Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Tom Cruise is the quintessential action star.  In the very first scene, Tom Cruise literally jumps onto a plane and hangs onto it from the outside as it takes off.  And this is just the beginning!  There are chase scenes galore, on foot, on motor bikes, in cars, you name it. There is constant action and non-stop adrenaline to keep this movie going.  There is another formidable action star to complement Cruise's performance.  Rebecca Ferguson kicks ass.  The two of them together are extraordinarily fun to watch.  Fun is the best way to describe this movie.  The plot is easy to follow meaning there are no hindrances to enjoying everything this movie has to offer.

I particularly liked the opera scene, in which a production of Puccini's Turandot is interrupted.  It is beautifully shot at the incredible Vienna State Opera.  I appreciated that motifs from Calaf's aria Nessun Dorma from Turandot reappeared in the score several times amid the famous Mission: Impossible theme.  The best known tenor aria and the best known movie theme all rolled into one.

Magic in the Moonlight (2014)

It is not Woody Allen's finest movie.  The premise is not entirely enticing.  Colin Firth plays a magician who is attempting to defraud Emma Stone as a mystic.  The story is kind of silly and I had a tough time investing in any of the main characters, though Hamish Linklater's rich yet lovelorn singer is kind of funny.  All the action, or lack of action, takes place in the majestic French Riviera as Allen continues to make non-New York films in his later years.  He also continues to make romantic comedies featuring upper class older men and younger women, perhaps a bit of art imitating life.  Colin Firth is a good actor, and he carries the movie.  Emma Stone retains her quirkiness in this role and her wide eyes are fitting for a psychic.  She will get another go at a Woody Allen film later this year. Hopefully she will have some better writing to work with.       

The Theory of Everything (2014)

The most memorable part of this movie is the incredible performances from the two leads, Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones.  Everyone will refer to this as the Stephen Hawking biopic, but do not forget that the screenplay is adapted from Jane Wilde Hawking's autobiography.  Stephen Hawking's ex-wife is just as important and Felicity Jones holds her own.  She plays a strong woman under a lot of pressure tasked with caring for not only her children but her husband requiring all of her attention.  Redmayne transforms into Stephen Hawking, and as his health deteriorates, his speech becomes more difficult to understand.  Eventually, he becomes mute but still communicates his feelings to the audience.  He walks crookedly (which is not easy for a mobile person) up till the point that he requires the aid of a wheelchair. And in the wheelchair, he convincingly plays a man who has lived with ALS for decades.

The adaptation does a good job of explaining the scientific theories to a general audience.  These are not easy concepts, and Stephen Hawking understood that.  His magnum opus "A Brief History of Time" made his ideas accessible for an audience without a scientific background.  The movie has some really beautiful scenes thanks to superb cinematography.   Footage from the early years appears as authentic as possible.   Complementing the cinematography is a lovely score.  Altogether, a tremendous movie.