‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One’ has a one-note plot but conducts a symphony of bold, brawny action

“Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” (2023)– James Bond is dead.  The “No Time to Die” (2021) filmmakers sadly saw to that. Long live Ethan Hunt!  Twenty-seven years ago, “Mission: Impossible” (1996) – a feature film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt – revived memories of the long-running television show (1966 – 1973), and the movie recaptured that famous theme song, along with a lit fuse that danced across the screen.  Who would’ve thought that almost three decades later, Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible” series…

‘Joy Ride’ is a wild, uproarious trip, the funniest movie of the year so far

“Joy Ride” (2023) – Have you ever grabbed some friends and organized a road trip?  Who hasn’t, right? Think back to that ride to the ballgame, amusement park, beach, or “the second largest ball of twine on the face of the Earth” (a “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983) reference).  Did all your plans go perfectly?  Of course not; mine rarely do, if ever.  Going through the memory Rolodex of foolishness, I can recall: severely burning the top of my head – for the first time – at an all-day outdoor concert…

The Oscar-nominated ‘In America’ is a pragmatic, heartfelt, and magical immigrant story

“In America” (2003) – “No matter who you are or what you look like, how you started off, or who you love, America is a place where you can write your own destiny.” – former U.S. President Barack Obama “Our nation is the enduring dream of every immigrant who ever set foot on these shores, and the millions still struggling to be free…this idea called America was and always will be a new world.” – former U.S. President George H.W. Bush “We came to America because we had to get…