Mission Impossible, Sherlock Holmes, Carnage, all hit the big screens this weekend

Three big movies come out this weekend, and two of the three have ties to some of pop culture’s blockbusters.

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol is purported to be the best MI yet. A new Sherlock Holmes thriller, Game of Shadows, will also be released. And then there’s Carnage, a dark comedy from controversial filmmaker Roman Polanski.

Rafer Guzman said Game of Shadows is a major improvement over the previous Holmes release.

“It has a lot more brain power involved, a much smarter script and you have Professor Moriarty finally on the scene, which is Sherlock Holmes’ great villain,” Guzman said.

The scenes with him really brought the Holmes character to life, for the first time, said Guzman.

Mission Impossible 4, which starts out this weekend in limited release, contains a lot of tech talk, Guzman said, but is enjoyable and fun.

“I feel like this is the movie’s Moonraker moment,” Guzman said. “It’s very techy, cartoony.”

Guzman attributed that to Director Brad Bird. It may broaden the audience and bring new fans in, he said. 

Meinzer described the movie as like watching a live action cartoon.

“Much like the Incredibles and all the other Pixar movies he’s made, he said ‘I don’t think there’s any obstacle these characters can’t overcome. They’re going to fly off this building.’ They’re going to do anything you think that’s impossible,” said Meinzer.

Carnage also comes out this weekend, though only in limited release.

“The acting is phenomenal. Everyone in that cast, they’ve all been nominated for Oscars,” Meinzer said. “The acting’s great, though I have to say, it’s like being trapped at the very worst parent-teacher conference of all time, with the most dysfunctional, self-important, naval-gazing parents of the whole world.”

It’s been compared to a well-acted, bad reality show. Though it’s also received critical acclaim. Jodi Foster and Kate Winslet both received Golden Globe nominations for their roles in the show.

The movie, which is based on a stage play, is very claustrophobic, Meinzer said.