Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

79/100 (2011, 133 min)
Plot: The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.
Director: Brad Bird
Writers: Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner and Simon Pegg

Mission accomplished

I'm not a fan of "Mission Impossible" movies. Not that they are not entertaining and the visual effects aren't stunning, but for some reason they aren't particularly memorable. With James Bond series I remember a lot from the movies - icy Rosamund Pike in "Die Another Day", funny geek from "Goldeneye", The scene where Sophie Marceau tortures Pierce Brosman in "The World is not Enough" and Sean Connery, lots of him, because he is well, Sean Connery. With "Mission Impossible" series apart from the famous scene from the first movie where Tom Cruise hangs from the ceiling and the fact how shocked I was Philip Seymour Hoffman appeared in 3rd one, I don't remember that much. But "Ghost Protocol" is a well made movie with fun characters and for me, the best one in the series.

The film opens with impressive sequence where a man (Josh Holloway) runs out with a bag on his shoulder, escaping two guys chasing him. Then a delicate looking woman (Lea Seydoux) appears in front of him, on the empty street and mercilessly shoots him. As he falls on his knees, the woman embraces him and takes the bag. After that she walks away and leaves him there to die.

Soundtrack Wednesday - Sherlock Holmes

Track: Catatonic

Artist: Hans Zimmer

Movie: Sherlock Holmes

Robert Downey Jr. Appreciation

Just two days ago I was celebrating Michael Fassbender's birthday here on my blog, but today is the day I've celebrated for quite some time now - Robert Downey Jr's birthday. I have a tradition of watching his movies on that day. A year ago I chose "Chaplin", today I think I'll enjoy "Sherlock Holmes" again. His story is one of those that inspire - hopelessly addicted to drugs and alcohol, time spent in jail and many thinking he will never recover, yet now he is one of the biggest stars in the world, he appears to kick off his bad habits for good and two months ago his second son was born. He managed to achieve the impossible - not only did he overcome his addictions but his Oscar nomination for "Tropic Thunder" remains to this day, at least for me, most delightfully surprising nomination in Academy Awards history. Why do I love him? Not only is he a great actor who does wonderfully both in drama and comedies but also he has amazing sense of humour - whether it is a talk show or awards ceremony when he appears you know it will be hilarious. For me this guy is a synonym for charisma. He says something and others follow. Even if it means staring at a cat.

Michael Fassbender Appreciation

35 years ago a little boy was born. Today this boy is a man who went to become one of the fastest rising stars in Hollywood and one of the most magnetic and talented actors. He is Michael Fassbender. From his work in "Hunger" through his adventure with blockbusters in "300" and "X Men" to his courageous and haunting work in "Shame" he has become one of the most desired actors - his upcoming projects include Ridley Scott's Prometheus and "The Counsellor" which hopefully will bring Michael his first Oscar nod, if not more. And on his Birthday I figured I will do seven different things, each with 5 choices. 7x5 = 35.

5 films that fooled me.

It's April Fools, world's most cruel holiday. My mother played a prank on me two times already. Since I have a tradition here of writing special things for days like that one here are five films that I'm not ashamed to admit fooled me completely. I mean I went like this:

It's not only that I did not see those twists coming, it's that even though I probably should see them coming I was completely astonished by things turning out like that in the film and my jaw completely dropped. I'm sure "The 6th sense", "The Others", "Black Swan" and "Shutter Island" would got me too, but I knew the twist before seeing them. Others like "The Usual Suspects" I didn't much like because I did not find the movie to be this exciting. Here we go, spoilers included so watch out: