2 Fast 2 Furious

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As the month of September continues, I am now moving on to the next film in the Fast and the Furious franchise. Brian O'Connor (played again by Paul Walker) teams up with an old friend of his, Roman Pierce (played by Tyrese Gibson) to take down a villain played by Cole Hauser. Forgetting that 2 Fast 2 Furious is a kind of a dumb title for a movie, this might be the most forgettable film in the Fast and the Furious franchise. This isn't an awful movie, it just isn't terribly memorable compared to some of the other films in the franchise. For starters, Cole Hauser's villain is incredibly weak. I don't really remember what his name was, or what his plan was (assuming he even had a plan). While I didn't mind the chemistry between Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson, it felt like something of a downgrade compared to what Walker and Vin Diesel had in the first movie. Some of the action is kind of fun. To be fair, the action is probably the weakest in this film. I feel like there's a bit too much of a reliance on CGI for the car stunts. The acting isn't Oscar material by any means, but I think it's serviceable enough. 2 Fast 2 Furious is far from high art. The best way I can describe 2 Fast 2 Furious is that it's a perfectly decent movie to have playing in the background while you're doing other things. It's far from being one of my personal go-to movies in this franchise, but it does it's job well enough, I suppose.

6 / 10 

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday

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I think it's safe to say that Jason Goes to Hell isn't exactly the most beloved film in the Friday the 13th franchise. I do have some level of respect for this film, which seems a little weird. It is a movie that tries something incredibly different for the franchise, even if that's a risk I can't necessarily say pays off in the end. This film portrays Jason as more of a demonic parasite who uses people's bodies as hosts for his spirit. Yep, this is that kind of movie. Is it even fair to criticize the acting? Slashers (with a few notable exceptions here and there) aren't known for having stellar acting. I feel like this is a point I have brought up numerous times, but I also don't know that it really matters. The biggest criticism I have towards this movie is that Jason really isn't in it, at least in his more well-known form. Because of this, Kane Hodder feels pretty underutilized. So, his presence feels missed. Some of the characters are kind of cool, but they feel like they belong in a completely different movie. I also like the ending that teases Freddy vs. Jason (which came ten years later). The kills are pretty cool, especially if you watch the unrated cut of the film. In the end, Jason Goes to Hell has some bright spots, but is still very much so one of the weaker entries in the franchise. Part of me honestly wonders if I would actually like this movie a lot more if it were a standalone film, and not linked to the Friday the 13th franchise.

5 / 10   

Ready or Not

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Newly married Grace (played by Samara Weaving) is forced to play a deadly game of hide and seek at her new husband’s family estate in a family tradition that appears to be centuries old. So, the first thing I want to do is compliment the hell out of this cast. Everybody feels like they bring something to the table with the characters they play. Granted, the characters are mostly pretty exaggerated, but it honestly works for this film. The clear standouts to me are Samara Weaving and Adam Brody. Weaving is just a charismatic performer on the whole, and this film is no exception. Adam Brody really deserves props as well. His character is arguably the most developed, and one of the most sympathetic. The movie also blends its dark humor and more horrific elements pretty effectively. Some of the development can be thin for our characters, but they are so well performed it feels like it doesn’t matter that much to me. In all honesty, Ready or Not might just be one of my absolute favorite films of the year so far. No, this isn’t a groundbreaker. But, I didn’t need it to be. This movie is a ton of fun, and seems like it knows that. This is a movie I highly recommend to fans of the horror genre.  

9 / 10   

It: Chapter Two

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27 years after the events of the first film, the Losers’ Club returns to Derry, Maine to finish Pennywise (played by Bill Skarsgard) off once and for all when “It” resurfaces. In some ways, I almost feel like I’m at a loss on how I should review it. It’s because this movie is bad. It’s actually solid. It’s just difficult for me to know whether I should start with the positives or the negatives. The acting is genuinely good (especially from Bill Hader, James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Skarsgard). If there is one flaw that really sets this film back—especially in comparison to the first film—it’s the film’s length. This movie clocks in around 170 minutes. Without getting into spoilers, there were some subplots that probably didn’t need to be included in this movie, or tightened up at the very least. Some of the effects aren’t very good either. They aren’t awful, but they are just bad enough to be somewhat distracting. My review for this movie might seem a bit messy, and all over the place. However, I feel that the flaws in this movie are quite a bit more noticeable. Overall, It: Chapter Two comes across as being just good enough for me to recommend. This movie isn’t anything amazing, and feels like something of a downgrade compared to the first It. 

6 / 10 

Kill Bill Vol. 1

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Kill Bill Vol. 1 comes from the mind of Quentin Tarantino. I finally got a chance to watch it again recently. Much of the influence for this film comes from old school kung fu films and anime. The film follows The Bride (played by Uma Thurman) after she is left for dead on her wedding day. She wakes up from a coma four years later with vengeance on her mind and begins hunting down her old team who betrayed her and left her to die, with Bill (played by David Carradine) as the main target for her revenge. As usual, Tarantino's writing and directing shines. The cast is excellent. Lucy Liu doesn't play a villain very often, but her work in this film makes me wish she would do it a little bit more. The film also plays out in a very non-linear fashion (typical for Quentin Tarantino). I like that Bill is used sparingly. His face is never shown, but his presence is always felt, almost as though he's a shadow looming over the film in its entirety. The action is incredible. You can feel Tarantino's love for the genre he's sending up. The action is fittingly brutal and bloody. Let's be real, I honestly think this is Uma Thurman's movie. She delivers when she needs to be vulnerable. She delivers when she needs to cold and calculated. She delivers when she needs to be angry. While Pulp Fiction might be her most iconic work, I actually think The Bride might be her at her absolute best. Kill Bill Vol. 1 is one of those movies I haven't seen very often, but I think I love even more the more I actually see it.

10 / 10 

High School Musical

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I already know you're asking yourself why I'm talking about High School Musical. Well, I watched it recently (for the first time since maybe 2007). Yes, I know this isn't some sort of masterpiece, nor would I expect it to be. It's a cheesy TV movie musical made for the Disney Channel. I don't really know how I'm going to be able to actually review this movie. The music is OK. Some of the songs are decently catchy (namely Stick to the Status Quo for me). A lot of the film's plot actually doesn't hold up to scrutiny. The closest I can come to describing this film's plot is that it's basically a watered-down version of Grease. It was incredibly easy to pick apart. One thing I never realized as a kid was the fact that pretty much everybody in this film is an asshole. 99% of the characters are just awful people that do mean, spiteful things to one another. Yet, I can't hate the movie for that. No. I don't even remotely know why. It doesn't really make any sense to me. Surprisingly, this isn't a movie that's given me a ton to say. High School Musical is just a cheesy Disney Channel Original Movie that shows up and does its thing. It's not really geared towards a man in his mid-20s. It's something of a guilty pleasure for me, and that's all I really needed it to be. I'm not going to assign this movie a rating simply because I don't really feel like I need to. 

The Fast and the Furious

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So, I have a decided on a whim to go back and review the first six Fast and the Furious movies. Why? Because I felt like it. Looking back at 2001's The Fast and the Furious, it seems almost quaint. It relatively small scale compared to some of the later films in the franchise. No, this isn't the most groundbreaking or original plot. Think Point Break with cars. The acting isn't spectacular. I think most of the cast finds their footing later on in the franchise (in particular Michelle Rodriguez and Paul Walker). There are two people in this film I think give solid performances. Vin Diesel has practically made a career out of playing anti-heroes (this movie came out one year after Pitch Black). The man does have a pretty limited acting range, but Dom Toretto doesn't really force Diesel to stretch. The character actually plays to his strengths. A similar case can also be made for Ted Levine, who plays the lieutenant for Paul Walker's undercover cop. Levine might be on autopilot here, but cops and dirt-bags are roles he really excels at. The characters aren't very deep, but I like them well enoughThe special effects are pretty bad, mostly because I think they just haven't stood the test of time. If I'm being honest, I didn't actually see this movie in its entirety until I was in middle school, so I can't really say that I know how they looked in 2001. There is some sense of nostalgia for me, but nothing huge. I've always enjoyed this film on some level, even if I have never considered it to be among my favorites. There are some rough patches, and I think this film shows a lot of initial growing pains that the franchise would eventually learn from. If I were to take The Fast and the Furious on its own, I wouldn't consider this a film that would launch one of the biggest action franchises of the 21st century. 

7 / 10