The Fate of the Furious

Image Source

The Fate of the Furious is the 8^th film in the Fast and the Furious franchise. Much like the rest of the movies, I love the insane, ridiculous stupidity. This time around Dom Torretto (played by Vin Diesel) is blackmailed by a hacker named Cipher (played by Charlize Theron) to help her obtain some things that will help her in her extremely convoluted plan.  Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell with his typical cool factor) has Dom’s family work with Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) and Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) to bring Dom in and take Cipher down. The first question is: Do I like this movie? Yes. I do. The second question is: Where do I rank this movie? It earns solid fourth place for me. I personally like 5, 6, and 7 more than this one. But, I do still think it’s stronger than the first four movies in the series. Let’s start with the negatives, because I do have some problems. First, Cipher’s plan isn’t very memorable. If you were to ask me what her plan was I would say this: “She wants to steal something because reasons.” The tonal shifts are a bit jarring too. It’ll go from this heavy dramatic moment to a comic relief scene where Ludacris and Tyrese Gibson argue and joke. I’m not saying that both of these shouldn’t be in the same movie. I just think it could’ve been handled better. Now, let’s move on to the stuff I liked. The “family” has really solid chemistry that you can only get from the amount of movies that these guys have done together. One of my bigger issues with Furious 7 was the underuse of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham. Here, the two each get their moments to shine (and feel more strongly utilized). Statham and Johnson are easily the most enjoyable performers in the movie. Not only do they build a hilarious bromance, it’s also clear they are having the most fun in their roles. The action scenes are unbelievably cool. Overall, this is a fun addition to the Fast and the Furious franchise, even if it does struggle to stack up against the previous three movies in the series.

7 / 10   

Top 50 Favorite Songs (30-21)

#30: What I Got by Sublime: What I Got works because it tells the story of a loser who's just going through his day, and adds a chill beat, alongside laid back instruments.

#29: New Divide by Linkin Park: New Divide has a catchy chorus and an excellent sound. I don't really have much else to say about this song.

#28: Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones: Sympathy for the Devil is just about what you'd expect. The song is told from the point of view of the devil himself. Lead singer Mick Jagger is what really sells the song for me. He has this delivery that excellently mixes being suave and cool as well as just evil.

#27: Snow (Hey Oh) by Red Hot Chili Peppers: Snow (Hey Oh) is an ode to Anthony Kiedis' favorite drugs (heroin and cocaine). The song takes something that should be ugly and gnarly and makes it beautiful.

#26: Renegade by Styx: This song sounds a lot happier than it actually is. This song tells the story of a criminal who is caught and is on his way to his death. The lyrics and instruments shouldn't necessarily mesh, but it actually seems to work here.

#25: Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz: The band takes on the chorus, sound happy (even oblivious) about the oncoming end of the world. Meanwhile, rapper Del the Funkee Homo sapien takes on the verses, taking the persona of a god-like being.

#24: Jesus Walks by Kanye West: I know what you're thinking. Really? Kanye West? But, if nothing else, I will give the man props for his ability to produce a track. Between that, and the fact that he was willing to go for it on this song, the lead single from his debut album.

#23: Hurt by Johnny Cash: This cover is nothing short of beautiful. Johnny Cash near the end of his life tackles the subject matter in the form of a man whose time is drawing near, and is looking back on his life with contemplation.

#22: Get Lucky by Daft Punk & Pharrell: I don't have a lot to say other than I love just how well Daft Punk's electronic beat and Pharrell's smooth voice go together.

#21: Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana: Are the lyrics nonsensical gibberish? Yeah, sort of. Do I care? Hell no. The song is nothing short of a burst of energy, and I love it.  

Freaks (1932)

Image Source

Freaks is one of those movies that I can best describe as “good.” Some of the effects look pretty damn impressive, even today. For example, there is a man with no legs in the movie. It does make me curious how they accomplished this. There are two versions of this movie. The one I saw was the edited cut, which is just over an hour long. The original version of the film is about a half hour longer. I am curious to see what the 90-minute cut of the film is like. The 64-minute cut feels very choppy at times, almost like there is more I should be seeing. The acting starts out OK. As the movie goes, the performances get much stronger. The best performance in the movie in my opinion is Daisy Earles as Freida (the female dwarf). She is, in my opinion, the best example of a performance that gets better as the film goes on. I actually feel a lot of the emotion in her performance, especially as the movie goes deeper into the length. One of the themes Freaks explores is that of judging a book by its cover. The titular “freaks” are more sympathetic creatures. The regular people on the other hand, are the true monsters. When this movie really starts getting good is the initiation. This is where the true nature of the “normals” starts to show, and the “freaks” begin the plotting of their revenge. This is where some of the best acting of the movie comes into play. While I don’t think Freaks is a bad movie by any means, I feel that the version I watched is fairly flawed It is a bit too chopped down, and the first two acts are good, but not great. Where Freaks shines is in performances that grow stronger as the movie goes on and a fantastic third act.

7 / 10

Split

Image Source

Three teenage girls (Anya Taylor-Joy, Hayley Lu Richardson, and Jessica Sula) are kidnapped by a man (James McAvoy) with 23 separate personalities. These three girls are meant to be “sacrifices,” so to speak, for the 24^th personality. I have to say I’m glad that The Visit wasn’t a fluke. Split signals that writer-director M. Night Shyamalan is definitely back. This is a really damn good movie anchored by fantastic performances from James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy. McAvoy in particular really stretches his acting muscles. Each of the personalities he portrays feels distinct from one another. The primary personalities are “Patricia (a British woman),” “Hedwig (a nine-year-old boy),” “Dennis (a man with OCD),” “Barry (a man with a penchant for fashion),” “Kevin (the real identity),” and “the Beast” (the forthcoming 24^th identity). Now, I don’t want to take away from the rest of the cast because they’re solid enough They just can’t reach the levels that the two main performers do. Throughout the movie, Shyamalan lets this feeling of unease build and linger. As the film progresses, you really feel the protagonist and the antagonist come into their own, feeling more and more real as the movie progresses. With most horror and thriller movies, setting is crucial. Much of this movie is contained to a basement (we aren’t told exactly where it this basement is until the end) and it actually adds a feeling of claustrophobia and tension to the movie. The twist is incredible, probably Shyamalan's best since Unbreakable. When you see what the twist is, it works and feels like it naturally belongs in this movie. I have but one flaw with this movie (a minor one at that), and that is that occasionally, the dialogue feels odd. Other than that, Split is a fantastic film that cements Shyamalan’s comeback.

9 / 10     

Legends of Tomorrow - Season 2

Image Source

The second season of Legends of Tomorrow just finished, so I figured what better time to talk about it. This season picks up pretty much where the first season left off. One thing I will say about Legends of Tomorrow is that I like the way they balance the team aspect a little bit more compared to Arrow and, to a lesser extent, The Flash. I have the cast props because they've almost all played these characters for several years. For the most part, the actors feel comfortable in their roles. Effects from the other shows bleed into this season. My favorite aspect of this is shown through the character of Sara Lance. She is sort of thrust into a new place this season (and I personally really liked what they did with her character). She had a lot of inner troubles that she was fored to deal with this season, and I loved that. There were two new legends thrown into the mix this season. I had mixed reactions to them, to say the least. First, there was Nate Heywood / Citizen Steel. He was a character that I warmed up to almost immediately. He was another good-looking nerdy guy (similar to Ray). But, I don't think he was a carbon copy either. I think he was different and rounded enough to stand out. On the other hand, there was Amaya Jiwe / Vixen. It took me a little while to warm up to her. Part of this came from the fact that there was already an established version of the character running around (a version I personally feel was superior). The villains this season were the Legion of Doom. They were pretty damn entertaining to me.I kind of like that they shake things up a little bit each season with the show. They'll introduce characters, give established characters something of an exit. Usually they'll do it with the possibility that the leaving characters could potentially return, if the desire is there. As with most things dealing with time travel, there were some plot holes that probably could've been smoothed over a little bit better than they were. For the most part, this season felt kind of on par with the first season. It's not perfect, but it's still pretty fun.

B