Mission: Impossible—Fallout (Rated PG-13)
Nonstop action constitutes the mission accepted by Tom Cruise and writer-director Christopher McQuarrie in this sixth Mission: Impossible movie. Cruise shattered an ankle on set, but six weeks later, the 56 year old performed 106 skydives “to get the shot.” Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his IMF team (Alec Baldwin, Simon Pegg and Ving Rhames) pursue rogue MI6 agent Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), who plans an attack using three nuclear bombs. Knowing the previous installment made more than two-thirds of it box office overseas, picturesque European backgrounds provide most of the film’s settings. Several actresses (including Angela Bassett) take on pivotal roles, but what keeps us awake is watching Cruise risk it all to bring us Hunt’s impossible derring-do.
Teen Titans Go to the Movies (Rated PG)
A kids’ cartoon becomes a movie for the whole clan by including the requisite fart and poop jokes, while generating boatloads of adult in-jokes. Relief from somber superhero flicks is a collection of sarcastic observations, including sight gags such as a cartoon Stan Lee appearing in cameo. Tired of being all but invisible superhero sidekicks, the Teen Titans appeal to an “it” Hollywood director (voice of Kristen Bell) to develop a film franchise based on them. Heck, they can even offer their own song-and-dance numbers. Meanwhile, the Teen Titans finally get their own arch nemesis (Will Arnett)—even if they can’t distinguish him from the superhero Deadpool. Being a superhero sidekick is tough, but the superhero film industry is tougher.
