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.

Dawn of the Dead ***1/2

Cast: Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, Mekhi Phifer, Ty Burrell, Michael Kelly, Kevin Zegers, Lindy Booth
Director: Zack Snyder

"When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth." And that is just the problem facing a handful of the living in the remake of this horror classic. They take refuge in a mall, and baracade themselves in as the world around them becomes more and more zombie-filled. I have not seen the original, so I cannot offer an opion as to which is better, but I do know that I never expected to enjoy a zombie movie as much as I did with this one. The fast moving (and hungry) undead are exceptionally creepy as they strive for just a bite of the survivors. And that is all it takes to set about changing someone from a happy-go-lucky human to flesh-eating zombie. The bigger the bite, the quicker the change. Soon the survivors, led by Ana (Polley) and Kenneth (Rhames), decide they need to make a break for a (hopefully) uninhabited island in the lake. Will they make it? I'm not saying, but be sure to stay through the closing credits where the real end of the story takes place. Filled with horror, action, and even humor, "Dawn of the Dead" is a great escape for those craving a horror-fix.