“I’ve loved you all my life. Even before we met. Part of it wasn’t even you. It was just a promise of you.”
The Firm is already an incredible legal thriller, but what elevates this from very good to great is that Dave Grusin score. So romantic, so mysterious, all the swirling paranoia and desperate clawing to regain hold of one’s life as it spirals out of control is found in his music. It’s kind of unbelievable to take in…
The wailing frustration of an ego check that keeps ramming into you every time you start to inch into the lead. The tumultuous presence of mortality forever in the rear view, chasing you down. The grandeur of racing towards your dreams and grabbing hold of them when it matters most. All the magic and adoration I’ve seen people direct towards Top Gun, I found here within Days of Thunder. Referring to this as a rehash for Top Gun feels like…
Riveted by how mirrors are used throughout to convey both an allure and a loss self in the blur of desire. Image as a tormentor and as a coveted prize. It’s all so insatiable and that insatiability propels us deeper into the bowels of something especially dark and bloody. As an audience, we are coconspirators in Tom’s pursuits, always aware of his mounting lies and crimes, always watching his every move with an air of amusement. We are the reflection of Tom’s hungry gaze and need for more. Fascinating stuff. Keen to give it another whirl just so I can sink deeper into Narcissus’ pool.
Incredibly valuable lesson for kids here when it comes to what they should do if they come face to face with Neo-Nazis. Bloody and crackling with a fun mixture of teenage angst, grief, and desire for revenge, Becky kind of totally fucking rocks. Kevin James delivers a surprisingly impressive evil performance and Lulu Wilson hones in on something that feels so commanding. The editing throughout really helps elevate the experience to a particularly striking level. Fantastic use of whips and…
Haven’t read the book in over a decade so I was a bit taken aback by just how faith-based the entire structure of the story was. The idea of interfaith belief is neat to see on screen, especially when in relation to such extreme circumstances. The earliest sequences, where we cut quite often from the past to the present really, really didn’t work for me. Thought those segments felt a bit too heavy-handed and stilted, but once the shipwreck happens…
Maybe I’d enjoy it more if I hadn’t already seen Top Gun: Maverick? I do really like how Scott connects the inherent romanticism of masculinity with the brilliances of the sun and the heat of summer though. You can feel the heat radiating off this thing in waves. That final scene in the bar sure is swoon-worthy.
Loved revisiting this so much for the podcast that I wound up watching it twice in a 24 hour period. Now that Final Reckoning is out, my brief decline in appreciation for this one has instantly been turned around. Special, special movie.
Out this week, our final episode in the House of Mission: Impossible Patreon series! Check it out on Patreon AND!!! our full breakdown of Final Reckoning which is also out now wherever you listen to podcasts :)
The perfect Mission: Impossible movie. I love it so much.
Covered last week on the House of Mission: Impossible series available on Patreon :)
Bumps an already incredible franchise up into an entirely new tier, one that it’s remained in ever since. Opera scene goes crazy. Underwater vault scene is next level. Ilsa is my shayla. Ethan Hunt is so important to me. I love him very much.
This week’s House of Mission: Impossible episode covers the first film in the McQuarrie run and it was a very fun episode (we hold our breaths for a very long time in honor of the underwater vault sequence). Check out the episode now on Patreon! :)
Me when the movie opens with Ethan in a Russian prison instead of happy at home with his beautiful, wonderful wife: *Darth Vader voice* Where is Julia? Is she safe? Is she… alright?
Brad Bird’s first live action film has a lot of appealing qualities. Final scene is one of my absolute favorites of the whole franchise. My near-absolute adoration of Mission: Impossible 3 is an impossible act to follow though, which means while I really enjoy my time with Ghost…
Actually unreal how Eddie Murphy has just always been That Good™️. Lots here that really worked for me, particularly whenever Murphy gets to jump into impression mode. Final shootout sequences is also really impressive in how it manages to still keep the film’s humor while taking itself just serious enough to where we feel the stakes. Some lulls in there for me, but they’re hard to get too caught up on because, again, Eddy Murphy is just fantastic in this.