Hollywood

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

~ MaryG ~ 6 Comments

In these troubled times, with the entire post World War II order seemingly upended, it’s nice that some things don’t change.

Tom Cruise is still a good movie star. The man is 63 years old and he still delivers a great action film, with a low body count. I have a feeling the critics will find fault in the length, plot holes, and slightly overwrought nature of the last Mission Impossible film, but I liked it and I’m glad I went opening weekend.

After about a million previews, dear old Tom comes on the screen and sincerely thanks you for coming to see his film on the big screen “the way it was meant to be seen.” He tells you that they made the film for YOU and you believe him. He might be a wacky Scientologist and whatever else they say about him, but he’s a good movie star. An American movie star.

I’m not going to attempt to review the film for real, but I will say that the submarine scene is my favorite. (The part when he retrieves the Entity’s source code from the sunken Russian submarine.) I liked that even better than the airplane sequence at the end. Both are quintessential Tom. They say he does his own stunts. And if so, WOW.

I’m not real clear on exactly why all-knowing AI (aka the Entity) feels the need to start nuclear Armageddon, but I’m clear on what stopped it. It was Tom (aka Ethan Hunt) and his team—many of whom you will recognize from past films in the series. It was also a black woman American President (played by Angela Bassett) who chooses to not launch the nukes at the very last minute.

Teamwork, friendship, self-sacrifice, diversity, trying to save the world for future generations. Those were the messages I got.

With cruelty, greed and corruption on an unprecedented rise in America, I guess I saw what I wanted to see in the film.

Katy O’Brian brings non-binary vibes as Kodiak, a US naval soldier in the film.

Two thumbs up for Wicked

~ MaryG ~ 7 Comments

I’m going to go ahead and give Wicked (the movie) two thumbs up. Five stars. A standing O.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. The two leads (Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba) are captivating and the movie magic is off the charts. It’s sort of Harry Potter meets Willy Wonka meets Legally Blonde, yet it retains all the heart of the original, beloved Wicked Broadway musical.

If you know the Broadway musical, the movie is Act One only. It ends when gravity is defied. Part two will be out next year and I will most certainly be getting a ticket.

I don’t want to spoil it for anyone so I won’t describe my favorite scenes or the very cool cameo appearances, but I will tell you that our movie theater of 300+ seats did not have an empty one last night and people clapped at the end. Even straight men seemed to like it. My husband described it as “good!” and said he liked the story (a rave for him, for a musical).

Despite the ban, I did sing along quietly in a few parts, but with the “Dolby Atmos” immersive surround sound, I don’t think anyone heard me. Hollywood pulled out ALL the stops for this one. Go ahead and see it.

We did our bit to help support the collective excitement by wearing the official Wicked colors to the show 🩷💚

Stranger Danger

~ MaryG ~ 15 Comments

I’m making a sincere attempt to leave my political anger behind for the weekend…there will be no F bombs in this post.

I’m from Massachusetts. We don’t say “y’all,” except when it rhymes. Well, it’s fall y’all and it’s absolutely gorgeous here. If you’ve never been to New England in the fall, you should add it to your bucket list.

After a few days of true sweater weather in the 50s, it’s going to be back in the 70s today.

A view of a pond along the rail trail I walk daily
A skeleton seated on a tractor beside the rail trail
Late afternoon sun shining through some greenery along the rail trail

Speaking of “my” rail trail, there is an empty field that runs alongside it:

Interestingly, this field was used as a shooting location three years ago for “Salem’s Lot,” which is now streaming on Max. The movie is based on a book by Stephen King, the prolific horror writer from Maine.

Back in the fall of 2021 on my daily walk, I watched Hollywood transform this field into a 1970s drive-in, complete with numerous cars from the era.

This is the Salem’s Lot set under construction in October 2021. The blue building on the right is the projection booth for the drive-in.

As you can imagine, there was a lot of gawking by walkers and cyclists along the rail trail. It was still peak COVID, so many people were working remotely and there wasn’t much else going on. This was fascinating! By the time the filming actually started, there were production assistants keeping people off the field. But you could still see a lot of the activity from the rail trail. One day I saw what I thought were zombies crossing the field.

Well, last night we watched Salem’s Lot on Max and I discovered they weren’t zombies—they were vampires! As you might imagine, I paused the TV several times during the drive-in movie scenes to orient myself.

The beginning of one of the drive-in movie scenes in Salem’s Lot on Max. The blue projection booth building is on the left.

I’m sorry to report that it’s not a very good film, BUT if it’s free to you, it might be fun to watch it on Halloween night while you answer the doorbell for trick or treaters.

If you’re a GenXer like me, it might also bring back some bits of your childhood you’d forgotten. The story is set in 1975 and the kids in the film are about the same age I was then…10.

As a ten-year old, “Stranger Danger” was constantly lurking. Adults were always warning us about the possibility of somebody with a puppy or a candy bar luring us into their car. I never worried one bit about school shootings, but I did worry a lot about getting kidnapped!

When that first little kid gets snatched in the film, I thought to myself “stranger danger.”

Favorite films seen on The Big Screen

~ MaryG ~ 4 Comments

What are your top ten favorite movies?

Let’s face it, seeing movies is different these days. The fact that you can wait for films to be available on streaming means that you’ll be seeing many great productions on your TV, where they’ll be up against a myriad of amazing series and documentaries. I think it’s hard for a film you saw on your TV to be truly memorable (over decades).

All of the films on my list are ones I remember seeing on the big screen (sometimes more than once) and loving.

I was born in 1965, the first year of Generation X, and I think my list reflects that. Plus, I do love a musical! (If Hamilton had been a movie instead of a play first, it would’ve been on my list for sure.)

1. Sound of Music (1965)

2. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

3. Star Wars (1977)

4. Grease (1978)

5. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

6. Schindler’s List (1993)

7. Good Will Hunting (1997)

8. Bridesmaids (2011)

9. Black Panther (2018)

10. Barbie (2023)

Seeing the original Star Wars in the summer of 1977 in Nantucket’s historic Dreamland Theater was the most memorable movie-going experience of my life. I was 12. I’ll never forget how the audience cheered. Also, the score by John Williams was such an important part of the film. Goosebumps. I bought the sheet music for the main theme and learned to play it on the piano.

Final note: In my opinion, Meryl Streep is our best living American actress. Sophie’s Choice, Out of Africa, Kramer vs Kramer, Mamma Mia and all her other films would be my second top ten (or top twenty) all on their own.