Mission: Impossible III

Okay, I admit, I totally lost the plot. Again.

Who double crosses who? Is everyone involved in shady activities? How do all these characters climb so high within the agency? What the fuck is even going on? And where is the rabbit foot? Or what, even? Wait, are they actually all just wearing one of those nifty masks?

So the nemesis this time around is played by the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman (reminding us again, that he was one of the greatest actors ever and is still sorely missed). Here he is not only just a bad guy, he is a sadistic, vengeful bad guy that swears to not only hurt Ethan, but also his fiance (later wife) for kidnapping him and stealing from him.

The team surrounding Ethan appears to be going rogue now and again. Or maybe it is their boss(es) who are the rogue ones (see above). Anyway, after kicking it of with yet another failed mission, here trying to rescue a fellow agent from somewhere in Berlin, the group's target is Owen Davian (the Hoffman character). By use of their fantastic gadgets, general geniality and one of those nifty masks, they pull off their mission in the Vatican (?), only to be attacked while transporting their prisoner (possibly by their own boss(es), again see above).

Then the wife (formerly fiance) is kidnapped and Ethan is told he has 48 hrs to retrieve and provide Davian with the rabbit foot (whatever that may be). For this, they need to go to Shanghai (because, of course). Again, gadgetry and stuff.

Then we come to the point where I totally lost the plot. Ethan awakes, chained to a chair, sitting opposite his wife (also chained/bound/duct taped to a chair) who has a gun to her head. Davian asks about the rabbit foot (specifically where it is) while counting to ten. Then he shoots her in the head, because Ethan did not speak. But where is the fucking rabbit foot? Did he not just get it in Shanghai? He had something in his hand after some adventurous dangling from buildings. I was sure that was it. What happened to it?

But then Davian didn't shoot the wife at all. Or it was not really the wife. Or Davian wasn't even there to begin with, but one of the bosses was. And then Ethan does find his wife, bound and stuff and in the presence of Davian. Then fighting, shootout, and she has to kill Ethan (to later revive him again because of the implant). Where did she learn to shoot like that? Look, here is boss man again and she shoots him and the rabbit foot falls out of the case he carried. Resuscitation of Ethan only for him to find that she already saved the day without him.

Color me confused, but nonetheless entertained.

5/10

Saw III

Yesterday was Friday the 13th. There was also a full moon. If this does not scream for a horror film night, I don't know what does.

In my continuous quest to see the entire Saw series a friend and I moved on to part III (and, as you will see, part IV right after).

Our favorite psychopath, Jigsaw aka John, is on his deathbed. To finalize the initiation of his very eager pupil Amanda, he has one more elaborate game that she orchestrated on his behalf. A female doctor was kidnapped and is forced to keep John alive for as long as it takes another player, Jeff, to complete a very special series of tests. She is also outfitted with a nifty collar that will explode upon John's death.

Jeff is a sad sack, that has lost his son in a car accident and has been neglecting his wife and daughter ever since. What made things even worse for him is that the driver got off with a mere 6 months sentence. What he is being tested for is whether or not he is able to forgive the people involved in his son's death - the only witness, the judge and the driver himself.

At the same time, Amanda is being tested by John. Apparently, she has not been doing as well as he expected, as she has been mingling with the players (killing, maiming) even after they won their particular games. 

In the end, the doctor wins but Amanda fails and kills her (which was basically her failure). Jeff makes it through the tests without any of the three board pieces surviving. But then we learn that the doctor is his wife and she falls into his arms after she was shot. While she is fighting for her life, Jeff kills both Amanda and John, signing his wife's death sentence. The last he learns from John is that the couple's daughter has been kidnapped and, well, too bad, now John cannot help Jeff find her. Tough luck.

Whereas the story is not as straight forward as parts I and II, what makes this interesting is the flashbacks and parallels that first confuse you but really only gives you the strings tying it all together.

7/10

Inside Man

This bank robbery plays out a little different than is to be expected. A group of would be robbers, dressed in black coveralls, hoods up, face hidden by white cloth and sunglasses, walk into a bank in Manhattan and take everybody (twenty? thirty?) inside hostage. They have everyone strip to their underwear and put on the same outfits they themselves are wearing with black eye masks instead of sunglasses.

The hostages are kept in small groups in different rooms with random people being moved at times from one room to the next, the person joining a group may even be one of the robbers. Very clever, that.

The head of the outfit is one Dalton Russell, who pulls the strings and communicates with law enforcement outside. The police detective designated to save the day is Det. Keith Frazier, whose job is complicated by the arrival of Madeleine White. Ms. White's request are to be met. So says the mayor. She has been hired by the founder of the bank, Arthur Case, to make sure that whatever is in safe deposit box 392 (a box that mysteriously is not listed with the other boxes) is either retrieved or never sees the light of day - whatever the cost.

So both, Frazier and White meet with Russell to discuss terms. Frazier realizes eventually that the robbers are playing for time and not easily fooled by things like bugs hidden in pizza boxes. White learns that Russell has already taken the contents of Case's box - proof that Case made some questionable deals with Nazi Germany while living in Switzerland along with a ring and a stash of diamonds. The diamonds are what the robbers are interested in, not touching and of the money or other valuables inside the bank.

The reason they are playing for time is because they build a cell behind a row of shelves in the supply room. When the police get ready to storm the place, the robbers are one step ahead of them - having sent their own bug into their mobile HQ. The preemptively throw smoke bombs and mix themselves among the hostages, making it impossible for police to prove who was on what side.

What is more, as nothing has been taken and nobody has been injured, the case gets shelved. No harm, no foul, right? Frazier, of course, cannot let got and returns to the bank, where Russell bumps into him. Russell has spent the last few weeks hidden in the cell they have built and now walks out with the diamonds. Frazier is there to execute a court order to open box 392, which has been emptied except for the ring and a note telling him to "follow the ring", which he does - dropping in on the mayor having lunch with White, handing them the number of the Office of War Crime Issues. At home he realizes, that the man he pumped into him dropped a single diamond into his pocket.

Quite interesting and very well cast.

7/10

Firewall

Jack Stanfield works for the Landrock Pacific Bank in Seattle and his day is about to take a weird turn when a debt collector shows up at his job trying to collect $ 95,000,-- in gambling debts. Jack realizes he has been victim of identity theft. What seems like a small incident at first is supposed to be used to set him up. The fictitious gambling debt is to be used as an also fictitious reason for him to steal from his own bank.

His colleague Harry has set up a business meeting with one Brian Cox, offering both of them work. After a few drinks, as Jack gets in his car to return to his family, Cox gets into the backseat and puts a gun to his head. While Jack was at work, his family has been taken hostage at their house. As Cox and Jack return their, they are kept at gunpoint over night.

The next morning, Jack is to go to his job as usual, equipped with a video and voice feed connected to the culprits. During the day, Cox shows up again for a 'meeting' with Jack, that his assistant is suspicious of, as she didn't set it up. Cox has Jack take him on a tour through the server room where he explains his plan. With Jack's technical expertise, he is supposed to transfer millions to an account on the Cayman Islands.

After a difficult day, with Jack trying to contact somebody, anybody for help and being found out, Cox drives home his point by killing one of his own associates for not paying attention for a moment that Jack used to sneak his video camera (disguised as a pen) onto his secretary.

The family devise a plan for Jack's wife and their two children to escape by clever use of one of the son Andy's toy - an remote controlled car, that has in the past interfered with TV reception is used to interfere with the video feed that is being used to keep taps on the family. They do not make it out and - in a quiet moment - Cox again emphasizes that he has no scruples, he feeds Andy, who has a severe peanut allergy, with a cookie containing peanuts and making Jack beg for the EpiPen.

Finally, the plan is set into action, with Jack moving to different terminals in the bank as to not be interrupted by one of his colleagues, who is hot on his heals the entire time. When the transfer is made, Jack and Cox split up. When Jack gets back to the house it is empty. One of the culprits returns to finish him off, but Jack beats him to death with a stand up mixer (handy thing, that).

He flees to Harry's empty apartment and hears a message on the answering machine from his wife, reading from a script that makes it look like a message to her lover, Harry, and a confirmation that she has left Jack. When he hears someone coming in - it is Harry with Cox, still in future business partner mode - he hides in a closet (classic!) to see Cox execute Harry. Jack realizes, that this will only reflect back on him with the tale of an affair and Cox using Jack's own gun. His flight continues...

To pressure Cox into giving his family back, he takes the baddie's cell with him and calls Cox as he is re-transferring the money and telling him that he will give him the money in exchange for his family's safe return the next morning. Jack changes his plan, however, when he realizes he heard the family dog bark as he was on the phone with Cox. The little pet has a tendency to run away and has been equipped with a GPS collar.

With the help of his secretary, he manages to locate the dog, who has been thrown out of the transport vehicle for unruly behavior. Fortunately, they are close enough to the hide out for Jack to sneak up to the house and a combination of one of the culprit's reluctance to hurt his family, Cox' hurt pride and Jack's and his wife's anger, the bad guys are taken down once an for all. Cox meets his end in a fist fight, cut short by use of an ax.

An ok, fast-paced watch. Nothing to write home about but entertaining enough.

5/10

Fido

In the otherwise wholesome world of 1940's one would not expect to see zombies doing menial tasks, like delivering the morning paper or cutting the grass.

The zombie apocalypse has been averted a few years previously in the "zombie wars". And now, thanks to a collar controlling the zombies' urge to eat people, the creatures can be be put to use. Everyone in little Timmy's street has a few household zombies, but his father is scared of them. Eventually, his mom will go over her husband's head to obtain household help.

Timmy befriends him (it?) and names his new buddy Fido. Then one night, when there is a temporary hick-up in the collar, Fido kills Mrs. Henderson, the elderly neighbor who promptly turns into a zombie herself and soon a number of un-collared zombies roam the small town. Once again, the outbreak gets under control and all appears to be well again.

Fido's collar, however, continues to malfunction occasionally and he takes care of two bullies torturing Timmy. It is at this point that Timmy realizes that Fido does not try to eat him even at the times the collar malfunctions. After a few more hick-ups along the way, Fido becomes an actual member of the family.

Awww!

7/10

Laa-thaa-phii (Ghost Game)

Again, a ghost story. This time from Thailand.

A game show is held in an old war camp in Cambodia. The goal is to stay longer than the other contestants, despite being scared out of your wits and having to fulfill disturbing tasks, like chaining each other to torture devices and cracking open skulls.

Initially, we are fed the 'history' of the camp, where a war lord tortured and killed prisoners and - one fateful May 9th - his soldiers and himself. The game show takes place in the first days of May, of course.

There are 11 contestants in all, two of which are the winner and runner-up of the previous year's show. Why they would be allowed to participate again and, indeed, why they would care to is never discussed over the course of the film. They are only suspected of manipulating their opponents to walk away with the 5 million price (5 million Thai Baht, that is). Another contestant was placed in the group by the production company. What her function is is never is explained either.

Anyway, some of the people start seeing ghosts. Specifically, the ghost of one woman, who was hanged in the camp right before the big bad military boss went nuts and killed everyone. And when May 9 finally clocks in, people start dying. First, the entire TV crew disappears from their post in the studio, only later to be found slaughtered elsewhere, some practice self mutilation (one with chisel and hammer) and other are killed by a shape shifting ghost.

Only once does one contestant (last year's winner) try to help one of her suffering opponents, while everyone else merely stand by horrified and watch others die.

Nice premise, could have been much scarier, though. Too many holes in the plot to be fully enjoyed.

4/10

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

Every boy in the high school wants to get into Mandy Lane's pants. She's allegedly still a virgin and got hot over the summer (their words, not mine).

A group of her class mates invite her out to Red's (the stoner) parent's farm, along with two cheerleaders (Chloe and Marlin) and two jocks (Bird and Luke). The only other person around is the farm hand Garth. During a night of drugs and alcohol, Mandy's former best friend Emmett - shunned because he made a boy jump off the roof towards a swimming pool (and, unfortunately, not quite making it) - starts killing them off one by one.

The first one to get it is Marlin, gravely wounded but not quite dead when Luke, heavily intoxicated, finds her by the lake. Luke is the first one to go, death by gun. Passed out Marlin gets the butt of the gun in the face (repeatedly), which leads to

DEAD CHEERLEADER ALERT!!!

The four others are at this point unaware of their friends being recently deceased. Bird then runs into Emmett and starts hitting him, before Emmett produces a hunting knife...

In the morning, Grant and Mandy have a heart to heart and we learn that nice, goody two-shoes Mandy is an orphan and that is why she is 'different' from her group of idiot friends. Awww! Then Grant gets lured away by a noise coming from upstairs. Mandy, asleep with her head on the table gets stroked by Emmett's bloody hand, so when Grant returns and sees the blood on her hair and the fridge decides that 'we need to get out of here'. As soon as the door opens, Grant gets shot in the shoulder.

Red and Chloe flee out the back door and find Luke and Marlin's bodies in a field. This leads to some making out (obviously) during which Red gets shot in the back. Chloe runs off into the fields, where she comes upon Bird's body before being chased by a car by Emmett and running....straight into the hunting knife, now held by Mandy herself (who was in on it all along). And again:

DEAD CHEERLEADER ALERT!!!

It was all really a suicide pact. But Mandy has one more surprise in store and planned to get rid of Emmett instead of dying with him. The bitch!

2/10

Goodbye Mr Snuggles

Deck the Halls

One last brainless Christmas comedy before the season ends. This one is Matthew Broderick vs. Danny DeVito, two angry neighbors. Broderick, obviously, is the uptight one who is used to being 'The Christmas Guy' upset about DeVito's strive to make his house visible from outer space by the use of Christmas lights.

Yes, it is as shallow as it sounds.

Funniest bit:
The two men washing their eyes out with holy water because they have just seen their daughters dancing in skimpy dresses and cheered them on before they realized who they were.

Also, Kal Penn has a tiny (uncredited) role in this. I love Kal Penn.

3/10