Fast Five :: A 63 Review

Original View Date: April 22nd, 2011

Plot (1/5):
As a franchise, I like how the films all connect now. However the Fast and Furious series are starting to look like the Saw series. Let us hope it ends soon before it's too late.

First of all the problem with this film is that it consists of a plot that is unnecessary. This story only exists because the studio wanted a sequel. Why does Toretto need to steal cars from a train? The flow of the plot becomes worse when its driving force becomes the want for revenge on the crime lord, Reyes. Revenge for WHAT? Toretto is the one that stole the cars that Reyes was after.

Another big issue is that the protagonists spend so much time trying to come up with a way to covertly steal Reyes' money. Almost 50% of the movie is them trying to find a way. They figure out that they can't do this with their cars so they take up another 15 or so minutes to steal police cars for the job. However in the end they just brutally attack Reyes with armored cars and forcefully steal his money. So what was the whole point of the second act? Nothing.

The plot is suffice enough for the fans to follow but it's filled with clutter.

Characters (2/5):
Here we have a box of new yet old characters. We have the female cop who is determined to fight for the law due to the murder of her husband. She is, of course, going to be sympathetic towards Toretto and become the more reasonable one. Yes, we've seen this character before. Next we have the bulky badass cop portrayed by The Rock. Have we seen this character before? Yes and I think he's in the same movie! This is just another Vin Diesel. No joke; during their dog fight it's hard to tell who is who.

But the most terrible thing by far is the friendship that is developed between Toretto and The Rock. Unnecessary, unconvincing and so out of the blue. The Rock is an unreasonable character that has a reputation of catching every one of his targets. It's so out of character that he becomes lenient towards Toretto just because he saved his life. That did not work out which is why I disliked the ending. Also another problem with The Rock: why does he shoot Reyes in the end? I mean, Reyes was bleeding and begging for mercy and he just kills him. Okay, I know The Rock is badass but he's supposed to be this brute force of justice. That was so out of character.

And how or when the hell did Han get the hot girl? When he stared at her on the beach?

Performance (3/5):
There is a dramatic scene with the baby O'Connor is going to have. This allows more personal interaction between O'Connor and Toretto. While the scene itself is unnecessary the audience gets to see different aspects of Toretto's character. Overall, it's your standard action performances.

Specifics (5/5):
If there's one thing this movie does really well, it's the action. This is what I came to see and the movie delivers. The action scale has been enlarged to the maximum. I can't see the next film do top Fast Five. Fast Five is a blast. It's a non stop action surfeit. Simply mind blowing and brainless, just the way I like it.

Theme (1/5):

Cool cars and hot girls.

Dialogue (1/5):
I PROMISE...that the dialogue isn't the selling point here. Like all Fast and Furious movies this has plenty of one liners, stupid lines that are unnecessary. The thing that still bothers me the most is when the camera cuts to each driver in the race and every one of them has something to say at that moment. Things like "Don't make it too easy for me, boys!" and "Not this time!" It's stupid.

Overall (3/5):

Pretty damn entertaining and the flaws can be disregarded easily. They are nothing major; they are merely things that bothered me throughout the film. Fast Five is probably the best out of all five.

World Invasion :: A 63 Review

Original View Date: March 26th, 2011

**It has been a while since I've watched this film but I've just been so busy over the month. I still think this movie is fresh in my mind for me to review it**

Plot (3/5):

This is a pass. In some aspects World Invasion (or Battle: Los Angeles) is old and in some aspects it's new. It's old because it's just another war film. That's right, it's a war film - not an alien invasion film but a war film. Surprisingly to my liking, these aliens don't kick the tar out of the humans like most. This is where the film is quite new; the battles are quite even and the story focuses more on the marines than the aliens. Great, so we'll get some characters instead of people keep yelling "oh shit" right?

Characters (2/5):

No. While it's not the typical alien victims that we see throughout the film, it's the cheesy marine troops. Beside being cliche as they can possibly be, these marines are poor characters. They do not change throughout the events of the film and all of their characterization comes from their cliche past. These characters range from a "soon-to-be-a-father" marine to a "I'm-sad-because-I-lost-my-brother-in-war" marine. The film shows all these people in the beginning but they are not distinguishable at all.

Performance (3/5):

Unfortunately nothing special comes to my mind. I'm numb to these same old characters that I've already seen before. I can't condemn them for the performances that are necessary but I can't praise them either. Eckhart makes a pretty good marine though.

Specifics (2/5):

The action sequences are entertaining to watch and some scenes are extremely suspenseful. Praises go to the filmmakers for suspense they created before finally revealing the alien. CGI effects are used for aliens and destroyed cities etc; Some scenes lack clear images and it is impossible to tell what's going on. The camerawork is downright AWFUL. It's handheld almost all the time and so unnecessary! This is almost as bad as Cloverfield, a film which required this type of camerawork, but I fail to see why this film had to use it. It's so bothersome and it adds to the loud and obnoxious sequences the film often show.

Theme (2/5):

Marines never give up. The theme is obviously the loyalty and the fighting spirit the marines hold in their hearts. This works sometimes as the marines show bravery during battle as well as loyalty and sacrifice (cliche, cliche, cliche) but sometimes this theme backfires. For example, "Marines don't retreat!" Next scene: marines yelling the word "retreat" and running away from alien fire.

Dialogue (1/5):

Yeah.

Overall (2/5):

It's not bad. It's entertaining and suspenseful at times. It's the artistic aspect the film fails on but the fun factor is solid!

Vanishing on 7th Street :: A 63 Review

Original View Date: April 1st, 2011

After seeing the credits roll, my thoughts were, "this is either sensational or abysmal." It is a shame to say that 'Vanishing on 7th Street' is indeed a poor film.

First of all the premis was interesting. The trailer motivated me to go out for a casual viewing and there wasn't much time for excitement or expectations so I'd say this film did get a fair reviewing chance. Once the plot is set there isn't much to it. There's no explanation, no story; just characters surviving. It almost feels like a survival camp and it's a great thrill ride.

However that is all you're gonna get from this and the best part is you won't know this until the end. The ending is unexpected and thought provoking. It's just too bad that there aren't enough information given in the film for the thought to be complete. This was the biggest problem. The film, while trying to be allegorical cannot be because it focuses on being suspenseful than being meaningful. I thought the mysterious girl was a total slap on the face. I expected so much and the last five minutes, the climax, was killing me; I was desperate for an explanation...and the movie never gives it to you.

The characters are cliche and the situations brings out the worst cliches out of them. The panic they go through when they first see each other, the sudden outbursts and the slow process of becoming insane. Fortunately the actors are good performers and are in character all the time.

The lighting was creepy throughout the film and the soundtrack is mind blowing good. The two go hand in hand and set the uneasy atmosphere. However the film can go over board with this by ending the scene with a black screen. There are about twenty black screens throughout the whole film and it gets really, really, really old.

'Vanishing on 7th Street' had so much potential yet it failed because the filmmakers were lazy. A stronger plot, a little more detail (not a lot) and explanation could've turned this blockbuster movie into a masterpiece: thrilling and thematic. Instead 'Vanishing on 7th Street' is another 'Next'.

Oh, and the film broke my third rule: never have sudden kisses that pop out of nowhere.

Rating: ★★☆☆☆