... FOR "MACGUFFIN WITH EGG (PART 3 - 'MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE' EDITION)"

So to reiterate: A MacGuffin is any "object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance." The entire function of the MacGuffin is to tempt the characters, to give them a "goal," so to speak – something to chase after. It hardly matters what the object is. The focus of the plot should be on what drives the characters to get it, what they do to get it, what happens if they do not get their hands on it.

It can be tough to do the MacGuffin justice. Explain it too much, and you risk losing your audience ("What? These people are risking life, love and limb for this stupid thing and it turns out to be a pack of gum? I'm outta here!"). Explain the MacGuffin just enough to peak your audience's interest, and it's, well, Hitchcock-ian.

Paramount's Mission: Impossible series is a prime example of how to cook up a MacGuffin right. They take the same basic setup as the television series (the Tape Scene, the Plan, and Mission Initiation) then add a modern twist, sending IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) after bad guys in possession of increasingly treacherous objects. Each object is given a brief description before we're off and running, barely pausing to take a breath or to ask any questions. This is exactly how it should be.

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 4 - 'DUMBO' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. (For my Introduction/Part One, see here. For Part Two, see here. Part Three, here.) Again, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories/complaints below.

Title: Dumbo (1941; based on a story written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl)

The Plot: A baby elephant, ridiculed by his fellow circus animals for his abnormally large ears, finds his independence with the help of a kindly mouse.

The Songs: "Baby Mine," "Casey Junior," "Look Out For Mr. Stork," "Song Of The Roustabouts," "The Clown Song" (aka "We're Gonna Hit The Big Boss For A Raise"), "Pink Elephants On Parade," "When I See An Elephant Fly"

... FOR "LOWERED EXPECTATIONS (PART 3 - 'HOW DO YOU KNOW' EDITION)

Another entry in a (potentially) long list of titles that aren't quite as bad as their reputations would have you believe. Or vice versa, for movies that fail to live up to the hype.

So here we are again. Up to this point, we've covered an OK movie that's not quite as bad as everyone would have you believe, and a movie that's a lot better than I actually expected. That's what happens when you temper your expectations a bit – more often than not, you wind up pleasantly surprised. (Not that I'd tell anyone to rush out and see Jonah Hex, but still.)

But what happens when you expect something more out of a movie than what you actually get?

... FOR "WALT DISNEY'S ANIMATED FIFTY (PART 3 - 'FANTASIA' EDITION)"

My continuing foray into Disney's fifty official Animated Classics. (For my Introduction/Part One, see here. For Part Two, see here.) Again, don't hesitate to share your thoughts/memories below.

Title: Fantasia (1940)

The Plot: A succession of animated segments set to classical music, conducted by Leopold Stokowski and narrated by Deems Taylor.
 
The Segments: Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Johann Sebastian Bach), The Nutcracker Suite (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Paul Dukas), The Rite Of Spring (Igor Stravinsky), The Pastoral Symphony (Ludwig van Beethoven), Dance Of The Hours (Amilcare Ponchielli), Night On Bald Mountain (Modest Mussorgsky) / Ave Maria (Franz Schubert)

... FOR "IN-JOKES AND SUCH"

Source Code stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a military operative trying to uncover a potential terrorist threat from on board a Chicago commuter train. The catch is, he's part of a highfalutin' government experiment that plugs his consciousness into the body of a passenger for only 8 minutes at a time, and he's been tasked with reliving those minutes, over and over again, until he can discover the bomber's identity.

If the plot sounds familiar, you're right: it's Groundhog Day (though significantly less funny) mixed with a healthy dose of TV's Quantum Leap (look! When he looks in the mirror the face he sees is not his own but someone else's!), updated for our terror-fueled times. But if you think you're one step ahead of the movie, guess again: Source Code, in between its time-hopping hijinks, also features some downtime between Gyllenhaal's character and his estranged father, a voice-only cameo by none other than... Scott Bakula, star of TV's Quantum Leap. (Bakula even gets to utter his immortal phrase from that series – "Oh, Boy!" – at a crucial moment during their conversation.)