Weekend Reels

Mission: Impossible — 
Ghost Protocol

Director: Brad Bird

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton

Tom Cruise, back as Ethan Hunt in the fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible series, looks as fit as ever. The movie though, has an unexpected director — Brad Bird, of The Incredibles and Ratatouille fame, who unfortunately fails to capture the imagination in a live-action film. The story begins with a promising scene of Hunt’s escape from a prison in Moscow. Next, Ethan and his team enter the Kremlin with the help of optical illusion and latex-mask disguises (but of course!) to stop a mad, brilliant nuclear physicist (are there any other kind?) who wants to destroy the world by starting a nuclear war so that mankind may start afresh. So far so good. Now things turn south as the Kremlin gets bombed and Hunt and the IMF get implicated. This forces the US President to initiate Ghost Protocol; in other words, disavow the agency. Hunt and his team of an unlikely three (Simon Pegg, Paula Patton and Jeremy Renner) must work without official help and knowledge to catch the madman (Michael Nyqvist), clear IMF and generally save the day. In typical spy-flick fashion, this involves a handful of chases around the world, involving elaborate action and fancy gadgetry. The scene at the Burj Khalifa is particularly impressive, in which Tom Cruise climbs the glass walls of the world’s tallest building with the help of malfunctioning adhesive gloves. From then on, the movie is a stretch of dragging sequences with a been-there-done-that feel. In the end, Ghost Protocol comes across as a movie with some cleverly concocted parts, all of which fail to come together. 132 minutes. — Megha Pai

DVD classics: Releases you may have missed over the years

Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead (1991) (PG-13)

Five teens are left at home under the care of a nasty old babysitter when their mom goes on vacation. When the babysitter dies, they have to fend for themselves.

Best for: Comical (mis)adventures of teens

Genre: Comedy

What’s good: Amusing, funny, and entertaining, it was Applegate’s only feature-film hit

What’s bad: When it turns into a dumb teenage girl’s fantasy of breaking the glass ceiling

Cast: Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, John Getz

Rating: ΗΗΗΗΗ

She’s All That (1999) (PG-13)

The film centres around a bet that Freddie can turn ugly duckling (Rachael Leigh Cook) into a beautiful prom queen — but he eventually falls in love with her.

Best for: Lending a positive message about self-worth and honesty

Genre: Drama/Comedy/Romance

What’s good: Everyone loves a great ending and this movie definitely has a fantastic one

What’s bad: Fistfights and bullies

Cast: Freddie Prinze Jr., Rachael Leigh Cook, Paul Walker

Rating: ΗΗΗΗΗ