman was great as Smiley. He played the veteran spy with ease and although he was monotone and without expression for most of the movie there was a coldness to him that made me feel uneasy, like I couldn't entirely trust him or know what he would do next. Brilliant.

Tom Hardy, Colin Firth and, well, everyone in this movie were fantastic. I actually couldn't believe all the familiar faces that kept coming and coming in this movie. What a stellar cast. It must have been quite the experience to be a part of this film. Great casting.

Okay. The story was beyond fantastic and the performances were great so let me explain why this wasn't my favourite movie of 2011. I quite enjoy films that test me and make me attempt to figure out what's going on aka use my brain. This movie was too much of a puzzle to me. First, there were A LOT of characters. Not only is that hard when the film is so fast paced but they all had code names as well so most of the time I was trying to understand who people were talking about. Second, the use of cutting from past, present and future without warning confused me. It was hard to see the difference as no one looked overly different and everyone is moving around from country to country and room to room and I was tripping over myself trying to see who was dead or where they were, etc. (if I could remember their code names anyways). Finally, the lingo. They used a lot of lingo, which is great, if I knew what they were talking about. And there was no explanation as every character in the movie knew the lingo so they would nod and walk out of the room and then a new scene would start but I would've had no idea if they had decided to kill someone or if someone was caught or who even knows. Jesus, a goddamn puzzle. haha

So...

If that long paragraph didn't explain it enough than I am a loss for words. It was a great movie but I spent more than half of it trying to understand ANYTHING that was happening and was getting really frustrated. Yes, I know that in the end that it was brilliant to put me into this spot as they were trying to also find out who was who and find the mole within their operations but ultimately it made the film less than enjoyable to me.

Now, when I watch it for the second time I'll probably love it to bits as I'll understand who people are but alas...

3.5/5 ADSENSE HERE

A Separation (4.5)

(Trailer)

A 2011 Oscar nominee for best foreign language film by Asghar Farhadi starring Peyman Moadi, Leila Hatami and Sareh Bayat about a man and a women going through a separation but neither are willing to give up their 11 year old daughter.

I had seen this movie on a few best of 2011 movie lists and after it was nominated for an Oscar I had to check it out...

Wow. What a story. My muscles are still tense from this film. Right from the start it's a battle and it only gets worse. I really had no idea where the story was going to go but once it did I was glued to the screen. The characters, situation, cultural differences and each characters personal fears were so strong and very powerful. I think I forgot to breath for full scenes because the suspense and tension were so intense. My stomach actually hurt a bit too because I got so caught up in the story that their personal worries had become my own. Craziness.

I honestly don't know what more to say about it except that, even though I haven't seen the other nominees, I wouldn't be surprised if this won the Oscar. In fact, I'm sure it will.

If you like pure dramas this is a movie for you. I also liked how it completely took me out of my living room in Ontario and placed me in an entirely different world and didn't let me go until the credits rolled...and maybe even a few minutes after that.

Powerful film. See it.

4.5/5 ADSENSE HERE