Nerd in the 'Noke

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015), PG-13, 131 minutes - The Mission: Impossible franchise has proven to one of the strongest film franchises out there.  It has survived nineteen years, five films, and even more impressively, the fall and subsequent rise of it's star in the collective public eye.  One could even argue that through it all, the franchise is as strong as it has ever been.  And after seeing Rogue Nation myself, I certainly wouldn't argue that point. This fifth installment continues the adventures of IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), this time as he tries to track down and eliminate The Syndicate, an organization that, for all intents and purposes is the anti-IMF.  Back on the home front, CIA Director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) sits before the Senate oversight committee, requesting that the IMF be disbanded and absorbed into the CIA due to prior recklessness in the field and their lack of accountability for their actions.  Hunley's request is succes

Fantastic Four (2015), PG-13, 106 minutes - Every once in a while, a movie comes out that I'm generally looking forward to, but am not terribly psyched for.  This reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise by 20th Century Fox falls into that category.  In all actuality, I became more interested in seeing this film over the past week as word began to spread that it was less than stellar.  I have read some wonderful stories about Marvel's 'First Family' in the pages of the comics, but they have never been characters that truly caught my imagination.  As a result, my anticipation for the film was tempered by my not being as familiar with the characters as I am with others in the Marvel Universe.  Well that, coupled with the luke-warm reception (which may actually be putting things nicely) of information revealed during production.  Despite that, I tried my best to go into this film with an open mind.  After all, I was intrigued by the cast and have heard wonderful things ab