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FAST 6
While it doesn't reach the action levels of FAST FIVE, its still pretty damn good and entertaining.
And I never thought I would say this but...
BRING ON FAST 7 especially after the ground work was laid out in this entry!
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Posted: |
May 26, 2013 - 7:49 PM
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By: |
DeputyRiley
(Member)
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Well I nearly gave up on the Fast and Furious franchise...pretty much loathed the first film and then tried to give 2 Fast 2 Furious a chance, but yeah it was even worse. Only lasted about a half hour into that one before deciding to drop the whole franchise from my to-do list.
But thought again what the hell...I'll go with my gut, scratch #2 and bypass Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift altogether, and started anew with 2009's Fast and Furious sequel which saw the return of original stars Vin Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, and the reprisal of Paul Walker since the second film.
Fast and Furious (2009) -- 6.5/10
Much better. This is how the first film should've been done, or the first film was just an embarrassing middle-school theater department run-through with cars and T&A. Fast and Furious was still low on intellect but excelled in all other departments (style, action, music, characters). Laz Alonso made a terrific bad guy. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel have such a terrific chemistry, even if their acting and required screenplay are sub-par. Against better judgment, I just really enjoy them onscreen and can never get enough of Jordana Brewster (even though she barely gets anything to do), so I'm definitely on board for Fast Five which is in the mail to me as we speak...tbc...
(the love theme that Brian Tyler wrote for Dom and Letty, usually played on acoustic guitar, is frickin awesome ... brilliant scoring ... the music gives their relationship more depth and feeling than the actors or screenplay succeed in conveying)
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Posted: |
May 27, 2013 - 2:37 AM
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By: |
BobJ
(Member)
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You'll want to see Tokyo Drift, probably. While it doesn't star Walker and Diesel, it introduces a plot thread that runs through Lin's other F&F movies and it ties in directly (from what I hear) to the end of F&F6 and what's to come in F&F7. As I said above, 2F2F is truly awful, but it does introduce a character or two who come back in 4 or 5, 5 I think, so if you're interested in full continuity it might be worth finishing just for that. But probably not. 
For myself I'll probably not see 6 in theaters and then marathon through 3-7 once 7 comes out.
Damn you mastadge! Just when I thought I was out you pull me back in.  Now I think you're right. I don't think I can stomach any more of 2F2F (I'll just buy the cliffs notes) but I guess I'll give Tokyo Drift a try. I do want to see more of Tyler's music match the action even though I have zero interest in seeing Lucas Black or Lil' Bow Wow or whatever his name is. I was impressed by Sung Kang (?) who appeared briefly in Fast and Furious however (who mentioned he thought he'd check out Tokyo) and wouldn't mind seeing him in Tokyo Drift even though I know he's in the later sequels too.
I really do love continuity in franchises, that's the heart of why I dig the Saw films so much.
Oh these films and their dark temptation and seductive wiles...they have me in their grip...if watching them all is wrong I don't want to be right!!!
While the plot to Tokyo Drift is quite awful, the car stunts are a thing of absolute beauty. I'm serious, some of the stunt work borders on supernatural... and I am not talking about the CG elements. The Lin plot is also the best part of the film story wise, so yeah, you really should see it. Far better than 2F2F.
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Posted: |
May 27, 2013 - 6:23 AM
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By: |
mastadge
(Member)
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Killer Joe (2011) dir. William Friedkin -- A nasty piece of work. I like Matthew McConaughey, Gine Gershon and Thomas Haden Church, but for some reason Emile Hirsch always annoys me.
Save the Date (2012) dir. Michael Mohan -- A little indie romantic dramedy that I watched mainly because it played in our local indie theater, and partly because I like Alison Brie and Lizzy Caplan. Pretty good, but pretty disposable.
Parker (2013) dir. Taylor Hackford -- Wow. This movie just plain doesn't work. It looks like a cheap TV movie. Statham is capable of better, Lopez is awful, and Michael Chiklis and Clifton Collins Jr. are just wasted here.
The Last Stand (2013) dir. Jee-woon Kim -- I really liked this director's The Good, the Bad, the Weird and this film shares a little of that one's offbeat energy and style, but not enough. A pretty good cast, and Luis Guzmán is surprisingly less annoying than usual, but Peter Stormare makes up for it by being almost as awful as Schwarzenegger. The pacing here is off, and Eduardo Noriega as the villain spends most of the movie sitting in a car. It's got some decent bits but, again, mostly disposable entertainment.
Family Weekend (2013) dir. Benjamin Epps -- This is one of those movies that I don't remember why I added to my Netflix queue, since the trailers are pretty bad and it doesn't involve any actors or filmmakers whom I follow. Surprisingly, it's a lot of fun. It's much smarter than the junk family/kiddie comedy the trailers make it out to be (though it does get a bit more stupid toward the end), and Olesya Rulin, whom I was not familiar with, is surprisingly good in the lead role. I'm surprised to say I recommend this one as a comedy that's a little smarter and darker than it pretends to be.
The Big Bad Swim (2006) dir. Ishai Setton -- A solid indie drama, from before indie meant hipster, about a group of people who meet each other at a swim lesson they've signed up for for various personal reasons. The only actor I was familiar with here was Paget Brewster from Criminal Minds, but the entire cast pulls its weight, and the movie makes more of an impact than expected.
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Posted: |
May 27, 2013 - 6:56 PM
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By: |
DeputyRiley
(Member)
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2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) -- 6/10
Maybe the first one left such a sour taste in my mouth that I began 2F2F without giving it a chance, or maybe by this point the Fast and Furious films have grown on me, or maybe after the low point of Tokyo Drift the second film was a breath of air, maybe I was just now in the mood for some good dumb fun, but whatever the case may be...I liked 2F2F pretty good. It still had a lot of the same detriments that hobble the series in general (poor acting, lame script, TV-movie plots) but I found a lot to like in part 2. Tyrese Gibson was a blast and I had so much fun watching him. He and Walker had better chemistry than Diesel and Walker, a duo that I liked too, and I dug watching these guys tearin it up. Cole Hauser was a perfect choice for the ridiculously sleazy Police Academy-caliber villain because Hauser does sleazy so well. I thought there were a lot of witty parts of the film too, usually involving Tyrese. Thought it was awesome when the hundreds of bright racers exploded from the warehouse to confuse the cops and allow the heroes to get away. Loved the Miami setting; loved the colors used throughout the film, they really popped and shone, from the cars to the sunsets to the wardrobe. Maybe I was just in the right mood for it but I had fun watching 2F2F...funny because the first time I watched the first half hour I thought it sucked. Maybe it does. But that doesn't mean I couldn't find a way to be entertained!
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Posted: |
May 28, 2013 - 7:20 AM
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By: |
CinemaScope
(Member)
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I saw a few films over the long weekend. Last night, Jack Reacher, I enjoyed it, a lot better than I thought it would be. The night before, American Gangster, really good, Russell Crowe may be a bit of an arse, but he is damn good in the movies. Saturday, my favorite film of the weekend, I'd recorded it in HD...Daybreakers, I really enjoyed this one, & may even buy the Blu-ray. Next Saturday night in my living room, is the premiere of the Blu of Django Unchained.
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to hide your identity.