paul-allaer

As "TITAN" (2025 release; 111 min,) opens, several passengers are dropped off at the Titan on June 18, 2023, ready for a trip down to the sunken Titanic. Alas, something goes terribly wrong and the vessel goes missing, prompting a massive rescue search. At this point we are less than 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this is not the first, and almost certainly not the last, documentary about the fate of Titan, a submersible which causes 5 people to perish. After the brief introduction of the event that we all remember in one way or another, the film makers go back in time and introduce us to Stockton Rush, the founder and CEO of OceanGate, the company that produced the Titan and other submersibles. I (as a layman and non-expert on the matter) was gripped by the technical background and nature of it all. The role of Rush in this sad saga becomes clearer as the documentary goes on (along with a US Coastguard investigation). Please note that this documentary is NOT title "Titan: The OceanGate Disaster" (s listed here on IMDb or "Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster" (as I've note is some other listings. Per the movie's credit, it is called "TITAN" (in all caps), nothing less, nothing more.

"TITAN" premiered a few weeks ago at the Tribeca Film Festival, and started streaming on Netflix a few days ago. It is currently rated 69% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which sounds right to me. If you have any interest in the background of the Titan disaster, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

As "The Wrecking Crew" (2008 release; 102 min) opens, talking heads, some very famous, others less so, are raving about a group of session players in Los Angeles who provided much of the instrumentation of various artists and bands. Brian Wilson (RIP) is one of them. He used a number of them on the Beach Boys classic "Pet Sounds", freely admitting that the Beach Boys couldn't play what he needed for the album. Then we begin to learn more about this group, loosely named The Wrecking Crew.

A couple of comments: this documentary is directed by Danny Tedesco, the son of Tommy Tedesco, one of the main characters in the Wrecking Crew. You can just feel that this is a labor of love for Danny Tedesco. (Tommy passed away in 1997. The primary interview of Tommy and some of the others was dine in 1996.) Of course the documentary is chock-full of great music, and if you are a certain age, you will likely recognize most of it.

I recently stumbled upon "The Wrecking Crew" on Amazon Prime while browsing for something good to watch. Glad I gave it a shot. "The Wrecking Crew" is currently rated 94% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which seems quite high to me. Regardless, if you like rock music history, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

As "Mission Impossible III" (2006 release; 125 min) opens, Ethen and his girl Julia are held hostage by the bad guy. We then go back in time, as Ethan and Julia hold an engagement party. Ethen receives a phone during the party, and hie is immediately needed in a difficult situation. At this point we are 10 minutes into the movie.

Couple of comments: I had not seen MI3 again since it was released back in 2006, and upon seeing the recent MI Final Reckoning, I just felt like watching some of the earlier ones. Didn't realize that MI3 is in fact the feature length directing debut of J. J. Abrams. The movie itself is OK, but nowhere near the very best of the MI franchise. Some of the big action/stunt scenes don't stand up to later bigger/better stunt scenes. Tom Cruise, then in his mid-forties, looks insanely young. Philip Seymore Hoffman is excellent as the baddie. Check out also Keri Russell in the early part of the film. The movie ends on a high note, with the final showdown coming in Shanghai.

"MI3" apparently was the lowest grossing film in the entire MI franchise. All MI movies are now streaming on Paramount+. It is currently rated 73% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, which feels a tad high to me. And at just over 2 hours, it flies by in no time. If you are a fac of the MI movies, I'd readily suggest you check this out (again), and draw your own conclusion.