TOP 5 SHOTS from "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"

It's official. I'm out of excuses for not bringing this column back, be it with less of a bang than a slight ease-in, so another welcome to the retooled "Top Shots". You may have noticed in prior lists that the amount of dynamic shots has a potential to vary from film to film. Occasionally, I'm just stretching to a ridiculous point to bring ten shots in, so having a sense of rotation in the list is as freeing as it is stressful. Not having an extra five shots to lean back on means much more care in picking five for the top, so this week felt the need for something that wasn't so incredibly overbearing in terms of numerous cinematic opportunities.

Seeing as "The Bourne Legacy" is out this weekend, which not only features star Jeremy Renner, but also cinematographer Robert Elswit, the choice for this week wasn't just obvious. It was delightful, given it's a film I have no problem seeing repeatedly. "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" made the cut for my Top 20 of 2011 literally under the wire, given an update to replace "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" at #20 for something I genuinely had a great deal more encouragement towards. It's a film that not only knows how to have a ridiculously good time, but to evoke some tangible emotional themes throughout that the casual viewer might overlook.

Film Review: "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"

When you hit the fourth film in a feature franchise, there are a number of ways you can go. You can establish a strong footing for the rest of your series ("Harry Potter"), you can abandon everything that made the previous trilogy great ("Star Wars", "Indiana Jones", "Pirates of the Caribbean", the list goes on), or you can do what "Mission: Impossible" did, and just go out and make the best film you possibly can. This a series that had nothing to do in the first two installments, so no real purpose, and then they tried something interesting with the third and deepened the characters, gave it a jolt of humor, and several needed splashes of style. They did well to hold onto that.

So do I see this as the fourth film in the franchise? No. I actually consider it the second in the series that Abrams kicked off in 2006. Now it has become the jumping off point for Brad Bird's first time as a live action director. I think I had some trepidation when the first trailer came around, but we should have never expected an emotional hard-hitter. That's not what this series is, but it does have an emotional undercurrent that works as a steady heartbeat to hold everything together. What Brad Bird has established in his past of animated films is a lively energy and constantly upheld excitement. That translates perfectly for this piece.

"Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" Trailer

There's been a fair bit of silence around the latest "Mission Impossible" film, and I'd like to think it's more skillful than it is apprehensive. Then this trailer comes around and reveals just a little too much. I'm no fan of a film showing its card before it plays, so that kind of upset me a bit. Still, the trailer packs a strong enough punch. Between the Burj Khalifa and a sandstorm car chase, I'm totally in.

"Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" Teaser Trailer

Really, of all the ways they could've gone, they put Eminem as the musical backdrop of this trailer? More than a tad unorthodox, but I expect the marketing is trying to lure in the Transformers crowd that will be seeing it before Dark of the Moon. Yes, they vault a car in the air that Tom Cruise just barely misses, and he does, once again, vault off the side of a building, but how can you not expect that from a Mission Impossible film? Honestly, Ghost Protocol looks to be an exciting sort of film, but the teaser obviously wouldn't show that. It's a showcase of the action on display in the film. Don't pass judgment just yet. And honestly, when Tom Wilkinson surprisingly shows up in your film, how can you complain?

For Your Anticipation: He Looks Too Obvious

Paul is an interesting little sci-fi feature, and it does have its share of baggage. The humor is occasionally a bit obvious, and there are a few jokes that fall flat. On the other hand, that's much like complaining that of the 200 skittles you had, three of them were M&Ms. No, this film isn't as good as the films Nick Frost and Simon Pegg have done in the past, but it doesn't try to be. It still wins out, and I can say that it's probably more interesting than your other wide release possibilities this weekend.

Film Review: Paul

Not exactly the Steven Spielberg tribute people had in mind heading into this year, with Super 8 still three months away, but Paul offers us purely and organically what most films this years have failed at. This isn't exactly a great piece of filmmaking, but for once we can't really mark that against it. Most times this year, films set the bar way too high for itself, like going for an epic gritty war film with Battle: Los Angeles, or a stylistic twist on the superhero genre with The Green Hornet. Both of those films overreached and failed, but Paul sets readily achievable goals for itself and deliver an enjoyable science fiction confection for those looking for some fresh entertainment.

The film follows two British comic book geeks, Clive and Graeme, who are on holiday in America checking out comic con and famous UFO hot-spots. En route to Area 51, they witness a horrific car accident, and out of the wreckage comes Paul, a gray-green alien whose stay on earth has gone beyond what he payed for. The two nerds team up with Paul to get him to the rendezvous point where his race is waiting to pick him up, and along the way they pick up Christian fanatic Ruth, played with gleeful abandon by Kristen Wiig. Even further complicating matters, they are sought after by two rookie FBI agents, Ruth's crazy father on "a mission from God", and the mysterious Lorenzo Zoil.

This is a fun science-fiction road trip film about a group of people thrown into a situation where they become great friends. Nick Frost and Simon Pegg play the main duo, so they have the best friend chemistry locked firmly down for any adventure they partake in. Seth Rogen's voice is strangely perfect for the titular character, offering a sort of charisma that usually goes beyond voice acting. Jason Bateman actually comes off as a believable bad-ass in the role of Agent Zoil. The true gem of this film is Kristen Wiig, who is always in a position to steal the show from her fellow actors. This film offers the perfect catalyst for her crazy adorable brand of humor. Of course, some may say this feature lacks something, but only because it doesn't reach out for anything more than it gets.

Frost and Pegg also wrote the film, and there's a certain intelligence to their brand of humor, bringing in the religious implications of an alien encounter without coming off as pretentious or radically offensive, but still never quite sticking the landing. Composer David Arnold is second to none when it comes to scoring action sequences, as he established in the underrated Quantum of Solace. Not to say he's amongst the greatest composers, but he's well suited to a specific style, and he just scrapes below his regular work here. I should also say that the visual effects on Paul were pretty great without being quite photo-realistic. It's less a Spielberg tribute than you might think, but Paul is an earnest entertainer, even if it fails to impress on more than a few aspects.

C+

Saturday-Sunday: Shaun of the Dead

How the hell have I not seen this film until now. Shaun of the Dead is one of the first films from Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), and as soon as this film came out it was the zombie comedy that every following zom-com would be graded against. If you don't already know, the plot of the film is pretty much identical to Dawn of the Dead, which I will be seeing tomorrow evening. The zombie apocalypse has hit, and there is only one safe place left on earth: the Winchester pub. From there slacker Shaun and his friend Ed try to get Shaun's family, friends, and ex-girlfriend there as soon as possible.

Wright has always shown a spectacular sense of humor, and the actors he chooses to work with know exactly what to do with the dialogue their given. There really is nobody else who could've made this film the way it is. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are a natural team, and most of the greatest scenes in this film are of the two. The film is occasionally frightening, as usually comes with the zombie genre. It also deals with exactly what it means to be human, albeit in a comedic way. Personally, I'll always have a specific place in my heart for Zombieland, but this is a very close second.

B+