Reviews of Six Current Films in Cinema or on Streaming Including “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” “Lilo & Stitch” and “Jane Austen Wrecked My Life”

Mission Impossible – The Final Reckoning (c) Paramount Pictures

Film: Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning 
In Cinemas 

Of all the films I am reviewing here, Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning is the most successful because it sticks to the formula that has made the film series so much fun: Tom Cruise running and Tom Cruise shirtless, preferably at the same time. OK, the action set pieces are enjoyable too, although in this eighth (and possibly final) Ethan Hunt film, it’s getting hard to top the memorable ones from the past (like inside an opera house shootout or, outside hanging onto both a really tall building or an airplane taking off). The series started almost 30 years ago to the day, with the Brian DePalma 1996 film, and there’s even a surprise Easter egg from that film that’s important to this plot. Starting a couple of months after the events of Dead Reckoning, Ethan is in hiding after successfully finding the literal and metaphorical key that will take down the AI threat known as “The Entity,” but he still doesn’t know what the key does. With the help of his dwindling original team, including Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg), along with new allies, Grace (Hayley Atwell), Theo (Greg Tarzan Davis) and Paris (Pom Klementieff), Ethan must ultimately find his way to the Russian submarine buried in ice which holds the key to the key. I have heard the criticism that the talky parts are too talky and the action parts are not inventive enough, and I attribute that feeling to the film’s bloated almost three-hour running time. But I still had a good time, especially when the scene-stealing Tramell Tillman (of Severance) and Angela Bassett show up. This is director Christopher McQuarrie’s fourth M.I. film, and maybe new blood would have spiced up the finale. Still, I appreciated McQuarrie’s steady knowhow of the strength and limitations of both the franchise and Tom Cruise. Cruise keeps us invested in these movies because he literally puts his life on the line just for our entertainment. And yes, even after 30 years, I am still entertained. 

The Interested Bystander: Early 2024-25 Tony Award Predictions

Operation Mincemeat (c) Julieta Cervantes

With less than 3 weeks until the Tony Awards, this is where I see the race for the winners are shaking out. But 3 weeks is a long time for strong campaigns, outrageous faux pas and a boatload of media blitz. I will have my final Tony Award winner predictions before June 8th, when the 78th Annual Tony Awards will air on CBS from Radio City Music Hall with Cynthia Erivo as the host. 

"Death Becomes Her," "John Proctor is the Villain" & "Cats: The Jellicle Ball" Lead the 3rd Annual Dorian Theater Award Nominations

 

Death Becomes Her (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

New York, N.Y. (May 13, 2025): GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics’ theater wing members named their favorites in New York theater for the third annual Dorian Theater Awards. These awards celebrate the best in Broadway and Off-Broadway for the 2024-2025 season. Like GALECA’s Dorian film and TV awards, the group's stage honors celebrate both mainstream and LGBTQ+-themed productions. 

Theater Reviews: “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” Is a Broadway Prequel-Thrill-Ride Through the Right-Side Up; Yes, “Real Women Have Curves,” but Also the Right Formula for a Musical Crowd-Pleaser; and “Five Models in Ruins, 1981” Provides an Amusing Glimpse Into the World of Fashion

Stranger Things: The First Shadow (c) Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman

Broadway: Stranger Things: The First Shadow 
Marquis Theatre 

During the Act One finale of Stranger Things: The First Shadow, the audience is suddenly flooded with actors in hazmat suits, shining huge flashlights at us, when one of them (at my performance) stopped at the guy in an aisle seat who happened to be holding to his newly bought Mind-Flayer stuffie. The hazmat guy grabs and examines it, before giving it back to the giggling guy, does the two fingers to his eyes and then points them to his (the universal sign for “I’ll be watching you!”) before walking on stage, all to the cheers and laughter of the nearly sold-out crowd. And if there was any doubt that fans of the TV series Strangers Things would shell out Broadway-sized dollars to see a prequel, they vanished faster than Barb at the pool. And if you understood anything I wrote so far, this new play, backed by Netflix, will certainly be a fun time. I was certainly a fan of the show (it premiered in 2016) that focused on a group of kids in the early 1980s who come in contact with an evil supernatural force. It was a fun throwback to a time of Dungeons & Dragons, when the TV’s cable box was an antenna and video game arcades were the Friday night hangouts. Stranger Things: The First Shadow is an extension of a flashback from Season 4 in which the kids learn about a troubled young boy named Henry Creel (Louis McCartney, perpetually on edge) whose family, after moving into Hawkins, Indiana, was massacred in 1959. This tragedy now involves the younger versions of the adults from the show, who are all now high school teenagers, including Joyce (Alison Jaye), Hopper (Burke Swanson) and Bob Newby (Juan Carlos). 

Theater: Recipients of The 79th Theatre World Awards

Here are recipients of 2025’s Theatre World Awards, which honors actors making Outstanding Broadway and Off-Broadway debuts. I am honored to have been on this committee again this year. 

Congrats to all the winners. The awards will be handed out on Monday, June 2 at 7pm at The Hard Rock Café Times Square. 

The 78th Tony Award Nominations

Purpose (c) Marc F. Franklin