Joey’s Home Movies For the Week of October 30th – Join Tom Cruise for Another ‘Mission: Impossible’ Adventure

Welcome back to my Home Movies! Today, it’s Halloween! Hitting shelves this week is Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, as well as Blue Beetle and even a horror themed Criterion Collection release. Which got my top pick? Read on to find out…

Joey’s Top Pick

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One

I found Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One to be middle of the road for the Mission: Impossible franchise, as seen in my ranking here. Still, Tom Cruise certainly knows how to entertain with a big blockbuster. My review here at the time includes the following bit:

The Mission: Impossible franchise has not just had some incredible longevity, it’s also one of the rare ones that has also reinvented itself. What started out almost quaint in comparison has now become some of the biggest cinema on the planet. Tom Cruise has shepherded this collection of films to the pinnacle of the action genre. Usually, the movies just build on what they’ve been doing well, ever since the big change between the third and fourth flicks. Here, we have something else going on. Opting for their first two parter, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One tries to do some different things than usual. The result could be a bit more of a divisive entries into the series yet.

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is a step back from the recent highs of the franchise, but that’s partly in comparison to how good they’ve been of late. We won’t fully be able to judge this one until we see Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two next year, but while Ethan Hunt is showing no signs of weakness, this is the least satisfying outing since the first two sequels. Make of that what you will.

Also Available This Week

A Compassionate Spy

Blue Beetle

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

Retribution

Criterion Corner

Nanny

From The Criterion Collection: “A spellbinding blend of social observation and artful shocks, the debut feature from Nikyatu Jusu plunges into the increasingly fractured consciousness of Aisha (Anna Diop), a Senegalese immigrant who takes a job as a nanny for a wealthy white family in New York City. Separated from her own son and casually exploited by her employers, Aisha finds herself consumed by unsettling visions and a growing rage—one that could either destroy or empower her. This visually captivating tour de force—the first horror movie to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival—distills complex ideas about motherhood, inequality, and cultural dislocation into a work of dreamlike dread.”

Stay tuned for more next week…