Tag Archives: Hannah Waddingham

Brad’s thoughts on MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (2025)

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I’ve been trying to make it to the theater to watch the latest, and reportedly the final, “Mission: Impossible” film featuring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. I was finally able to make it this weekend! This film series has been a big part of my life, with the first film opening when I was just a 22 year old kid, and the final film being released when I’m a 51 year old grandpa! Going back to 1996 when Brian De Palma directed the first in the series, I have seen all eight at the movie theater. I have enjoyed all of them, with MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE II as my clear least favorite, which is quite strange since it was directed by John Woo, my favorite director of all of them. I still like it though. This Mission: Impossible franchise has done the near impossible in the fact that it has gotten better and better over the course of its twenty nine years in existence. The first four films in the franchise experimented with different directors, some of the best in the business. The fifth in the franchise, “ROGUE NATION,” was directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who would then direct the rest of the series, including this final installment. McQuarrie’s sure hand has brought us to this final place. In a way, I’m sad to see it coming to an end, but time seems to take a toll on all of us, even Ethan Hunt / Tom Cruise.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING, a direct sequel to MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART 1 (2023), opens two months after the prior film. With the evil “Entity” continuing to corrupt global cyberspace and create chaos, it appears the world is headed for a sure nuclear war. With no other choice, U.S. President Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett) reluctantly puts her faith in Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his team of IMF agents, including Benji (Simon Pegg) and Luther (Ving Rhames). He also gets help from Grace (Hayley Atwell), Paris (Pom Klementieff), and Theo (Greg Tarzan Davis). Together this team goes after Gabriel (Esai Morales), an evil terrorist who’s been working with the “Entity,” in a last ditch effort to eliminate the end-of-the-world threat for a bunch of people who will never know what has been done for them.

I think that MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING is an excellent conclusion to the series featuring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. There are several reasons I feel this way. First, this final episode gives us the things that we’ve loved about the series from the beginning. For example, there is always a section of the film where the team will have to do something that is impossible. They’ll go through the plan with us, the audience, and they’ll explain why it’s impossible and the worst case scenarios they could run into. You can always count on the actual execution of the mission being even worse than the “worst case scenarios,” with the fun being in how they finally achieve their objective after all sorts of complications. We definitely get that here. Second, the relationships that Ethan Hunt shares with his long term team of Luther (all 8 films) and Benji (6 films) bring something special in this final episode. Luther (Ving Rhames) has been with Ethan from the very beginning, and this final episode proves that Ethan isn’t the only person on the team willing to give everything he has to protect a bunch of people who will never know his name. Benji (Simon Pegg) has been with Ethan since the third installment, and the series has seen him go from being nerdy comic relief to an important and trusted member of the team. He’s still funny, but he’s also right in the middle of everything. I like Pegg and it’s been satisfying seeing this character arc. Third, the action sequences are incredible. The final sequence where Ethan Hunt must climb on board not one, but two different biplanes to stop the evil Gabriel from getting away is awesome. These stunt sequences are incredible, and I actually got weak in the knees as I watched the death defying maneuvers, mostly featuring Tom Cruise himself. Fourth, this final installment enjoys revisiting past missions and characters, tying these prior events to where we are now in Hunt’s story. My favorite is the re-introduction of the character William Donloe (Rolf Saxon), the CIA Analyst from the very first film who ran the impenetrable, secure room that Hunt’s team is able to break into in Langley, VA. We learn that his character was banished to a remote post on the Bering Sea as a direct result of what happened 29 years earlier. When he re-emerges here, it’s revealed that his reassignment was the best thing that ever happened to him, and he’s also made an integral part of this final installment. It’s good stuff. 

Finally, I want to finish my thoughts on MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING by discussing actor Tom Cruise. It’s my personal opinion that Cruise is the last of a dying breed, the true movie star who gives everything he has for his films. There are no others who do what Tom Cruise does, which is put his life on the line to entertain us. Jackie Chan did the same thing in his heyday, and there aren’t any others left. The stunts that Cruise completed for this film, as well as the prior films, will never be matched again by a major movie star. That may even be a good thing, but my respect for Cruise’s commitment to his craft places him alone in my book as the greatest movie star on the planet. They certainly don’t make them like Tom Cruise anymore. 

At the end of the day, MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING is an incredible close to the extremely successful franchise. It’s probably not the best in the series as it may try to cover too much ground in its efforts to close everything out. Time and repeat viewings will determine its ultimate reputation, but I know that I enjoyed every second of it. I even had some moisture well up in my eyes at the end as the film was reaching its conclusion. I honestly doubt we’ll ever see such prolonged excellence again in a movie franchise. 

Film Review: Lilo & Stitch (dir. by Dean Fleischer Camp)

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

The best way to sum up the Live Action version of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch is with a line used in both films – “It’s little, and it’s broken, but good. Yeah. Still good.” I didn’t care for it as much as I thought I would (due to some changes in the story), but didn’t despise it enough to fully warrant a full thumbs down.

The Memorial Day Weekend battle basically comes down between Angela Bassett and her husband, Courtney B. Vance, who both have movies coming out. Vance can see seen in Lilo & Stitch as Agent Cobra Bubbles (previously played by Ving Rhames in the original, who is in Bassett’s film this weekend, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning).Remakes are shaky things, even if you stay close to the source material. The Live Action version of Lilo & Stitch feels abbreviated, for want of a better word. I enjoyed what was presented, and so did the early evening audience that consisted of families and yet, it didn’t hit every note for me. I won’t say it’s horrible, but it felt rushed for a film that has about 25 more minutes than the original.

The story is mostly the same. Dr. Joomba Jookiba (Zach Galifinakis, The Hangover) has unleashed an abomination in Experiment 626, a.k.a. Stitch (voiced once again by Chris Sanders). Stitch is nearly indestructible, highly intelligent and extremely dangerous. Already captured and forced to stand trial, Stitch escapes, steals a spaceship and ends up in Hawaii. The water is dangerous for Stitch, as he’s too dense to really float.

Lilo (Newcomer Maia Kealoha) is girl that’s considered different by most. She loves her self made dolls, saving chickens that shouldn’t be caged and doesn’t have much in the way of friends. She often gets in trouble, and this is putting a strain on her relationship with her sister, Nani (Sydney Agudong, Infamously in Love). Nani is trying to hold a job and keep the local Social Worker (Tia Carrere, True Lies and the voice of Nani in the original Lilo and Stitch) at bay.

When the Grand Councilwoman (Hannah Waddingham, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning) sends Dr. Joomba and Pleakley (Billy Magnussen, No Time To Die) to Earth on a retrieval mission, Stitch hides himself with Lilo and Nani, posing as a dog. Both The CIA’s lead agent, Cobra Bubbles, is also closing in on Stitch after his crash landing. Can Stitch find a way to escape capture and learn the magic of Ohana? Will Lilo find the friendship she’s longing for?

Lilo & Stitch keeps most of best scenes from the original – Stitch’s opening lines are there, of course, and so is his speech about his family. The theme of Ohana is still there. It still means Family, and means no one is left behind or forgotten. However, we’re taught a new word, “Kuleana” – which means “responsiblity” or “accountability”. The live action version changes the script by escalating the broken home situation between Nani and Lilo. Nani has a life she wants to live, too, but the loss of their parents and taking care of Lilo have put her dreams on hold. In a cartoon, an alien can show up and make everything right. In reality, things are a bit more complicated. It kind of pulls the fun out of things, but grounds the film in some real world consequences.

The entire story is carried on the tiniest of shoulders, and Maia Kealoha makes for a near perfect Lilo. Every scene with just Lilo and Stitch alone are great, and they end up in quite a few adventures. The CGI for Stitch and the other aliens are also very good. Disney’s obviously learned something from Paramount and their “Ugly Sonic” scandal. The same can be said for Agudong’s Nani. There really isn’t a bad acting choice in the entire lot, but the film pulls a piece off the chessboard. The Grand Counselwoman’s chief enforcer, a large sharklike alien named Captain Gantuu, is not in the film. Instead, the story removes his storyline and focus on making Joomba more the villain and Stitch the hero. Joomba and Pleakley spend most of their time bumbling through Earth’s customs, but keep most of the humor throughout. I get why the directors chose to go this way, since the sequences give Lilo more to do in them. It’s not a perfect change, but it all evens out, and the kids in the audience at my showing ate it all up (as did some of the grown ups).

Lilo and Stitch is a good watch if you’ve never heard of the story before. For kids that are new to it, it’s a treat, but it may be better to wait for the Disney Plus edition.

On a side note, I also picked up a Collector’s Edition Lilo & Stitch popcorn bucket, which contains a opening in the back to hold popcorn or other items. Stitch’s skin feels like velvet (or something fuzzy, really).

The Films of 2024: The Fall Guy (dir by David Leitch)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

In The Fall Guy, Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers.

When we first meet Colt, he’s a legendary and rather cocky stuntman.  While movie star Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) takes all the credit and brags about doing his own stunts, Colt is the one who is actually jumping off of buildings and surviving car crashes.  Every day, Colt risks his life to make Tom look good and, even though Tom is a bit of a tool, Colt loves every minute of it.  Why shouldn’t he?  He’s good at his job and he’s in love with aspiring director Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt).

Or, at least, that’s case until one stunt goes mysteriously wrong and Colt ends up breaking his back.  Colt eventually recovers but he’s no longer willing to be a stuntman and he and Jody break up.  Colt ends up working as a parking valet in Los Angeles, retrieving cars and hoping that no one recognizes him.

When Colt gets a call from producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) asking him to fly down to Australia and once again act as Tom’s stunt double in a science fiction epic called Metalstorm, Colt refuses.  But then Gail tells him that Jody is directing the film and the production is running behind schedule.  Jody herself wants Colt to come work on the film.  Colt finally agrees.  However, when he arrives in  Australia, he discovers that Gail lied.  Jody definitely does not want Colt working on the movie and, in fact, Metalstorm is her way of getting out all of her negative feelings about their relationship.

Gail explains that Tom is missing.  Colt agrees to track him down while working on both the film and his relationship with Jody.  However, it soon turns out that Tom isn’t just off on a drunken binge somewhere.  Colt soon finds himself caught up in a murder investigation, one in which Colt himself is the top suspect!

I liked The Fall Guy a lot more than I thought I would.  From the trailer and the commercials, I was expecting it to just be another dumb Hollywood action film.  And, indeed, there is a lot of action in The Fall Guy.  Appropriately enough for a film about stuntmen, the stunts in The Fall Guy are often spectacular to watch and the film serves as a tribute to the unnamed stunt players who make us believe that film stars can do just about anything.  I’m not going to speculate about who Tom Ryder might have been based on but it’s easy to see him as a stand-in for any number of spoiled movie stars who get all the credit for what we see onscreen despite the fact that it’s usually their stunt doubles doing the thing that we really remember.  The Fall Guy is also a surprisingly funny movie.  It’s smart enough not take itself too seriously and there’s a bit with a unicorn that made me laugh out loud.  As always, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are charming and fun to watch.  I’ve been pretty critical of Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the past but I have to admit that he did a really good job as Tom.  The Fall Guy kept me entertained and there’s definitely something to be said for that.

Ryan Gosling is your Stuntman-for-Hire in The Fall Guy Trailer!

Posted on by Leonard Wilson

Back in the 1980s, nestled between shows like The A-Team, Miami Vice, Matt Houston and McGuyver, you had The Fall Guy. It starred Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man) as a stunt man who worked part time as a bail bondsman to keep himself financially afloat. It was a great show growing up, and always showcased some wild stunt in the same fashion The Mission Impossible films have with a wild infiltration event.

So, imagine my surprise when I saw the trailer for a movie version of The Fall Guy, this time with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt. Directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2), the movie changes the story a bit, with a major movie star (played by Bullet Train‘s Aaron Taylor-Johnson) going missing and Gosling searching for him. It already feels a bit like The Nice Guys, or perhaps I’m just hoping for too much. I’m really excited for this.

The film is due in theatres March of 2024.