Film picks: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Nimona, Greta Gerwig films
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Spy thriller Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One stars Hayley Atwell (left) and Tom Cruise.
PHOTO: UIP
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (PG13)
163 minutes, 4 stars
When so many Hollywood action franchises devolve into mush by the second movie, it is something of a miracle that the Mission: Impossible series (1996 to present) exists.
Actor Tom Cruise, working with director Christopher McQuarrie, delivered the highly watchable Rogue Nation (2015) and Fallout (2018), the fifth and sixth additions to the series.
In this film, the third McQuarrie-Cruise collaboration, they have kept standards high. There is a satisfying groundedness here, at a time when every other action hero is a supernaturally skilled killer who pops out of thin air when required.
The elite team of spies headed by Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is activated when a potentially world-ending terror emerges. Luther (Ving Rhames), Benji (Simon Pegg) and British ally Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) travel across the globe, chasing clues and carrying out heists in a bid to stop this new enemy. An old adversary, the arms dealer nicknamed the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby), is involved in the plan to subjugate the world.
Nimona (M18)
111 minutes, Netflix, 4 stars
Characters played by Riz Ahmed (left) and Chloe Grace Moretz in Nimona.
Directed by Spies In Disguise (2019) duo Nick Bruno and Troy Quane, this Netflix adaptation of American cartoonist ND Stevenson’s 2015 Web comic has won praise for being such an openly LGBTQ+ parable on a popular streaming platform.
Ballister Boldheart (voiced by Riz Ahmed) is a Knight of the Realm sworn to protect his futuristic mediaeval kingdom by slaying monsters. But only one such monster, the pink gremlin girl Nimona (Chloe Grace Moretz), will help clear his name when he is framed for the assassination of the beloved queen.
There were some concerns about Ballister’s same-sex kiss with his hunky beau, fellow knight Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang), hence the M18 rating.
And what a shame, because kids would have really liked Nimona’s slapstick transformations – into a gorilla, a rhino, a whale and a dancing shark – as she and Ballister flee from armoured knights on hovercrafts hunting them down with laser crossbows. The action is exciting and boisterous.
Enter the Greta-verse at The Projector
Mistress America stars Greta Gerwig (left) and Lola Kirke.
Indie cinema The Projector is marking the July 20 release of toy-based comedy Barbie with a Greta Gerwig showcase. Gerwig, Barbie’s director and co-writer, was an arthouse darling as a writer and actress a decade ago. Lately, she has emerged as a talented film-maker. She wrote and starred in microbudget drama-comedies Frances Ha (2012) and Mistress America (2015), stories which reveal her powers of observation as well as ability to turn insights into jokes.
Lady Bird, starring Saoirse Ronan (left) and Laurie Metcalf (right).
With the funny and moving coming-of-age story Lady Bird (2017), the third movie in the programme, she broke out. Irish actress Saoirse Ronan is Christine, a combative teen whose showdowns with her equally headstrong mother Marion (Laurie Metcalf) threaten to fracture the family. Gerwig’s first outing as solo director caught critical attention. It earned five Oscar nominations, including for Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actress (Ronan) and Best Supporting Actress (Metcalf).
Where: 05-00 Golden Mile Tower, 6001 Beach Road
MRT: Nicoll Highway/Lavender
When: From Friday
Tickets: From $10.50 for standard ticket prices
Info: str.sg/iwuc