Tuesday, January 30, 2018

"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" (2013) Review

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"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" (2013) Review

When "THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS" first hit the movie screens in 2001, I never imagined that it would be such a major hit . . . or spawn five sequels. The franchise seemed in danger of ending with a whimper with 2006's "THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT", due to its lack of critical success. Three years later saw the rejuvenation of the franchise with the success of 2009's "FAST AND FURIOUS". This movie spawned a mini trilogy of its own, culminating in the latest film, "FAST AND FURIOUS 6"

The franchise's fifth installment, "FAST FIVE" ended with Dominic Toretto and his accomplices reaping the rewards of a successful heist from a Rio drug lord. In the film's Easter egg segment, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) agent Luke Hobbs learns from U.S. Customs agent Monica Fuentes (from 2003's "2 FAST 2 FURIOUS") that Dom's former girlfriend, Letty Ortiz, is alive and well, and working with one Owen Shaw, a British criminal (and former Special Forces soldier) who had recently pulled a heist on a Russian military convoy. Hobbs and his new partner, Riley Hicks, recruit Dom, Brian O'Conner and other members of the gang who helped pull off the Rio heist; to help them take down Shaw. Hobbes convinces Dom to help him, revealing Letty's existence and offering full amnesty for past crimes. With the exception of Mia Torretto and former Rio police officer Elena Neves (who remain behind to care for Mia and Brian's new baby), along with Leo Tego and Rico Santos (who remain on the French Riviera gambling); Dom, Brian and the rest of the gang arrive in London to help Hobbes and Hicks to track down Shaw. Upon their arrival, they discover that Letty has amnesia and that capturing Shaw might prove to be more difficult than they had originally imagined.

After watching "FAST AND FURIOUS 6", I came to the conclusion that it was my second favorite movie in the franchise after "FAST FIVE". However, I am not so sure anymore. There are certain aspects of this latest film that makes me reluctant to view as the franchise's second best. One, the movie's premise is not that original - even for a FAST AND FURIOUS movie. In fact, the story premise for "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" bears a strong resemblance to the premise for the 2003 movie, "2 FAST 2 FURIOUS". In that movie, Brian O'Conner and Roman Pearce helped the Feds bring down a Miami-based drug lord in exchange for pardons and clean records. Brian, Roman, Dom and others help Fed Luke Hobbes take down international criminal Owen Shaw for . . . what else? Pardons and clean records. I also had a problem with the Roman Pearce character. I had no problem with Tyrese Gibson's portrayal of the character. But I found it odd that Roman would immediately drop his airborne love fest with a group of models due to a summons from Dom Toretto, of all people. "FAST FIVE" did not exactly end with Roman and Dom as the best of friends. If the movie had established that Roman had received the summons from Brian, who was his childhood friend, I could accept his immediate decision to join the team. One last problem I had with "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" proved to be a flashback from 2009's "FAST AND FURIOUS" regarding the origin of Letty Ortiz's amnesia. The 2009 movie hinted that Letty had been killed by Arturo Braga's henchman, Fenix Calderon. But a flashback in "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" revealed that Calderon missed Letty completely and shot the car to which she was standing near. The car exploded, injuring Letty. Why Calderon failed to confirm her death after the explosion remains a mystery to me. The entire scene struck me as clumsily handled. I also noticed that Dom's ridiculous "Daddy issues" and desire to be "Papa Toretto" to anyone close to him still remains. When he made a comment at the end of the movie about Brian and Mia's son, Jack O'Conner, being solely a Toretto, I merely laughed. When he repeated the "joke" again, I began to wonder if he was making a demented attempt to claim the toddler as his own offspring. Right now, I feel that Brian and Mia should leave the Toretto home and purchase their own house to raise their kid.

But despite these problems, "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" turned out to be a pretty damn good movie. The franchise's street-racing theme played a major part in the efforts of Dom's team to stop Shaw's team from carrying out their crimes. This theme was definitely apparent in four scenes. One of them was a car chase through the streets of nighttime London that ended with the team's failure to capture Shaw, as he was fleeing his hideout. Another scene featured Dom and an amnesiac Letty in a street race that ended in a sexy moment in which the former tried to revive the latter's memories. There was also the film's final action sequence at a NATO air strip in which Dom and his team finally prevented Shaw from escaping by plane. I found that particular sequence a little hard to bear, considering that at times, it seemed to go on forever and it was shot at night. The only daytime sequence that featured vehicles on a highway not far from that NATO base in Spain. What made this sequence memorable for was the spectacular car chase that featured an outstanding stunt performed by Tyrese Gibson . . . or his double. There is a spectacular fight scene between Letty and Hobbes' partner, Riley Hicks, in the London Underground. I heard that Michelle Rodriguez felt a bit wary in doing a fight scene with Gina Carano . . . and I do not blame her, considering the latter is a mixed martial arts champ. There was also a pretty decent Dom and Hobbes vs. Shaw and his men aboard the cargo plane in Spain.

Action sequences were not the only staple that made "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" entertaining for me. The movie also featured some pretty damn good dramatic moments and rather funny scenes. I have already pointed out that sexy moment between Dom and Letty in which the former tried to revive the latter's memories. I also enjoyed the sequence in which Brian allowed himself to be "arrested" (courtesy of Luke Hobbes' Federal connections) by the FBI, in order to question former adversary Arturo Braga about Letty's connections to Shaw. Not only did it featured a humorous reunion between Brian and his former FBI colleague, Special Agent Stasiak; but also a very dramatic one between Brian and Braga. "FAST FIVE" featured the beginning of a romance between Han and Gisele. But their relationship took on a more poignant note in this movie, which I found very satisfying. I especially enjoyed how Roman quickly figured out Han's true feelings for Gisele. Speaking of Roman and Han, the movie featured a very funny moment in which both of them secretly agreed not to inform the others of their defeat against one of Shaw's men in the London Underground. In fact, Roman proved to have the best lines in the movie. My ultimate favorite? Read the following scene between him and Tej Parker:

[Roman asks Tej for change to use the vending machine]
TEJ: You're a millionaire and still asking for money?
ROMAN: That's how you stay a millionaire.


"FAST AND FURIOUS 6" featured some pretty decent performances. But there were those that stood out for me. I especially enjoyed Tyrese Gibson, who not only proved to be even funnier as Roman Pearce, but shared a nice dramatic moment with Sung Kang, while the two discussed Han's feelings for Gisele. Michelle Rodriguez gave one of her better performances as an intense and amnesiac Letty Ortiz, who is torn between her confusion over her identity and her growing wariness toward Shaw. Dwayne Johnson continued his energetic portrayal of DSS Agent Luke Hobbes with great style. Luke Evans made a particularly formidable foe as former Special Forces soldier Owen Shaw, who proves to be a very difficult to take down. Then again, the franchise has always featured some first-rate villains. Not only did Vin Diesel provided an unexpectedly sexy performance in one particular scene with Rodriguez, he and Elsa Pataky provided a nice poignant moment between Dom and former Brazil cop Elena Neves, who end their relationship due to Letty's re-emergence in Dom's life. However, Paul Walker really surprised me in this film. He has always struck me as mediocre or solid actor in the past. But his acting skills seemed to have grown considerably between "FAST FIVE" and "FAST AND FURIOUS 6". This was apparent in his scenes with John Ortiz, which featured a hostile reunion between Brian and Braga in a California prison.

I feel that "FAST AND FURIOUS 6" had its share of flaws. But thanks to Justin Lin's direction, a charasmatic cast and a solid script written by Chris Morgan, I feel that it not only proved to be one of the better films for the summer of 2013, but also one of the better films in the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER" (2012) Photo Gallery



Below are images from the new supernatural thriller, "ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER". Based upon Seth Grahame-Smith's 2010 novel and directed by Timur Nuruakhitovich Bekmambetov, the movie stars Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper and Anthony Mackie:


"ABRAHAM LINCOLN:  VAMPIRE HUNTER" (2012) Photo Gallery























Monday, January 15, 2018

"JANE EYRE" (1973) Photo Gallery

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Below is a gallery featuring images from "JANE EYRE", the 1973 television adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel. Directed by Joan Craft, the miniseries starred Sorcha Cusack and Michael Jayston: 


"JANE EYRE" (1973) Photo Gallery

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Monday, January 8, 2018

Favorite Films Set in the 1940s

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Below is a list of my favorite movies (so far) that are set in the 1940s: 


FAVORITE FILMS SET IN THE 1940s

1-Inglourious Basterds-a

1. "Inglourious Basterds" (2009) - Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed this Oscar nominated alternate history tale about two simultaneous plots to assassinate the Nazi High Command at a film premiere in German-occupied Paris. The movie starred Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent and Oscar winner Christoph Waltz.



2-Captain America the First Avenger

2. "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011) - Chris Evans made his first appearance in this exciting Marvel Cinematic Universe installment as the World War II comic book hero, Steve Rogers aka Captain America, who battles the Nazi-origin terrorist organization, HYDRA. Joe Johnston directed.



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3. "Devil in a Blue Dress" (1995) - Denzel Washington starred in this excellent adaptation of Walter Mosley's 1990 novel about a laid off factory worker who becomes a private detective, after he is hired to find a missing woman with connection to a local politician in post-World War II Los Angeles. Directed by Carl Franklin, the movie co-starred Don Cheadle, Jennifer Beals and Tom Siezmore.



3-Bedknobs and Broomsticks

4. "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" (1971) - Angela Landsbury and David Tomilinson starred in this excellent Disney adaptation of Mary Norton's series of children's stories about three English children, evacuated to the countryside during the Blitz, who are taken in by a woman studying to become a witch in order to help the Allies fight the Nazis. Robert Stevenson directed.



4-The Public Eye

5. "The Public Eye" (1992) - Joe Pesci starred in this interesting neo-noir tale about a New York City photojournalist (shuttlebug) who stumbles across an illegal gas rationing scandal involving the mob, a Federal government official during the early years of World War II. Barbara Hershey and Stanley Tucci co-starred.



5-A Murder Is Announced

6. "A Murder Is Announced" (1985) - Joan Hickson starred in this 1985 adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1950 novel about Miss Jane Marple's investigation of a series of murders in an English village that began with a newspaper notice advertising a "murder party". Directed by David Giles, the movie co-starred John Castle.



6-Hope and Glory

7. "Hope and Glory" (1987) - John Boorman wrote and directed this fictionalized account of his childhood during the early years of World War II in England. Sarah Miles, David Hayman and Sebastian Rice-Edwards starred.



7-The Godfather

8. "The Godfather" (1972) - Francis Ford Coppola co-wrote and directed this Oscar winning adaptation of Mario Puzo's 1969 novel about the fictional leaders of a crime family in post-World War II New York City. Oscar winner Marlon Brando and Oscar nominee Al Pacino starred.



8-Valkyrie

9. "Valkyrie" (2008) - Bryan Singer directed this acclaimed account of the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in July 1944. Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy and Tom Wilkinson starred.



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10. "Pearl Harbor" (2001) - Michael Bay directed this historical opus about the impact of the Pearl Harbor attack upon the lives of three people. Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Harnett and Cuba Gooding Jr. starred.



9-The Black Dahlia

Honorable Mention: "The Black Dahlia" (2006) - Brian DePalma directed this entertaining adaptation of James Ellroy's 1987 novel about the investigation of the infamous Black Dahlia case in 1947 Los Angeles. Josh Harnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank starred.