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.

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Synopsis

Andy's toys must try to avoid being thrown out before he goes off too college. When they end up donated to a day care, they then are faced with even more troubles from the head toys there. Through all their adventures and trials, Andy's toys do everything to watch out for each other and stick together.

Entertainment Value

Rating: A

A lot of fun. As good or better than the other 2 movies. The music was good, especially the Gypsy King's rendition of "You've Got a Friend in Me", but was a little over done in some of the intense scenes (one of the scenes was intense enough, it didn't need any further help from the music).

Moral Value - Failure to Communicate?

Rating: 5

[Spoiler Alert]

Constantly throughout the movie the toys refer to each other as family. Though the toys weren't all related, they lived and worked together as a family should, and most importantly they never left anyone behind. Woody had the chance to move on with Andy and leave everyone else behind, but in the end, he just couldn't leave them.

When Andy's toys get to Sunnyside we see how leadership through fear (Lotso) makes life miserable for everyone and only really caters to the stronger and more selfish toys. Once Lotso was gone, the toys at the day care were able to work better together and be happier overall.

One of my favorite parts of the movie was seeing Andy give all his toys to a little girl down the street and watch him show her how special they were to him. I don't know that I ever had any special affinity for any of my toys growing up, but it kind of draws a comparison to familial love again and how important making good memories is for families.