Although it was reported that Brad Bird was in final negotiations to direct M:I 4 a while ago, that news has now been confirmed by Tom Cruise, in an interview with Empire.

In June, it was announced that J.J. Abrams and Tom Cruise had an idea for a fourth installment. Abrams wrote an outline and hired Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec, of Alias, to pen the screenplay. After it was announced that he would not be directing (apparently he was busy on something else), possible directors included Edgar Wright, Ruben Fleischer, and Brad Bird.

Well, Bird has officially signed on in what will be his live-action directing debut. His previous animated work includes The Incredibles and Ratatouille with Pixar and The Iron Giant, all among the best animated films ever. After working on getting his project 1906, about the San Francisco earthquake, off the ground at Warner Bros., the studio balked at the $200 million price tag, forcing him to rework the script.

Now, at first this upcoming film was considered a “reboot” but I’m not entirely sure what that means if Cruise is returning as Ethan Hunt (which was confirmed last October). Maybe the movie is a set-up for a new star? Anyway, I loved the first Mission: Impossible, loathed the second (that film made me sick — I’m not kidding), but then the third one came back in a huge way. Hopefully, the super-talented Bird can continue this streak and deliver an awesome spy film.

(By the way, that image of Bird is ridiculously high resolution, so if you want a poster of him or something, now is your chance.)

While promoting Death at a Funeral, comedian Chris Rock revealed that he will be penning High and Low,  a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 detective thriller.

Although the project was originally commissioned by Martin Scorsese in 1999, the remake is now being helmed by Mike Nichols, whose previous films include Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, and Charlie Wilson’s War.

The plot synopsis for the original reads (from IMDB):

At a crucial point in his business life, executive Gondo learns that his son has been kidnapped and that the ransom demanded is near the amount Gondo has raised for a critical business deal. Gondo is prepared to pay the ransom – that is, until he learns that the kidnappers have mistakenly abducted not Gondo’s son, but the child of Gondo’s chauffeur. Now Gondo must decide whether the other man’s child is equally worth saving.

Rock replaces David Mamet in a very interesting twist in the development of this movie. I’m a little baffled, but maybe he’s been hiding an urge to really write a great screenplay. He has written before, but mostly comedies, naturally. Will Rock bring some comedic flair to this Japanese classic?

These days, when it comes to political thrillers, audiences seem to be a little wary, mainly because they don’t want to sit through a lecture about our nation’s political system.  That’s probably why a film like last year’s “Rendition”, which I consider to be one of 2007′s best films, didn’t fare too well at the box office.  The new thriller “Traitor”, an overall effective film, may fall victim to the same problem seeing as it deals directly with issues that the average movie going audience most likely won’t want to hear about.  However, I’d still say go see it because even though it may be a relatively predictable film, there’s no denying that it was made with solid skill.

The traitor that the title refers to is Samir Horn (Don Cheadle), a black man with a partial Sudanese background who decided to become an undercover Special Op for the United States after, as a young boy, he watched his father die in a car bombing.  One of Samir’s best abilities as a U.S. operative is how he can infiltrate a terrorist network and convince them that he’s on their side.  When we first meet Samir, he’s selling a group of terrorists some weapons, but all of a sudden, the FBI bursts in, arrests everyone and sends them all to a terrorist prison.  After a brief stint in jail and a daring escape, Samir enters another terrorist cell that’s planning an elaborate scheme which involves thirty different suicide bombers.  However, conflict arises when the FBI begins to hunt down Samir, because he’s the only suspect they know of, and at the same time we learn that Samir may be a plant by the CIA, who are using him to take down that same terrorist cell.

The main reason to see “Traitor” is Don Cheadle.  He’s such a good actor, and he’s able to excel above some pretty standard material.  The character of Samir horn is someone who’s pretty open about religion and he’s also internally conflicted about his position.  The screenplay does a good job of exploring the moral questions that operating on both sides can entail, especially considering it’s set during the present time, but it’s Cheadle who effectively shows the weariness and scattered bursts of frustration that a man in his position would experience.  Plus, Cheadle never turns Samir into a full-on action hero, just like how the filmmakers never turn “Traitor” into a full-on action film.  It does have the same realistic tone and style of the “Bourne” movies, but it’s more action-oriented sections are more spaced out, but that’s not particularly a bad thing.  I like the fact that “Traitor” is more about how the system works when it comes to terrorism, rather than just the acts of terrorism by themselves.

In addition to Don Cheadle, there are some other good actors on display here.  Guy Pierce, who was in one of my favorite films of all-time, “Memento”, plays Roy Clayton, the FBI agent spearheading the team pursuing Samir.  Yes, the role of the straight-arrow FBI agent is one that’s pretty much been done to death, but given how good of an actor Pierce is, he keeps his character interesting enough all the way through, and the same goes for his partner played by Neal McDonough.  Jeff Daniels is also in the film, playing the top CIA brass who is the only person who knows about Samir’s inside operation, and unfortunately, Daniels is criminally underused.  But he’s still good with what little screen time he does have.

Now, I understand filmmakers putting the war on terror in the spotlight when it comes to stories such as these, but in my opinion, it’s starting to wear a little thin.  The issue worked as the main idea of a film such as “Rendition”, but even though I loved that film, I still thought that showing the issue full-on got a little tiresome after a while.  The majority of “Traitor” takes place in the foreign “conflict countries”, I guess you could call them, but I have to say that I could do without some of these movies for a while.  How about taking a break from these foreign political thrillers and making some that stay in the U.S., huh, Hollywood?

But in the end, “Traitor” is nonetheless a well-made film with some solid performances and good suspense.  It ain’t no “Jason Bourne”, but I’d still recommend it.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆