Dark Knight Rises

Hello everyone, it is that time again, I am going to give a review of the Dark knight Rises. It has been a long time since I have been here. With work and school my time has been stretched pretty thin, going back to university is very demanding. However; I need to ensure to put aside time to dedicate to my passion and love for the visual arts. In conjunction, I want to offer my prayers and condolence to the victims and their families of the shooting in Aurora, I am praying for everyone.  

Last night my girlfriends and I saw the Dark Knight Rises, we had the expectations that the final installment to the series was going to be great, but it left us wanting more. Even though director Christopher Nolan wrap up the series nicely and answered all unanswered questions, we still left wanting more. After the film the audience (myself included) gave the film a standing ovation, for the great work that Nolan, Bale as Batman and the entire cast, crew and production team did with this series. Where do we begin… We pick up eight years after the death of Harvey and the world is still remembering him, and there is an act in place to ensure corruption and brutality doesn’t happen again in the city of Gotham.

Bruce (Christian Bale) has been living in seclusion and has not been seen since the events of that night, and the public believes that it was the Batman that killed Harvey. Not knowing that Harvey due to the murder of Rachel and surrounding events, lead to Harvey committing crimes and Batman had to take him down. That being said, we see Alfred (Michael Caine) doing his best to get Bruce to live his life and move on from the Batman.  Gordon (Gary Oldman) is about to be let go, due to the police and the world under the false perception of security. There is an evil that emerges and the city erupts into violence. But not before Bruce decides to emerge himself and encounters two strong women Selina (portrayed byAnne Hathaway) and Miranda (portrayed by Marion Cotillard).

Bruce is being warned by Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) of the pending danger and how the Batman is needed, the city needs him the people need him. Bruce tries his best to explain that the Batman no longer exist, Blake tells Bruce about Gordon getting shot and being in the hospital. Bruce goes to the hospital a doctor exams him, the doctor tells him that due to the damage his body has suffered. He recommends that Bruce does not do any type of strenuous activity. But we all know Bruce Wayne, he is not going to listen to some doctor now is he… Bruce goes to see Gordon and he tells Bruce how the Batman has to come back and combat this evil that is coming.

Bane (Tom Hardy) a new terrorist who has risen with a mission to wreak havoc on Gotham and its people, the Dark Knight then rises himself to combat this new evil. Along the way Bruce has to deal with if he should put on the Bat suit, the police who believe he killed Harvey, issues with his company, Alfred, possible love connection between two woman, battling a terrorist who maybe more stronger than he. And of course let’s not forget trying to save a city as well. Batman faces some hurdles and demons that he has to overcome. Batman is strong and we know that he will not only survive, but he will do what he does best, over come and take charge. The surrounding events all lead up to an epic conclusion and trust me (as a fan I was not disappointed) you will not be disappointed.

I am trying not to give too much away, so I apologize if the review is a little vague.  That is not my intention. I encourage all who have not seen this film to please do so. Christopher Nolan has done wonders for this series that I can honestly say no other director can. Christian Bale has coined Batman and made the character his own; no other actor can do what he has done with the character. It’s evident that I truly enjoyed this movie and it is a sad realization that it has come to an end. A great ending to a great series.

Warner Bros. Pictures (presents):
The Dark Night Rises
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Bob Kane
Story: Christopher Nolan & David S Goyer
Screen play: Christopher Nolan & Jothan Nolan 
Stars: Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Gary Oldman 
Release date: 20th July 2012

The Hunger Games

Panem once known as North America is now a nation that has been divided into 12 districts.  The Capital is it at the center of this new place, and to keep the twelve districts in order. It harshly demands that from each twelve district that one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games. The games are aired on live television and each boy and girl has to fight to the death to survive. Due to the rebellion the games is a reminder that in order to keep the pace this particular sacrifice has to be made each year.

Now that we have a tidbit of history on Panem, we open with our heroine Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence who did an excellent job by the way). Katniss is sixteen years; she is fearless and carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. We see that family is very important to her the way that she cares and consoles her younger sister. Her relationship with her mother is strained and we learn that through her flash backs of memory and the death of her father who worked in the mines in district twelve. Katniss lives in district twelve which is the poorest district, there was a district thirteen. However; due to poor living conditions and the people not happy with the wealth that the Capital had, the Capital in turn responded with very brutal attack that they say wiped out district thirteen.  Thus the creation of the Hunger Games with a series of even harsher games that is set to remind all remaining districts that they in the end have the ultimate control.

As mention above, the games consist of one boy and one girl from each district that have to fight to the death in the games and the ages are between twelve and eighteen. These young people are shipped off to the Capital in a process that is called the reaping, here they are made beautiful. For some they are fattened and given food that they never have seen in their district. They tell children  that the last person alive is the winner of the annual games and they will be able to live there in the Capital once the games are over. We learn that this is the 74^th Hunger Games and everyone in Panem will be watching the games are they unfold.

We return back to Kantiss, being fearless doesn’t describe have of this young woman. We see her reach for a bow and arrow and she crosses a fence as she goes hunting. Take note crossing the fence is prohibited. As she is in the process of hunting she is interrupted by a young man by the name of Gale who is her best friend. The two talk about the reaping and the upcoming games, Katniss tells Gale that she will never have children because of fear that they will to have to take part in the games.   Katniss after speaking with Gale takes her hunt to the Hob, this is the underground market where she can sell the meat (which is illegal). While at the Hob she see a mockingjay pin, this mockingjay bird is a hybrid of a mocking bird and also a combination of a jabberjay (a concoction of the Capital).

Once Katniss returns home she cleans herself up to be ready for the reaping. She is explaining the system the reaping to her younger sister. And Katniss gives her younger sister the pin and tells her that as long as she has the pin nothing will be able to hurt her. All kids from the district are then assembled in the town square. An eccentric dressing woman Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) reaches into the bowl and pulls the name for the girl, and it is Primerose Everdeen. As the guards are taking Prim to the stage, Katniss is shaken out of the shock of hearing her sisters name called, rushes to the front and says that she volunteers as tribute and takes her sisters place.

Effie asks for a round of applause from the crowd for the volunteer, but she only gets silence. As the district instead give a solute which represents unity and rebellion against the Capital. Next Effie then selects a boy from the district Peeta Mellar. Katniss has a flashback of Peeta, when she was in the rain and starving and Peeta was put out of his father’s bakery for burning bread. Together Katniss and Peeta are the current district twelve tributes. The two tributes are whisked away on a high speed train, after saying their goodbyes to their family and friends from the district. Once on the train the kids meet Haymitch who many years previously won the Hunger Games. Haymitch first encounter with the kids leave a lot to be desired to say the least. He drinks and doesn’t really provide the two with actual incite on how to win the games and stay alive.

Katniss is turned off (at first) by Haymitch whereas Peeta tries the approach of appeasement. Once they the two get a little more warmed up to Haymitch he tells them that they need to make friends, this doesn’t sit well with Katniss who pouts and makes her feelings known. As the tributes arrive at the Capital, Katniss meets her stylist Cinna (Lenny Kravitz) who promises that he will come up with a great costume for the two of them for the gala entry parade. Katniss hits it off with Cinna from the start that is due in part because she likes that he is down to earth and very realistic. As Cinna promised the two tributes do in fact make an entrance and an impression on the Capital.

Haymitch starts to give Katniss his full attention and guidance when he realizes that she truly has a chance to win the games. Haymitch also advises Katniss that she needs to avoid the bloodbath at the beginning of the games, and he tells her to find water and he tells her that water is her best friend. As the countdown to the games begins Katniss looks at the bow and arrow and she turns and looks at Peeta. He is shaking his head no more or less telling her not to go for the bow and arrow at all. As the tributes step off the plat form and the games begin, we see Peeta running toward the woods and Katniss looking confused, and then she spots a back pack and goes for it. Katniss takes the bag and then she too runs off into the woods and follows the advice that Haymitch provided to her.

As the games are going on, we see all the faces of the children that have died at the cornucopia at the start of the games. Katniss goes through her bag and finds all that she needs, a rope that comes in handy because she is able to rope herself into a tree to be safe at night, and a container where she can be able to put water in from the stream.  As the games are going on, we see Peeta teaming (or so it seemed) with Cato and company from district one and two to kill Katniss, however; Katniss gets a little assistance from Rue a kid form district eleven. With assistance from Rue Katniss cuts down a nest of trackerjackers, and the nest falls right on the kids at the bottom. The kids scatter, with an exception of one who dies from the sting of the trackerjackers. Peeta tells Katniss who has suffereda few stings by the trackerjackers to go and move (which she listens even though she can barely focus).

Katniss awakes a few days later to see Rue, the little girl from district 11 who has dress her stings. Katniss and Rue form a bond and use the tool that each other have to stay alive. Rue tells Katniss about what the kids from district one and two have in relation to supplies, food, and how they have it guarded. Katniss and Rue decide to destroy their supply. Katniss destroys their supplies and as she returns to Rue, she hears Rue cry out to her for help. Katniss get to Rue and cuts her out of the net that she was in, however; a kid from one of the district throws a spear and it hits Rue in the stomach. Rue dies in Katniss’ arms. Katniss then solutes district eleven with the symbolic hand solute that incites a riot from the district. The Capital is quick to put the riot down, President Snow, then tells the game master to nip this behaviour in the butt in so many words. President Snow is not happy with the rebellion from district eleven and because of this he has some arrangements made to kill Katniss at the games.

After what happens to Rue Katniss then sets out to find Peeta, when she over hears the careers saying that they left Peeta for dead by the river, this is the direction that Katniss takes. As she sets off she finds a trail of blood and follows it. She finds Peeta who has camolfauge himself to a rock. Katniss realizes that Peeta has blood poisoning and the only way he can survive is with medicine, specific to his needs. Katniss realizes as well that the medicine is expensive and she has to follow Haymitch advice if she is going to get the medicine. By magic an announcement is made stating that there will be a feast at the cornucopia and that it will have what each tribute will need.

Peeta tells Katniss not to go and promises that she will not, however; once Peeta is asleep Katniss goes to the cornucopia to the feast. Once she is there there are four bags for the four remaining tributes. As Katniss is about to run to get her bag she see foxface from district five run out and grab her bag and take off. Katniss then makes the same move, but is stopped by Clove a girl from district one Cato’s partner. The two girls fight, and when it looks like Katniss is about to be killed, Thresh then lifts Clove from her feet and yelling at her asking if she killed Rue. Thresh kills Clove and tells Katniss that he gave her a pass for Rue and it is only for this one time. Both kids run off in opposite directions. Katniss goes back to Peeta and puts the medicine on his cut and Peeta puts some on Katniss’ cut from the fight she had with Clove.

The two starts hiking through the woods looking for food and Katniss hears the sound of the cannon. She rushes back to the woods looking for Peeta and finds him and yells at him because she thought that it was him. It was foxface, she died eating the poison berries that Peeta had found, Katniss slaps the berries out of Peeta’s hands tells him that they are poison and he would have died if he ate them. The kids remain together, because earlier a voice stated that two tributes from the same district can be winners if both survive. Katniss and Peeta are making their way through the woods, but they both are unnerved by the sound that they are hearing in the woods. Peeta is attacked by a wolf or dog looking creature, Katniss shots it with an arrow but it and company keep coming. The two make their way to the cornucopia where they are confronted by Cato. The two fight with Cato and he has a strong hold on Peeta, as Katniss is holding her bow and arrow with the intention to shoot, Cato threatens to throw him and Peeta over.

 Katniss shoots after following the signal give to her by Peeta. Cato then falls off the cornucopia and is being attacked by the wolf or dog looking creatures. He bags for mercy and Katniss kills him with her bow and arrow. The two are waiting for the game to be over, but a voice comes back and says that the previous rule was not in accordance with the original rules. So Peeta tells Katniss that she should kill him and that one of them should be able to go home. Katniss doesn’t want that and decides that they should both die and gives Peeta some berries. Just as the two are about to eat the barriers, the same voice returns telling them that the previous rule stands and they are the winners of the 74^th Hunger Games.

Haymitch tells the kids and especially Katniss how they should not have showed up the Capital and how they will need to play up the love struck teenagers. The game master Seneca Crane is lead into a very fine polished room and the door is locked behind him.  As he make his way to the center of the room, we see a bowl on a table and in the bowl is the same berries that Katniss and Peeta were going to eat. Crane knows that he is not going to be leaving the room alive. Katniss and Peeta travel home to district twelve and a crowd of family and friends (which included Prim and Gale). Peeta sees Katniss reaction when she see Gale and he realizes that Katniss was just playing up this love struck teenage romance from district twelve.

The Hunger Games is a really good movie, and I would highly recommend that reading the book before seeing the movie is a must to understand the history of each character. As with any literature that is turned into visual art, you cannot have the same amount of detail that is in the book. That being said, director Gary Ross was able to capture with great precision Suzanne's vision and what Suzanne had described in the first book of the series. The entire cast did an excellent job portraying the characters, from Jennifer as Katniss to Josh as Peeta.  It will be nice to see the second book in the series turned into film. With all current actors and actress portraying the characters and the new characters that we meet in the second book, everyone needs to ensure that they have this movie in their dvd collection.  If you have not read the book or the series I recommend that you do, because I plan on completing the series myself.

Director: Gary Ross
Writers: Suzanne Collins
Stars: Jennifer Lawernce, Josh Huutcherson
Running time: 142 minutes
lionsgate film

Act Of Valor

Act of Valor is a movie that is about an elite navy seal team that has been assigned a mission to extract a cia operative who has been kidnapped.  The beginning of the movie opens with one of the navy seals speaking and telling a story about one of the men in his unit and the connection that they share and the strength of this man in his unit. We get a look at what it is like for the men during training and we also get a look at what home life is like for these men as well.

When the men are giving their mission, they ensure that every member of the team is in check in every aspect of their lives before they make any jump. They cannot afford to make any mistakes and they don't want to loose any man because someones head isn't where it should be. From the very beginning we see the discipline and the strength it takes for the men to be able to handle the elements and also terrain when in different countries. From the first kill shot with excellent precision to the hot extract when the navy seals save the cia operative who was kidnapped. To the recon missions that the men take and the connection that each man share, and how they always have each others back and will never stop or leave a man behind.

As mention, the movie is about an elite navy seal team who is assigned to rescue a cia operative that has been kidnapped. When the seals extract the cia operative they believe their mission to be over with the extraction, however; that is not the case. The seals then learn that the cia operative intercepted a connection to a man who is believe to be a drug smuggler who is working with a know terrorist. The mission is then more dangerous then the seals ever have known. The plot is an attack on America on American ground, and this has the seals moving all over the world from Chechnya to the Philippines and from Ukraine to Somalia to the U.S. Mexico border. The seals with all the intelligence that they have come to an epic gun battle to ensure the safety of American lives and the safety of all those in the world.

I have seen many movies that show what it was like and also provide us the viewer with what the man (and/or woman) serving experienced. I have to admit that Act of Valor is one of the best, this movie not only provided a raw feeling to place us the viewer right with these men. This move also has given me a new appreciation, love and respect for what our brothers and sisters do to ensure our safety and protection. Our protection from terror terrorist and those who mean to do us harm. We need to ensure that our brothers and sisters in arms know that we greatly appreciation what they do for us, the sacrifice  that they make each and every single day. It is a hard job out for these men (and woman) and we need to ensure again, that they know that we do not take for granted what they do for us each and every single day.  I highly recommend this movie, it is right up there with Red Tails and company.

Great job to Mike, Scott and the navy seals that were in this movie. A must see and a so must to have in your dvd collection (when it comes out).

Director: Mike Mckoy and Scott Waugh
Writers: Kurt Johnstad
Running time: 111 minutes

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The English language film adaptation of the Swedish novel written by Stieg Larsson, follows a journalist who has just recently been disgraced due to a story that he published in a magazine that he co-owns about a business man (who is corrupt) Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) follows his gut and writes a story about the detailed finances about Wennerstrom based on information that he received from a source (that at the time Mikael believed was to be reliable). In the end the information was not sound and it resulted in Wennerstrom being able to prove in court that the information and documentation that Mikael had and published in his magazine Millennium was in fact fakes. This resulted in Wennerstrom suing Mikael for libel and nearly costing Mikael his entire life savings. Blomkvist's partner, close friend and lover Erika was there for him during the trial and supported him all the way and continued to stand by Blomkvist even after the verdict was handed down.

During the holidays and when the story starts to die down (at least a little), Blomkvist receives a call from the close friend and lawyer of Henrik Vanger who sets up a meeting between the two men. Henrik tells Blomkvist the story of his family and advises Blomkvist that he would like him to write his memories. Then Henrik goes on to tell Blomvist that what he really would like him to do is solve the mystrey of the death of his beloved Harriet. Blomvist listens as Henrik tells him about the day Harriet disappeared and is now presumed dead, and how he believes that someone within the family has killed her all those years ago. Blomvist tells Henrik that he may not be able to solve the mystery that he has been trying to solve in the last 40 plus years. However, Henrik will not take no for an answer. He then tells Blomvist that he will double his fee if he does this for him solve the mystery and Henrik also tells Blomvist that he will provide him with proof to take Wennerstrom down if he does this for him. Blomvist agrees to Erika's dismay and protest he then moves onto the property at Hedestad and starts to go through the documents, notes, police reports that Henrik has and collected over the years. Blomvist starts to collect information from Henrik and he also begins to speak with the detective on the case and he starts to track down people that know Harriet.

Blomvist then realizes that the Vanger family are not going to be a big help and he tries his best to ensure that the family doesn't realize that that is the real reason he is on the island, investigating the disappearance and/or death of Harriet. As Blomvist starts to unravel the mystery and begins to get closer to solving the mystery, he provides an up date to Henrik's lawyer telling him that he found something but he cannot go any further unless he has a research assistant because he wants to ensure his information is sound. Blomvist explains all this to Frode and Frode advises Blomvist that he knows a perfect research assistant she is the person that did the back ground check on him. Blomvist is not impressed with this and he demands that Frode provide him with the report because he would like to read it. Frode provides him with the report and also provides him the name of the person who did the report Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara). With the information in hand Blomvist goes to Armansky the man who owns the company that Henrik and Frode went to to have research done on Blomvist to ensure he was the right person for the job.

When Blomvist arrives he explains to Armansky that he would like to speak with Lisbeth and he needs her assistance on a project he is working on for Henrik Vanger. Armansky protests at first, then Blomvist advises him that some for the information that Lisbeth has in her report there is no way she could of gotten the information. When Armansky still protest Blomvist provides him with his sister name who is a lawyer. Armansky then provides Blomvist with the information he needs to get an address on Lisbeth. Lisbeth has just gone through a traumatic event being raped twice by her new garden of the state. She used all her strength to enact her own form of justice on her garden and let her voice of redemption be heard. Thus her first encounter with Blomvist is tense, but Blomvist (is not there to hurt her in anyway) lays the cards on the table and explains to Lisbeth that he knows that she is a hacker and he also explains that he is not going to turn her into the police, but he would like her help in solving the murder of a 16 year old girl.  The two work together and on gathering information and going through clues to try and find out who in fact killed Harriet all those years ago. As the two are getting closer to solving the mystery, someone on Hedestad doesn't want him (or Lisbeth there), and they kill a stray cat that Blomvist had taken a liken to. Henrik, Blomvist, Erika, Martin and Frode all meet and Henrik suggests to Blomvist and Erika that they take on a partner in order to ensure that Millennium doesn't go under. After the meeting Blomvist tells Erika that he doesn't like the plan and he feels that they shouldn't go along with the deal. Erika explains to Blomvist that he left her to run the magazine and she just wanted to consider it.

This doesn't stop the two and they continue with their research and also trying to figure out what Harriet was meaning in her diary. As Blomvist and Salander continue their search, Blomvist is shot at by someone in the family with an attempt to stop him from continue to solve the mystrey of Harriet's death. Again this doesn't deter Blomvist in the bit, Lisbeth and Blomvist are getting closer with one another as the two work closely together to solve the mystery of what happened to Harriet. Blomvist soon discovers clues that start to lead to Martin Vanger Harriet's brother, due to photo's that were taken the day that Harriet had disappeared and he tracks down a few pepople and also gets photo's he needs from Henrik's brother as well. Martin to starts to realize that Blomvist is close to discovery and that is when he traps Blomvist in his house. Martin then recites to Blomvist all the woman he has killed and explains that it was his father that taught him the way. Blomvist his helpless to help himself, due to Martin having him strapped up on a noose about to rape and murder him. Martin taunts Blomvist, and Blomvist tries to distract him by asking about Harriet. Martin explains that he didn't kill Harriet though he would have likes to, it is then that he strings Blomvist up and begins to cut away his clothes. Martin then tells Blomvist that he never had a man in his room, the only man he has touched was his father and that was his duty.

As Martin is about to cut Blomvist with a knife, we see Lisbeth and hear her voice as she swings a golf club and hits Martin square in the face. She cuts Blomvist down and she goes after Martin. Durning the chase Marting looses control and he crashes, his car then explodes due to the crash. Blomvist and Lisbeth are back in his quarters on Hedestad, where they continue their search on trying to find out what really happened to Harriet. They soon discover that Harriet assumed the last name of her cousin Anita and she was hiding, every since Anita has been helping her and helped her escape that day of the accident on the bridge. Harriet explains to Blomvist that she had to run after she had killed her father due to him raping her and then her brother as well. She explains she told her other about the abuse, but nothing was very done. Blomvist looks and tells Harriet that he understands the reason why she made the decisions that she made. Harriet returns to Hedestad and she see Henrik after so many years apart. Frode and Henrik thank Blomvist for all his hard work, however; Blomvist is not happy with Henrik due to the information Henrik provided him on Werrnestrom. The information is so old that it is not viable or creditable and Blomvist explains that he is not able to publish a story with that material.

Lisbeth then tells Blomvist that she did a search on her own of Blomvist and she provides him with the necessary information that he needs in order to get back his creditability and take Wennerstrom down for good. Blomvist is back in the spot light and all the heat is on Wennerstrom after the article that Blomvist has published. Lisbeth then asks Blomvist for a favor and she borrows money from him and tells him it is an investment (not telling him that she plans to steal all the money that Wennerstrom has in his separate accounts). Blomvist loans her the money and Lisbeth steals all of Wennerstrom's money and deposits in her own accounts that she set up. She pays Blomvist back the money and the two part ways. As the story is coming to an end we see Lisbeth buying a present for Blomvist, but when she see him with Erika she toss the present in the trash and dies off.

I was very impressed with this version of the series. I truly and honestly felt that David Fincher was able to capture the flow of the story to the very last, he made a few changes but all for the better. The cast was well cast Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara were able to capture the essence of the characters as well, I highly recommend this movie and I hope that Daniel and Rooney's schedule are not to crazy and they can be able to continue with the remaining to movies that coincide with the remaining two books in the Millennium series (The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest).

MGM
Director: David Fincher
Writers: Steven Zaillian (screen play), Stieg Larsson (novel)
Stars: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara and Christopher Plummer
Running time: 158 minutes

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Ghost Protocol is by far the best out to the MI franchise series, Tom Cruise is at the top of his game and he showed that with every deliver of each line to the crazy ass stunts (delivered with precision). The question is where to begin... We open with an assignment in Budapest where a courier working for a person of interest code name "Cobalt" is to be intercepted by IMF again Trevor Hanaway. Agent Hanaway is killed by an assassin name Moreau who has taken the information that agent Hanaway was sent to intercept and take control of. Hanaway's team leader Jane Carter, and newly promoted field agent Benji Dunn then extract Ethan Hunt (and his source Bogdan) from a prison in Moscow. Ethan is then recruited to lead his new team that consists of Carter and Dunn to infiltrate the secret Moscow Kremlin to locate files that will identify who Cobalt is. However; halfway through the mission Ethan discovers that they are being set up, and someone broadcasts over the IMF frequency, alerting the Russians to Hunt's team. Hunt, Carter and Dunn are able to escape, but a bomb goes off and destroys the Kremlin and now Russian agent Sidirov accuses Hunt and his team of putting together the attack and destroying the Kremlin.


The IMF extracts Hunt from Moscow, and the Russians have now called the attack an undeclared act of war. this leaves the US President no choice but to active "Ghost Protocol", this is an operation contingency plan that disavows the entire IMF. The blame will fall upon Hunt and his team and they are to be branded terrorist and inciting nuclear war. The IMF secretary is telling this to Ethan and explains the mission to Ethan, but before he can escape the secretary is killed by Russian security forces led by Sidirov leaving Hunt and William Brandt to find their own way out.  The team then identifies "Cobalt" as Kurt Hendricks who is a Swedish-born Russian nuclear strategist which believe that the weak must die in order for the strong to survive. It was in fact Hendricks who bomb the Kremlin and he has acquired the Russian nuclear launch code device and he now needs the codes from the Budapest courier in order to a nuclear missile at San Francisco.


Ethan and his team have to ensure that the exchange between Moreau and Hendricks side-kick at the Wistrom does not take place. This is all going down that at the Burji Khalifa in Dubai. While Hunt is following Wistrom he quickly discovers that Wistrom is actually Hendricks in disguise and Hendricks now has the Russian Launch codes that was needed to active the device. Once Ethan and the team get their ground footing after loosing Hendreicks and Carter killing Moreau (after she attacked Dunn). Ethan accuses Brandt for keeping secrets due to his fighting skills that Ethan witness back at the hotel. Hunt leaves and advises the team that he is changing the plan, and Brandt tells Carter and Dunn what happened to Hunt and his wife and explains the real reason as to why Hunt ended up in a Russian prison. He explains that Julia was killed by a  Serbian hit squad and this lead Ethan to kill the men responsible and that is how he was in the Russian prison.

Ethan is able to get assistance from Bogdan the man he helped in prison and he was able to track Hendricks in Mumbai. Ethan and the team work together to stop Hendricks and his plan of firing a missile in San Francisco. With Dunn manage the computer side, Brandt getting access inside the server room to take the satellite offline. Carter gets Brij Nath (Anil Kapoor) to give him the codes that is needed to override the satellite and to stop Hendricks from using the launch codes to active the device to then fire the missile and start nuclear war. Hunt is able to catch up to Hendricks and the two men fight over the launch code device then Hendricks jumps to his death when he attempted to out wit Hunt and take the device case. As this is going on Dunn kills Wistrom which allows Brandt to restore power and this provides Hunt with the ability to deactivated the launch code device.

Hunt is then confronted by Russian agent Sidirov He sees that Hunt has stop the device and the missile proving the IMF is indeed innocent of the Kremlin bombing. Sidirov then asks Hunt if he would like to go to the hospital which Ethan replays yes. The team then reconvene with one another and Ethan gives them all their missions, Brandt decides not to take the mission because he feels responsible for the death of Ethan's wife Julia. Ethan tells Brandt that Julia's death was staged and that he did this to protect her because while he is doing this he knows that she will not be safe any other way. And he explains that it was pretext to part of the mission to infiltrate the Russian prison and get close to Bogdan (who in turn is an IMF source).  Brandt accepts his mission and the two men part, we see Ethan looking at Julia from afar and then we see Julia and Ethan's eyes meet just before he walks off on his next mission.

I really enjoyed this movie it was action, had emotion when the required and also a little comedy as well. Tom is at the top of his game and it is evident in MI4. He is a power house for a reason, because he can deliver. What a way to end 2011 with a block buster like MI4 it is a must see and will be a must by when it hit dvd's (which is a few months away).


Paramount
Driector: Brad Bird
Writers: Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec
Stars: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg and Paula Patton
Running time: 133 minutes

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark

The movie first starts off at Blackwood Manor during a period when candles were used to provide light in a home. We hear the ringing of a bell and that triggers a maid to be dispatched, she is doing so cleaning duties in the home. Once she hears the bell she realize that she is needed and she goes to see what the owner of the house needs. We see the maid grabbing a candle which provides her with the light that she needs to make her way through the house being that it is dark through out the house. She starts to make her way when she hears the owner of the house a man calling for her. As she is looking down the stairwell and beginning to make her way down, we then see Lord Blackwood continue to look back at an old fireplace. The maid makes her way to the middle of the stair case and then we see her fall due in part to a tripwire that has been set in place. We can clearly see that Lord Blackwood is in a state and he does not want to harm this woman, but he stands over her and he is following what the voices (we hear) are more or less telling him to do. He takes a tool and he uses that tool to remove the teeth from his maids mouth, as Lord Blackwood starts to remove her teeth we see that a majority of his teeth have been moved from his mouth as well. Once he does this he gives them to the creatures and he begs these creatures to give him back his son. However, the creatures are not interested in the teeth and also not interested in keeping whatever arrangement they made with Lord Blackwood, then we see Lord Blackwood being  attacked by the same creatures he beg to give back his some.

We then cue to the president day and we meet Sally (played by the beautifully Bailee Madison) she has been sent to live with her dad Alex (Guy Pearce) for a while by her mother and she is not happy about this change. Sally meets her dad's new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) who she gives a hard time due to the fact that she is not happy with the new change in her live and it doesn't help that her mother has been telling her things that we are sure her mother shouldn't. The family arrives at Blackwood Manor and the home is not like any home, Alex with the assistance of Kim are doing a restoration on the home and then they plan to sell the home. While all this is going on Sally is trying the best way she knows how to accept the decision that her parents have made, she is still not giving Kim any leeway whatsoever. Sally roams the house and she starts to hear voices and these voices say that they want her to play with them and that they want to be her friend.

As the story continues to develop we see that this is not the case, we see the grounds keeper Harris (Jack Thompson) tell Alex and Kim that the house is no place for a child and that they so need to get Sally out of that house. Harris gets attacked by the creatures as he tries to warm and also seal up the creatures after Sally unknowing releases the due to her being curious about who and what they things are. Things start to happen to Sally and she starts to realize that these little creatures are not her friends in fact that want to hurt and do worst to her. Alex doesn't believe his daughter even though we can see that he truly does love his daughter, Kim has grown fond of Sally and after she visits Harris and starts her own research she knows that the best thing for Sally is to removed her from the house. Alex soon realizes that Sally needs to be removed from the home and he and Kim decide to pack a few things and get Sally out of the home. This all leads to a fateful confrontation between Sally, Kim, Alex and the creatures within the home who are hell bent on keeping getting Sally no matter what. Kim uses all the strength that she has to fight to save Sally and Alex also fights to get to his family due in part to the screams of Sally and the screams of Kim that he hears.

I recommend this film it isn't your usual horror film, it has twist and turns and we see the heroine being a strong little girl that continues to fight and remain strong no matter what her father or anyone else believes. Troy did an excellent job with the direction of this film and Guillermo (and Matthew) style is so evident you can tell that this is so a film for grown ups.

Miramax
Director: Troy Nixey
Writers: Guillermo del Toro (screen play) and Matthews Robbins (screen play)
Stars: Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, and Bailee Madison
Running time: 99 minutes

HANNA

Hanna (played wonderfully by Saoirse) is a young woman, correction a teenage girl who has been raised and trained by her father (played wonderfully by Eric Bana) on how to be able to defend herself, as a smart soldier. The father and daughter team live in a remote area in the woods of Finland cut off by civilization and survive on the natural resources of their surroundings. Hanna has lived an unlikely life not like other regular teenagers in her age group, her up bringing can be as mention above is that of a trained assassin. One with perfect ability to handle themselves in hard terrain and still keep her sharp wits about her. Hanna is then sent into the world by her father on a mission, but her father never prepares her for the world outside the one he has raised her in. Hanna has the ability to move across Europe stealthily and she also eludes the agents that are after her. However; she does get distracted by tagging along with a family and seeing how the other side lives, a part that her father never showed her. As Hanna is getting close to nearing her target, she is faced with some revelations about her existence and some secrets that her father kept from her. This all leads to a confrontation with her father which thus leads her to the ultimate show down with her target (played cunningly by Cate Blachett). Who is an intelligence operative that is also harbouring secrets of own that can destroy her as well.  I recommend this movie as a must to seen, and a must own... I was going into this movie with some expectations and I must say that I was greatly surprised and the movie kept me on the edge of my seat. This was and is an excellent thriller Wright did a great job in the direction he took and went, even the fight sequences were precise and believable, the cast was on point and kept the audience (myself included) wanting more.

Focus Features
Director: Jon Wright
Writers: Seth Lochhead and David Farr (screen play)
Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett
Running time: 111 minutes