Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011) - M5.8/E7

I wasn’t sure who to really believe about how good this movie was going to be. It’s hard not to have any expectations when waiting so long to see a popular movie. I was getting bored about 60% into the movie and was really hoping something interesting was going to happen. Thank heavens it did (and the urban camouflage was pretty awesome).

Right around the time of the chess game between Moriarty and Holmes everything starts to unravel, a little too late for my liking. I remember the previous movie had more hints and clues as to what was going on throughout the film, the clues left in A Game of Shadows weren’t useful at all and didn’t help you try to deduce what was going on. It was less of an intellectual joy, but still entertaining. I believe it will still be worth a second watch.

No real moral dilemmas stood out in this film. Moriarty is proud, ruthless, and greedy; his end goal of power and wealth justify mass murders in his eyes. Yet because of his pride/ego, he underestimates Holmes, and gets “done in.”

The rating is primarily for violence. There’s little language and a potentially uncomfortable, partial nude scene that was more comical than offensive.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011) - M5.4/E8

I have to say my initial desire to see this on opening night at an IMAX theater 45 min. away was for the prologue of the Dark Knight Rises, and it was well worth it.  I'm even more excited to see it this summer, and I was pretty stinking excited to see it in the first place.

Mission Impossible 4 on an IMAX theater was pretty amazing, and a lot more intense than it would be in a regular theater (which I loved, but my wife did not).  The opening sequence with breaking Ethan Hunt out of a Serbian prison was mind blowing and had enough neck cracking and bone breaking to set anyone on edge.  The follow-up credit sequence and theme song by Giacchino was excellent.

I liked the fewer corny lines in this one compared to MI3 (Dunn provided a good balance of comedy); and there were a lot fewer cliche Mission Impossible scenarios going on here too.  The missions up to this point seemed to be pretty much the same.  It's introduced as an unthinkable mission (breaking into the CIA, or some other top secret place), and everyone is flabbergasted at the thought, and then Ethan says something like, "It gets much worse..." and then he goes on and explains the unbelievable security that they'll have to breach, and then they do it.  This one had similar elements, but the unexpected circumstances under which they were required to operate made the film more engaging and interesting.

[***Spoiler Alert - Read on if you've already seen the movie, or don't plan on seeing it***]

I was a little bothered at first when it was insinuated that things didn't work out between Ethan and his wife.  The entire third movie was based on their love for each other and willingness to die for each other's safety.  I was very relieved when we find out what really happened with his wife (the second revelation, not the fact that she died, though even that would be better than just leaving her).

The team work that resulted from a haphazardly assembled team was very well portrayed.  Everything didn't just work, they had to work out differences, learn how to work together and trust one another in order to accomplish their mission.  Ethan did a good job as the team lead by not forcing people to cooperate or penalizing them for not working well; he just did the best he could and expected them to follow suit.

Definitely worth seeing in the theater, try IMAX if you have the option.  No sex/nudity, language was better than a lot of PG-13 shows, violence was the main contributor to the rating.

Taken (2009) - M5.0/E8

This movie was awesome. Everything I expected it to be and more (which expectations I try to keep to a minimum). I had to keep telling myself to breathe and relax and enjoy the movie. This is one of the best action movies I’ve seen in a while.

The beginning of the movie does a great job at getting us to feel sympathy for and understand the love that Bryan Mills has for his daughter, Kim. This sympathy largely stems from the super-annoying ex-wife who has her head in the clouds and apparently cares little for their daughter and has the utmost disdain for her ex-husband, in particular with regards to his over-protectiveness. While Bryan’s over-protectiveness is attributed to his previous career as a CIA black ops agent, I would hope any competent, loving father (and mother) would be equally protective and concerned. (I liked seeing Uncle Rico in this as a buddy of Bryan’s.)