Film

Tom Cruise returns in the 8th installment of Paramount Pictures’ Mission Impossible franchise with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. Cruise originated the character of Ethan Hunt in the film series, a fact I had to research as he has become so synonymous with the franchise, I had imagined the character being a part of the 1966-1973 television series the films are based upon. The popular 7 season series starred huge names like Peter Graves, Martin Landau, Leonard Nimoy, Sam Elliott, Leslie Ann Warren, and William Shatner.

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screen play he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen and is considered a direct sequel to 2023’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” and the film will have its premiere at Cannes Film Festival this month.

Ethan Hunt and the IMF team (Hailey Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Peg, and Henry Czerny) must track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity if it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than the mission — not even the lives of those he cares about most. While rumors have persisted, the film would end the series, McQuarrie has said they are developing ideas for future installments and Cruise has expressed interest in further films. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is being marketed as Ethan Hunt’s final mission against the rogue AI called The Entity. In Theaters May 23, 2025.

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Can you “buy” Nicolas Cage as a surfer? The question initially hangs over Lorcan Finnegan’s cosmic horror film The Surfer. Cage, with his urban persona, seems an unlikely choice to portray a middle-aged American seeking renewal by riding waves.

If you’ve considered Cage a one-note actor, The Surfer offers an awakening. With remarkable restraint, Cage builds his character through vulnerability before the film’s elements allow him to access his more operatic tendencies, demonstrating why he remains one of Hollywood’s most versatile performers. This film takes its seat with the popular horror/arthouse filmmaking style that echoes our society’s current dread.

Non-surfing audiences won’t feel alienated. The film uses surfing mainly as a metaphorical gateway to explore deeper themes of human insignificance against cosmic forces. The famed Australian coastal waves offers a haunting backdrop where beauty and terror coexist.

While Cage appears in close-up character moments on the board, his more impressive surfing feats are likely performed by unnamed stunt doubles—a standard practice that doesn’t diminish the film’s impact.

Admittedly, hardcore surfers are a tough audience, so they might approach this film skeptically. However, the supernatural twist on “localism” transforms familiar territorial dynamics into something more primordial and unsettling.

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Another Simple Favor is a black comedy/mystery streaming May 1 on Amazon Prime Video directed by Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, Ghostbusters). Serving as a sequel to the 2018 hit A Simple Favor, the film reunites Anna Kendrick (Alice, Darling) as Stephanie Smothers and Blake Lively (It Ends With Us) as the devious Emily Nelson, five years after Emily’s imprisonment for a shocking crime revealed in the first movie.

The story unfolds on the picturesque island of Capri, Italy, where Emily, recently released from prison thanks to high-powered lawyers, invites Stephanie to be her maid of honor at her extravagant wedding to Dante Versano (Michele Morrone), heir to a mafia empire. Stephanie, now a true-crime author and influencer, is reluctantly drawn back into Emily’s intriguing and dazzling world.

The wedding (and its glamorous guests) is the perfect setting for a spate of mysterious deaths amid family drama and escalating violence. Feig’s choice for a campy, over-the-top tone, with sharp, witty dialogue and outrageous twists keep audiences guessing.

Supporting performances by Elizabeth Perkins and Allison Janney add to the film’s charm. Another Simple Favor offers a wild, stylish ride that expands on the original’s suspense and satire, culminating in a story full of surprises.

Filming occurred March through May 2024 – shortly after Lively wrapped production on It Ends With Us. The jury is out whether this may help or hinder the film’s reception.

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Jesse Armstrong’s directorial debut Mountainhead follows four tech billionaires at a retreat; when tensions run high and relations become strained, everyone’s left wondering what will happen next. The film follows four rich men: Steve Carell (The Office, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) as Randall, Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Moonrise Kingdom) as Hugo Van Yalk, Cory Michael Smith (Saturday Night, Transatlantic) as Venis, and Ramy Youssef (Poor Things, Mr. Robot) as Jeff. Each of the men runs a different tech platform, and each is feeling the strain of political and social unrest on their own brands as the world falls deeper into chaos.

Mountainhead feels very prescient when considering today’s precarious economic state; as financial analysts declare that we’re on the brink of recession, a film about wealthy well-to-dos coming together to lament their monetary situations seems like exactly the cathartic reminder many of us need that at least we’re suffering together. Watching evil billionaires suffer through a psychological drama is sure to bring those of us who aren’t Zuckerberg- or Bezos-level rich a modicum of comfort, and frankly, Armstrong seems to have hit that nail directly on the head. As the creator of Succession, he promises to deliver an absurd yet incisive look at the lives of the tech oligarchy running the show, and it’s safe to say it won’t be flattering.

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