Review: "Gangster Squad" Ain't Wangsta

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 38 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux


Gangster Squad (2013)
Running time: 113 minutes; MPAA – R for strong violence and language
DIRECTOR: Ruben Fleischer
WRITER: Will Beall (based on the book Gangster Squad by Paul Lieberman)
PRODUCERS: Dan Lin, Kevin McCormick, and Michael Tadross
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dion Beebe (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Alan Baumgarten and James Herbert
COMPOSER: Steve Jablonsky

CRIME/ACTION

Starring: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, Robert Patrick, Nick Nolte, Sullivan Stapleton, Holt McCallany, Mireille Enos, Austin Abrams, and Jon Polito

Gangster Squad is a 2013 action and crime film from director Ruben Fleischer. The film is based on Paul Lieberman’s 2012 book, Gangster Squad: Covert Cops, the Mob, and the Battle for Los Angeles. Gangster Squad the movie follows a secret crew of police officers trying to end mob king Mickey Cohen’s reign over Los Angeles.

The reality is that Gangster Squad the movie is mostly fictional. It takes the Los Angeles Police Department’s real “Gangster Squad unit” and its efforts to protect the city from Mickey Cohen and his gang in the 1940s and 50s and turns it into a fanciful tale of two-fisted cops and one crazy mutha of gangster. But Gangster Squad is a hugely entertaining fanciful tale of cops and robbers.

Gangster Squad opens in Los Angeles, 1949. In post-World War II L.A., gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) is the most powerful figure in the California criminal underworld. In fact, Cohen does not intend on letting anyone from “back east,” especially Chicago, interfere with his bid to expand his criminal enterprise across the Western United States.

In the Los Angeles Police Department, Chief Bill Parker (Nick Nolte) wants to end Cohen’s influence over the city, which extends into the police department, the courts, and City Hall. Parker personally chooses Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin), a WWII veteran with a special operations background, to wage guerilla warfare on Cohen. With the help of his reluctant wife, Connie (Mireille Enos), O’Mara recruits fellow officers into his secret squad.

They choose the hard-headed African-American detective, Coleman Harris (Anthony Mackie); wire-tap expert, Conway Keeler (Giovanni Ribisi); and legendary gangster-killer and cowboy-type, Max Kennard (Robert Patrick). Kennard’s Latino partner, Navidad Ramirez (Michael Peña), is not initially picked, but he manages to bargain his way into the squad.

Fellow WWII vet, Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), turns down O’Mara’s offer, and focuses his attention on having an affair with Mickey Cohen’s girlfriend, Grace Faraday (Emma Stone). After he witnesses Cohen’s ruthlessness, Wooters joins O’Mara’s “Gangster Squad,” but these lawmen have no idea how truly sadistic Cohen can be when it comes to protecting his empire.

Gangster Squad has Oscar-nomination quality cinematography, art direction-set decoration, costume design, and perhaps, even sound editing. This movie’s cops vs. gangsters story is familiar material and, to some extent, is just retread. But Gangster Squad’s retread sure is entertaining. Somehow, cast, story, and action come together, and it is a combination that is a recognizable, yet tasty cinematic dish.

I rented Gangster Squad through Netflix. Normally, I watch my movie rentals over two days (or maybe even three). However, I couldn’t stop watching this mesmerizing crime/action movie. Gangster Squad is like a cool, color and colorful version of the old television series, “The Untouchables” (1959 to 1963 on ABC).

The performances are good. Sean Penn and Josh Brolin each do interesting takes on deranged, with Nick Nolte throwing in a cup of crazy, here and there. Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, there is indeed excellent chemistry between Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in this film. Actually, the supporting characters played by Anthony Mackie, Michael Peña, Giovanni Ribisi, and Robert Patrick are the most interesting in the movie. I think they are what keep Gangster Squad from being just another wanna-be-great, gangster period film.

Inevitably, Gangster Squad will end up on cable television, where it will receive countless repeat plays. I’ll be watching quite a few of those repeats.

7 of 10
B+

Friday, June 07, 2013

Henry Cavill to Host Special "Man of Steel" Screening

Warner Bros. Pictures and Henry Cavill Join Forces to Honor U.S. Men and Women in Uniform

“Man of Steel” ™ Star Kicks Off Nationwide Advance Screenings for Military Personnel and Families

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Henry Cavill, who stars in the title role of the upcoming action adventure film “Man of Steel” from Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, will make a special appearance in Lancaster to welcome the men and women of Edwards Air Force Base to a special advance screening of the movie on Saturday, June 8. Cavill will introduce the film and greet the military in attendance, many of whom played extras in the movie, a portion of which was shot on the base.

In appreciation of our troops, and in recognition of First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s Joining Forces initiative (www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces), the Studio will also host advance screenings throughout the weekend at over three dozen military bases across the country. A video greeting from Mrs. Obama and Dr. Biden, thanking those in the audience for their service, will play ahead of the film.

The two “Man of Steel” screenings for the Edwards AFB personnel and guests will take place on June 8 at 2:00 p.m. at the Cinemark 22 Theater in Lancaster, California. The additional screenings for the servicemen and women and families who are currently stationed at Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard bases across the country will take place on either Saturday or Sunday at the following locations:

•Army: Ft. Meade, Baltimore, Maryland; Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, Pennsylvania; Ft. Lewis, Tacoma, Washington; Ft. Warren, Cheyenne, Wyoming; Ft. Campbell, Clarksville, Tennessee; Ft. Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina; Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Georgia; Ft. Hood, Killeen, Texas; Ft. Polk, Leesville, Louisiana; and Ft. Leonardwood, Waynesville, Missouri.

•Air Force: Hanscom AFB, Bedford, Massachusetts; Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi; Dover AFB, Dover, Delaware; Travis AFB, Fairfield, California; Goodfellow AFB, San Angelo, Texas; Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Texas; Schofield AFB, Wahiawa, Hawaii; Hickam AFB, Watertown, New York; Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas; and McGuire AFB, Wrightstown, New Jersey.

•Navy: SUBASE Bangor, Bangor, Washington; NSWC Dahlgren, Dahlgren, Virginia; NAS El Centro, El Centro, California; NAS Fallon, Fallon, Nevada; NAS JRB Fort Worth, Fort Worth, Texas; SUBASE New London, Groton, Connecticut; NAB Little Creek, Little Creek, Virginia; NAS North Island, North Island, California; NAS Patuxent River, Patuxent River, Maryland; MCAS Miramar, San Diego, California; and NAS Whidbey Island, Whidbey Island, Washington.

•Marine Corps: MCAG 29 Palms, 29 Palms, California; MCAS Cherry Point, Cherry Point, North Carolina; MCB Kaneohe Bay, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; MCAS New River, New River, North Carolina; and MCB Yuma, Yuma, Arizona.

•Coast Guard: USCG in Petaluma, California; and USCG in Astoria, Oregon.

“Man of Steel” opens nationwide in 2D and 3D in select theatres and IMAX® on June 14, 2013. The film has been rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destruction, and for some language.


About the Film: From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures comes “Man of Steel,” starring Henry Cavill in the role of Clark Kent/Superman, under the direction of Zack Snyder. A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

“Man of Steel” also stars Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni and Russell Crowe. The film is produced by Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas and Deborah Snyder. The screenplay was written by David S. Goyer from a story by Goyer & Nolan, based upon Superman characters created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster and published by DC Entertainment. Thomas Tull, Lloyd Phillips and Jon Peters serve as executive producers. Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a Syncopy Production, a Zack Snyder Film, “Man of Steel.” The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

www.manofsteel.com

Review: "Cinderella Man" Ignores the Woman Next to the Man (Happy B'day, Paul Giamatti)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 16 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Cinderella Man (2005)
Running time: 144 minutes (2 hours, 24 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense boxing violence and some language
DIRECTOR: Ron Howard
WRITERS: Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman; from a story by Cliff Hollingsworth
PRODUCERS: Brian Grazer, Penny Marshall, and Ron Howard
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Salvatore Totino
EDITORS: Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/BIOPIC/SPORTS

Starring: Russell Crowe, Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, Craig Bierko, Paddy Considine, Bruce McGill, Ron Canada, Clint Howard, and Rufus Crawford

The subject of this movie review is Cinderella Man, a 2005 boxing drama and biographical film from director Ron Howard. The film is based on the life of heavyweight boxing champion, James J. Braddock (1935 to 1937), and the movie’s title is taken from Braddock’s nickname.

In 1928, James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) was an up-and-coming prizefighter. By the early 1930, Jim Braddock was an impoverished ex-boxer – broken-down, beat-up, and as unfortunate and out of luck as so many Americans were who had hit rock bottom during the Depression. Although his boxing career was seemingly over, Braddock and still had a wife, Mae (Renée Zellweger), and three children to support, and to him they were what mattered most. Braddock was unable to pay his bills and eventually had to seek Public Relief (kind of like modern welfare); he even begged for money when things got that desperate.

However, Braddock never gave up on his dream to be a great boxer, even when the Boxing Commission took away his license to fight, and chance brings him a one-time fight. With his manager, Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti), at his side, Jim grabs the success of that fight and pushes his way back into boxing, each success keeping his family with a roof over their heads, food on the table, and light and heat. Eventually, he gets his dream match – a heavyweight championship fight with the reigning champion, the unstoppable Max Baer (Craig Bierko). Now, Jim, considered too old and finished by many in the boxing community, must face Baer, a man renowned for having killed two men in the ring.

Ron Howard’s biopic, Cinderella Man, based upon the real life of Depression-era boxing hero, Jim Braddock, was one of the best reviewed films of 2005, but considering the reviews and the pedigrees of the filmmakers involved, the film was not well attended. That’s a shame because Cinderella Man is one of those proverbial “good movies” of which many people, especially media watchers, complain there aren’t enough. This is actually Howard’s epic film, an ode to middle class values from a man, who as a child actor, played one of the ultimate Middle American children, Opie Taylor on “The Andy Griffith Show” and later played the teenage version of that in Richie Cunningham of “Happy Days.”

Cinderella Man is a film where you can really root for the hero, Jim Braddock. He’s the (not so) little guy battling against doubters, haters, financial misfortune, poverty, unemployment, etc., but he believes in himself. Though his back is often against the wall, he never quits, and he ain’t too proud to beg – if it keeps his family fed and off the streets. Russell Crowe’s performance embodies that plucky American spirit, but he shows something else we Americans really like – grit – the kind of grit it takes to fight the tough times. In fact, Paul Giamatti’s Joe Gould is like that voice inside our heads that keeps pushing us, and just when we think that the voice has left us, it’s back in our corner when it sees that we’re willing to fight out of the bad times. That’s the acting dynamic between Crowe and Giamatti – the hero and the voice of encouragement.

Cinderella Man actually does a few things to keep from being a perfect film. The lighting and cinematography are too murky; everything looks like an Old Master painting covered in soot. The script by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman is good, but not great. One reason that it isn’t great is because it takes the easy road of turning Renée Zellweger’s Mae Braddock into the little wife at home fretting away for her man. I can imagine that Mae does as much to hold things together for the Braddocks, and Howard and his writers don’t have the imagination to really show her struggle – what she does to support the family unit. Mae is just a prop the filmmakers use when they need to send Jim home for scenes that don’t involve boxing or work.

Ultimately, this is Ron Howard’s Middle American fable, and he uses the elements of cinema to manipulate the audience as much as Steve Spielberg did in films like E.T. the Extraterrestrial and The Color Purple. However, Cinderella Man has many genuine and honest moments that speak to the American family and of the grit it takes for a family to keep it together. That’s enough to make me ignore the warts.

7 of 10
A-

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards, USA: 3 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Paul Giamatti), “Best Achievement in Film Editing” (Daniel P. Hanley and Mike Hill), “Best Achievement in Makeup” (David LeRoy Anderson and Lance Anderson)

2006 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Screenplay – Original” (Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman)

2006 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Russell Crowe) and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Paul Giamatti)

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

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Review: Shohreh Aghdashloo's Dazzling Memoir

THE ALLEY OF LOVE AND YELLOW JASMINES
HARPERCOLLINS – @HarperCollins

AUTHOR: Shohreh Aghdashloo
ISBN: 978-0-06-200980-7; hardcover (June 4, 2013)
288pp, B&W with 8-page color photo insert, $26.99 U.S.

Shohreh Aghdashloo is an Iranian-American actress. She is probably best known for the Oscar nomination she earned as “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” for portraying Nadereh “Nadi” Behrani, the wife of Ben Kingsley’s Colonel Behrani in the 2003 film, House of Sand and Fog (76th Academy Awards). In 2009, Aghdashloo won the Primetime Emmy Award for “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie” for portraying Sajida Khairallah Talfah in the BBC/HBO miniseries, House of Saddam (2008).

Superhero fans may remember Aghdashloo for portraying Dr. Kavita Rao in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). In the film, Dr. Rao is a scientist working at Worthington Labs on the “mutant cure,” an inoculation (or shot) that will suppress the X-gene that gives mutants their abilities and makes them different from other humans.

Now, Shohreh Aghdashloo is sharing her journey from a childhood in Iran to the red carpets of Hollywood in her new memoir, The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines. The actress tells stories of family, faith, revolution, and hope.

She was born Shohreh Vaziri-Tabar on May 11, 1952 and grew up in affluent Tehran in the 1950s and 60s. However, Shohreh begins her story on Sunday, February 29, 2004 – the day of the 76th Academy Award ceremony. That day and the beginning of the night take up the first chapter, in which Shohreh even tells us about the two big Hollywood stars that snubbed her.

Afterwards, Shohreh, the author and storyteller, returns to her youth. Shohreh dreamed of becoming an actress, despite her parents’ more practical plans that she study to become a doctor. Shohreh was enchanted by the movies she watched while growing up in affluent Tehran in the 1950s and 60s. She fell in love and married her husband, Aydin Aghdashloo, a painter twelve years her senior and from whom she got her professional name. Shohreh made him promise he’d allow her to follow her passion.

The first years of their marriage were magical, as Shohreh began to build a promising acting career on screen and stage. Meanwhile, Aydin worked at the royal offices as an art director, exhibited his paintings in Tehran, and collected calligraphy. However, in 1979, revolution swept Iran, toppling the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi’s regime and installing an Islamic republic ruled by the former exiled cleric, Ayatollah Khomeini. Shohreh, alarmed by the stifling new restrictions on women and art, decided to escape the new regime and her home country. She began a journey that would eventually lead her to Los Angeles, to a new home, to a new family, and finally to the Hollywood career of which she’d always dreamed.

The most surprising thing about The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines is how well-written it is, and I say that because the tale Shohreh Aghdashloo tells is occasionally mesmerizing. Shohreh the acclaimed actress becomes Shohreh the acclaimed author with this dazzling effort. Not every celebrity can pull off a well-written opinion piece, let alone an entire book. Is there anything that has come out of Charles Barkley and Bill O’Reilly’s mouths that makes you think they are actually articulate and literate enough to have written the books credited to them?

Shohreh’s prose is impressive and especially vivid. Readers will imagine that they are experiencing the sights, sounds, and sensations Shohreh describes, as if her memories are also their memories. Speaking personally, when Shohreh wrote of her time as a young fashion model, her words made my imagination work to envision the clothes and fashions she wore so many decades ago.

Iran comes to life for me as it never has before, because I was seeing a place where people lived and not as an enemy state, which is how Iran is so often portrayed in Western media. I think the most important thing, however, is that the reader comes to feel and to understand Shohreh Aghdashloo’s desire to be an artist and an actor.

I do think that Shohreh is vague in some spots. She really only scratches at the surface of her political and social activism. It is almost as if it is something she does not want to hide, yet is forced to leave out details in some instances.

Shohreh is relatively unknown to American audience, even with her success. The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines, this book written in such a dazzling and colorful manner, will make you want to know her. This is one book written by an actor about her life that is certainly worth reading.

Readers of actors’ memoirs must have The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: "They Live" is Full of Cult Cinema Charm (Happy B'day, Keith David)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 105 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s They Live (1988)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: John Carpenter
WRITER: Frank Armitage (based upon a short story by Ray Nelson)
PRODUCER: Larry Franco
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gary B. Kibbe (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Gib Jaffe and Frank E. Jimenez
COMPOSERS: John Carpenter and Alan Howarth

SCI-FI/THRILLER

Starring: Roddy Piper, Keith David, Meg Foster, George “Buck” Flower, Peter Jason, Raymond St. Jacques, Jason Robards III, John Lawrence, Susan Barnes, Sy Richardson, and Wendy Brainard

The subject of this movie review is They Live, a 1988 science fiction film from writer-director John Carpenter. Carpenter wrote the film using the pen named “Frank Armitage.”

They Live is based on two works by science fiction author, Ray Nelson. The first is Nelson’s short story “Eight O’Clock in the Morning” (The Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, November 1963) and the second is “Nada,” a comic book adaptation of the short story, produced by Nelson and artist Bill Wray (Alien Encounters #6 – April 1986). They Live follows a drifter who finds a pair of sunglasses that allows him to discover that aliens have taken over the Earth.

In 2003, the pop culture magazine Entertainment Weekly published a special issue devoted to what the staff considered the top 50 cult movies of all time, and John Carpenter’s They Live made the list. It’s easy to see why with a film on a low budget that only allowed for cheesy-looking monster makeup and low rent flying robots. Writing under the name “Frank Armitage,” Carpenter weaves a delirious B-movie thriller that mixes the kind of Golden Age pulp sci-fi aimed at juveniles and morons with hippy idealism, counter-culture rage, conspiracy theorists’ paranoia, and a healthy dose of the National Enquirer-inspired zeal.

Nada (Roddy Piper), a down-on-his-luck construction worker, wanders into a large metropolitan area (presumably Los Angeles) to find work. He discovers a pair of special sunglasses, that when worn, shows him that our colorful world is really a society overrun by ugly aliens. Those alien rulers bombard human minds through a radio signal with subliminal messages that encourages people to eat, sleep, obey, consume, reproduce, etc. Without the aid of the glasses, this world remains hidden. Nada convinces a fellow construction worker, Frank (Keith David), to join him, and together they seek human resistance fighters who are searching for the source of the mind-controlling signal.

Carpenter’s film was more than just a science fiction and horror movie; it was also Carpenter’s commentary on the greed and rampant consumerism of the late 1980’s that was coupled with a total lack of regard on many people’s part for the growing number of people slipping into unemployment and poverty. It’s easy to dismiss They Live, what with it’s delightfully campy elements: aliens as free enterprisers who keep the majority of humans as slaves while enriching humans who turn traitors, sunglasses that allow you to see the “real world” (a decidedly William Castle idea), and a professional wrestler as the lead, among other things. The film is so silly sometimes that it makes you squirm.

However, Carpenter was clearly having fun and working within the confines of his genre. When you listen to what his characters say, a lot of things make quite a bit of sense. Lots of things, like the ugly aliens, are metaphors, granted they make silly metaphors, but they are nevertheless metaphors. Maybe Carpenter sabotages his point by using this kind of story to grind his ax about America’s materialist culture, dog-eat-dog society, and the callousness of people toward the less fortunate, but still, only someone dead set against “seeing the light” would miss the point.

I absolutely like the film’s hard, low-budget edge and the menace and gritty determination of Roddy Piper and Keith David’s characters. It’s one of my favorite Carpenter films, and it’s held up for me over repeated viewings. I also have to give credit to any film that makes a shantytown one of its major settings.

7 of 10
B+

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Lucasfilm Announces Second "Star Wars Reads Day"

LUCASFILM LTD., DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE AND PUBLISHING PARTNERS ANNOUNCE SECOND ANNUAL STAR WARS READS DAY

Bookstore and library events to be held October 5, 2013.

New York, NY – Lucasfilm, Disney Publishing Worldwide, and its publishing partners announced today the second annual Star Wars Reads Day to be held this October 5, 2013. Last year, 30 authors and 1,500 costumed volunteers participated in over 1,200 Star Wars Reads Day events across North America. On October 5 of this year, Star Wars fans, authors, and artists will again come together in this multi-publisher initiative that celebrates reading and Star Wars. Participating publishing partners include Abrams, Chronicle Books, Dark Horse, Del Rey, DK, Quirk Books, Random House Audio, Scholastic, Titan Magazines, and Workman.

“Star Wars Reads Day is the kind of initiative that we at Lucasfilm love to support” says Carol Roeder, Director of Publishing at Lucasfilm. “Reading and Star Wars have gone hand-in-hand since 1976, when the novelization of the original Star Wars movie was released. Over the years, many fans have discovered the joy in reading through Star Wars books, and we hope to continue encouraging more people to read.”

Official Star Wars Reads Day author events are already confirmed at the following locations:

Ann Arbor, MI – Barnes & Noble

Austin, TX – Barnes & Noble

Carle Place, NY – Barnes & Noble

Cincinnati, OH – Joseph-Beth Booksellers

Denver, CO – Tattered Cover

Madison, WI – Barnes & Noble

New York, NY – The Scholastic Store

Portland, OR – Wordstock Festival

Redondo Beach, CA – Mysterious Galaxy

Richmond, VA – bbgb

Roseville, MN – Barnes & Noble

San Francisco, CA – Books Inc.

Seattle, WA – University Bookstore

Warwick, RI – Barnes & Noble

For updates and more information, follow Star Wars Reads on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StarWarsReads

An official Star Wars event kit (free of charge), including reproducible activity sheets and trivia, will be available for download at: http://starwars.com/reads/

Lucasfilm, STAR WARS™ and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.

Review: "Fast and Furious 6" is Pure Furious

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 37 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
Running time: 130 minutes (2 hours, 10 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action and mayhem throughout, some sexuality and language
DIRECTOR: Justin Lin
WRITER: Chris Morgan (based on the characters created by Gary Scott Thompson)
PRODUCERS: Vin Diesel, Neal H. Moritz, and Clayton Townsend
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen F. Windon
EDITORS: Greg D’Auria, Kelly Matsumoto, and Christian Wagner
COMPOSER: Lucas Vidal

ACTION/CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Elsa Pataky, Gina Carano, John Ortiz, and Shea Whigham

Two years ago, I started off my review of Fast Five, the fifth movie in The Fast and the Furious film franchise, by telling you, dear reader, that my beat up Random House dictionary defines the word “furious” as meaning full of fury, and defines the word, “fury,” as unrestrained or violent anger.

Fast & Furious 6 is a 2013 action movie from director Justin Lin and released by Universal Pictures. It is the sixth installment in The Fast and the Furious movie franchise. Justin Lin was able to add scenes he could not use in his previous franchise installments (for various reasons, including budget and technology), so Fast & Furious 6 is even more unrestrained than Fast Five. It is the first Summer 2013 movie I have seen that really made me say, “Wow!”

Following the successful Rio heist (shown in Fast Five), Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew have retired to different places around the world. That includes disgraced FBI agent Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and his girlfriend, Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster), who welcome the arrival of their first child, a baby boy.

Retirement is not to be. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) officer, Lucas “Luke” Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), who was tasked with capturing Dom and company in Rio, arrives at Dom’s home with a shocker. He has a recent photograph of Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), Dom’s former girlfriend and fellow street racer who is supposed to be dead. Letty is apparently working for Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), a former British Special Forces soldier. Shaw leads a crew of professional criminals who steal military-grade technology.

Shaw plans to build a device that could leave an entire nation or region in the dark. Hobbs promises full pardons for Dom and his crew if they can help him capture Shaw and his gang. Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej Parker (Ludacris), and Han Lue (Sung Kang) reunite with Dom and Brian in what may be their fastest and most furious heist yet.

Fast & Furious 6 takes the massive gun battles, bone-crunching fights, and reality-bending car chases of Fast Five and makes them even crazier. I thought that Fast Five proved the franchise could still surprise, but Fast & Furious 6 seems to declare that this movie franchise will always surprise. You may think you’ve seen the car chases through the city streets before in other Fast and Furious movies, but you’ve never seen them with these cars (especially the cool “flip car”), nor have you seen these crashes, with cars spinning through the air, as you will see in Fast & Furious 6.

Remember the body-slamming brawls between Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson’s characters in Fast Five? Fast & Furious 6 offers the hot-chick version of that with Michelle Rodriguez and Gina Carano’s characters crashing into each other like angry bucks in two monster clashes of the lady titans.

But it comes down to this simply fact: Fast & Furious 6 is a joy to watch. It is another fine action movie from director Justin Lin. I laughed and cheered, and the audience that saw it with me did, too – almost as much as the audience that saw Marvel’s The Avengers with me liked that movie. Fast & Furious 6 is one of those movies that deserve to be called “the ultimate summer movie.” It has fights, non-stop action, car chases, tanks, gunplay, sleazy Euro-trash bad guys, girl fights, and guys who love cars probably more than they love girls (even if it’s just a little more). Fast & Furious 6 has all the low-brow stuff that makes an action movie good, and this action movie is quite good.

8 of 10
A

Monday, June 03, 2013