Tropic Thunder ***1/2

Tropic Thunder ***1/2Cast: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Brandon T. Jackson, Jay Baruchel, Danny McBride, Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte, Tom Cruise, Matthew McConaughey
Director: Ben Stiller
Running Length: 1:46
MPAA Classification: R

On the set of a Vietnam movie, the start are proving difficult for director Damien (Coogan) to handle. Those stars include: Speedman (Stiller), a one time action star whose better days are behind him; Portnoy (Black), a heroin-addicted funny man whose fame is a result of fart jokes; and Lazarus (Downey Jr.), an Oscar-winning method actor that has received “pigment alteration” to play a black soldier. Damien decides to take the stars to the jungle and shoot the film guerilla style, hoping for realism. A land mine and some drug dealers change the equation, and soon the line between fiction and cold hard reality are blurred.

“Tropic Thunder” is a satiric look at the movie industry on all levels. Director Stiller obviously knows the industry and is not afraid to show the less glamorous side of things. Somewhat surprisingly, of the three leads, the non-comedian Downey gets the biggest laughs. Tom Cruise is also excellent and almost unrecognizable as a studio executive. There is plenty of action here too. This is a really funny movie that gives a non-flattering look at the movie business. I highly recommend this film.

Mission: Impossible III ***1/2

Cast: Tom Cruise, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudip, Michelle Monaghan, Laurence Fishburne, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Maggie Q, Simon Pegg
Director: J.J. Abrams
Running Length: 2:08
MPAA Classification: PG-13

When Owen Davian (Hoffman) captures an IMF agent (Russell) who is investigating him, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) comes out of field-retirement to rescue her. This involves some deception on the home front, as his fiancée Julia (Monaghan) does not know what he does for a living. Ethan’s old teammate Luther (Rhames) is back to help him along with Declan (Meyers) and Zhen (Q). Their somewhat successful rescue of the agent reveals that there may be a spy in the leadership of the IMF. To find that spy, they attempt to capture Davian while he is at the Vatican attending a function. Ethan quickly finds out that a job with the IMF is not very contusive to a healthy normal life.

This time around, the “Mission: Impossible” franchise is in the hands of J. J. Abrams, well known for his television shows (Felicity, Lost, Alias), but a rookie when it comes to directing movies. Abrams is up to the challenge, delivering the best M:I movie yet. Filled with the tricks “Alias” fans will recognize from TV, Abrams keeps the movie rolling from action sequence to action sequence, ratcheting up the tension until the showdown between Cruise’s Hunt and Hoffman’s Davian. And Hoffman IS the standout here. Davian is an evil, nasty man who does not make idle threats. Hoffman sinks his teeth into the role, playing his first real bad guy. This movie is worth seeing for him alone. Cruise is good as well. It is a shame that this movie will suffer from his off-screen antics.

This is the first big budget movie of the summer. It is a great popcorn movie that will not disappoint. I highly recommend this film.

The Last Samurai ****

Cast: Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn, Timothy Spall, Koyuki, Hiroyuki Sanada, Billy Connolly, Shichinosuke Nakamura
Director: Edward Zwick

Civil War veteran Nathan Algren is hired by a Japanese delegation the teach modern warefare to the Emperor's army. It seems that a rebel samurai by the name of Katsumoto is causing some trouble for the Emperor, and they believe that Algren can help out. While training the troops in Japan, they are forced to prematurely face Katsumoto and his men, and they are overwhelmed. Algren is taken as a prisoner so that Katsumoto can "learn from his enemy". As the winter passes, Algren finds himself learning of the samurai way of life, and becoming friends with his captor. When winter ends, Algren finds himself considered an equal, and not an enemy. Now he must determine the path he will choose, as another confrontation is inevitable. Cruise and Watanabe are excellent as one time enemies that become allies. The ways of samurai life are very interesting, and the epic scope of the movie makes it highly entertaining.