REVIEW: A Fantastic Fear Of Everything

Written by Crispian Mills, the singer of indie rock band Kula Shaker and starring one of Britain’s most talented comic actors, Simon Pegg, “A Fantastic Fear Of Everything” is a weird, offbeat comedy about a crime author who becomes obsessed that someone is out to murder him after studying historical serial killers for his latest project.

It starts off promisingly as Jack (Pegg) is seen creeping around his apartment with a bread knife, scared witless by the slightest creak or shadow in the corner.
Looking like the wildman of Borneo in just his underpants, Jack shows the strain of a man brought to near insanity by what’s inside his own head and is seemingly only one step away from stepping over in to the world of serial killers that he’s been studying. As the wafer thin plot progresses, we’re introduced to Jack’s eccentric agent Clair (Clare Higgins) and learn that he was once an author of children’s books and has a massive fear of going to the launderette.
All these things rather conveniently tie together for the last act where Jack has to face his fears to save himself and love interest Sangeet (Amara Karan) whose character is underdeveloped and introduced so late in to the game, it’s barely worth having her at all.

The last act also includes an “interesting” animated sequence which is meant to conclude with some kind of moral lesson but instead comes across as fairly pretentious. Perhaps if the rest of the movie had been funny it could have worked as a quirky segue but instead gets lost in another example of a piece which doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. At times it feels like it would have worked better as a theater show rather than a full length movie and the extremely low budget must have all been blown on the opening credits.
In fairness, Simon Pegg does an admirable job with what’s given to him and carries the bulk of the movie on his own.  But even he can’t save a sub-90 minute mess that gets gradually more tedious and could actually be compared to a zany episode of Eastenders with lamer sight gags and no Dot Cotton (it does have a launderette though…)
After an intriguing set up, Crispian Mills first venture in to film falls very flat and without the existence of Pegg, would probably not have been made at all.

4.5/10

Official Trailer: 

REVIEW: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

Light the fuse and run.

The latest instalment in the Mission: Impossible franchise sees a return to form for a series that had threatened to disappear after the disappointing box office results of the previous sequel.  Part three wasn’t helped by a slew of embarrassing media appearances by Tom Cruise in the lead up to release which you could argue has also led to a succession of mediocre to downright bad movies from the former top gun.

With that in mind, it feels like Cruise along with director Brad Bird (with his “live” action debut) and producer J.J. Abrams (Lost, Star Trek) have pulled out all the stops to ensure that ‘Ghost Protocol‘ ups the ante for any future action/spy movies.

Blazing from one dazzling set piece to another, ‘Ghost Protocol‘ sees Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team go rogue to try and stop a sadistic Russian terrorist from starting nuclear war and to clear their name after being accused of blowing up the Kremlin.  Why is it always the Russians who are the bad boys with the evil tools of destruction?!

The IMF team chemistry is one of the most successful parts of the movie with each supporting character given adequate time to shine.  Paula Patton looks absolutely fantastic as revenge fuelled agent Jane Carter while Brit funny man Simon Pegg naturally provides the necessary comic relief as gadgets expert Benji.  The addition of Jeremy Renner as new agent Brandt also adds a layer of mystery to a sequel that feels fresh yet familiar.  Renner is good but possibly slightly underused considering the buzz around him right now. After landing the lead in the Bourne film and as Hawkeye in next Summer’s ‘Avengers’, one can only hope he gets more screen time if the ‘Impossible’ series gets the expected green light for more sequels.

As for Cruise, he is effortlessly charming, charismatic and still packs a bone crunching punch as Ethan Hunt.  I do feel like this should be the big hit he needs to get his career back on track and his invigorated performance smacks of an actor proving he can still cut it with a new slew of action movie stars.  And yes, he runs in this movie.  A LOT.  (‘Family Guy’ viewers will know what I’m talking about)

Ultimately though, most people are going to walk away from ‘Ghost Protocol’ talking about the stunts and special effects. A lot had been made pre-release of the scene with Cruise hanging from the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai – and the hype is well worth it.  Anyone with a fear of heights will probably slip in to a vertigo induced coma after seeing Cruise hanging by the tips of his fingers thousands of feet up.  The rest of us will just admire his stubborn ability to ignore the danger and make the role seem that more believable.

The Dubai scene is one of many spectacular throughout the movie as we’re treated to an epic sandstorm chase, a massive explosion at the Kremlin and a final headache inducing showdown in a high tech multi-storey car park.

If you get a chance to go see it in IMAX then do it.  The scale and scope of ‘Ghost Protocol‘ is quite phenomenal as director Bird takes us on a world tour around Moscow, Dubai and Mumbai.  Watching movies like this on a massive screen really do show up 3D for being the relatively cheap gimmick it is.

Yes, the movie has it’s cliches and some cheesy dialogue so if you’re looking for intricate performances and lots of dramatic tension then you should probably pick another movie this Holiday season.  But in terms of providing explosive, non-stop and over the top action, ‘Ghost Protocol‘ ticks all the right boxes.

‘Impossible’ fans will be pleased that the series hasn’t quite chosen to self destruct yet.  If anything, it’s heart is beating stronger than ever before.  Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to suspend disbelief for a couple of hours and treat yourself to a couple of hours of kick-ass action.  And Tom Cruise running.

8/10

Official Trailer: