Snark, Critic and Pop!

Re-posting one of Tom’s old reviews from the old Film Is Pwn days:

I skipped Mission Impossible 3 in theaters. I skipped it at the rental store. I skipped over buying it on several occasions. I had been told it was good, but I assumed it was all lies.

I had reason to think it was lies; I had, after all, seen Mission Impossible 2. I finally caved and sat down to watch it about a week ago. About five minutes in I started to think that perhaps M:I-2 had just been a bad memory, perhaps it never happened, because this sure felt like an extension of the first and very enjoyable Mission: Impossible. The question really is … what happened?

For a good film one usually starts with a good script or screenplay. A director may make adjustments along the way to fit with their vision, but a good screenplay is critical. For Mission: Impossible 2 however this just didn’t happen. Robert Towne, the writer credited with the screenplay, comments that a majority of the script was centered around action sequences requested by John Woo, long time fun-bad movie maker. Fortunately, John Woo didn’t make Mission: Impossible 3, JJ Abrams of the TV show Lost did. (continue reading…)

Moneyball is based on the true story of Oakland Athletics General Manager Billy Beane.  After a remarkably successful 2001 season, the A’s lost star players they could no longer afford to bigger market teams who could pay higher salaries.  Unable to compete with New York or Boston in price, Beane turns to a new strategy.  Instead of relying on old school scouting and baseball tradition, Beane turns to statisticians (played by Jonah Hill) who analyze the game and find undervalued players who the math says will get on base and score runs.  I love baseball, know the Billy Beane story, and expected to like Moneyball.  But I didn’t just like it — I loved it.  Pitt as Beane is terrific, and the rest of the cast is excellent as well.  This is the first sports movie that takes the focus off the players or even the managers and focuses on the nuances of executive decisions, trading players, and cutting players.  One of the most thrilling scenes is where Pitt and Hill mastermind a trade to acquire reliever Ricardo Rincon.  Sounds boring?  It’s not.  It’s funny, engaging, and all around great, great stuff.  Fourteen stars! (continue reading…)