Episode 120 - MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE

From its stylized audiovisual design to its embrace of digital espionage, Mission: Impossible is more than Tom Cruise's overwhelmingly successful play for summer blockbuster job security. It's also an edgy departure from the TV series on which it was based, and a moody outlier in the bombastic, adrenaline-junkie franchise it spawned.

As the latest installment of the M:I series hits theaters, we gather intel on the film that started it all, realizing the most impossible thing about these missions is that no two of them are exactly alike.

Mission: Impossible (1996)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Produced by Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner
Written by David Koepp and Robert Towne
Based on the TV series Mission: Impossible created by Bruce Geller
Starring Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Vanessa Redgrave, Ving Rhames, Jean Reno, Henry Czerny, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Emilio Estevez

Episode 119 - CON AIR

The high concept of Con Air plays like a perfect card of Bruckheimer bingo: an unassailable tragic hero, oodles of massive explosions, and a preternaturally calm Nicolas Cage. But there's a lot more going on in this orchestrated mayhem, thanks to a deep bench of character actors and an infinitely quotable script that's dripping with sarcasm.

Jake Beal makes a garrulous WWWW debut that touches on everything from sound design to criminal psychology to dueling country music sirens. Don't miss this episode, because we're going to show you that God does exist.

Be sure to check out more of Jake's cinematic deep dives on his blog, The Mentaculus!

Con Air (1997)
Directed by Simon West
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
Written by Scott Rosenberg
Starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Ving Rhames, Colm Meaney, Danny Trejo, M.C. Gainey, Dave Chappelle, Mykelti Williamson, Rachel Ticotin, Monica Potter, and Steve Buscemi