Movie/TV Reviews

Susan Granger’s review of “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part 1” (Paramount Pictures/Skydance)

Cinematic adventures just don’t get more exciting than Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part 1.”

Inspired by the 1960s’ television series, shadowy IMF secret agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is once again summoned by Kittreidge (Henry Czerny), his CIA government contact, this time to combat a sophisticated, state-of-the-art A.I., known as ‘The Entity,’ that threatens the entire world.

Hunt’s mission involves acquiring two parts of an intricately bejeweled, cruciform Key that’s also sought by villainous Gabriel (Esai Morales); it ignites a cryptic device concealed in a Russian submarine, called the Sebastopol, sunk somewhere below the ice in the Arctic Circle.

After reassembling his Impossible Mission Force ‘team’ – expert hacker Luther (Ving Rhames) & field agent Benji (Simon Pegg) – Ethan goes after adroit thief Grace (Hayley Atwell), British spy Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) and arms dealer White Widow (Vanessa Kirby), while eluding Paris (Pom Klementieff), a ruthless assassin.

While it’s well-known that Tom Cruise does his own daredevil stunts, credit coordinator Wade Eastwood, particularly for the authentic motorbike jump in which Cruise careens up a ramp and over the edge of a 1,246-meter-high Norwegian cliff, plunging into a ravine and parachuting to the ground.

In preparation, Cruise took 500 hours of skydiving training and did 13,000 motorbike jumps. He then performed this stunt six times for just the right shot.

Another adrenaline-pumping scene has him boarding a speeding train right before the Kylling Bridge on Rauma Railway is blown up. Previously, there’s a high-speed chase down Rome’s Spanish Steps with Cruise handcuffed to Atwell in a tiny vintage yellow Fiat 500.

While actively propelling the action sequences, director Christopher McQuarrie, co-writing with Erik Jendresen, keeps a clear focus on Ethan Hunt’s character, including his humor and vulnerability, cleverly blending story and spectacle.

FYI: No “Mission Impossible” film has ever had ‘teaser’ end-credit scenes, and Part 2 is scheduled for June 2024.

Full Disclosure: My son, Don Granger, is one of the producers.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning – Part 1” is an intense, thrilling 10. See it in theaters – on as big a screen as possible.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Out-Laws” (Netflix)

Perhaps it’s unfair but when the opening logo of the new comedy “The Out-Laws” indicates that it’s “A Happy Madison Production,” I’m immediately wary. Adam Sandler’s concept of humor has rarely matched mine.

Dorky bank manager Owen Browning (Adam Devine) is engaged to pretty Parker (Nina Dobrev) and they’re busy planning their upcoming wedding. Owen’s even constructed a diorama for the seating arrangement using action figures; he’s He-Man while Parker is the Pink Power Ranger.

Although his clueless parents (Julie Hagerty, Richard Kind) still think Parker is a stripper, not a yoga teacher, they’re relatively harmless compared with her intimidating, criminally-connected parents (Ellen Barkin, Pierce Brosnan), who arrive unexpectedly after spending many years studying the Yanomami tribe in the Amazon.

Of course, that’s merely their cover story and, apparently, they’re in need of cash to pay off villainous Rehan (Poorna Jagunnathan), so they become prime suspects when blabbermouth Owen’s bank is robbed by the so-called ‘Ghost Bandits,’ pursued for years by FBI agent Oldham (Michael Rooker). So much for the predictable plot.

Vaguely scripted by Evan Turner and Ben Zasove, it’s helmed by Tyler Spindel – formerly Adam Sandler’s second unit director – who unwisely encouraged the cast’s senselessly puerile improvisation which simply falls flat.

On second thought, perhaps ad-libbing is better than the Parker’s supposedly sexy scripted line: “I’m gonna twist you like one of your Go-Gurts and slurp you dry” or Oldham’s demand:  “License and masturbation please.”

FYI: Adam Sandler’s wife Jackie plays one of the two Vegan Divas and their daughter Sadie plays Owen’s cousin.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Out-Laws” is a moronic 2, a total waste of time, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “Run Rabbit Run” (Netflix)

If you’ve been intrigued by Sarah Snook as sly Shiv Roy on HBO’s “Succession,” you may find it interesting to see how she tackles a very different role in this Australian psychological thriller.

She plays Sarah, a fertility doctor, raising her daughter Mia (Lily LaTorre) as a single mother in suburban Melbourne. Ever since her seventh birthday when she ‘rescued’ a white rabbit, precocious Mia seems to be acting strangely and attentive Sarah cannot figure out why there’s been such a change in her behavior.

Is it because Mia’s father – Sarah’s ex-husband Peter (Damon Harriman) – and his new wife Denise (Naomi Rukavina) are expecting a baby? Or is Mia being bullied at school? And why is Mia, donning a makeshift rabbit mask, suddenly demanding to see Joan (Greta Scacchi), Sarah’s mother from whom she’s long been estranged.

Reluctantly, Sarah takes Mia to visit her grandmother, who suffers from dementia and lives in a nursing home. When Mia claims to ‘miss’ Joan, Sarah reminds her that she’s actually never met her grandmother, but Mia notes, “I miss people I’ve never met all the time.”

Although Joan greets Mia fondly, she calls her ‘Alice,’ the name of Sarah’s younger sister who mysteriously disappeared many years ago when she was Mia’s age.

Then Mia begins to identify herself as lost-lost Alice, which Sarah finds extremely unnerving. Hoping to clarify family history for Mia, Sarah takes her to the rural, weather-beaten house in windswept Waikerie where she was raised, but that only serves to ensure Mia’s ominous obsession with Alice.

“You’re a terrible person!” Mia screams at distraught Sarah whose mental health is rapidly crumbling as repressed traumas from the past resurface.

Screenwriter Hannah Kent, director Daina Reid and cinematographer Bonnie Elliott have cobbled together a eerie, minimalist glimpse into guilt and motherhood, never quite developing Sarah’s conflicted character and backstory enough to emotionally engage the audience.

And, finally, the creepy, ambiguous symbolism of the white rabbit is far too vague to sustain any aspect of horror.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Run Rabbit Run” is a fearful. frustrating 5, streaming on Netflix.

Susan Granger’s review of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” (Disney)

 

For great family fun, you can’t beat “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” concluding the globe-trotting adventures of the iconic archeologist, a fantastical franchise that began in 1981 with Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

This final saga begins in 1944 Germany near the near of W.W. II, as intrepid Dr. Henry ‘Indiana’ Jones Jr. (Harrison Ford) tries to help his close friend/colleague Basil ‘Baz’ Shaw (Toby Jones) save Greek mathematician/inventor Archimedes’ fabled ‘Antikythera’ – a.k.a. Dial of Destiny – a clock-like devise enabling time travel – from a nasty Nazi (Mads Mikkelson).

Skip ahead to 1969 New York, where still surly ‘n’ spry Professor Jones is retiring from university teaching and living alone in a crummy apartment, his marriage to Marion (Karen Allen) having disintegrated after their soldier son was killed.

That’s when Baz’s now-grown daughter Helena (Phoebe Walker-Bridge), who’s defiantly selling relics on the black market, again involves Indy in pursuit of this remarkable artifact, igniting a terrific chase with Indy on horseback, galloping into the subway in the middle of a street parade celebrating the Moon landing amid Vietnam War protestors.

Written by Jez Butterworth, John Henry Butterworth, David Koepp and director James Mangold, it’s an edgy, exotic if erratic, action-adventure, coming to a surprisingly satisfying conclusion, nostalgically scored by John Williams.

So how did they digitally de-age Indy for the flashback? Harrison Ford explains, “That’s really my face. It’s not Photoshop magic. That’s what I looked like 35 years ago. Lucasfilm has every frame of film we’ve made together over all these years; the scientific mining of this library was very skillfully put to good use.”

“This is the final film in the series and the last time I’ll play that character,” whip-cracking Ford notes. “And I anticipate that it will be the last that that he appears in a film.”

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is an exciting, escapist 8, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Extraction 2” (Netflix)

If you’re into brainless, mucho macho mayhem, “Extraction 2” is 85% action, 15% narrative – meaning there’s lots of fighting, particularly hand-to-hand combat, even though it’s never clear how these ‘ordinary’ Eastern European men can take that much physical punishment and maintain their ruthless bravado.

Australian black ops mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is still recovering from his previous mission. Reuniting with director/stuntman Sam Hargrave, he embarks on this sequel, tracing its origins to Ande Parks’ graphic novel “Ciudad” from a story by Parks, Joe & Anthony Russo.

This time, valiant Rake is recruited by Alcott (Idris Elba), a mysterious man who says he’s a friend of Rake’s Georgian ex-wife (Olga Kurylenko) whose sister (Tinatin Dalakishvili) is married to Davit Radiani (Tornike Bziava), an abusive gangster who is keeping her and their two children imprisoned with him.

The subsequent ‘rescue’ sequence is a frenzied, 21-minute continuous fight, as Rake once again teams up with Nik Khan (Golshifteh Farahani) and her brother Yaz (Adam Bessa). According to director Hargrave, this action scene took 4-5 months to rehearse and 29 days to film.

During the riot, Davit is killed which ignites a revenge vow from his psychotic brother Zurab (Tornike Gogrichiani) and their crime family. Problem is: Davit’s teenage son Sandro (Andro Japaridze) is torn between loyalty to his mother and to his dead father’s Nagazi cohorts. So much for pulpy plot.

Since the characters are generally underwritten, it’s difficult to evoke any emotional connection to the unrelenting, ultra-violent, if cleverly choreographed chaos, simplistically chronicled like a live-action video game by cinematographer Greg Baldi.

The only revelation about Tyler Rake’s backstory comes when he confesses he went to Afghanistan for another tour of duty as his son was battling an incurable illness; presumably, that led to his divorce, burden of guilt and now redemption.

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Extraction 2” is a shallow, if adrenaline pumping 4, streaming on Netflix, which has already green-lit “Extraction 3.”

Susan Granger’s review of “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” (Paramount Pictures)

Secrets of synchronicity: “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” once again lures fans back into theaters while the New York Times Business section lauds Silicon Valley’s highly anticipated new technology that would unite human and machine.

Known as The Singularity, it envisions a self-aware superhuman machine that could design its own improvements faster than any group of scientists.

That’s not what happens in the seventh movie in the family-friendly “Transformers” franchise, spawned by Hasbro action figures, but it’s not far off.

Obviously building on the success of “Bumblebee” (2018), it’s set in 1994 Brooklyn, introducing Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos), an Army vet/electronics whiz who is trying to land a creditable job to help his mom (Luna Larsen) and 11 year-old brother Kris (Dean Scott Vazquez), suffering from sickle-cell anemia.

Problem is: Noah gets involved with the theft of Porsche that’s not an ordinary sports car. It’s the wisecracking Autobot Mirage (Pete Davidson).

Led by Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen), the alien Autobots, including the motorcycle Arcee (Lisa Koshy) and Volkswagen bus/mechanic Wheeljack (Dani Rojas), are trying to get back to their home on Cybertron to combat the Decepticons.

Meanwhile in an Ellis Island museum, Elena Wallace (Dominique Fishback), an archeology intern, is studying a strange bird sculpture with mysterious symbols – part of a gizmo called the TransWarp Key, a space-time conduit that’s been split in two.

Then there are animal-themed Maximals from the animated “Transformers: Beast Wars” TV series (1996-1999), led by a biomechanical gorilla, Optimus Primal (Ron Perlman), accompanied by the peregrine falcon Airazor (Michelle Yeoh), Rhinox (David Sobolov) and Cheetor (Tongayi Chirisa).

Evil is personified by the planet-gobbling Unicron (Colkman Domingo), leader of the Terrorcons, along with his vicious henchman Scourge (Peter Dinklage). Steering away from Michael Bay’s sci-fi stridency, director Steven Caple Jr. (“Creed II”) interweaves genial humans and sentient machines into a coherent CGI-based story, credited to five screenwriters.

There’s the inevitable car chase – this time on the Williamburg Bridge – and big-scale battle, but travelling via the Stratosphere to Peru’s historic city of Cusco and the ruins of Machu Picchu to protect Planet Earth is an unexpected plus.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is a spectacle-laden 7 – in theaters – with a mid-credit scene that teases more to come.

Susan Granger’s review of “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony Pictures Animation/Marvel/Columbia)

Although the mixed-media Pop Art animatronics are dazzling and the superhero saga compelling, watching “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” becomes an exhausting endurance ordeal. At 2 hours, 20 minutes (140 minutes), it’s the longest American animated film.

Back in 2018, the Oscar-winning, comic-book adaptation “Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse” explored the idea of alternate universes, as Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), a troubled Black-Latino Brooklyn teenager, discovered countless other web-slingers, variations on a theme. This sequel takes the ground-breaking concept even further.

It opens on Earth-65 with a prologue detailing a major misunderstanding between Spider-Woman Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) and her police captain father (Shea Whigham), who blames her for the death of Peter Parker, and her battle with Vulture (Jorma Taccone) who flaps in from an alternate 16^th century.

Meanwhile on Earth-1610, now 15 year-old Miles argues with his NYPD officer father (Brian Tyree Henry) and battles villainous, dimension-hopping scientist Jonathan Ohnn, known as Spot (Jason Schwartzman) because his body is riddled with black-hole-like portals, the result of a laboratory accident at Alchemax.

That goes on and on – until – some 50 minutes later, Gwen and Miles finally get together in the sleek Spider-People HQ, a chaotic conglomeration of  the Spidery Super Elite, run by glowering Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac) and pregnant Jessica Drew (Issa Rae), who monitor  multi-verse “abnormalities.”

Among the many free-wheeling arachnoid variants: India’s Pavitr Prabbakar (Karon Soni) in Mumbattan, Britain’s cool punk-rocker Hobie Brown (Daniel Kaluuya) and, of course, Peter Parker (Jake Johnson), now a proud papa.

At one point, someone tells Miles: “There’s no playbook for being someone like you,” which succinctly sums up his dilemma as he tries to escape and get home.

Co-written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller &David Callaham and co-directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers & Justin K. Thompson, despite its quick-paced editing during the action sequences and Daniel Pemberton’s cohesive score, it’s simply far too long, concluding with a cliffhanger, teasing the next installment “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse” (2024).

FYI: The inventive Lego universe sequence on Earth-13122 was animated by 14 year-old Preston Mutanga, the Minnesota-born son of immigrant parents from Cameroon, after producers spotted his Lego-laden YouTube blog.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” swings in with a sly, subliminally superb, if self-indulgent 7, playing in theaters.

Susan Granger’s review of “Ted Lasso – Season Three” (Apple TV+)

Why did “Ted Lasso,” a television series about a heartbroken but relentlessly optimistic Kansas football coach who tackles a new job as manager of an underdog British soccer team, capture our hearts at just the right time?

Dispensing homespun wisdom along with kindness and freshly baked cookies, Ted Lasso’s (Jason Sudeikis) first conquest was his boss, bitterly brittle Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham), who acquired the (fictional) AFC Richmond team as part of her divorce settlement from feckless Rupert (Anthony Head).

“You know what the happiest animal in the world in the world is?” Ted asks. “A goldfish…it’s got a 10-secon memory.”

After struggling for respect, once-floundering AFC Richmond is now in the highly competitive Premier League – but can its victory streak last? What of the rivalry between grumpy, growly veteran Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and the upstart ruffian Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster)? Plus, there’s the p.r. woman they both adore, kooky Keely Jones (Juno Temple).

In this third and final season – Ted crosses paths again with his protégé Nate Shelley (Nick Mohammed), who defected to Richmond’s West Ham rivals, and – desperately missing his young son –  conflicted Ted re-examines his priorities.

“For me, success is not about the wins and losses,” Ted has always maintained. “It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves – on and off the field.”

In 2021, the series won a coveted Peabody award…“offering the perfect counter to the enduring prevalence of toxic masculinity, both on-screen and off, in a moment when the nation truly needs inspiring models of kindness.”

If you’re yearning to see where the series was filmed, take a short subway ride from central London to picturesque Richmond. There you can have a pint in the 300 year-old Prince’s Head pub, dubbed the Crown & Anchor, where there’s a “Ted Lasso” shrine assembled by the series’ production designer. You can also buy souvenirs along Paved Court and eat at Chango Empanadas.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Ted Lasso – Season Three” is a totally satisfying 10, streaming on Apple TV+.

 

 

Susan Granger’s review of “Corsage”

Having met Austria’s teenage Empress Elizabeth (1837-1898) when she was just married to Hapsburg’s Emperor Franz Joseph in Netflix’ mini-series “The Empress,” I was intrigued to learn more about her later life in a German film called “Corsage,” released late last year.

Director/screenwriter Marie Kreutzer focuses on Elizabeth (Vicky Krieps) – a.k.a. ‘Sisi’ – who – in 1877- is now middle-aged. Problem is: despite having given birth to several children, she’s still headstrong and rebellious, recklessly riding horses and fencing, traveling around Europe, visiting old friends and former lovers.

Beautiful but obsessively concerned about her appearance, Elizabeth obviously had an (undiagnosed) eating disorder, weighing herself several times a day, consuming only beef broth and orange slices, and often fasting, which caused her to faint.

Her anachronistically fictionalized story depicts a vain, unconventional woman caught in a regimental life that’s filled with society-imposed constrictions. As Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, she’s a powerless figurehead, expected to defy time and aging, a concept geared to resonate with female viewers.

Determined to stay eternally young in the eyes of her subjects, Elizabeth refused all portraits and photographs after she turned 40, referring that that milestone as when “a person begins to disperse and fade.”

Elizabeth’s only satisfaction seems to come from being admired by others. She flirts – but only to confirm her desirability. She routinely visits with hospitalized mental patients, distributing superficial sympathy along with cigarettes and candied violets.

FYI: The title does not refer to a small floral bouquet. Instead, it’s the German word for ‘corset,’ the stiff 19^th century bodice that’s tightly laced to tightly constrict a woman’s waistline to conform to the fashionable hourglass shape.

In German with English subtitles, on the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Corsage” is a strange, suffocating, suitably subtle 6, available to buy/rent on Prime, iTunes, Google Play and Vudu.

Susan Granger’s review of “The Empress” (Netflix)

“The Empress,” the German historical drama – dubbed into English on Netflix – has captivated audiences around the world, appearing in Netflix’s global Top 10 non-English TV list for five straight weeks and topping the Top 10 in 88 countries around the world.

The titular Austrian Empress Elizabeth von Wittelsbach (Devrim Lingnau), often called ‘Sisi,’ was the outspoken, unconventional 16 year-old Bavarian duchess who caught the eye of her Hapsburg cousin, 22 year-old Franz Joseph I (Philip Froissant), originally slated to marry her demure older sister Helene (Elisa Schlott).

When feisty, freedom-loving Elizabeth arrived at the sumptuous Viennese Court, her behavior was immediately criticized by her controlling, authoritarian mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophia (Melika Foroutan), who insisted on observing strictly rigid protocol with its stifling subjugation.

In addition, Elizabeth was persistently bedeviled by her husband’s jealous younger brother, Archduke Maximilian (Johannes Nussbaum), who was eager to seize the throne since the Hapsburg Empire was being threatened on its borders and the Austrian people were starving, ready to ignite a Revolution.

Duplicity is rampant, epitomized by Elizabeth’s favorite confidante/lady-in-waiting, known as scheming Leontine von Apafi (Almila Bagriacik),

Admittedly, many historical facts have been romanticized for this 19^th century period drama, according to show-runner/ writer Katharina Eyssen, who is from Bavaria in southern Germany; for her, it’s primarily a coming-of-age love story.

FYI: Franz Joseph’s castle is Schloss Weissenstein located in Pommersfelden, a small town northwest of Nuremberg.

Highly recommended if you enjoy binge worthy shows about European royalty – like “The Crown,” “Victoria,”  “Bridgerton” and/or “The Great.” As with all foreign language series on Netflix, you can watch it dubbed into English or in its original German with subtitles.

On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Empress” is an engaging 8 – with the six episodes of its first season streaming on Netflix and renewed for season two.