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Phillip McSween (751 KP) rated Fast & Furious 6 (2013) in Movies
Feb 22, 2020
Flying...Headbutt
The gang is back in Fast & Furious 6 to take down a group of criminals led by someone that was once their own…I gotta tell you, after I watched this movie, my inner me clapped. Not because this was a phenomenal movie, but because director Justin Lin got a legit grasp on what this franchise is supposed to be. Sure it’s action and car chases, rinse and repeat, but I think that was taken way too seriously in the previous five movies. I mean, serious to the point of being flat-out obnoxious. In this sixth installment, Lin embraces the craziness of it all and plays on it, makes it bigger and more ridiculous at times. Seeing this put a smile on my face and made me think this franchise, with however many movies it has left, just might have some legs afterall. Clearly I feel some kind of way as this is the longest Intro I’ve written in a long time.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 6
If you’ve seen one of these beginnings, you’ve seen them all. There’s not much new under the sun here but it’s definitely better than average. I’ve seen worse starts, I’ll just say that.
Characters: 10
Ok, so these guys are not going to wow you with their exponential growth throughout the movie, but they’re still fun characters. Dom, Letty, Brian…when you see them all together, you get a real sense of what they are going for: really creating a family-like atmosphere. These guys have been through hell and back together and you can’t help but feel connected to them at this sixth installment. Roman (Tyrese Gibson) is just the best. His comedic timing can be everything in a scene and he’s a blast to watch. His character is literally there for a charm effect and you know what? It works.
Cinematography/Visuals: 9
Conflict: 8
Entertainment Value: 7
Here’s what makes this movie entertaining: The absolute ridiculousness of it all. After seeing Dom singlehandedly lift a car and snidely joke about it, nothing surprises me anymore about these movies. Also two words for you: Flying Headbutt. You’ll thank me later.
Memorability: 7
As always, there are some extremely fun car chases scattered throughout the movie, including one involving a big airplane stunt. Not bad as action movies go. And also: Flying Headbutt.
Pace: 7
Plot: 4
These stories will never be nominated for any type of major awards, that’s no secret. The plans are completely improbable, the bad guys usually over-the-top ridiculous, and the story is a rollercoaster of keeping things interesting. And why the hell does the GOVERNMENT keep calling on these clowns to save the world? Seriously! Just put your expectations aside of finding any plausible story and just enjoy the damn movie.
Resolution: 10
Once the Flying Headbutt (yes, that’s my third mention) happens, it’s all downhill from there. However, the movie does wrap nicely and gives me a sense of completion for the story. It ended with me thinking, “You know, I could probably stomach one more of these.”
Overall: 78
Based on my previous experience with this franchise, I was really surprised by my level of enjoyment for Fast & Furious 6. It’s not a movie I would put on if I had multiple choices, but it’s a movie I could have on in the background as I’m working on my scripts. This franchise is growing…even if its characters aren’t.
Acting: 10
Beginning: 6
If you’ve seen one of these beginnings, you’ve seen them all. There’s not much new under the sun here but it’s definitely better than average. I’ve seen worse starts, I’ll just say that.
Characters: 10
Ok, so these guys are not going to wow you with their exponential growth throughout the movie, but they’re still fun characters. Dom, Letty, Brian…when you see them all together, you get a real sense of what they are going for: really creating a family-like atmosphere. These guys have been through hell and back together and you can’t help but feel connected to them at this sixth installment. Roman (Tyrese Gibson) is just the best. His comedic timing can be everything in a scene and he’s a blast to watch. His character is literally there for a charm effect and you know what? It works.
Cinematography/Visuals: 9
Conflict: 8
Entertainment Value: 7
Here’s what makes this movie entertaining: The absolute ridiculousness of it all. After seeing Dom singlehandedly lift a car and snidely joke about it, nothing surprises me anymore about these movies. Also two words for you: Flying Headbutt. You’ll thank me later.
Memorability: 7
As always, there are some extremely fun car chases scattered throughout the movie, including one involving a big airplane stunt. Not bad as action movies go. And also: Flying Headbutt.
Pace: 7
Plot: 4
These stories will never be nominated for any type of major awards, that’s no secret. The plans are completely improbable, the bad guys usually over-the-top ridiculous, and the story is a rollercoaster of keeping things interesting. And why the hell does the GOVERNMENT keep calling on these clowns to save the world? Seriously! Just put your expectations aside of finding any plausible story and just enjoy the damn movie.
Resolution: 10
Once the Flying Headbutt (yes, that’s my third mention) happens, it’s all downhill from there. However, the movie does wrap nicely and gives me a sense of completion for the story. It ended with me thinking, “You know, I could probably stomach one more of these.”
Overall: 78
Based on my previous experience with this franchise, I was really surprised by my level of enjoyment for Fast & Furious 6. It’s not a movie I would put on if I had multiple choices, but it’s a movie I could have on in the background as I’m working on my scripts. This franchise is growing…even if its characters aren’t.
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Red Rising in Books
May 30, 2017
Mildly boring
This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Red Rising by debut author Pierce Brown is a very difficult book to review. It is clear that Brown is an excellent writer with amazing ideas, but at the same time it does not feel possible to rate the book any higher that two or three stars. This first book of three is somewhat alike The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins and has some very exciting themes. However at other times it provoked a range of emotions from disgust to almost verging on boredom.
Set thousands of years in the future, the world has become colour coded. Gold are the elite, the ruling colour, and at the bottom of the pile are the Reds. Darrow is a Red and lives below the surface of the planet Mars in the mines with the responsibility of helping to make the planet’s surface habitable for humans in the future. He soon discovers that the ruling societies have been lying to him all his life, and to the many generations before him. But there is an uprising brewing and Darrow has been chosen to play a vital role in it, even though that means pretending to be the enemy.
Although it was difficult to get into the novel it appeared to be clear what the plot would be about. Wrong! Once Darrow has been trained to behave like a Gold the storyline changes completely. It is almost as though it is a different book altogether. Red Rising suddenly becomes Hunger Games-esque and the situations with the Reds, while being referred to once or twice, was all but forgotten. Presumably those original themes will continue within the final books of the trilogy.
Living under the surface of Mars with no sunlight speeds up the aging process of the inhabitants. People in the thirties are considered old; therefore even though Darrow is a teenager in Earth years, he is portrayed as a man – an image that is difficult to shake off throughout the entire book. Once Darrow is living with the Golds and, supposedly, resembling his true age, it is still easy to forget that he is young. This may change the way the reader pictures the scenes compared with how the author intended them to be imagined. The characters are still only children but may be mistaken for adults due Darrow’s opening scenes.
It cannot be denied that Brown is a very knowledgeable writer. As well as writing in an exceptionally well-structured way, he incorporates a vast amount of high culture into his story. A lot of the novel is influenced by Greek and Roman mythology and he also quotes famous philosophers such as Cicero and Plato. So despite its science fiction genre it also has a slight educational nature.
Something interesting about Red Rising was the character development of Darrow. At the beginning he was rather naïve, believing everything he was told, following orders etc. But soon he becomes more confident, clever, Gold-like. However he then becomes like a wild beast, killing to survive, to win. Thankfully his cleverness takes control and he realises that he needs to become a leader and not a tyrant. Towards the end he even becomes messiah-like. As Darrow progresses through these changes he becomes a more likable character.
I am not sure whether I want to read the next installment of Red Rising. For the beginning storyline to continue and become the main focus, the book would need to be completely different. This could be a good thing because, as mentioned, there were times when it was a little boring, however there’s the risk that it will not feel like a follow on from the first book. I do not want to put anyone off from reading it, but I will honestly say that it was not really what I was expecting.
Red Rising by debut author Pierce Brown is a very difficult book to review. It is clear that Brown is an excellent writer with amazing ideas, but at the same time it does not feel possible to rate the book any higher that two or three stars. This first book of three is somewhat alike The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins and has some very exciting themes. However at other times it provoked a range of emotions from disgust to almost verging on boredom.
Set thousands of years in the future, the world has become colour coded. Gold are the elite, the ruling colour, and at the bottom of the pile are the Reds. Darrow is a Red and lives below the surface of the planet Mars in the mines with the responsibility of helping to make the planet’s surface habitable for humans in the future. He soon discovers that the ruling societies have been lying to him all his life, and to the many generations before him. But there is an uprising brewing and Darrow has been chosen to play a vital role in it, even though that means pretending to be the enemy.
Although it was difficult to get into the novel it appeared to be clear what the plot would be about. Wrong! Once Darrow has been trained to behave like a Gold the storyline changes completely. It is almost as though it is a different book altogether. Red Rising suddenly becomes Hunger Games-esque and the situations with the Reds, while being referred to once or twice, was all but forgotten. Presumably those original themes will continue within the final books of the trilogy.
Living under the surface of Mars with no sunlight speeds up the aging process of the inhabitants. People in the thirties are considered old; therefore even though Darrow is a teenager in Earth years, he is portrayed as a man – an image that is difficult to shake off throughout the entire book. Once Darrow is living with the Golds and, supposedly, resembling his true age, it is still easy to forget that he is young. This may change the way the reader pictures the scenes compared with how the author intended them to be imagined. The characters are still only children but may be mistaken for adults due Darrow’s opening scenes.
It cannot be denied that Brown is a very knowledgeable writer. As well as writing in an exceptionally well-structured way, he incorporates a vast amount of high culture into his story. A lot of the novel is influenced by Greek and Roman mythology and he also quotes famous philosophers such as Cicero and Plato. So despite its science fiction genre it also has a slight educational nature.
Something interesting about Red Rising was the character development of Darrow. At the beginning he was rather naïve, believing everything he was told, following orders etc. But soon he becomes more confident, clever, Gold-like. However he then becomes like a wild beast, killing to survive, to win. Thankfully his cleverness takes control and he realises that he needs to become a leader and not a tyrant. Towards the end he even becomes messiah-like. As Darrow progresses through these changes he becomes a more likable character.
I am not sure whether I want to read the next installment of Red Rising. For the beginning storyline to continue and become the main focus, the book would need to be completely different. This could be a good thing because, as mentioned, there were times when it was a little boring, however there’s the risk that it will not feel like a follow on from the first book. I do not want to put anyone off from reading it, but I will honestly say that it was not really what I was expecting.
Lee (2222 KP) rated Jojo Rabbit (2019) in Movies
Dec 17, 2019
During the opening credits of Jojo Rabbit, we're treated to The Beatles singing "I Want to Hold Your Hand" while documentary footage plays showing crowds of Germans going absolutely nuts for Hitler, sieg-heiling and cheering for him. It's a fairly good indication of the kind of humour you can expect from Jojo Rabbit and writer/director Taika Waititi, who hit the big time after directing 'Thor Ragnarok', but has previously been responsible for a wide range of brilliantly quirky movies such as 'What We Do in the Shadows' and 'Hunt for the Wilderpeople'.
We begin by meeting 10 year old German boy, Johannes 'Jojo' Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), as he nervously prepares to head off to Nazi youth camp in order to fulfill his dream of serving Adolf Hitler. Heading up the camp is one-eyed Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell), aided by a bunch of inept instructors, including Fraulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson) and Finkel (Alfie Allen). At the camp, boys get to play with knives and hand grenades, girls are taught the importance of having babies (Fraulein Rahm has given birth to 18!), while all of the children are taught about the evil monsters that are the Jews. Accompanying Jojo at the camp are best friend Yorki (a brilliant Archie Yates, soon to be starring in the recently announced remake of Home Alone) and Jojo's imaginary friend Hitler (Taika Waititi). When Jojo refuses to wring the neck of rabbit during a lesson on killing (earning him the nickname Jojo Rabbit), and is hospitalised following an unfortunate incident with a grenade, he is forced to leave the camp behind, returning home to be with his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson).
While his mother is out during the day, Jojo discovers a teenage Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) hiding out in the wall-space of his sisters bedroom. Jojo is initially shocked, and repulsed, by this hideous Jew, even more so when he discovers that it was his mother who was responsible for hiding her. As time goes on though, Jojo and Elsa begin to form a friendship, with Elsa feeding Jojo a series of made up ridiculous stories and tales regarding the origins and ways of Jews so that Jojo can write a book about them. All the while, Rosie remains completely unaware that Jojo knows anything of Elsa. The bumbling, goofy Hitler occasionally shows up too when Jojo needs words of encouragement, or when times are tough, and provides us with some welcome light relief. More humour is provided in the form of various smaller characters, including gestapo member Stephen Merchant and his team during what is essentially a pretty serious and dramatic scene as they show up and ransack Jojo's house.
But Jojo Rabbit is a movie about relationships. The Jojo/Hitler dynamic begins to take a backseat as things start to get more serious and we focus more on the bond between Jojo and his mother, and the relationship between Jojo and Elsa, as the final months of the war play out. The child actors in Jojo Rabbit are all outstanding and we also get to see a wonderfully different side to Scarlett Johansson. Sam Rockwell is hilarious and Rebel Wilson is just, well, Rebel Wilson! Occasionally though, we are dealt an unexpected gut punch, and it's fair to say that you'll be crying at Jojo Rabbit just as much as you'll be laughing. If I'm honest, I really wasn't expecting that side to Jojo Rabbit and it did more for me and my enjoyment of the movie than the comedy did, which wasn't really as laugh out loud as I thought it would be. Overall though, Jojo Rabbit is simply wonderful - funny, heartbreaking, sad and poignant - and unlike anything you've ever seen before.
We begin by meeting 10 year old German boy, Johannes 'Jojo' Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), as he nervously prepares to head off to Nazi youth camp in order to fulfill his dream of serving Adolf Hitler. Heading up the camp is one-eyed Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell), aided by a bunch of inept instructors, including Fraulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson) and Finkel (Alfie Allen). At the camp, boys get to play with knives and hand grenades, girls are taught the importance of having babies (Fraulein Rahm has given birth to 18!), while all of the children are taught about the evil monsters that are the Jews. Accompanying Jojo at the camp are best friend Yorki (a brilliant Archie Yates, soon to be starring in the recently announced remake of Home Alone) and Jojo's imaginary friend Hitler (Taika Waititi). When Jojo refuses to wring the neck of rabbit during a lesson on killing (earning him the nickname Jojo Rabbit), and is hospitalised following an unfortunate incident with a grenade, he is forced to leave the camp behind, returning home to be with his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson).
While his mother is out during the day, Jojo discovers a teenage Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) hiding out in the wall-space of his sisters bedroom. Jojo is initially shocked, and repulsed, by this hideous Jew, even more so when he discovers that it was his mother who was responsible for hiding her. As time goes on though, Jojo and Elsa begin to form a friendship, with Elsa feeding Jojo a series of made up ridiculous stories and tales regarding the origins and ways of Jews so that Jojo can write a book about them. All the while, Rosie remains completely unaware that Jojo knows anything of Elsa. The bumbling, goofy Hitler occasionally shows up too when Jojo needs words of encouragement, or when times are tough, and provides us with some welcome light relief. More humour is provided in the form of various smaller characters, including gestapo member Stephen Merchant and his team during what is essentially a pretty serious and dramatic scene as they show up and ransack Jojo's house.
But Jojo Rabbit is a movie about relationships. The Jojo/Hitler dynamic begins to take a backseat as things start to get more serious and we focus more on the bond between Jojo and his mother, and the relationship between Jojo and Elsa, as the final months of the war play out. The child actors in Jojo Rabbit are all outstanding and we also get to see a wonderfully different side to Scarlett Johansson. Sam Rockwell is hilarious and Rebel Wilson is just, well, Rebel Wilson! Occasionally though, we are dealt an unexpected gut punch, and it's fair to say that you'll be crying at Jojo Rabbit just as much as you'll be laughing. If I'm honest, I really wasn't expecting that side to Jojo Rabbit and it did more for me and my enjoyment of the movie than the comedy did, which wasn't really as laugh out loud as I thought it would be. Overall though, Jojo Rabbit is simply wonderful - funny, heartbreaking, sad and poignant - and unlike anything you've ever seen before.
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Bob Mann (459 KP) rated Fast & Furious 9 (2021) in Movies
Jun 24, 2021
Ridiculous storyline (1 more)
Improbable action
Magnetic bulls**t that will no doubt attract Fast-fans
Positives:
- Glossy locations, fast cars and beautiful women: the usual Fast stuff.
- When the stunts are "real", they are good and exciting. But it's often difficult to tell when there's been a 'computer-assist'.
Negatives:
- I complained in my review for "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" about it having a childish and ludicrous plot. This movie makes that look like bl***y Shakespeare! There's an attempt to add a smidgen of family tension into the mix, based on Dom's childhood trauma. But aside from that element, the 'story' (I use the term in its loosest possible sense) bounces (without any rational logic most of the time) from ludicrous situation to ludicrous situation without pause. Most of these are linked by Ramsey (the very British Nathalie Emmanuel) stating a random fact such as "Well, now he's going to need to launch a satellite". And off we go again. (That particular crazy story arc even sees them 'doing a Musk' and flying a car into space: I kid you not!)
- It's not even the 'big stuff' that's unbelievable. Everywhere you look, there are inconsistencies and things that don't make sense.
-- Tej (played by Ludicris - an appropriate name here) takes dodging a brigade worth of machine gun bullets to nonsensical limits.
-- Generally, the cast gets blasted, dropped, crashed, burned, and otherwise put through more fatal situations than you can imagine, only to walk out without a scratch.
-- And if you can show me a single delivery lorry in Edinburgh that has an automatic gearbox, I'll be amazed!
- At one point, Roman (Tyrese Gibson) mutters some line about "Trusting in the physics and the numbers". Well, let me tell you, it's like no physics that I studied on this planet. A lot of the set pieces involve huge magnets attached to trucks and cars. Now - correct me if I'm wrong - but if you turn a massive magnet on in a truck then as well as ripping the car you are chasing through the adjacent building (as if), you will also force the truck to be pulled into that building too. OK, perhaps not as much.... but the lorry ain't going to stay in its driving lane, I know that much! And magnets attract metal - they don't repel it!
- At 145 minutes, this is well over 2 hours of my life I will never get back.
Summary Thoughts on "F9": It's just such a formulaic and contrived piece of fluff that it makes me cross that they can spend $200,000 on a movie and not make it better. Part of this involves the lazy use of CGI to create obviously nonsensical stunts that devalue true action films. Yes, the stunt team was busy, and impressive, here - but always going for "one better" has led to extensive use of CGI. That's why I liked the 2014 'knock-off' film "Need for Speed" - - at least they did all their stunts old-school, in camera, and not in the computer.
But whatever I say here, this movie will unfortunately get its audience. At the time of writing, it's already made nearly $300K at the box office on its $200K budget. Which means there will inevitably be an F10, no doubt involving a driving battle on the planet Mars. Sigh.
By the way, before you dive for the exits to relieve your bladder (it is 145 minutes after all), there is a mid-credits scene that re-introduces an old favourite.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the One Mann's Movies review here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2021/06/24/f9-magnetic-bullst-that-will-no-doubt-attract-fast-fans/. Thanks).
- Glossy locations, fast cars and beautiful women: the usual Fast stuff.
- When the stunts are "real", they are good and exciting. But it's often difficult to tell when there's been a 'computer-assist'.
Negatives:
- I complained in my review for "The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" about it having a childish and ludicrous plot. This movie makes that look like bl***y Shakespeare! There's an attempt to add a smidgen of family tension into the mix, based on Dom's childhood trauma. But aside from that element, the 'story' (I use the term in its loosest possible sense) bounces (without any rational logic most of the time) from ludicrous situation to ludicrous situation without pause. Most of these are linked by Ramsey (the very British Nathalie Emmanuel) stating a random fact such as "Well, now he's going to need to launch a satellite". And off we go again. (That particular crazy story arc even sees them 'doing a Musk' and flying a car into space: I kid you not!)
- It's not even the 'big stuff' that's unbelievable. Everywhere you look, there are inconsistencies and things that don't make sense.
-- Tej (played by Ludicris - an appropriate name here) takes dodging a brigade worth of machine gun bullets to nonsensical limits.
-- Generally, the cast gets blasted, dropped, crashed, burned, and otherwise put through more fatal situations than you can imagine, only to walk out without a scratch.
-- And if you can show me a single delivery lorry in Edinburgh that has an automatic gearbox, I'll be amazed!
- At one point, Roman (Tyrese Gibson) mutters some line about "Trusting in the physics and the numbers". Well, let me tell you, it's like no physics that I studied on this planet. A lot of the set pieces involve huge magnets attached to trucks and cars. Now - correct me if I'm wrong - but if you turn a massive magnet on in a truck then as well as ripping the car you are chasing through the adjacent building (as if), you will also force the truck to be pulled into that building too. OK, perhaps not as much.... but the lorry ain't going to stay in its driving lane, I know that much! And magnets attract metal - they don't repel it!
- At 145 minutes, this is well over 2 hours of my life I will never get back.
Summary Thoughts on "F9": It's just such a formulaic and contrived piece of fluff that it makes me cross that they can spend $200,000 on a movie and not make it better. Part of this involves the lazy use of CGI to create obviously nonsensical stunts that devalue true action films. Yes, the stunt team was busy, and impressive, here - but always going for "one better" has led to extensive use of CGI. That's why I liked the 2014 'knock-off' film "Need for Speed" - - at least they did all their stunts old-school, in camera, and not in the computer.
But whatever I say here, this movie will unfortunately get its audience. At the time of writing, it's already made nearly $300K at the box office on its $200K budget. Which means there will inevitably be an F10, no doubt involving a driving battle on the planet Mars. Sigh.
By the way, before you dive for the exits to relieve your bladder (it is 145 minutes after all), there is a mid-credits scene that re-introduces an old favourite.
(For the full graphical review, please check out the One Mann's Movies review here - https://bob-the-movie-man.com/2021/06/24/f9-magnetic-bullst-that-will-no-doubt-attract-fast-fans/. Thanks).
