Top Gun: Maverick

My latest foray into the world of real-life cinemas was Top Gun: Maverick–a movie which I have to admit was not really on my radar at all.

The Last Samurai [50 New-Old Movies for the 51st Year #12]

A couple of months ago, I turned 50 years old!  And to add to all the real life goals and challenges that that brings, I’ve created at least one as it relates to movies and this blog–watch a film I’ve never seen before which cam out in each year of my life (thus the “Old-New” terminology), and then write a bit about it.  This is Post #12.  Spoilers ahead.  

(Alternate) Box Office Blockbuster Tourney: Round Four

So as explained some time ago, we are again playing a seeded tournament-style elimination game amongst each of the US domestic box office champion movies from the last 32 years, but this time with all-female judges.  Seeding was done via Rotten Tomatoes scores, with ties broken with Metacritic scores.  Three of our five judges have voted on each match-up of two films, with the winner advancing to the next round and the loser skulking off into obscurity, until we eventually reach our overall Champion!

(Alternate) Box Office Blockbuster Tourney: Round Three

So as explained some time ago, we are again playing a seeded tournament-style elimination game amongst each of the US domestic box office champion movies from the last 32 years, but this time with all-female judges.  Seeding was done via Rotten Tomatoes scores, with ties broken with Metacritic scores.  Three of our five judges will vote on each match-up of two films, with the winner advancing to the next round and the loser skulking off into obscurity, until we have our overall Champion!

Favorite Fictional Heroes Countdown–Part 9 (#20-11)

And the countdown to my favorite fictional hero continues.  In today’s post, we have 10 characters who for the third time are all male, although three of them are not human beings.  Another two were born on earth, but mostly work in outer space.

Favorite Fictional Heroes Countdown–Part 7 (#40-31)

And the countdown to my favorite fictional hero continues.  In today’s post, we have 10 characters who are all male.  Oh dear.  Amongst them, are four Americans, three Englishmen, two aliens and one Frenchman!

Read previous posts here:
• Part 1 (102-91) and rationale for the lists
• Part 2 (90-81)
• Part 3 (80-71)
• Part 4 (70-61)
• Part 5 (60-51)
• Park 6 (50-41)

Mission Impossible Fallout (Light Spoilers)

The Mission Impossible films started off as standalone stories that didn’t really have anything to do with one another, aside from the fact that they were all modern day approaches to the 1960’s TV series.  They all starred Tom Cruise, and they all featured Ving Rhames in a supporting role, they all had self-destructing messages and lifelike rubber masks, but aside from that there was barely any connective tissue between them.

That all began to change with the fourth movie, which had to deal with the fact that main character actually got married in the previous one.  After that, the sense of ongoing development continued to develop so that in the latest entry, Mission Impossible Fallout, there are no less then seven returning characters, including for the first time, the movie’s female lead and the main villain.

47 Great Movie Moments #29 – War of the Worlds

Continuing with this series of 47 moments in film that I love (Why 47?), today, for #29, we come to a film that I have always loved, in spite of its obvious flaws.

War of the Worlds (2005)

47 Movie Blogs #27 – 5 Favorite Spielberg Films

Steven Spielberg is obviously one of the best known and most celebrated film makers of the last 40 years.  IMDb lists him as the director of 29 theatrically released feature films.  29.25, actually, if you count his segment in The Twilight Zone:  The Movie.  Of these, I have seen 19.25 of his movies. 

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation (and a look back at the franchise as a whole)

I will get to my thoughts on the new film Mission Impossible Rogue Nation in just a moment, but first, a bit of context…

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with the Mission Impossible franchise. For example, I love the original TV series from the 1960’s. (Do you guys even know that it’s based on a TV series? So many people I talk to haven’t got any idea). I loved characters played by the likes of Steven Hill and Martin Landau and Barbara Bain. I loved the weirdly repetitive formula with the self-destructing tape bit, the needless dossiers, the apartment scene, the really complicated scams, the brazenly confident drive away at the end of each job completed…