A Time For Grief, A Time for Theft (Widows, 2018)

Veronica, Linda and Alice have lost their husbands in a tragedy. They discover their husbands were professional thieves. To add to their grief, they find their lives under siege, specifically from Jamal Manning. While he is running for public office, Manning is also a local crime lord…and it so happen’s the women’s husbands died stealing from him. He wants his money and gives them a month.

When she discovers her husband’s records of all her heists, Veronica brings the other widows together to try and complete the next heist that her husband had planned.

Widows is one of those movies that you don’t really get prepared for from the trailers. Most Heist films are heavily focused on the planning and the heist. Widows is more interested in setting up its characters. Everyone feels important. We walk with them as their lives intersect. This is to the film’s benefit. We get to really know everyone involved, both the heroes and villains of the tale.

Viola Davis gives a great performance as Veronica. She is both vulnerable and tough as nails. Colin Farrell and Robert Duvall play son and father of a political dynasty that are at each other throats. Daniel Kaluuya is riveting and immensely terrifying as Manning’s right hand man.

Director Steve McQueen makes some bold choices in the film (one sequence takes place within a car, and we only hear the actors as the camera stays outside, as the focuses on the car itself). The end result is a very compelling character film that happens to feature a heist. Managing some excellent surprises before it ends, I found Widows a very satisfying watch.

February 7, 2019 0

Speed Racers Pt 8 (The Fate of the Furious, 2017)

If prizes were awarded for the most inconsistently named franchise? Pretty sure this franchise would own that. If George Lucas was involved, they would all get renamed something like Dom Toretto and the Fast and The Furious (Who care if Vin is in every film or not).

By this time, our heroes have gone from criminals to underdogs to helping the authorities. But after saving the world last time around, Dom has apparently switched sides and is helping Charlize Theron take on the world. She is an evil hacker with big plans…and so Mr. Nobody calls in The Fast and Furious team and a surprise guest…the last film’s villain (Jason Statham). Has Dom truly gone bad? Is he really turning his back on his family?

This is the first film in the franchise not directed by Justin Lin, and it definitely loses some of that cohesiveness. It feels less like a continuation and more like a flat out sequel from the…uh…sequel factory. F. Gary Gray is a strong director and has some definite “action/Car movie” cred with the 2003 remake of the Italian Job. But the story itself feels like it was conceived months after the last film was released and worked to fit their latest idea together. The previous films felt more “organic” with Lin at the helm.

I cannot pinpoint exactly why this is, as the guy who wrote this film (Chris Morgan) wrote every film since Tokyo Drift. Maybe Gray connects with the characters differently. But one thing that stands out is that there is a big plot point that comes pretty much out of nowhere as Dom’s motivations. There is no point in a prior film to see it coming. It feels purely invented for the film, like a last minute idea to solve a problem they were having.

Fate is certainly not lacking for action, though they may finally be hitting that point where it is hard to top the big set piece of the previous film. The massive race across the ice and attempts to outrun a massive submarine feel more like they cobbled together ideas from the previous film, so instead of giving us an impressive and new sequence it highlights cooler moments of past films.

While Fate of the Furious is not terrible (and not by the standards of the franchise itself, it has its moments), it does feel like the franchise is finding it harder and harder to sustain itself.

August 1, 2017 0

Speed Racers Pt 7 (Furious 7, 2015)

The seventh film in the series that has not apparently run out of gas (and fifth film directed by Justin Lin) finds the team no longer on the run and being a family. Dom and Letty are working on their relationship, as she has not regained her memory. Brian and Mia are enjoying parenthood. Everything is going smoothly…well, except the fact that somebody is trying to murder the crew…and not just the crew, but anyone connected with the take down of Shaw in the previous film. Which means Hobbs needs to team up with the family once more.

The big threat here? Shaw’s big brother… uh… Shaw. Well, this brother gets a first name as well. Overseeing our intrepid clan is Mr. Nobody…played by Kurt Russell. Because if your films are full of familiar faces and names… you cannot go wrong adding Kurt Russell to the mix.

Seven ups the stunt ante again…”Gee, we had a tank last time?” How about skydiving cars? Cars driven from from skyscraper to skyscraper…via the top floors? In this film, they crash cars and use pieces of the cars in hand to hand combat. The Rock picks up a giant gun and starts to shoot down a helicopter. And then? It gets nuts.

Overall, it is a pretty solid effort, though false a bit short of the sixth entry. Part of this is due to the film having been faced with an unexpected tragedy before they were done filming. After leaving an awards ceremony Paul Walker (Brian O’Conner) and a friend were killed in a car wreck (the friend was driving). It was very clear from the response of the cast and crew that they had all gotten very close, and were crushed by the loss of their friend.

But this forced some story alterations. I doubt their plan was to send Brian out of the series. But now they had to adjust the story to do that. With help from Paul’s twin brother they filmed some final shots. The final moments are full of heavy comments about not saying good-bye and how things are never going to be the same. They are clearly paying their respects to Walker, which is both understandable and touching. But it does make things a little awkward.

Paul Walker has passed away, but Brian and Mia are just done with adventuring and are going to raise their kids. Yet, each character speaks as if they will never see Brian and Mia again.

Overall, while not quite as strong as Fast Five or Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7 is still a lot of fun…and it could have made a nice finale for the franchise.

July 31, 2017 0

Speed Racers Pt 6 (Fast & Furious 6, 2013)

The sixth film throws in a twist for Dom, Brian and their family. Letty is back, but now she appears to be their competition. Hobb’s has let the gang be, seeing as how they have stayed out of the heist scene since their last encounter…but a new crew of high precision vehicle themed criminals. Hobbs knows he needs help and seeks the skills of Dom and the crew. The carrot he dangles before them is the discovery that Letty is, in fact, alive and working with this group that is a threat to free nations everywhere.

The core of the story is Dom’s desire to get Letty back, but she seems to have lost her memory. This allows the film to have some playful and competitive flirtation between the two, but also gives the villain, Shaw, something to use against the crew. This is fairly effective. For Brian, he and Mia have a child and are looking at their future. What this means for Mia is that she is sidelined from the story, which is a bit disappointing for the character, however, the franchise’s cast tends to grow as fast as it loses characters.

And this is a big cast. The regulars are back and they are all in regular form, firing quips, arguing, and driving real fast. This film is as fun as the previous entry, with no fear to go big. For example? There is a big chase at the end that involves a giant tank.

This series has benefited from having a single director for the past few entries. The films feel like the story advances and was actually planned, rather than assembled backwards. Plenty of franchise sequels simply feel like they have the idea and try to fit it in…but it seems like Lin and the writers planned things out in advance.

Fast & Furious 6 continues the upward tick of the franchise, and makes for a fun adrenaline fueled time.

July 30, 2017 0

Speed Racers, Pt 4 (Fast & Furious, 2009)

For the fourth film, they dropped “The” from the title. Because…saving space on the poster? I guess? This film brings it back to the original. O’Conner is working with the Feds again, while Toretto and Letty are pulling heists. When Letty is murdered, O’Conner and Toretto’s paths cross again. Admittedly, it is a bit of a strained relationship. Dominic is seeking revenge on Letty’s killer, but Brian wants to bring her killer in. Brian also finds his relationship with Mia rekindled.

In the first film, O’Conner ultimately remained aligned to the side of the law. His devotion was challenged, and while he did not walk away, he made a choice that cost him the job, but he also stayed on the side of good, so to speak. This film challenges his faith in the law to make the right choices.

In the hopes of getting Toretto off the wanted list, Brian cuts a deal with his boss…but when the agency jumps the gun and messes up a planned bust of villain Campo, it falls on Brian’s head. He and Dominic set out to get Campo on their own.

This film is the turning point for the series, it also sets the stage for each film trying to really top the big spectacle of the previous film. This one opens with a pulse pounding attempt to steal some tankers. It closes with a high speed chase through narrow tunnels.

Director Justin Lin (who directed Tokyo Drift) can put together a compelling action scene and keep it exciting. This time around, he has a much moire entertaining film, closer in spirit to the first film.

July 28, 2017 0

Speed Racers Pt 1 (The Fast and the Furious, 2001)

2000 and 2001 were a good couple of years for Vin Diesel. He had a supporting role in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, but only a small spattering of roles before that. His other “big” role was the voice of the titular character in Brad Bird’s the Iron Giant. But between Pitch Black and the Fast and the Furious, Diesel’s value rose prominently.

Rob Cohen (Daylight and Dragonheart) directed this tale of a young and reckless cop who goes undercover into the world of street racing to try and take down some skilled thieves. He of course, gets drawn in much deeper, falling for the sister of his target. You can pretty much connect the dots from there.

The fresh faced Paul Walker is special agent Brian O’Conner. He is trying to catch extremely muscular Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto, an infamous street racer and adrenaline junkie thief. He and his gang are pulling off daring heists using their souped up cars.

The Fast and the Furious never promises to be a new take, and it hits all the beats an “Undercover Cop Gets In To Deep” action movie will take. But it does so entertainingly with fun and daring stunts. The film is a complete knockoff of the 1991 Keanu Reeves/Patrick Swayze movie Point Break. A couple years ago that movie got remade. This is the better “remake”. The cast is generally likeable, including Jordana Brewster as Mia, the previously mentioned sister who complicates things and Michelle Rodriguez as Letty, Dom’s girlfriend and fellow thief. The Fast and the Furious is a fun action and popcorn film, though if you told me it would spawn seven more films (and an eighth sequel in the works) I would never have expected it.

July 25, 2017 0