Brief thoughts on Christopher Robin.

Oh, stuff and fluff. Even Winnie the Pooh has gotten his own live action reimagining in the latest family offering from Disney. As one of Disney's more timeless icons, the cartoons based on A.A. Milne's classic story books (who got his own film with Domhnall Gleeson's similarly named biopic), Pooh bear has always been the definition of innocence. I find it hard for anyone to be able to hate Pooh, even if they hate Mickey Mouse. So, I was always somewhat hopeful that this new offering would be able to capture the affectionate nostalgia that made his animations so endearing. But Christopher Robin half succeeds. In doing nothing, something wonderful does come along, but it's when it actually does *something* that it gets nothing.

Brief thoughts on Mission: Impossible - Fallout.

My mission - now I choose to accept it - is to dissect and lay out the fabric of my thoughts on Fallout, the sixth entry in the Mission: Impossible franchise. After starting very badly with two films, the series made a significant recovery under J.J. Abrams and the Bad Robot label, with Ghost Protocol and Rogue Nation becoming standout action flicks. Both prior films were very successful in balancing out lean characterization, tightly staged action set-pieces, and amazing feats of daredevilry accomplished by star Tom Cruise. Following Rogue Nation, we now get its direct follow-up, helmed again by writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, to deliver what many are now calling one of the best action films ever made...

...Is it really?