Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2013)

Super-agent Ethan Hunt dangles from skyscrapers and otherwise takes daring to new heights on another operation from the Impossible Missions Force. Helping Hunt get the job done is droll fellow IMF agent Luther Stickel.

Tom Cruise does his fourth impossible flick because somehow somewhere, some studio exec still believes that he'll find a mission that Tom Cruise can't complete or will not take on.
 
Joining him this time is the awesome Simon Pegg who doubles as their communications specialist and comedic relief, Paula Patton who plays a very capaable covert agent and Jeremy Renner who has a secret connection to Cruise's character and is also secretly Jason Bourne.

Paula Patton is incredibly sexy and she needs to be doing more. 

Sidenote: Damn you Robin Thicke!

No lie, I got excited for that Ving Rhames cameo. Seriously, where has he been?


Ghost protocol is largely a popcorn flick. There's gun play, explosions, and gadgets. It does it's job. I can admit that I found it to be a little better than I gave it credit for originally, but I think they should stop now. Like right now.

Out of Ten? 7

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Yes
Nudity? No

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The Double (2011)

A retired CIA operative is paired with a young FBI agent to unravel the mystery of a senator's murder, with all signs pointing to a Soviet assassin.

Richard Gere is a retired spy who is tasked with working with a young hotshot analyst when a Senator is killed and a foe long thought dead is blamed. He refuses to believe he's alive as it's been 20years since his last activity, but when he's dared to prove it, he agrees to take the case. His target is Cassius. A highly trained very deadly Russian assassin who Topher's character is obsessed with, and has made it his life's work to capture and kill if necessary. Cassius Is aware of this but doesn't believe that he is a threat. If and when he does, he'll attempt to kill him.

There's a twist that's revealed pretty early in the film and Cassius continues to tie up his loose ends as the agents and topher grace specifically, closes in on him. As the hunt continues, they find that several high ranking soviet assassins have come into the states. They may have ties to Cassius so they set out to bring them down. Right as everything is revealed, and a climax is achieved, a double twist occurs, followed immediately by yet another. That's right folks, a triple twist!

The film is clunky, but by the end it begins to make sense. Richard gere and topher grace deliver admirable performances, and Martin Sheen brings levity for the 5 minutes he's in the film. I was waiting for the world record fourth twist, but surprisingly that never came.

Out of Ten? 6

Violence? Yes
Explosions? No
Nudity? No

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Taken (2009)

A retired CIA agent travels across Europe and relies on his old skills to save his estranged daughter, who was kidnapped on a trip to Paris to be sold into prostitution.

What more could be said about this film that can't already by this fucking scene:

Everyone and their mother has seen this film by now. I just needed to add it to the site.
(On Father's Day. Coincidentally.)

Thank You.

Out of Ten? 9

(Minus 1-point for the behavior of both the Mother and the Daughter. Yes, it's petty, but it can't be overlooked.)

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Of Violence
Nudity? No

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Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever - 2002

Jonathan Ecks, an FBI agent, realizes that he must join with his lifelong enemy, Agent Sever, a rogue DIA agent with whom he is in mortal combat, in order to defeat a common enemy. That enemy has developed a "micro-device" that can be injected into victims in order to kill them at will.

I'm not going to point out how much this movie sucked, that'd be me beating a dead horse, but I will say that it is a good film for testing out your surround sound capabilities. There is a lot of gunfire in this film, from both small and large guns and the ricochet of the bullets and the falling shells are a treat to home theater fans.

And now, for no other reason, here are pictures of Lucy Liu. Enjoy!

Out of Ten? 5

Violence? Yes
Nudity? No
Explosions? Yes

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Haywire - 2012

A black ops super soldier seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission.

As you may have gathered from the plot description above, there's not much more you need to know about this movie. It stars a hot chick who beats up dudes and shoots guns. She sets out for revenge after a failed attempt on her life.

My main gripe? The soundtrack.
The music totally took me away from the film. Imagine if they decided to use the footage from the Bourne Identity with the musical cues from the Ocean's 11 series. Well, that's pretty much what happened here. It made it seem like they didn't know which direction to take the film. Was she a former contractor out for bloody revenge or was she planning an elaborate jewel heist? Maybe both.

Maann, I wish she'd wrap dem legs 'round me...

Also, I'm definitely not a fan of having to wait until the end of a film to find out exactly what happened to set things in motion, but again, as long as people are getting kicked, shit don't matter. She fired only one shot throughout the film, but made that count. The movie was essentially a showcase of her hand to hand skills. Clearly talented, Carano is a badass in this film and a force to be reckoned with. A hot chick who beats people up for a living doesn't have much use for dialogue. As long as she was kicking someone, it really doesn't matter what was said before. But the lady has charisma and hopefully she'll go far in this business. We are sorely lacking female action stars.

A broad daylight beach beatdown aka one of the funniest scenes in the film.

Out of Ten? 6

The movie was bad, but unintentionally hilarious.

Violence? Yes
Explosions? No
Nudity? No.

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Archer (2009)[TV Series]

Set at the International Secret Intelligence Service (ISIS) in New York City, suave but incredibly self-centered master spy Sterling Archer deals with global espionage; his domineering, hypersexual mother/boss, Malory Archer; his ex-girlfriend (and fellow ISIS agent), Lana Kane; her ISIS accountant boyfriend (later ex) Cyril Figgis; and a less-than-masculine code name, "Duchess". - Wikipedia 

H. Jon Benjamin has got to be one of the funniest and hardworking people in the business. Dude only has one voice and yet each character that he plays is incredibly different. His work as Sterling Archer in this series is fantastic and only matched by the work of his castmates. The lovely Alicia Tyler co-stars as Lana and their chemistry anchors the cast.

I think they see success...

For those who haven't yet seen the show, I've found a clip some of the funniest bits of the series.

Archer is hands down one of the best shows that you aren't watching.

Violence? Yes
Explosions? Yes
Nudity? Yes.
Blu-Ray/DVD? LAAAANNNAAAAA!!!!
Blu-Ray offers a lot more in the way of extras. Plus, why wouldn't you want this series in Hi-Def.

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