Adnerb the Movie Nerd

Movie reviews from a middle school teacher's perspective

Mission:Impossible-Fallout

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In this go-around, Ethan Hunt and the gang join forces with CIA assassin August Walker (Henry Cavill) to, as usual, save the world.  A mysterious group calling themselves the Apostles plan to detonate three nuclear warheads under the control and direction of returning villain Solomon Lane (Sean Harris).  This movie is jam-packed with action, plot twists and double, even triple, crosses.  The nearly indestrucible Tom Cruise broke his ankle doing stunts for this movie, and even knowing the scene where the accident happens, you can barely make out the slight limp he runs through to complete the scene.  It seems Mr. Cruise is really driven to give the utmost to make his movies action packed, intricate and entertaining, and with the touches of humor and humanity that make the whole team so likeable.  The quality shows!  Rebecca Ferguson is back as Ilsa Faust, delightful and deadly.  What is her goal in this mission? Whose side is she really on?  Ahhh, that would be telling! Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames are back and flawless in their usual supporting roles, while Alec Baldwin and Angela Bassett provide important parts in the twists.  This movie is so full of action that by the time it is over, you will feel as though you completed this mission yourself, including the best helicopter chase scene I have ever seen.  This is definitely the best Mission Impossible movie so far, and I believe just about everyone will thoroughly enjoy this action masterpiece.

Equalizer 2

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First off, this must be said.  I love Denzel Washington and I am sure I could happily watch him whitewashing a fence or simply sitting on a bench.  So there was no way I was going to not like the Equalizer 2 just as much as I loved the first one.  Despite what a lot of other critics are saying – this sequel, the first ever for Denzel, meets and exceeds my expectations.  Denzel once again plays retired (and presumed dead) CIA agent Robert McCall, who uses his considerable skills to help every day people like you and me get justice.  If you harm, or even try to harm someone that McCall knows, you will be very sorry!  There is plenty of action, car chases, fights, double dealing agents, and a wild finale in the midst of a storm. There are a few  twists, and of course, Mr. McCall is always on top of his game. Supporting roles are expertly filled by Pedro Pascal, Melissa Leo and Orson Bean.  Yep, you heard me, I said Orson Bean – all 90 years of him!!  If  you like the first Equalizer, I guarantee that you will like this one too!

Ant-Man and The Wasp

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“InfinityWar” was such an intense entry in the Marvel catalogue that I found Ant-Man and the Wasp a refreshing change.  Don’t get me wrong, this movie has everything you expect  to find in a Marvel movie; such as nonstop acton, interesting villians, back stories and special effects. This movie, however, felt a little smaller and more intimate and I loved that!  The script is very witty and Paul Rudd knows how to deliver the laughs.  Also, there is some true chemistry between his character and Evangeline Lily as The Wasp.  Walter Goggins is excellent as the very human villian, and Hannah John-Kamen is the mysterious “Ghost,” both of them wanting to steal the secrets of the quantum realm but for different reasons.  Michael Douglas is back as Hank Pym, who wants to journey into that quantum realm, where it is just possible his wife (Michelle Pfieffer) who disappeared 30 years ago may still be alive. Don’t worry too much about the plot, the real treat in this movie is the clever special effects. Various peoople (and cars) grow and shrink making for hilarious circumstances.  I know I don’t have to tell you this, but stay until the end of the credits; there are actually two scenes, one in the middle of the credits and one at the end.  Both of them will give you a little hint as to what will be happening in the next Avenger movie.  If you are looking for a super hero movie with a sweet romance, witty dialogue and a gigantic Hello Kitty Pez dispenser, this is the movie for you!

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

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If you only have time to see one movie this summer, I beg you to make it  “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?,” the gentle documentary about Fred Rogers, the kindly and compassionate human being and host of the long running children’s show, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.  In these polarizing times, we need someone like Mr. Rogers to bring us together, and I think that may be the  point of this film.  Mr. Rogers started his show in the infancy of television, where he saw comedians throwing pies into each other’s faces.  He thought that the medium had such potential and wondered why it was only being used in such a fashion.  He sought to change things. This documentary includes interviews with Fred’s wife (she is just too cute), his two sons, and various people he worked with on the show, including Yo Yo Ma. If you are looking for dirt or something that rings false about the man, you won’t find that here.  To tell the truth, he was a genuinely nice man and cared deeply for the well being of children.   Did you kow he was a life-long conservative Republican and an ordained minister?  Many people thought he was a liberal democrat because of his preaching of inclusion.  The film clips that are shown by film maker Morgan Neville will make you want to search for episodes on Youtube.  What I liked the most were the quiet moments he had with others. I dare you not to cry when he is talking to a boy confined to a wheelchair or when he meets Koko the gorilla, who wants nothing more than to take off his shoes like she had watched him do so many times on his show. The highlight to me though, was when Fred Rogers went before Congress and convinced a very jaded congressman to not cut funding for public televsion.  Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood dealt with deep social issues in a way that helped kids to understand and to not be nervous or afraid.  I was especially moved when  Betty Aberlin (in character as Lady Aberlin) tries to expalin the assassination of Robert Kennedy to a puppet.  Another part that really got me was when Francois Clemmons, who is African American and gay, tells his story about playing Officer Clemmons for over 20 years.  It is as poignant as it is revealing.  You will not leave this movie with a dry eye, but you will leave with a new appreciation of the number 143!!

 

Sicario: Day of the Soldado

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You know a movie can’t miss with these two! Benicio Del Toro, as mysterious operative Alejandro Gillick, and Josh Brolin, as federal agent Matt Graver, are back for another go around with the Mexican drug cartels.  The first ‘Sicario’ movie concentrated on the cartels, their influence over the  U.S. drug trade and the gritty anti-drug task force’s missions. This newest entry deals with those too, but the main focus is the exploitation of illegal immigrants who try to cross the border to seek a better life. It also touches on how children are drawn into and affected by gang activity.  The movie starts with a horrific scene of three Muslim extremists who blow up a super market, including a mom who unsuccessfully tries to protect her daughter.  I am not fond of movies that harm kids; although I understand that the point is to depict the horror terrorism inflicts.  Still, it was not easy to watch this scene and I found myself closing my eyes.  The main plot driver is the U.S. government officials’, including the Secretary of Defense (Matthew Modine), belief that the terrorists must have entered our country from Mexico; and that starting a war between the cartels will help stop this from happening, as well as getting the cartels taking each other out.  Graver’s  character is given carte blanche to do what ever he sees as necessary.  He recruits Gillick with the promise that he will be able to have his revenge on the head of the cartel who actually ordered the murder of his family (In the first movie. he got revenge on the man directly responsible for the murders).  To start the cartel war, the daughter of this cartel head is kidnapped.  Things do not go according to plan, of course, and when the government learns that the terrorists were actually homegrown, they decide to abort the mission.  The civilian official controlling the mission (Catherine Keener) decides that the girl and Gillick know too much, and must be eliminated along with anyone else involved.  She coldly tells Graver, sorry, but they are to become collateral damage.  As you probably suspect, Gillick is not so easy to get rid of.  How that all plays out is complex, violent and bloody; but: no spoilers! The move is bloody and violent throughout, this is not a movie for the squeamish!  I do feel that it gives an honest and heartbreaking look at how terribly these poor immigrants are taken advange of and abused.  Elijah Rodriguez gives an intriguing performance as an innocent school  boy who is lured by the easy money to be made as a coyote and whose fate is unknown (but suspected) by the end of the movie.  Beneath all the harsh action, this film asks us to take a hard look at the immigration problem while offering no solutions. Of course, that’s not the movie’s goal,, and there aren’t any easy answers anyway.  I do like the way that both main characters are shown to ultimitely have a heart, and the end definitely screams sequel!  Even though this is not my kind of movie, I found myself drawn in by Del Toro’s character.  I would probably watch the next inevitable installment.