Tropic Thunder (2008) – Ben Stiller

Ben Stiller directed the ultimate Hollywood satire with Tropic Thunder. He developed the story with Justin Theroux, and the pair wrote a script with Ethan Cohen. It’s sharp, pointed, and under its endlessly quotable dialogue and performances is a skewering look at Tinsel Town. Everything seems to be a lie, from promotions to images to…

Top Gun: Maverick (2022) & Two-Movie 4K Review

Coming some thirty-six years after the release of the first film, Top Gun: Maverick reminded film-lovers why we love going to the movies. It was a spectacle of the highest order as viewers joined actors in the actual cockpit of jets and planes to film a sequel that pays homage to its origins while pushing…

Oblivion (2013) – Joseph Kosinski

I love the visuals of this film. I love the way it looks, and I also really enjoy the way the narrative takes you in. Tom Cruise stars alongside Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, and Olga Kurylenko in this science fiction adventure. Cruise is Jack a tech working with his controller, Victoria (Riseborough) on the ruined…

A Few Good Men (1992) – Rob Reiner

Aaron Sorkin pens the screenplay for Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men from his stageplay of the same name, and like the best of Sorkin’s writing, the film draws an amazing wealth of talent. When a Marine dies during an off the book disciplinary action while serving at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the JAG corp…

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) – Doug Liman

Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Brendan Gleeson and Bill Paxton star in this fun sci-fi action film that plays like an alien war version of Groundhog Day. Cruise stars as Cage, a major in the American army, working as a media adviser, following the beginnings of an alien attack that has taken over most of Europe….

Days of Thunder (1990) – Tony Scott

Tony Scott re-pairs with Tom Cruise after their success with Top Gun, add in a score by Hans Zimmer and throw in a cast that includes Robert Duvall, Nicole Kidman, John C. Reilly, Micheal Rooker, Randy Quaid, and Cary Elwes, and producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, this sounds like nothing but win, but Days…

Collateral (2004) – 4K Review

Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx headline the fantastic Michael Mann film, Collateral that gets its 4K release from Paramount Pictures this week. A crisp thriller that was shot in high definition to begin with, looks nothing short of stunning in your home theatre. Cruise, playing against type, is the villain of the piece, a hitman…

Mission: Impossible – The Complete Series – Blu-Ray Review

Seven seasons of classic television come to blu-ray this week. You’re mission should you choose to accept it, and you know I’m going to, is to work my way through each and every mission and delight in the (re)discovery of this classic television show. The stylish series collection box set debuts from Paramount Canada today,…

Tom Cruise 4K Triple Threat Tuesday

Tom Cruise comes home in the 4K treatment from Paramount this week with three remastered titles, a double Tiny Scott feature, Days of Thunder and Top Gun, and the Steven Spielberg 21st century take on the classic tale of War of the Worlds. Of the three films I was most eager to dig into Top…

Legend (1985) – Ridley Scott

Monsters in the Movies, the fantastic book by director John Landis from DK Canada moves on to the next chapter. Leaving mummies behind, I know turn my attention to Myths, Legends, and Fairy Tales, a widely populated region and I couldn’t think of a better place to start with it than Ridley Scott’s dreamlike take…