San Andreas (4/10): A disaster movie that never delivers anything more than visuals.

"It's been a long time since I got you to second base!"

No matter how big of a fan of anyone from this cast you are, the entire screenplay is so full of cliches and the dialogue is almost entirely laughable that it makes it impossible for any one of them to save this film. Not even Dwayne Johnson (and he is an actor who usually delivers in action movies). This disaster movie is no different than The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, or Deep Impact. It is full of cliches and relies solely on CGI, but it doesn't have a soul. We've seen each one of these characters in dozens of movies before and I honestly didn't care for any of them in this film. It takes the familiar family dynamics from Taken, where a divorced father has to save his beautiful teenage daughter, while struggling with the fact that his ex-wife is moving in with a wealthy man, and it mixes it with the familiar elements of disaster movies like 2012. So in summary, it is basically a cross between 2012 and Taken. The effects didn't really blow me away either and the best scenes are already included in the trailers. I didn't hate San Andreas, but it doesn't deliver anything fresh or original. It's a disaster movie that lives up to being just that: a disaster.

The film introduces us to the hero right away as Ray (Dwayne Johnson), a rescue-chopper pilot is saving a teenage girl from a car accident as it has derailed off the road and is barely hanging in the air squeezed by some rocks along a mountainside. After the successful rescue mission, Ray gives his daughter, Blake (Alexandra Daddario) a call to invite her out for the night, but she and her mother Emma (Carla Gugino) have already made plans with Emma’s new boyfriend, Daniel (Ioan Gruffudd) a wealthy business magnate. Ray and Blake make plans to hang out together the next day, but a massive earthquake in Nevada   sends him on yet another rescue mission. In the meantime, Lawrence (Paul Giamatti), an expert in all things concerning earthquakes and tectonic plate movements develops a program that allows him to predict possible earthquakes in the future. He predicts that the Nevada quake is just the beginning of the disaster and that California will be hit the hardest. His prediction comes true as Los Angeles and San Francisco begin to shake. On his way back, Ray receives a call from Emma who is in a building in LA that is about to collapse. Emma happens to be in another building all the way in San Francisco with Daniel that is also falling apart. Ray makes it his mission to save both his ex-wife and his daughter before the quake completely destroys both cities. Meanwhile, Blake is saved by a pair of Brits, Ben (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) and his young brother Ollie (Art Parkinson), but this is just the beginning and more massive earthquakes are expected to hit them soon. 

Having the hero of the film play a rescue-chopper is a great excuse for the director, Brad Peyton (who had previously worked with Johnson in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island), to include jaw dropping aerial shots of the destruction. There are dozens of buildings collapsing and thousands of lives lost as Ray is trying to save his family. The CGI effects are solid, although nothing we haven’t seen before. It delivers what audiences are expecting from a disaster movie, but the characters are never fully developed. The dialogue in this film is incredibly dull and its hard to care for the characters despite how much of a fan you are of the cast. There are some funny moments thanks to the chemistry between Johnstone and Daddario, but there is not much more here. You know exactly who is going to survive and who is not so there is no tension either. It’s a film you come to see for the visuals alone and nothing else.    

Furious 7 (8/10): The over-blown action scenes continue to improve the beloved franchise

"This time it ain't just about being fast.”

James Wan, who is well known for directing horror films (The Conjuring and Saw), took over the seventh film in this franchise replacing Justin Lin who had been sitting on the director’s chair since the third installment. What I found most interesting about this franchise is that it didn’t seem like it was going anywhere after its solid debut in 2001 since the first couple of sequels focused on different characters and storylines. Even when they got the entire cast back together in 2009 for the fourth film I didn’t feel like it was anything special. I’d always mildly enjoyed the films, but it wasn’t until Fast Five that I was really engaged with the series. Justin Lin may have not impressed me before, but when that film came out he decided to have fun with the overblown action scenes and audiences embraced it completely. We had the team reuniting together being chased by tanks and planes and pulling off nearly mission impossible tasks. My greatest concern for this film was that Wan wouldn’t follow that basic formula that had elevated the franchise in the first place. But in an early scene in the film those fears were soon gone when Wan practically gives the audience a wink by having Brian (Walker) telling his son that “cars don’t fly” when he playfully throws a small toy car through the window. We were about to find out that that claim wasn’t necessarily true because throughout this film we actually see several cars fly during the spectacular action scenes. 

By the end of Furious Six the franchise was tied perfectly together by uniting the events that took place in Tokyo during the third film with the present. In the fifth and sixth installments Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian (Paul Walker), Tej (Ludacirs), and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) had finally found financial stability and cleaned their names to return home. The character of Agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) had helped reinvigorate the franchise and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) was brought back from the dead (well actually she never really died, but fans of the franchise know what I mean). Mia (Jordan Brewster) and Brian were enjoying their newfound family life, but as we found out in the end of the sixth film, Owen’s brother Deckard (Jason Statham) was set on avenging him. Their seemingly peaceful life  is interrupted as the team begins to be hunted down by this dangerous British criminal. Loretto is offered the opportunity to flip the papers on Deckard from being hunted to becoming the hunters when a secret government official known as Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) offers him a deal. A Somalian mercenary (Djimon Hounsou) has kidnapped a hacker known as Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel) who has developed a computer program known as God’s Eye that basically allows you to find anyone across the globe in a matter of seconds. If Toretto’s team can rescue Ramsey and retrieve God’s Eye he will let them use it to track down Deckard and catch him off guard. And so the adventure across the globe begins with flying cars, helicopters and droids exploding across the mountains of the Middle East, the elegant buildings in Abu Dhabi, and the city of Los Angeles. 

Gisele and Han were part of the reason why I enjoyed the previous films so much so I was worried that their absence in this film would hurt the movie, but the addition of Jason Statham as the main villain of the film elevated this to a higher level. There are great fight scenes between him and Dwayne Johnson and then with Vin Diesel that were incredibly entertaining. These are probably the best action stars of our generation and when the fighting choreography is filmed correctly you can’t go wrong with these guys.  There are also some fantastic action scenes involving fast car chases across a gorgeous mountain that ends in a Jurassic Park like cliffhanger. The action scenes are overblown, but that is what makes them so entertaining once you learn to accept the absurdity of it all and simply enjoy the ride. Over-the-top action scenes is what elevated this franchise in the first place and Furious 7 continues to play with that same premise taking advantage of Wan’s knowledgable work behind the camera and his use of different camera angles which makes the film look all the more entertaining. 

The greatest success of Furious 7 is being able to blend the incredibly fun action scenes with the dramatic elements involving the chemistry between the characters. We’ve grown to love these characters and each new addition always seems to work. Furious 7 takes some common themes from films like Mission Impossible or Ocean’s Eleven and applies them really well here. Tyrese Gibson plays a similar character to the one Matt Damon played in Ocean’s where he wants to prove his leadership qualities to the rest of the crew. There are elements recycled from other action films, but thanks to the cast it works extremely well in this franchise. And then you have the emotional aspect of this film surrounding Paul Walker’s untimely death. You can’t help but feel emotionally engaged towards his character knowing that the actor has recently passed away. There are several scenes of his face where the CGI seems evident, but the voice work was perfectly executed. The CGI never distracted me however, and I’m glad they decided to continue with the production of the film. The last five minutes are emotionally engaging and without spoiling the film all I can say is that the crew did him justice with a beautiful tribute. Furious 7 continues to build on an already engrossing franchise and it might just be my second favorite after Fast Five. 

My Review: Hercules (6/10)

“Are you only the legend, or are you truth behind the legend?”

Hercules was one of those rare cases where I was glad the film was nothing like the trailer was portraying it as. From the trailers I was expecting yet another Clash of the Titans sort of fiasco, but I was pleasantly surprised the film took an entirely different approach. Instead of portraying the Greek mythology as something completely accepted in this world, it actually is just a myth that some have more trouble than others in believing. 

Hercules is one of those silly action films that rarely work for me. I tend to find these sort of action packed movies where there is very little character development dull and boring. Surprisingly however, the action sequences looked impressive and somehow I was engaged by the characters. For the first two thirds of this 90 minute film I was on board with the breezy and light hearted action, but unfortunately the final act included an uninspired twist that didn’t work for me. I felt like the film rushed to the conclusion and tied things up too neatly. Hercules has many flaws and lacks depth but it makes up for all of this with some slick visuals, engaging action sequences, and an impressive lead performance from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Brett Ratner won a lot of enemies when he ruined the X-Men franchise for many fanboys, but he has also made some entertaining and decent films like Red Dragon and the first Rush Hour. Hercules may not be a great film, but it was much better than I anticipated and I had a decent time with it despite being predictable and pretty straightforward. 

Perhaps the best thing going for Hercules is the lead performance from The Rock who completely drives this film and engages us with the title character. He is an action star with a lot of charisma who happens to sell the funny moments as well. Ian McShane also deserves his share of credit for the comedic moments of this film. He is great in his secondary role as one of Hercules’s sidekicks who also seems to have the ability of foreseeing his own death. Rufus Sewell, Aksel Hennie, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, and Reece Ritchie each deliver as part of Hercules’s faithful companions and despite not having any depth to them whatsoever I still managed to care for each one of them. The greatest weakness of the film might be the lack of a strong villain and a somewhat unbelievable twist. All in all, Hercules is decent enough to give a mild recommendation from my part.

My Review: Empire State (5/10)

"It's been reported that over 9 million dollars were taken in last night's heist."

Empire State surprisingly begins with a lot of promise. The beginning of the film sets the right mood and tone with an incredible 80's vibe bringing out some nostalgic memories. It had the right look and some interesting characters and the story is based on true events of one of the largest heists in American history. I thought I was going to enjoy this criminal thriller, but about half hour into the movie everything began to go downhill. Dwayne Johnson and Emma Roberts who were on the cover of the film are only supporting characters who get very little screen time. You begin to see characters come in and out of the story without any real purpose (Nikki Reed barely has a meaningless cameo in this). The true lead actors in Empire State are Liam Hemsworth and Michael Angarano, and their characters are portrayed in such a light that we are supposed to sympathize with these guys, but that never happens. Director, Dito Montiel (whose previous work include Fighting and The Son of No One both starring Channing Tatum), never manages to engage the audience with the film and it's disappointing because he had some talented actors and a great premise to work with. Overall the ending is probably the weakest and laziest part of the film after having a somewhat interesting buildup. The script was written by Emmy Award winning writer, Adam Mazer (You Don't Know Jack), and this is probably his weakest film. Montiel hasn't had much success in his films, but somehow he always manages to work with a high profile cast; if he doesn't do something different he is going to have a short career as a director. 

The film is based on a true story about a heist that took place at Empire State armored truck company. Chris Potamitis (Liam Hemsworth) is a young kid who dreams of becoming a cop in order to help his family out. Unfortunately due to an incident that took place a few years ago with his best friend, Eddie (Michael Angarano), he is rejected by the Police Academy and is denied the test. Chris has to settle for working as a security guard at an armored truck company which doesn't pay much. To make matters worse, his partner is killed at a heist and the company doesn't pay the insurance for his family. Upset by this, Chris decides to steal a small amount of money from the company in order to help them out. He tells his friend Eddie about this and Eddie thinks it's a good idea to steal the millions of dollars that are stacked at this place with little security. Along with some other small time criminals, they plan to take it all, but they have to be careful because NYPD, James Ronsone (Dwayne Johnson) is hot on their trail. They will also have to watch out for the big mafia criminals who wouldn't appreciate a heist taking place in their area without their knowledge. Stealing the money might not be such an easy task as Eddie and Chris believe it to be. 

Emma Roberts, Jerry Ferrara, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Michael Rispoli all play very small roles in this film. This is Dwight Johnson's fifth film of 2013 but this is by far his smallest and most forgetable role. Liam Hemsworth doesn't have what it takes to be a lead and so it was very hard to care for these characters and what was going on. The premise was promising, but somehow they couldn't create a decent criminal thriller that would engage the audience. It is a shame because this story could have been told so much better and some of the actors could have been used better. Overall I enjoyed the 80's vibe and the nostalgic feeling the first 30 minutes gave me reminding me of all the films I watched as a kid during that time. The last hour is so messy that it just ruined everything. The characters are completely one dimensional and cardboard copies and the film is completely predictable.

My Review: Pain & Gain (5/10)

"The event you are about to see took place in Miami Florida between October 1994 and June 95. Unfortunately, this is a true story."

Michael Bay decided to take a break from his latest big budget movies (Transformers, Armageddon, and Pearl Harbor) and pursue something much smaller. Pain and Gain is based on a true story, but it adds all the Hollywood condiments to make it suitable for moviegoers. First off all you get three likable actors like Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), and Anthony Mackie to play three criminals who really don't look anything like the real people involved in these crimes. I guess Bay was trying to get us to sympathize a little with these people despite their horrific acts. There's another thing Bay always does in his movies (big or small) and that is to include a gorgeous actress. In this case he got Bar Paly to play an inexistent role or at least I really never understood what she was doing here or why these men needed her. Bay also turns the victim here into a very unlikable character. I wonder how he or his family feel about this movie considering his kidnappers were just portrayed as some dumb bodybuilders who just wanted to take a shortcut to achieve the American dream. I really didn't have a problem with any of this, I just don't like the way Hollywood keeps on claiming films are based on true stories when they are only inspired by them. This dark criminal comedy didn't really work for me despite the strong cast. One of my major issues had to do with the length of the film; it just seems to drag forever. This would've worked much better as a 90 minute movie. The second problem is that the more you are reminded that the film is based on a true story (it reminds us midway though the film) the less funny and more messed up it gets. I'm not a Michael Bay hater, I liked Armageddon, The Island, Pearl Harbor, and the first Transformer, but I just didn't seem to care too much about this movie. I think Wahlberg and Johnson are great actors, but they didn't really seem to fit the part here. 

Pain and Gain starts off by introducing us to Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg), a personal fitness trainer at a Miami gym. He is all about achieving the American dream and being patriotic. Somehow he sees himself as better than most Americans because of the way he has built his body. What he has in muscles, he seems to lack in brains. Although he has tripled the amount of customers that go to his boss's (Rob Corddry) gym so he seems to know a thing or two about business. His other partners at the gym, Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson) are even dumber. Adrian has used so much steroids that he is now suffering from the side effects, and Doyle is a former coke addict who is trying to reform his life. Daniel is so desperate to live the American dream that he convinces Adrian and Paul to kidnap a client at the gym (played by Tony Shalhoub) and steal his possessions. He believes they can get away with it, but things begin to get out of hand for these amateurs so the plot begins to get more and more complicated as the film moves on.

The incompetence of these criminals and the incompetence of the Miami police force is really what Bay is trying to make fun of here, but considering there were real victims involved it is hard to laugh at what is going on. As likable as Wahlberg and Johnson are, and as hateful as their victim is you kind of want them to get away with the crime. Bay kind of tries to pull our strings here because what these three men actually did is nothing we should be rooting for. Insisting that it is a real story only makes things more difficult for the viewer because somehow you feel sorry for these criminals because of how inept and dumb they are. The voiceover narrations that Bay implements in the story with every character doesn't work either (he should take some notes from Scorsese). The entire tone of the film just didn't work for me. I thought the film began well but just went downhill from then on. Skip this. 

Rating: 5,6/10

My Review: Snitch (5/10)

¨Every move I make or don´t make, Jason will have to live with for the next 10 years of his life.¨

Snitch is far from being a fast-paced action thriller like the trailers suggest. It is more of a dramatic thriller with some moments of suspense, but the film mostly takes itself seriously and moves at a very slow pace. The film is based on real events and in a way it criticizes the way America has handled its war on drugs. As much as I like The Rock (I think he´s incredibly charismatic and has made some great films) this role wasn’t made for him. He is good for action scenes or comedy, but I don’t think he was the right choice for a drama. This is the first film I´ve seen from director, Ric Roman Waugh, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Justin Haythe (Revolutionary Road and the upcoming Lone Ranger), and I wasn’t too impressed with his work. The film might be entertaining enough for a quiet night out, but it is completely forgettable. I doubt we will remember anything about Snitch by the end of the year because it is a very sluggish film. This wasn’t a very enjoyable film, but I can see fans of The Rock wanting to go see it.

After Jason (Rafi Gavron) accepts to receive a package of ecstasy sent to his house by his best friend Craig, he is arrested by the DEA who have set him up. Jason isn’t a drug dealer, but in order to get a lighter sentence, Craig decided to trick Jason into receiving the package. The DEA offer Jason the same bargain, but he refuses to set anyone up and therefore is sentenced to prison for 10 years (which is the minimum mandatory sentence for this offense). When his estranged father, John Matthews (The Rock) hears about the news from his ex-wife he decides to help out. He makes a bargain with the District Attorney Keeghan (Susan Sarandon) to go undercover and make an arrest so his son can have his sentence lowered. With the help of DEA Agent Cooper (Barry Pepper) and an ex-con employee of his named Daniel (Jon Benrthal) he is introduced to the underworld and begins taking huge risks for his son. John is willing to do what it takes in order to get his son out of jail.

The plot is pretty simple and the film feels authentic and true to life at times. The risks that The Rock´s character takes for his son are believable, but I thought that several things resolved themselves rather quickly for a film that was trying really hard to take itself seriously. I was disappointed with the final 15 minutes of the film, and the dialogue was a little too preachy. I had serious issues with the pace as well. I also thought there were several unnecessary action scenes involving shaky camera work (especially during the chase scenes). The film fails to really tackle the social issue it tries to raise at the beginning of the movie and by the end you feel like you are watching yet another forgettable thriller. I still give the film a little credit for at least mentioning the issue at the beginning of the film and trying to make us aware that we seriously have to change the way the DEA handles sentences for first time offenders.  

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My Review: Fast and Furious 6 (8/10)

¨You don’t turn your back on family, even when they do.¨

Fast and Furious 6 and The Hangover Part 3 were both released today in what looks to be a tight box office race for the Memorial Day weekend. If you would have asked me a couple of years ago which film I would prefer to see, I would have definitely chosen to go see The Hangover Part 3 because I loved the first movie and thought it was a great comedy; I also enjoyed The Fast and The Furious film but wasn’t too pleased with the following three sequels. Then in 2011 when both Fast Five and The Hangover Part 2 came out, things completely changed for me. I was hooked with The Fast and Furious franchise while part two of The Hangover was a major letdown. That is why this weekend I decided to go for Fast and Furious 6 without a doubt, and I wasn’t disappointed. This might not be as good as the last film (which I think is the best in the franchise), but it lived up to expectations and was highly entertaining. This is Justin Lin´s fourth time in the director´s chair in this franchise and he seems to have had a great effect on these movies converting them into entertaining thrillers with some great action scenes. Screenwriter, Chris Morgan, is also back for the fourth time and he has managed to actually put some brains to these fast car races and create better characters. He´s developed these characters very well and made them interesting, and has also done a decent job at creating some memorable villains. The film is fast paced, has several thrills, great car chases, and some decent character development. Of course there are several flaws as well: unbelievable and laughable scenes involving guys jumping off moving vehicles and landing safely all the time, and some very predictable moments and foreseeable twists. I still had a fun time with this film and laughed more than I thought I would.  

If you thought that Toretto (Vin Diesel) and O´Conner (Paul Walker) were retired after their latest heist in Rio, then you were wrong because Detective Hobbs (Dwayne ¨The Rock¨ Johnson) has an interesting proposition for them. He is pursuing some dangerous criminal mercenary drivers led by Shaw (Luke Evans) who have been creating chaos all over Europe. In order to stop them, Hobbs knows that he will need the help of Toretto. Hobbs discovers that Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), Toretto´s former love interest, is alive and working for Shaw, and therefore convinces Toretto to help him. The rest of his crew decides to come out of retirement as well and try to bring Letty back home with them. In exchange, Hobbs promises these men full pardon, and they accept without hesitation because they are tired of running and not being able to return home. Roman (Tyrese Gibson), Tej (Chris ¨Ludacris¨ Bridges), Han (Sung Kang), and Gisele (Gal Gadot) are all back in order to help Toretto and O´Conner to stop the ruthless criminals pursuing them from London to Spain, but Shaw and his men seem to be always a step ahead of them.

This sixth film in the franchise seems to tie some loose ends from the third and fourth installment in a very thrilling and entertaining way. The franchise has really picked up and it seems to have a lot of life left in it. It even ends with a cliffhanger, so it is certain that the seventh film will be coming out soon as well. Most everyone in the franchise is back again (only missing Tego Calderon and Don Omar) and the interaction between these characters is very entertaining. Ludacris and Tyrese pretty much steal all the laughs in the scenes they are together in, while Gadot and Kang bring in the romantic touch. Toretto and O´Conner have put aside their differences from the first films and their bond is pretty strong now as they are family. Despite some of the insane and absurd action scenes, this film stands above most other action films thanks to a strong performance from the cast. This film is really a lot of fun as long as you don’t think too hard of all the physical impossibilities of what they are achieving. The franchise just continues to grow faster and faster, and it works really well for a summer blockbuster movie. Fans won´t be disappointed, it is a very satisfying film.   

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My Review: GI Joe: Retaliation (6/10)

¨Call me JOE¨

As a kid I was a huge fan of the GI Joe cartoons and had a vast collection of the action figures, but I never thought it was a very good idea to bring the franchise to the big screen. I didn’t like the first film despite all the great special effects because the entire concept was just way too silly, and I didn’t like this film all that much either despite the fact it had a better story and some more interesting characters. What really saved this film for me was a ten minute action scene in the mountains which was pretty amazing and made the entire movie worthwhile. It was one of the best action scenes I`ve seen all year. This second film was directed by Jon M. Chu (Justin Bieber Never Say Never and Step Up 2) and the screenplay co-written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland), but very few actors are back from the original movie (only five) so this felt like a totally different movie. Retaliation is much better than Rise of Cobra but it still felt a little light due to the nonstop action. It’s one of those movies you can enjoy for two hours but forget about once it’s over. What it does have going for it is that is includes better action stars like The Rock and Bruce Willis. The Rock is probably one of the best contemporary action stars and he already brought the Fast and Furious franchise back alive again. He doesn’t quite do the same with GI Joe, but he still makes this movie a little more enjoyable than the original one. Despite all the cheesiness of the plot I still had some fun, and the producers knew that the premise couldn’t be taken seriously so they just played around with it.

The Joes continue to serve and protect the world under the leadership of Captain Duke (Channing Tatum) and his team which consists of Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock), Flint (D.J. Cotrona), and Jaye (Adrianne Palicki). They have a couple of successful missions until the team is betrayed by the US president (Jonathan Pryce) who is actually Zartan (Arnold Vosloo) infiltrated as him. Thus the Joes are forced to fight enemy forces inside their own government and are forced to receive help from the only person they can trust: retired General Joe Colton (Bruce Willis). Meanwhile Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) has conceived a plan with Firefly (Ray Stevenson) to free their imprisoned Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey). Snake Eyes (Ray Park) is determined to stop him with the help of Jinx (Elodie Yung), but the Joes are running out of time with the President threatening the world with a nuclear war. Will the Joes be able to stop the Cobra team before they destroy the entire world?

Channing Tatum and The Rock shared some funny scenes together and had great chemistry, but I would have enjoyed more screen time with them. Adrianne Palicki looked great in that red dress and was a good addition to the film. Cotrona and Willis didn’t do much, but the highlight of the film was the mountain action sequence between Park and Lee. The film had its extremely cheesy moments, and I couldn’t believe they even didn’t care about the explosion of London. They continued as if nothing ever happened and celebrated the success of the mission without considering the devastating loss. I think that was probably the worst part of the film and the entire scene was probably used to attract people through the trailers. Retaliation is big and loud, anticipation for what is to come in the blockbuster summer movies. By the time summer gets here we will probably have forgotten all about this movie, but it was still a fun and entertaining two hours. Even those people that will end up hating this film will have to agree that the ten minute action scene between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow was pretty entertaining. As long as you don’t think too much about what`s going on you might enjoy this senseless film.

My Review: Fast Five (7/10)

¨I suggest you make peace with whatever demons you have left cause come tomorrow, I will find you.¨

The Fast and the Furious franchise is back with its fifth installment, Fast Five, and I must say this is probably the best one of the series. Almost all the characters from the previous films are back and director Justin Lin has managed to bring the franchise back to life. I thought Tokyo Drift would definitely bury the series without Vin Diesel or Paul Walker, but then they managed to bring all the main characters back, mix them together, and now it seems we will have plenty more fast cars coming our way. The screenplay was written by Chris Morgan, who also wrote the third and fourth ones, and the story works really well although that isn`t the reason why we go see these movies. There are probably better actors, better scripts, and more believable heist thrillers than this one, but we still go see these movies for the cars and the great action sequences. The situations these guys go through is unbelievable, we know that the way these characters drive they should all have died in the first Fast and Furious, but we know this is just a fun and entertaining franchise and we try to make peace with the screenplay as best we can because it is just fun to see these guys go at it. It`s fun to see them drive cars off a running train, or speed by busy streets without crashing into each other while at the same time avoiding all sorts of bullets and explosions. Fast Five might be the most unbelievable and improbable film of the franchise, but it is still the best one.

The film picks up right where the fourth one left us, Brian (Paul Walker) and Mia (Jordana Brewster) are breaking Dominic (Vin Diesel) out of custody while he is being transported to jail. They successfully manage to free him, and all three of them become fugitives. They are forced to continually be on the run and end up in Rio de Janeiro with very little money left on them. In Rio they stay with Dom`s longtime friend from the first film, Vince (Matt Schulze), who is now living in the favelas with his girlfriend and baby boy Nico. Vince tells Brian he has a job for them and since they are short on cash they have to accept. Unfortunately something goes wrong in the job and the guys make a new enemy: Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida), a corrupt businessman who owns the entire police force and gangsters in Rio. Now Dom and Brian have all the gangsters, the Brazilian police, and special Federal Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne ¨The Rock¨ Johnson) along with his elite team after them in beautiful Rio. Dom and Brian decide to pull off one last job in order to teach Hernan a lesson, but in order to do so they will need to assemble an elite team. That is where the rest of the crew from previous films come in. First we have Tej (Ludacris) and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) from the first sequel, then there`s Han Lue (Sung Jang) from the Tokyo Drift film, and finally Gisele (Gal Gadot), Tego (Tego Calderon), and Rico Santos (Don Omar) are back from the latest installment. Together they hope to pull off one of the biggest heists of their lives worth 100 million dollars, but being able to pull it off doesn`t seem that easy.  

Fast Five delivers what it promises and even more. There are a lot of action sequences and they are shot extremely well. The cars move really fast, but that isn`t all Fast Five has going for it. The addition of The Rock to the story sets up an interesting fight scene between him and Dominic. The Rock helped boost the series even more and brought something fresh to the franchise. There is also the plus that the film took place in Rio de Janeiro and the scenery there is just so beautiful. There is a great chase scene that takes place over the roofs of the favelas, reminiscent of the Bourne Ultimatum scene in Morocco. Yes, the story is improbable, but we still are allowed to have fun with it. I didn`t get into the movie that much until the second half of the film, but let me say that the second part really delivers. This movie also has the best ending and it really leaves you expecting the sixth part, which I really didn’t feel that excited about in the other films. Fans of the franchise will surely be satisfied and Fast Five might even add a few new converts along the way because it is the best one so far. The soundtrack is also great and Don Omar really is hilarious in this movie. He delivered most of the funny scenes in the film. Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson also did their part in sharing the workload. It was just good seeing all these characters together and the cameo in the ending is just the cherry on the pie. I was surprisingly entertained with Fast Five.

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My Review: The Other Guys (7/10)

¨ You have the right to remain silent... but I want to hear you scream! ¨

It was about time 2010 gave us a comedy that was actually funny. The Other Guys isn`t a perfect comedy, but it does have several laugh out loud moments. This is one of Will Ferrell`s best movies since Talladega Nights. It was good to see him team up with Mark Wahlberg in this buddy comedy and their chemistry was great. Most of the movie focused on them, leaving the supporting cast kind of flat, but it did pay off at the end. Eva Mendes, Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Michael Keaton, and Steve Coogan had good supporting roles, but the main attractions are actually Ferrell and Wahlberg and the movie keeps us focused on them. Director Adam McKay knows Will Ferrell really well since they have worked together before in Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers. This is probably not as good as their two first movies together, but it is definitely an improvement over Step Brothers. McKay wrote the screenplay along with Chris Henchy who had also written a screenplay for Ferrell`s other movie Land of the Lost. Ferrell is back to his old self mixing his calm behavior and nature from Ron Burgundy in Anchorman with some outbursts here and there. Wahlberg`s comedic timing isn`t the best, but he is funny nonetheless when he is screaming and insulting everyone. The movie could have been a lot better since the first half of the film is actually much funnier than the second, but it is still worth a watch considering there haven`t been great comedies released this year so far.

Allen Gamble (Will Ferrell) works as an accountant for the New York police department. He is very happy with his safe job and is always in the mood to do all the paperwork for the true heroes of the city: street officers P.K. Highsmith (Samuel L. Jackson) and Christopher Danson (Dwayne Johnson, better known as The Rock). Danson and Highsmith have just tore up half of New York City chasing a pair of criminals in a car pursuit. They catch the criminals who only happen to possess a quarter pound of cocaine, but are still received as heroes by city citizens because they are willing to do what it takes and even defy the laws of physics in order to catch criminals. Allen`s office partner is Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), who is really unhappy with staying indoors all day and wants to be in the streets fighting real crime. The problem is that Terry has had a funny incident in the past (which I won`t give away) and therefore he isn`t allowed to work in the streets anymore. The police captain is Gene Mauch (Michael Keaton) who needs more men in the streets after he loses Danson and Highsmith. Hoitz forces his partner Gamble to accept a case in order to stop from being simply the other guys. Gamble isn`t too happy about leaving his job because he doesn`t like taking risks and he enjoys his happy life with his beautiful wife Dr. Sheila (Eva Mendes). Forced to take a call Gamble and Hoitz head to the streets where they accidently run into David Ershon (Steve Coogan). Gamble has been building a case on Ershon because he believes him to be a shady capitalist, and now he and Hoitz have an opportunity of a lifetime to become heroes if they can uncover his fraud.

The Other Guys may not end up being a very memorable comedy, but in a year with lack of good comedies, this was a fun and entertaining experience. Will Ferrell may have other funnier comedies as well, but it had been awhile since he had had one, and teaming up with Mark Wahlberg was a great idea. The chemistry between them worked really well and they made for a good couple in this buddy comedy. The beginning of the movie was pretty funny, Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock were hilarious during the opening scene and they also have a very memorable one when they are at the rooftop of a building chasing some criminals. I laughed really hard during these opening scenes. Will Ferrell was his usual self, without overacting this time and playing the nice guy. He does have a secret past which really works in this movie and makes up for the funniest scenes. He also happens to be a chic magnet which also brings several laughs throughout the film. Mark Wahlberg may not have the perfect comedic timing that Paul Rudd has for example, but he is still funny and makes for a good comedic partner. Eva Mendes also had some funny lines and we have seen her do comedy really well in the past as well (Stuck on You and Hitch). The action scenes in this movie are actually pretty well done and a lot of fun. The scene where Wahlberg fights off a bunch of guys on motorcycles is really well choreographed. I ended up enjoying this movie quite a bit, but I am still waiting for this year`s The Hangover.

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