A film review of Fast & Furious 6 by Alexander Morales

Six. Can you believe it? Six? With a seventh already on the way. Yeah … for real.

Since 2001, Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto and Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner have been revving the engines of fans and taking audiences for rides in some of the fastest 10 second cars Hollywood could build and while the second film in the series suffered from a sophomore slump … there’s no denying that the filmmakers behind the Fast and the Furious franchise are living by the motto – “Go big or go home.”

While not nearly as good (surprisingly) as Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6 is pretty damn entertaining. By bringing back Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Agent Hobbs and Michelle Rodriguez as Letty, this film is giving fans exactly want they want in their summer film fun – more, more, more. Of course, this film is not going to win any acting awards. Never. No way. But in knowing that, this movie can be appreciated it for what it truly is – a return to the macho, one-liner, testosterone fueled action-fests that are hardly ever done well anymore.

Quickly wrapping up the events of the first, second, fourth and fifth installments (skipping part three of course because Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift occurs after the events of all of the before-mentioned films) with a montage of scenes over a hip hop beat, everyone gets back on the same page. After pulling off the big heist from the last film, our heroes are all living the life, spending their riches and trying to move on from their criminal pasts. That is until Toretto has an encounter with Hobbs, learns that Letty is still alive and calls the team back in for an afternoon drive. Now, with Tyrese Gibson (Roman), Sung Kang (Han), Gal Gadot (Gisele) and Ludacris (Tej) all together, they can help Hobbs take down an international criminal (Luke Evans) and (possibly) get their records wiped clear and be able to return to American soil. Got it. Yeah, like a season of Scandal, this is soap opera goodness for gear heads.

Along the way, Gina Carano shows up, kicks some ass and shows why she is the baddest hot-chick on screen. And yes, I understand that in calling her a chick, I run the risk of getting punched really hard in the face by her … but that’s a risk I’ll take just to be near her.

Anyway.

This film is ridiculous. Not in the “were-they-trying-to-be-serious” kind-0f way, but overall in terms of the action, plot/story and character development. From the thuggish thievery of the first film to this international espionage tale, everything has grown exponentially over-the-top. Luckily, in this case, it kind of works … for the most part.

Things to consider before watching this film:
1. Physics do not really apply.
2. Everyone can take ass beatings that would kill an average person.
3. A quarter-mile race in a 10-second car takes about five minutes.
4. You will see gear shifting.
5. Who cares? Just have fun.

Super-charged muscle cars, bone-shattering wrecks and a tank are just the beginning. When the action is on, the movie really works. Put any of the characters behind the wheel of anything with tires or let them fight and it pops. Clearly, this cast is having fun. You can actually see Carano smirking through every fight scene showing off her skills. Where the movie fails … pretty much at all the quiet spots in between. While the cast does have good chemistry and there is some fun humor, the dialogue is cringe-inducing and the over-acting is silly at times. Luckily … who cares? It’s the Fast series. You’re not expecting Shakespeare. Just go with it. However, the run time is 20 minutes too long and I believe would have been a better experience if it was shorter. Cut out some of the excess and the movie would stay in gear longer.

While nowhere near the level of Fast Five, Fast 6 is still a solid addition to this guilty pleasure franchise. In my opinion, Tokyo Drift was the best – which also (interestingly enough) only included  Diesel in a quick cameo role at the end – but with the addition of Johnson and growth of action in the last film, the franchise has grown with its audience and expanded into something more than street racers running from the cops. Pure cheesy goodness, fans will be excited with what they see and by connecting the dots throughout all six of the films, this oil soaked soap opera will get the one thing every summer movie wants – fans in the seats. While average in terms of scale when compared to the other big films coming out, I’m sure fans will not be disappointed.

3 out of 5 NOS canisters

A Film Review of Star Trek Into Darkness by Alexander Morales

I am no Trekkie. I’m not. Yes … I’ve seen all the movies. I’ve watched some of the original television series – mostly to make fun of them – and I’ve enjoyed going back through old episodes of Next Generation … mainly for the all the sexy-time undertones (or overtones.) But, I am no Trekkie. Basically I know enough to have conversations with our KC Studio editor and be dangerous to other teams at a pub quiz. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a uniform-wearing, “Phasers set to stun” kind-of-a-person to enjoy the newly released, action-packed, thrill-ride that is JJ Abrams’ second installment into the Star Trek universe.

With all the crew from the 2009 reboot coming back, Star Trek Into Darkness jumps right in and never looks back. Timelines and canon be damned, this is not the Star Trek of before. While the first film was successful, yet highly criticized by devotees of the franchise, this film is really going to piss some Prime Directive Zealots off.

Of course, there are plot lines to the film that are extremely spoilerific and by me mentioning them here, will ruin the fun.  So here are the bare essentials of the story: Still brash and headstrong, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and his team aboard the Starship Enterprise are traveling on missions and getting into trouble all throughout space. Unluckily for him, a threat he and the rest of Starfleet never considered is waiting for them right under their noses. By enacting a terrorist attack in futuristic London and potentially causing war between the Federation and the Klingons, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) walks the line between good and evil. What are his true intentions and who is he really? Well it’s up to Kirk to find out.

And … that’s all you get.

With hilarious dialogue that I found smart, witty and near Empire Strikes Back levels, I genuinely enjoyed this film experience. Strong acting from all the principle characters with Easter eggs scattered throughout for fans of the fiction and pop culture jokes, I know mass audiences will be wolfing down popcorn and enjoying every Gorn-fearing minute of it.

In terms of the cast, the writers do a great job giving us what we want. With eight characters needing appropriate attention and purpose, I found the screen-time both balanced and interesting. Standing out above the rest is Zachary Quinto as Spock and Simon Pegg as Scotty. Yes, Karl Urban is great, once again channeling Bones and Zoë Saldana’s sleek Uhura makes being smart sexier than it already is, but in this film, it’s all Spock and Scotty. A close second is John Cho as Sulu and that really is based on one scene where he shows a level of bassassery that this actor never gets to show.

Quinto as Spock is excellent and a shining reason to see this film. While not only capturing the overall feeling of the character, Quinto also does an impressive job expressing emotion while keeping Spock’s deadpan, serious personality.

And then there’s Cumberbatch. As an adversarial-type character, Cumberbatch exudes self-confidence and commands every second he is shown on screen. Almost computer-like you can see him assessing ever detail in front of him in a way that makes everyone around him uncomfortable. And I liked it.

In terms of the action and special effects, I was blown away by the size and pace of the film. I could feel myself leaning forward with giddiness wanting more and enjoying the eye candy dancing across the screen. Were there explosions? Hell yeah! Was there running and jumping and fighting and stuff? Hell yeah! Was it loud with lens flares? Um … yeah. But so what? Above all, this is where most Trek fans are going to get annoyed. Big explosions to some equate to big dumbness and that’s not always true. Usually true. See Transformers for proof. But was Next Generation … with a Klingon (gasp) on board just like the original series … no. This is for new audiences and while clearly there are films I do not like because of these very reasons, Into Darkness is not one of those films.

While Into Darkess does borrow a great deal from another Star Trek film of the past, I enjoyed how the story brought the overall arc back to near it’s roots. Again, this is where many of devoted fans may also have some very big problems and you know what, they may be right. However, it’s clear that in trying to make this new arm of the franchise, the filmmakers do have a love and respect for the original series.

As always, there are holes in the story and as a narrative, it does sag a bit in the middle. However the solid acting, kinetic pacing and action all help keep it on a track that I believe mass audiences will love. I do, however with the camera was a little more stationary. Critics give Michael Bay a bunch of crap form constantly keeping the camera in motion and in that sense, I feel Abrams deserves similar criticism. Along with that, clearly this is a project Damon Lindelof worked on because there a few holes in logic that would make Spock raise an eyebrow.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film. It’s a space adventure and everything that Episodes 1, 2, and 3 of Star Wars was not. Building on the success of the 2009 film, Abrams has added  solid addition to the franchise. Some will call Star Trek Into Darkness a dumbed-down version of a beloved series that is to be worshiped forevermore … and that’s just not true. At its center, there is a wonderful focus on friendship, the importance of the team and the capacity of sacrifice that people will give for the one’s they love. Plus you get explosions, a Klingon or two, Tribbles and a few reveals that, while may seem obvious to some, pay off well in the end. Audiences will love the crew and leave highly entertained.

Lastly … the 3D. If you know me … you have heard me complain countless times that I dislike 3D. It’s a ploy to get people to pay more for an overrated experience. Since 3D found its way back on the scene, I have only had a handful of good experiences … Avatar, Hugo, the Avengers, Life of Pi and maybe, possible, kind of The Hobbit. With that being said, I was very impressed with the 3D on this film. It was clear, crisp and added an enhanced to the viewing. I still think it’s overrated but, I would recommend seeing this film in that format.

4 out of 5 Red Shirts on an Away Mission

A Film Review of The Great Gatsby by Alexander Morales

Nope. Not at all. Not even a little. Maybe for a second but then, poof, gone. Boring. Fake. Not even close to past work. Uninteresting with horrible editing.

Yup … that’s what I think.

I could go on with sentences like these – if that’s even what you could call them. It would be easy. And yet, even in this hateful prose style, my review would still have more substance than Baz Luhrmann’s newest film experience The Great Gatsby.

To say that I did not enjoy this experience … would be an understatement.

Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge each hold solid places in my “filmophile” heart. I understand the criticisms and agree with some, but the overall experiments in terms of color, music and acting all made for an unusual and interesting movie watching experience that I, still to do this day enjoy.

Not the case here.

With source material that drowns itself in the excess of wealth that New York was seeing in the early 1900s and the flowing booze of Prohibition, the visual potential of Luhrmann’s over-the-top, sensory overload of sound and color style would seemingly be the perfect choice. Alas, special effects that look fake-as-hell (and by fake I mean really bad-fake), a soundtrack that is extremely distracting and an overall heavy handedness in terms of dialogue and acting that treats the audience like a bunch of idiots all contribute to a film experience that was both disappointing and irritating.

Flat and emotionless, the actors and actresses are pushed into scenes that seemingly have no focus and no real meaning. Which is an extreme shame considering the cast that Luhrmann and his team have brought together. Leonardo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan. Really. Do I need to say more?

DiCaprio alone is usually worth the cost of admission. I mean, come one. As the title character, DiCaprio was the perfect casting choice. Classically handsome, strong acting chops and that ability to pull off social arrogance had me convinced that this was his chance at Oscar contention after being passed over so many times before. I was wrong. A poor script and worse direction took that away. Tobey Maguire, with his … his … well, whatever … should have been great as the wide-eyed Nick Carraway. And yet … no. Again, a poor script and, well his inability to be a narrator ruined that. On and on, it’s so easy to give give kudos and cheers to the cast for past work, but in this film they are left stranded by their leader with clearly no sense of how to either emote the scenes they in or what thematically they should be focusing on for their characters.

Yes this film is based on F. Scott Fitgerald’s classic (some would say in terms of story I would say only in terms of age) novel of the same name, so criticizing the overall story is a little unfair, but, how the director chooses to represent that story is another matter entirely.

Let’s talk about the visuals. Flat and horrible. Nothing near the splendor of Moulin Rouge, Gatsby just plods from scene to scene with effects that want to be cool but end up just looking more and more fake as the film goes on. Yeah, I get it. The visuals are part of the theme that Gatsby as a character represents … yes. Fake. Yes. But I can put my dog’s paws in paint and say that the tracks he makes are meaningful themes on an insignificant animal in terms of the overall existence of life on planet Earth but that doesn’t make it high art and that doesn’t mean I deserve to waste people’s time by making them suffer through the presentation.

And then … the music. What the hell is up with the music? My apologies to my keyboard but with furious anger I type these words … WHAT THE HELL?!? Layered noise that added nothing to the overall experience pounded my eardrums that gave me nothing but a few chuckles and resounding headache.

And that’s not even the least of it.

I could go on and on, but why. This film has already taken up enough of my life and seriously, I would rather have been changing diapers and folding laundry then spending my time being bored listening to Maguire’s narration tell me about what I was already watching while (fingers beginning to tense with irritation while typing again) wispy words in handwritten script also flows across the screen making you read what Maguire is describing while it is happening.

Oh … oh! Do not see this movie in 3D. Eye-numbingly bad. It’s obvious that the film was not made with the 3D in mind while it was being filmed and the transfer is awful.

Should of … could of … would of. That’s all this film left me with.

2 out of 5 Green Lights Bobbing in the Water