We Don't Need Two Metaphors

This 5 th entry in the Mission: Impossible series is a gloriously entertaining piece of intelligent filmmaking. Tom Cruise and his team know the formula for these movies inside and out, but crucially also know how they need to adapt to keep the films fresh and vibrant. The IMF has been shutdown by the CIA, but that isn’t enough to stop Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) from his latest mission. There’s a sinister organisation called The Syndicate, led by the menacing Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), causing havoc across the world but almost nobody believes they actually exist, especially not CIA director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin).

Astonishingly bland and about as edgy and adventurous as wearing odd socks, Ant-Man is a film sculpted by committee; an under loved cog in the money making behemoth that is the Marvel Cinematic Bubble. Cat burglar Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is trying to keep on the straight and narrow after his recent release from prison. Unfortunately, retired scientist Dr Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) wants Scott to take on the role as the Ant-Man to help foil the dangerous plans of Pym’s former protégé Darren Cross (Corey Stoll).

After a sequence of films that ranged from fine ( Monsters University ) to flawed ( Brave ) to abysmal ( Cars 2 ), just hearing the premise for Pixar’s latest piqued my interest. Would it be a return to the form that produced one of the greatest triple runs in modern cinema ( Wall-E , Up and Toy Story 3 )? The answer is an emphatic yes, but to merely call Inside Out a return to form for Pixar is somewhat reductive as this latest adventure is arguably one of their finest films. Set inside the mind of an eleven year old girl named Riley, Inside Out presents the five personified emotions that dictate her actions and feelings. After 11 joy-filled years in Minnesota, Riley moves with her parents to San Francisco, leaving all that she has known behind. Her emotions are presented with a situation they’ve never had to face before as Joy (Amy Poehler) and Sadness (Phyllis Smith) are cast adrift from Anger (Lewis Black), Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Fear (Bill Hader) in an attempt to keep th...