Matt's Musings

Here's a look at the new movies I saw this week. Mission Impossible: Rouge Nation Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, and Alec Baldwin Synopsis: It’s the rare film franchise that keeps getting better with age. Earlier this Spring we saw that with the “Fast & Furious” franchise, which saw its seventh installment set Box Office records. The cinematic world of “Mission Impossible” might not break Box Office marks, but it certainly continues to churn out interesting stories. The original film debuted 19 years ago, and now in its fifth installment the series proves it still has legs creatively, and it can continue to take more chances visually. Tom Cruise — who serves as the franchise’ star and producer — is a big part of that. Some have questioned his Box Office mojo, but you can never question his commitment to roles. The “Mission Impossible” films in particular have sought to test their star more and more in each installment. In this ...

With training camp in full swing and the first game of the season set for Sunday night, it's time for football fever. For today's Summer Binge Watch, I'm going to offer a few football movies I enjoyed over the last 20 years. I limited to more recent movies to make it a little easier, and because it's more my age demographic. Varsity Blues (1999) About: This film — starring Dawson himself, James Van Der Beek — came out when I was a senior in high school. It was wildly popular, for a variety of reasons, and is kind of fun. Like many football movies, it's also kinda dark. The coach is a jerk, and the players are killing themselves and they don't even know it. Not to mention, it doesn't paint a flattering picture of the way small towns cater to their star athletes. Still, when that Foo Fighters song kicks in down the stretch, we all know who our hero is. It's Jonathan Moxon, and we know he's about to win the big game. Really, that's all we want in o...

We've reached August, and we're just about seven weeks away from new fall season shows debuting. But that doesn't mean the train of new summer shows has stopped. In these weekly posts I look at the new shows of summer. I review the pilot and second episodes. If you don't see a new show, check previous weeks. (Note: due to the number of shows this summer, I am not focusing on the new cable reality shows, just scripted fare). Monday Nights: Significant Mother, Mondays at 9:30 p.m. on the CW (Premiered August 3) About: It seems every summer the past few years the CW tries its hand at comedy. It usually has disastrous results. Last year, two of the worst shows I saw all year were new CW summer sitcoms. This year, the CW already rolled out the boring, awkward British re-tread "Dates." Now comes "Significant Mother," a sitcom about a young man who learns early in the pilot that his mom is having an affair with his best friend and roommate. That's the ...

"We get the world we deserve." — "True Detective," Season 2 tagline It certainly seemed from the beginning that the second season of "True Detective" would be different. The main character pool expanded, the setting changed, and it seemed like darker things were coming. That tagline — "We get the world we deserve" — portended a bit darker take on the world, too. And through seven episodes — there's just one more — the season has been different. The world has been darker and more confusing. It's generated more complaints, too, as people have wondered if showrunner/writer Nic Pizzolatto  has lost the plot. I have stuck with this season, though it's been confusing and a bit disappointing, because I expected it to round into form. Earlier this season I likened an early episode to the beginning of "L.A. Confidential," where the character introductions had just been strung out over hours instead of minutes. How little did I realiz...

Today the Broncos begin day three of practices at Dove Valley. Things are just getting rolling, and the team's trying to avoid major injuries — like the one that ended Kyle Williams' season Saturday — while learning a new offense and defense. The Broncos are 12 days away from their first preseason game — an August 14 tilt in Seattle. Between now and then, the team will try to answer a few questions. Here's some of the big ones that need to be settled. 1. Who plays on the offensive line? The team said it felt good about its depth when it broke from its Off Season regimen. But as Training Camp began, Denver took a look at free agent tackle Jake Long. That makes me wonder if they're really feeling that settled. Their line projects to have plenty of inexperience — and possibly plenty of youth — when they finally line up for games. It will be interesting to see who the starting five are when the first game begins on August 14. 2. Who plays on the defensive line? That would h...

"Since I'm an atheist, and have no belief whatsoever in life after death, I couldn't care less -- it's not like it'll have any impact on me, since by definition I will be completely extinguished. I guess if someone twisted my arm and forced me to provide an epitaph, it would be 'Don't forget.' Sound advice...” — Richard Bartle One of the most interesting thought experiments of the summer TV season has been the new TNT series "Proof." It's not a show that's gotten huge ratings or a lot of acclaim, but it's been a fascinating think piece. The series centers on a doctor (Jennifer Beals), who lost her son and suffered a near-death experience, who is asked by a billionaire (Matthew Modine), who happens to have a terminal illness, to do research to find out what happens after we die. She's skeptical of the whole idea, but when he promises to fund a charity near to her heart, she accepts the challenge. The series has been airing since...

We've reached the end of the summer season. 2015 has been a good summer, full of some great smaller films and mammoth blockbusters. Will we get more in August? That remains to be seen. Friday, August 7: Fantastic Four — This is a re-boot of another Marvel franchise. But this one is owned by 20th Century FOX, and not Marvel itself. I liked the last "Fantastic Four," but didn't care for the follow up. This one has a great young cast and carries high hopes for FOX, but it remains to be seen if it can be a successful franchise in an already saturated market. Ricki and the Flash — This film, starring Meryl Streep, comes from Oscar winning writer Diablo Cody and Oscar winning director Jonathan Demme. It's, perhaps, not the kind of movie you expect to get in summer. But it looks like something that could be a great, powerful character study. The Gift — This is a thriller/horror film starring Jason Bateman and Joel Edgerton. Hard to tell if this will be worth watching. ...