Month: May 2025

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning is a 2025 American action spy film directed by Christopher McQuarrie from a screenplay he co-wrote with Erik Jendresen. The sequel to Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), it is the eighth and final installment in the Mission: Impossible film series.^[6][7] Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Henry Czerny, and Angela Bassett reprise their roles from the previous films.^[8][9]

In January 2019, Cruise announced that the seventh and eighth Mission: Impossible films would be shot back-to-back, with McQuarrie co-writing and directing both films. Plans for the eighth film later changed in February 2021. Returning and new cast members were announced soon after, including Lorne Balfe, who composed the score for two other films in the franchise, returning to score Final Reckoning. However, Balfe later left the production and was replaced by his longtime collaborators Max Aruj and Alfie Godfrey. Filming began in March 2022 in the United Kingdom, with other filming locations including Malta, South Africa, and Norway. Production was halted in July 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, resumed in March 2024, and concluded in November 2024. The film, originally titled Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, dropped its subtitle in October 2023, and the new subtitle was announced in November 2024. With an estimated budget of $300–400 million, it is one of the most expensive films ever made.

The Final Reckoning had its world premiere in Tokyo on May 5, 2025, was screened out of competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival on May 14, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on May 23 by Paramount Pictures. The film received positive reviews from critics.

IMF agents Ethan Hunt and Grace pursue Gabriel, an agent working for the Entity artificial intelligence. Instead, Gabriel captures them and coerces Ethan into retrieving the core module, revealed to be the “Rabbit’s Foot”^[a], from the sunken Russian submarine Sevastopol for him, which would give him control over the Entity’s source code. Ethan and Grace escape with the aid of IMF agent Benji Dunn and new recruits Paris and Theo Degas. They discover a device that Gabriel used to communicate with the Entity, which shows Ethan a vision of a coming nuclear apocalypse. Ethan realizes the Entity needs access to a secure digital bunker in South Africa to ensure its survival.

Ethan sends his team to retrieve the Sevastopol‘s coordinates, while he rejoins Luther Stickell to disarm a nuclear device Gabriel planted in London. Luther reveals that he developed a malware for the Entity called the Poison Pill, but Gabriel has stolen it. Sacrificing himself, Luther stays behind to stop the bomb. Ethan then surrenders to U.S. President Erika Sloane, who urges cooperation due to the Entity’s escalating control over global nuclear systems. With only four days before it launches global strikes, Ethan convinces Sloane to let him act independently to locate the Sevastopol, against CIA Director Eugene Kittridge‘s objections.

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LILO & STITCH

LILO & STITCH

Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated science fiction comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures.^[3][4] It was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois in their directorial debuts and produced by Clark Spencer, based on an original story created by Sanders. It stars Daveigh Chase and Sanders as the voices of the title characters, with the voices of Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Ving Rhames, Jason Scott Lee, Zoe Caldwell, and Kevin Michael Richardson in supporting roles. It was the second of three Disney animated feature films produced primarily at the Florida animation studio in Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida.^[5][d]

The film tells the story of two individuals: an orphaned Hawaiian girl named Lilo Pelekai, who is raised by her struggling older sister, Nani, after their parents’ deaths, and the genetically engineered extraterrestrial creature Experiment 626, who Lilo adopts as her “dog” and renames “Stitch”. Stitch, who was designed to cause chaos and destruction, initially uses Lilo to avoid recapture by an intergalactic federation. They develop a close bond through the Hawaiian concept of ʻohana, or extended family, causing Stitch to reconsider his intended destructive purpose to keep his newfound family together.

The film is based on an idea by Sanders, who originally conceived Stitch in 1985, and the film’s design and aesthetics are based on his personal art style. Stitch was initially at the center of a children’s book Sanders had conceptualized, but later abandoned. A feature-length film starring the character entered development in 1997 when Thomas Schumacher, then the president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, approached Sanders intending to produce “the Dumbo for our generation.” The use of watercolor backgrounds hearkened back to early Disney productions such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The film and its accompanying soundtrack extensively used the music of Elvis Presley, while Alan Silvestri composed the film’s score.

Lilo & Stitch premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on June 16, 2002, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 21. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised its story, humor, charm, and originality. Produced on an $80 million budget and promoted with a marketing campaign that played up its oddities, it was a box-office success, grossing over $273 million worldwide. It was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 75th Academy Awards but lost to Spirited Away.^[6][7] The film’s success highlighted Disney’s post-animation renaissance era in the 2000s, spawning a franchise that includes three direct-to-video film sequels and three television series. A live-action adaptation is set to be released in 2025.

On planet Turo, the United Galactic Federation convicts evil scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba of illegal genetic experimentation; he has created Experiment 626, an aggressive and near-indestructible creature with advanced learning capabilities. 626 is sentenced to exile on a desert asteroid, but he escapes and hijacks a space cruiser that crash-lands on Kauaʻi, Hawaii, on the planet Earth. Shortly after landing on Earth, 626 is hit by three passing trucks and taken to an animal shelter. The Federation’s Grand Councilwoman offers Jumba an early release if he retrieves 626 with the assistance of the council’s Earth expert, Agent Pleakley.

On Kauaʻi, orphaned teenager Nani Pelekai struggles to take care of her lonely, rambunctious younger sister, Lilo, following their parents’ death in a car crash. Social worker Cobra Bubbles doubts Nani can be a guardian for Lilo and threatens to place Lilo in foster care if the Pelekais’ situation fails to improve. After overhearing Lilo, who wishes for a friend, Nani brings her to the animal shelter to adopt a dog. Lilo adopts 626, who is impersonating a dog, and names him “Stitch”. Stitch causes chaos at the lūʻau where Nani works while trying to avoid capture by Jumba and Pleakley. Nani’s boss blames Nani for the chaos, and she is fired. The news of Nani’s unemployment reaches Bubbles, who orders Nani to find a new job and tells Lilo to teach Stitch to be a “model citizen”.

• Daveigh Chase as Lilo Pelekai, an eccentric young Hawaiian girl on the island of Kauaʻi who adopts Stitch as her pet dog.
• Chris Sanders^[b] as Stitch, also known as Experiment 626, is a blue koala-like illegal genetic experiment that can create untold chaos.
• Tia Carrere as Nani Pelekai, Lilo’s older sister and legal guardian.
• Jason Scott Lee as David Kawena, Nani’s hapless surfer boyfriend.
• David Ogden Stiers as Dr. Jumba Jookiba, a Kweltikwan mad scientist employed by Galaxy Defense Industries who created Stitch.
• Kevin McDonald as Agent Pleakley, a Plorgonarian Galactic Federation agent who acts as the expert on Earth.
• Ving Rhames as Cobra Bubbles, a social worker in charge of Lilo’s welfare and Nani’s duties as her guardian.
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Captain Gantu, the respected but arrogant Shaelik second-in-command of the Galactic Federation.
• Zoe Caldwell is the Grand Councilwoman and the Grey leader of the Galactic Federation.
• Miranda Paige Walls as Mertle Edmonds, Lilo’s classmate from their hālau hula who despises and derides her.
• Kunewa Mook as Moses Puloki, Lilo’s hula teacher.
• Amy Hill as Mrs. Hasagawa, an elderly woman who runs a fruit stand.
• Susan Hegarty as the Rescue Lady, who runs the animal shelter where Lilo adopts Stitch.

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THE LAST RODEO

THE LAST RODEO

The Last Rodeo is an upcoming American drama film written and directed by Jon Avnet. It stars Neal McDonough (who is also a co-writer and producer), Mykelti Williamson, Christopher McDonald, Sarah Jones, and Daylon Swearingen.

• Neal McDonough as Joe Wainright
• Ruvé McDonough as Rose Wainright
• Mykelti Williamson as Charlie Williams
• Christopher McDonald as Jimmy Mack
• Sarah Jones as Sally Wainright
• Daylon Swearingen as Billy Hamilton

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THE NEW BOY

THE NEW BOY

The New Boy is a 2023 Australian drama film written and directed by Warwick Thornton. It stars Aswan Reid as the title character, Deborah Mailman, Wayne Blair, and Cate Blanchett, who also produced the film. The film follows a young Aboriginal Australian orphan boy who is brought into a Christian monastery run by a renegade nun, where he begins to question his faith and loyalty to his heritage.

The film premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2023 and was theatrically released in Australia on 6 July 2023 by Roadshow Films. It received generally positive reviews from critics.

In the Australian outback in the mid-1940s, a nameless nine-year-old orphan boy, Aboriginal except that he has some fair hair, strangles a white horseman. Another horseman fells the boy with a boomerang; then the boy is taken in at a remote monastery for raising Aboriginal boys. The monastery is seemingly run by a male priest, who has been dead for a year without anyone appearing to know the cause. The lead nun, Sister Eileen, claims to outsiders that the priest is still alive and forges letters to create this impression. Eileen is supported in her work and her deception by a fellow nun who goes by the nickname “Sister Mum” and a man named George, both of whom are Aboriginal and assimilated to Christian beliefs. Though times are difficult, the nuns care for the boys and desire to protect them through Christian teachings and shared manual work. The boys are not provided with knowledge of Aboriginal values, language, or practices. Their fate is to be forced to leave early and be employed as farmhands. Sister Mum is implied to have converted to Christianity due to the loss of her two children, while George lives a secure life at the monastery.

The orphan boy, nicknamed the “New Boy,” initially struggles to fit in with the other boys. He is incapable of speaking or understanding English and lacks any desire for Western behaviour, such as footwear and clothing. After a period of bullying, the New Boy gradually asserts himself physically and emotionally and becomes accepted by everyone. Throughout this process, the New Boy is shown to possess mysterious supernatural abilities to conjure small balls of light and to heal sick animals and humans.

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5/20/2025 #MissionImpossible:TheFinalReckoning #Lilo&Stitch #TheLastRodeo #TheNewBoy