The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, race against time to face a series of challenges head-on with this week’s review of Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018). Tom Cruise reprises his role as Ethan Hunt in the film franchise’s sixth installment, alongside a slew of returning performers including Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Michelle Monaghan, Sean Harris and Alec Baldwin. The action thriller is filled to the brim with breathtaking stunt sequences and features only a few new faces - Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, and Henry Cavill’s mustache - but it may just be too full with a runtime of nearly two and a half hours.
How does Fallout fare in comparison with the previous five films, and does it succeed in extending the narrative of the franchise in a meaningful way? Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to listen in and find out. This message will self-destruct in five seconds...
The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, face the towering inferno and come out the other side for this week’s review of Skyscraper (2018). Starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chin Han and Neve Campbell, the story centers on a private security contractor hired to certify the safety of the world’s tallest building, the fictional Pearl in Hong Kong, and its suitability to house new residents. Featuring numerous death-defying moments for Johnson’s character, the story pushes the boundaries of logic and challenges even the most gullible audience member’s ability to suspend disbelief.
A raging inferno, kidnapped loved ones, crime syndicates, wind turbines and henchmen - this movie does absolutely the most. We smelled what The Rock was cookin’ - and not even his trademark charisma was enough to hold our interest beyond the inciting incident.
The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, hop on the Neighborhood Trolley for a trip down memory lane with this week’s review of the feature length documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018). Directed by Academy Award winner Morgan Neville, the film chronicles the career of Fred Rogers, creator and star of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on PBS. Utilizing a collection of archival footage and in-depth interviews with family and friends, Neville weaves a winsome tapestry of the motivation and mission of one of American television’s pioneering voices.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? offers a heartfelt glimpse of the behind-the-scenes humor, sincerity and passion that went into Rogers’ often-countercultural phenomenon, including insights into his critical view of most entertainment programming. The film takes a candid look at how Mister Rogers Neighborhood tackled heavy subjects and serious psychological topics with curiosity and dignity, and it may come as some surprise to hear that some members of the audience may appreciate having tissues handy.
The Filmlosophers, Eddie Villanueva, Chad Riley and Spencer Williams, embark on a subatomic rescue mission in this week’s review of Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018). Directed by Peyton Reed, this is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film to drop since Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Fittingly, it explains what the size-shifting protagonists (played by Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly) were doing as the rest of the MCU heroes chased down the Infinity Stones and battled against Thanos. The film also provides audiences with our longest look yet at the quantum realm, a layer of reality that Kevin Feige admits will be a key factor in future films.
The film also stars Michael Peña, Walton Goggins, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Tip "T.I." Harris, Randall Park, Michelle Pfeiffer, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Douglas and Hannah John-Kamen. And yes, it will answer the long-brewing questions of what happens to these characters when Thanos snaps his fingers.