Twenty years ago, this tragic romantic drama took the world by storm by becoming a suprise international box office hit along with garnering massive acclaim. It even eventually won a few Academy awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Socre, and most importantly Best Director for Ang Lee who was coming off of directing two more action-oriented blockbusters before this, Hulk and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. This film's story focuses on two ranchhands just trying to make a living as they embark on herding a massive flock of sheep around the titular Brokeback Mountain. They are Ennis DelMar (Heath Ledger nominated for his performance) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal, also nominated for his) and over severals alone together on this journey, they develop a friendship which eventually becomes something more....

And then we watch over the next twenty years as they keep periodically meeting up even as their lives get increinaly complicated with jobs, marriages, kids, and feelings. :o What results is a beautifully crafted tragic love story which not only broke some barriers given its subject matter but also built up a strong legacy over time as one of a select few modern classics which infamously lost the Best Picture Oscar to a far inferior film. (Crash) What better way to kick off Pride Month 2025 than to revisit this iconic love story!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the rest of the IMF crew are back for ONE last mission....to save the world from The Entity, a massive artificial intelligence collective which has spread so far it is now on the verge of taking over every major nuclear weapons arsenal. And the President (Angela Bassett) is running out of options as Ethan still has possession of ONE key item which our AI overlord still needs....a cruciform key. As this is a direct continuation of the previous Mission: Impossible sequel (Dead Reckoning) from a couple of years ago, most of that film's key cast returns including series stalwarts Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg, along with Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, and Esai Morales as the villainous Gabrial. Also returning is director Oscar-winning writer/director Chris McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Jack Reacher) who has now helmed his fourth Mission:Impossible film in a row. Once again, the stunts gets crazier and The Cruise Missile seems to put his life on the line even more for the sake of pulling them off-screen - this leads to crazy action both underwater and up in the air!

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Twenty-five years ago, director John Woo (Hard Boiled, Face/Off) joined this franchise to helm this long-awaited sequel to the first cinematic adaptation from '96. And whereas the first film was a paranoid espionage thriller, he and star/producer/mastermind Tom Cruise decided to shift THIS entry in the direction of ramped up operatic action mixed with forbidden romance. Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is back for his next mission where he must prevent a now disavowwed former IMF-rival Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott) from doing something nefarious with a mysterious bio-weapon/virus nicknamed "Chimera." And to get closer to this new villain's burgeoning operation, Ethan must enlist a beautiful jewel thief named Nyah (Thandiwe Newton) who has a past with Ambrose but....the ONE thing he didn't count on was falling in love. :o

And what results is a rip-roaring, mostly-set-in-Australia action EPIC filled with rock climbing, fast cars, roundhouse kicks, and.....DOVES. This was a major smash upon release and remains one of the more successful films in this long-running franchise....however a backlash has developed since then with many now calling it the WORST of the Mission: Impossible saga. Our mission - should we choose to accept it - is to determine as to whether it lives up OR down to the hype!

See below for a link where you can hear the rare instrumental version of this movie's theme song, cited within this review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfBiktIrDnQ

Host & Editor: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

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https://livingforthecinema.com/

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