Cindy Prascik's Review of Furious 7

Dearest Blog, this weekend a hundred fifty million bucks' worth of us trekked out to catch the latest installment in the Fast & Furious saga, Furious 7.

Spoiler level here will be mild, limited to trailer reveals and stuff you only could have missed if you lived under a rock.

Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) comes after the crew responsible for dispatching his baby brother (Luke Evans) in Fast & Furious 6.

There's not a lot of mystery to the Fast & Furious franchise; you pretty much know what you're going to get. If you pay for a ticket and then complain about it, shame on you; however, there's no denying there are better and worse entries in the series, and, sentiment aside, Furious 7 falls somewhere on the better side of the middle.

Fast & Furious' action objective seems to be: "bigger, louder, dumber." In that regard, Furious 7 is an unqualified success. The insanity of some of the stunts is, in the immortal words of Danny Butterman, "off the f*****g chain!," well worth your big-screen dollar. Unfortunately, much of the dialogue is painfully bad, and attempts at sensitive moments only highlight the limits of much of the acting talent. Michelle Rodriguez, in particular, is so terrible I was a little bit embarrassed every time she was onscreen. (She's generally a favorite, so no hate!)

A cast this size means limited screen time for most, and if your favorite is someone not named Vin Diesel, well, prepare to be disappointed. I'm a big Vin Diesel fan myself. I love Dwayne Johnson and am pretty fond of the rest of the F&F regulars, but when they're facing off with Jason Statham, with apologies to Dom's crew, my loyalty leans only one way!

Any other shortcomings aside, Furious 7's biggest problem is that it's just too damn long. The best action sequences seem to drag on, and even the Paul Walker tribute is over-sold. Heck, if they'd just cut half the shots of people's hands and feet shifting gears, they probably could have come in under two hours and been better for it. Having said all that, Furious 7 is still good fun, and, given the circumstances, I think most of us don't mind indulging the filmmakers if they wanted to hang onto this one just a little bit longer.

Furious 7 clocks in at 137 minutes and is rated PG13 for "prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action, and mayhem, suggestive content, and brief strong language."

Furious 7 is a big, loud, crazy good time, though, for my money, not as entertaining as the previous two installments in the Fast & Furious franchise. If we're being honest, though, there's only one merit on which this movie is really being judged, and that's whether it's a fitting tribute to Paul Walker and a satisfying farewell to Brian O'Connor. In those respects, I haven't heard any complaints.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Furious 7 gets six.

Until next time...

 Good guy or bad guy, I'm with Statham! <3 span="">

Cindy Prascik's Review of Brick Mansions

Dearest Blog, yesterday it was off to the cinema with a heavy heart to see Paul Walker's final completed film, Brick Mansions.
 
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailer.

A Detroit cop goes undercover in the city's most dangerous housing project, called Brick Mansions, a neighborhood so crime-ridden it's been walled off from the rest of the city.

Brick Mansions easily could have been a straight-to-DVD release, but for an attempt to cash in on Paul Walker's untimely passing. You'll find better performances in a third-grade Christmas pageant, though that's only partially the fault of the actors. The rest of the blame can be fairly divided among a predictable story, ridiculous dialogue, and broad, ugly stereotypes. Stylized action sequences are interesting to a point, but even in a relatively short film they manage to drag on a bit. The movie's dopey humor is ill-suited to the grim backdrop of a Detroit that might be even more depressing than the real thing, and any teeth the movie could have had were knocked out by the filmmakers' obvious determination to water things down enough to secure a PG13 rating.

Having said all that, Brick Mansions is salvaged somewhat by the fact that its ridiculousness seems deliberate. With the right mindset, it's actually kinda fun, and--if only they'd gone for the R rating--it might have been genuinely entertaining.

Brick Mansions runs 90 minutes and is rated PG13 for "frenetic gunplay, violence and action throughout, language, sexual menace, and drug material."

Brick Mansions is predictable, by-the-book action, littered with cliches and offensive stereotypes, but it can still be a good time if you let it.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Brick Mansions gets four and a half.

Until next time...

Nahhh...just messin' with ya!

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Homefront & Enough Said

Dearest Blog, over the long weekend I was fortunate to make two trips to two different cinemas. Thanks to the busy weekend, I'm only just posting my reviews. Apologies for the delay.

Spoiler level here will be mild-ish, I guess.

Thanks to my benevolent employer dismissing at noon on Wednesday, I spent my afternoon enjoying Jason Statham's latest flick, Homefront.

A former DEA agent moves with his daughter to a small town, which proves less peaceful than expected when he has to face off with the local meth dealer.

Statham Disclaimer (yes, he has his own disclaimer): Jason Statham is one of my favorite people who makes movies, and he almost unerringly makes movies I like. Opening weekend isn't good enough for Statham movies; I'm willing to burn vacation time to see them opening day. I am perfectly capable of loving a terrible movie just because Jason Statham in it (though that's not always the case).

I think Homefront would have been a good enough movie with or without Statham, but for Statham fans there's no denying it's a happy return to form after the drudgery of Redemption (a.k.a. Hummingbird).

Homefront does a nice job of maintaining tension throughout, and really kept me on the edge of my seat. There's not only the obvious good guy versus bad guy plot, but also the more relatable theme of trying to fit in...an idea that probably terrifies me more than the prospect of a firefight with the local drug lord! As you would expect in any movie that involves drug dealers, there's a fair bit of gun violence and things blowing up, but, for the most part we get to see Statham in hand-to-hand combat, which is definitely where he shines. It's all the more entertaining for knowing he insists on doing as much of his own stunt-work as the insurance will allow!

James Franco serves as an oddly-perfect foil to Statham's tough guy, and (to me, anyway) the character was enjoyable despite being a generally horrible person. Kate Bosworth is freakishly accurate as Franco's druggie sister, and Winona Ryder looks born to play the role of a meth-head prostitute. It was nice to see Omar Benson Miller again, too, reminding me how much I actually miss the idiotic glory of CSI: Miami.

Homefront runs 100 minutes and is rated R for "strong violence, pervasive language, drug content, and brief sexuality."

Come awards season, Homefront won't make anyone's lists, but, for my money, it was one of the more enjoyable afternoons I've passed at the cinema this year. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Homefront gets seven.

On Saturday, my Mother, who normally wouldn't sit through a movie if someone demanded it at gunpoint, got in her head that she wanted to see the flick playing at our tiny local theatre, which shows some smaller and indie releases when it isn't hosting live performances from our local theatre troupe. As my luck would have it, the film they were showing last weekend was the Julia Louis-Dreyfuss/James Gandolfini rom-com, Enough Said. (I must have crossed paths with a black cat or broken a mirror or something.)

Eva (Louis-Dreyfuss) and Albert (Gandolfini) meet at a party and get romantically involved...but another party guest may ruin the relationship.

I don't think I need to tell anyone that, of all the genres in all of cinema, the romantic comedy is my least favorite by a mile. The only way I'll consider a rom-com is if it stars someone I absolutely can't miss, or if I get pressganged into it. (Read: Mother wants to go to the local movie house on Small Business Saturday.) That's not to say I can't be won over by such a film if it's cute or the characters are likable enough, but unfortunately Enough Said embodies absolutely everything I hate about romantic comedies and then some.

Enough Said is a criminal waste of its two stellar leads, who manage to turn in nice performances while reciting some of the dopiest dialogue I've ever heard outside a Twilight movie. I understand that, to some degree, it's meant to convey the discomfort of getting used to someone new, but too much of it is just bad. Both characters are divorced with daughters about to head off to college, and the kids are so vile I wanted to bang their heads together. (As my sister says, "I don't understand how anyone decides to have kids once they've met a teenager.") The rancid icing on this putrid cake was having to look at my least-favorite actress, Toni Collette, who had more screen time than anyone other than the two main characters. That woman makes me want to throw a shoe at the screen! (If you were wondering, I didn't.)

Enough Said sells those tired, old rom-com principles: there's someone for everyone, nice people should give even the most awful people a second chance, and everyone deserves a happy ending, all of which are less believable to me than anything I've ever seen in a Marvel film or Claymation Christmas special. With the exception of Albert, I found every single character so unlikable that the movie's brief runtime felt like about six hours, and I left thinking they all deserved to die alone and miserable.

Enough Said clocks in at 93 minutes. It is rated PG13 for "crude and sexual content, comic violence, language, and partial nudity." Its impressive IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes ratings tell me I'm in the minority, but I hated nearly every minute. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Enough Said gets three.

Finally, though it relates to neither of this week's films, I want to acknowledge the unexpected passing of Paul Walker over the weekend. When I first I saw the news, I spent the next hour refreshing the screen and hoping someone would prove it a hoax, until his reps officially confirmed via his official Facebook and Twitter. Walker seemed like a genuinely decent guy who was universally well-loved, particularly by his Fast & Furious family and fans, and I am having a hard time shaking off the blues over this one. So, rest peacefully, Paul Walker, and thanks for all the fun times at the movies.

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik’s Review of Fast & Furious 6

Dearest Blog, today it was off to the cinema with one of my favorite girls to see some of my favorite guys in Fast & Furious 6.
Agent Hobbs uses a ghost from their past to enlist Dominic Toretto and crew to bring down a dangerous international criminal mastermind.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

Huge action, loud music, and plenty of eye candy make the Fast & Furious franchise my kinda movies, and the sixth installment does not disappoint.

I consider a big screen full of Vin Diesel the noblest and best use of a big screen. The Fast & Furious films don't tax what some might (cruelly!) call his limited abilities, and he capably leads the ensemble through its high-octane paces. Dwayne Johnson brings his customary charm back to the table, and great banter between Chris "Ludacris" Bridges and Tyrese Gibson provides most of the movie's comic relief. Luke Evans shines as a baaaaaaaaaaad baddie who poses the team's biggest threat yet. If you aren't a Luke Evans fan, well, you haven't been listening to a word I've said these past three years, but you're sure to be impressed with him in FF6. I only wish he'd had more screen time...but then again I always wish that!

As usual, jaw dropping car chases and stunts provide Fast 6's centerpiece. Had this film been in 3D, I might have gotten carsick! There's also a fair bit of impressive weaponry and plenty of hand-to-hand combat, including a hot girlfight between Gina Carano and the glorious Michelle Rodriguez. Though it's never slow, Fast 6 does run a tad long, something that easily could have been fixed by cutting some shots of gears being shifted. The car's going fast. Now it's going faster. We get it already.

Fast & Furious 6 clocks in at 130 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense sequences of violence and action and mayhem throughout, some sexuality and language."

Fast & Furious 6 is, in the immortal words of Sergeant Nicholas Angel, "an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride," sure to please old and new fans alike. Even a mid-flick theatre evacuation today couldn't derail the fun! The movie will never win any Academy Awards, but it's everything it promises to be and everything fans expect. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Fast & Furious 6 gets eight.

Until next time...


Luke Evans...as awesome as I promised you he is! ;-)