Movie Review - Fast and Furious - 5

For a long time I wondered if I should spend some time reviewing Fast and Furious -5....

It's a crazy film... but the first two scenes are worth it. One is the opening shot, depicting the skinny Mia and blue-eyed-boy-cop-turned-hero Bryan rescuing always-the-hero Dom, who is en route to prison for a really long time. Followed by the scene where these guys are thrown off a bridge into the sea in a car. That was totally crazy.

The plot is.... nevermind. Here's what must have transpired between Chris Morgan, one of the screen-play writers, and Justin Lin, Director:

Morgan: But tell me.. If Dom is really the family guy why does he care about getting a heist job done, rather than actually concentrating on his pregnant sister's future???

Lin: Beat it, Morgan... how many times do I have to tell you... I have cars, Paul Walker's eyes, Diesel's body works. and good blasts... a bikini... why are you bothering me??? Jeez, Dexter Morgan is better than you!

The performances are mediocre, but then it's the cars that perform in the film. However, sometimes you feel the lack of racing in the film. But the last scene more than compensates for it. The film seems intelligent in bits and pieces, some of the sequences are well orchestrated.

The glorification of the anti-hero in the film is really great. The cops are the enemies, and the long ranger "Last Testament Guy" Johnson decides to side with Dom, thanking the latter for saving his life and trying to side with ethics and "code" of the hero-in-the-villain. The perspective is amazing. And you see it coming.

Everytime Dwayne Johnson appeared on the screen, my jaw just dropped. His one, lone, singular muscle is like a wall.

There is about fifteen minutes of total action footage in the film that is worth a watch. The other thing to notice is the beautiful city of Rio de Janerio. Guess Rio is the flavour of Hollywood this season. The animated scenery of Carlos Saldahna's Rio is much preferable than the dark, actual depiction of the city.

The soundtrack is good, but the best one to come out of the Fast and Furious franchise was the one from Tokyo Drift.

All said and done, I guess the making of the movie will be more fun to watch than the actual film. Watch the film, and go high on cars, ammo, and cars.

Movie Review - RIO

First of all, I want to fly.
I want to Samba.
If am a bird, then I want to be a rocket.

Wanted to watch RIO because I needed the colour and the music. Nothing beats the Brazilian beats, the Ramba and the Salsa and the zeal which is so thankfully contagious! Caught up with the making of RIO and it didn't seem too bad at the first peek.. and I thought to myself, to beat the blues I'll catch it up. You see, adults need to have a good time and remind themselves that there's so much of fun and beauty out there. This movie is a beautiful affirmation.

Just before the movie began, there was a short film by Blue Sky Studios on THE creature and THE nut which began the hilarious franchise of ICE AGE. That was got the kids all excited for the movie, I think. The laughter in the movie theatre was so contagious. This, I think, is a big achievement for Carlos Saldanha. The detailing, the characters, the sound and the colours were so genuine and appealing. The only cheeky thing was the kiss that got Blu's heartbeat throbbing in his wings and he flew. But may be that's just me (!)

The opening beats of "I wanna Party" by Will.i.am, Jamie Foxx and Anne Hathaway, were the real reason that I wanted to see this movie in the theatre. Darkness and Dolby Digital Sound System can mesmerise any soul. You could hear it here. The song is called HOT WINGS :) Aptly named. The song so represents the enthusiasm of Brazil. That country has always attracted me... The statue of Christ in Rio de Janerio was the only reason I wanted to visit it (and the reason that you could just waltz on the beach with.. ahem.. the appropriate clothing meant only for beaches and.. [nevermind, probably edited], come a close second). But after watching the film, I guess I wouldn't miss dancing at the Carnival for the world.

Guys in love should dedicate this song to their women "I'm telling the world" by Taio Cruz. It's definitely the flavour song of the season.
Jemaine Clement as the villain bird does a fantastic job. His song had the funniest lyrics: "Like an abandoned school, I have no principal" and so on. Jesse Eisenberg was alright. Somehow, I hate him for doing a movie based on Mark Zuckerberg's life. That apart, can he cut his curly hair, or shave his head so that I focus more on his facial muscles and find out if he can really perform or just Facebook. I've lost all respect for Anne Hathway for hosting the Oscars this year with fabulous outfits and plastic smiles and even more toxic jokes. Jamie Foxx is a rock-star.

Carlos Saldanha had admitted that he wanted to do justice to Brazil, most importantly, Rio de Janerio. Thumpy beats was a key feature. The hills, the sea, lights, slums and the green forests, the madness for football and a love for dance - you name it, and it was all there. That kind of colour and treatment uplifts you. The story was simple and tight. Towards the end, you'd find yourself, preferring a happy magical ending somehow instead of wanting to place everything in logic. And that's not easy for people like me, who go to watch a movie and still prefer not to leave their brains behind (a VERY important requirement for watching Bollywood movies). It's amazing how the need for a magical ending just grips you out of nowhere and all you want to do is groove to the HOT WINGS track again and plan a trip to Rio ASAP.

And that's the track am going to listen to on my way to court tomorrow.

To magic, and to new acquaintances! :)