Movie Update - Ant-man and Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

I seem to be going through movies at a fair clip recently. First, the fifth MI movie. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the IMF team, on the verge of being shut down (again), try to expose baddies de jour The Syndicate, lead by Solomon Lane (Sean Harris):

Essentially a series of stunts and CGI held together by a relatively weak plot, the cast try their best make it interesting, but it's a case of diminishing returns by now. Not a bad pizza movie, just not a good one.

The second film is one of Marvel's more peculiar super-heroes. Thief Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), vainly attempting to go straight, gets involved with scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) in his attempt to prevent his shrinking technology from falling into the hands of vilain Darren Cross (Corey Stoll):

Although not brilliant, it does have a unique style of it's own, mainly thanks to Michael Peña as Lang's pal and Ant-mans general charm. Rudd makes the best of the role, with Douglas as the mentor and Stoll chewing the scenary (something that was missing from MI:V). One thing, though. The technology effectively changes the volume ("the distance between atoms", as Pym puts it), but doesn't affect the mass, so Ant-man couldn't ride ants as he'd just crush them under his weight... oh, ok, it is a comic book.

The Lincoln Lawyer

Back to the movies, this is an adaption of the bestseller by Michael Connelly starring current hot property Matthew McConaughey. Defence Lawyer Mickey Haller (McConaughey), used to dealing with orinary criminals, is suddenly hired to defend Beverly Hills playboy and heir Louis Roulet (Ryan Phillippe).

A very good plot and good script, combined with McConaughey's southern style makes this a superior film and an excellent Friday night pizza movie. McConaughey is excellent, as is the supporting cast, although they are somewhat underused, especially William H. Macy and Bryan Cranston, although it's good to see John Leguizamo and Michael Peña in something, as well as Marisa Tomei as Haller's ex-wife. Recommended.

Gangster Squad

As part of my LoveFilm subscription, I watched this merry little cops-and-gangsters tale centred around Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) is tasked by L.A. Police chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) to take down Cohen and his gang.

What might otherwise have been a run-of-the-mill, and more violent, Untouchables clone is enhanced by a half-decent plot and good supporting cast. It's Penn and Brolin's movie, though, and you can feel every punch in the final showdown as they take each other apart. A decent, if undemanding, pizza movie.

Mob City, a series just started in the U.S., covers much the same story, but seems to have a more ambiguous tone:

A few years ago, I read (or tried to read: it's fairly heavy going) City of Quartz, a social, political and cultural history of Los Angeles by Mike Davis.

Despite it's style, it's a fascinating book on a fascinating subject.

P99:L8:W11	P241:L35:W1	P225:L18:W6
P163:L11:W13	P60:L26:W9	P130:L2:W2

End of Watch

I received this cop film as part of my LoveFilm subscription about a week or so ago, but have only now got around to watching it. Two L.A.P.D. patrolmen (Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña, who was in The Shooter with Mark Wahlberg) videotape their everyday lives while getting more involved in combatting a Mexican drugs cartel.

Probably one of the most powerful films I've seen this year and certainly the best of it's type I've seen for a while. The acting is superb, with Gyllenhaal and Peña looking like they've known each other for years. I thought that the video-taping was a bit gimicky at first, but it does give a certain intimacy which compliments the rest of the film: you do feel like you're on patrol with them. It's a great film with a lot of emotional engagement and highly recommended.