Studios try to revitalize once-beloved franchises with Baywatch and Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Then we take a swear-filled rant about the “controversy” over the women-only screenings for Wonder Woman at the Alamo Drafthouse. And next week a (returning) special guest will join us to talk Wonder Woman! Stay awhile and listen!
Bored as Hell Podcast - This week's episode
The big giant crazy movie of the week is The Fate of the Furious, but you should really consider checking out Gifted, and maybe even Their Finest. Gifted is one of Adam’s favorite movies of the year so far. Andy mentions his mom twice on the podcast, once because she might like the BBC costume drama of Their Finest. How Fate of the Furious might have finally fixed Andy.
Bored as Hell Podcast - This week's episode
Another big holiday movie weekend with Bad Santa 2, Rules Don’t Apply, and Moana. Bad Santa 2 is a pale imitation of the first, but at least we get more Thurman Merman. Rules Don’t Apply is overstuffed and too long, but it’s great seeing Warren Beatty play crazy Howard Hughes. The best of the week is Disney’s Moana. Adam has a problem choosing between it and Kubo. Lin-Manuel Miranda, David Bowie, and Jermaine Clement.
Bored as Hell Podcast - This week's episode
You’re welcome!
SAN ANDREAS (6 of 10) – Directed by Brad Peyton; Written by Carlton Cuse; Starring: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Carla Gugino, Alexandra Daddario, Archie Panjabi, Paul Giamatti, Ioan Gruffudd, Hugo Johnstone-Burt, Art Parkinson; Rated PG-13 for “intense disaster action and mayhem throughout, and brief strong language”, in wide release May 29, 2015.
Originally published at BigShinyRobot.com by Andy.
San Andreas is a film in that grandest of traditions of giant, spectacular disaster movies, shared by other “classics” like The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure that were staples of cinema in the 70’s, 80’s and even into the 90’s (remember when we had TWO volcano movies in 1997 and then TWO asteroid movies in 1998?) In that sense, San Andreas doesn’t cover any new ground, but it does deliver a lot of action, some genuine thrills, and even manages to make this cynical critic care about its characters a little bit.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is an elite Los Angeles Fire and Rescue helicopter pilot, and we see just how skilled he is in an opening sequence during a harrowing rescue of an SUV dangling off a cliff in the San Fernando Valley.
At the same time, Cal Tech seismology professor Paul Giamatti may have discovered a method of predicting earthquakes, and he and his team race off to the Hoover Dam outside Las Vegas to investigate a cluster of small quakes.
Of course, disaster strikes. . .and it may mean certain doom as the quakes threaten to spread up and down the San Andreas Fault, destroying . . .well, pretty much all of California.
When the megaquake hits, Johnson has to swing into action to save his estranged wife from the top of a downtown LA skyscraper, and then rescue his daughter in San Francisco. Yes, there’s some family drama and angst. And a tragic backstory. Luckily, it doesn’t get too cloying and actually helps make the story more interesting rather than just have the movie be a series of sequences watching buildings topple over.
Unfortunately, this is still basically a retread of the disaster movie genre, simply switching out Hollywood’s favorite nihilistic obsession of destroying itself (eg, next week’s Entourage premier. . . ZZzzzing!!!) with destroying the Bay Area instead. While the script is attributed to former Lost producer Carlton Cuse, it is very obviously a product of the Hollywood script-by-committee.
But, that being said, it is a better entry into the disaster genre, understanding what it is and where it comes from, and it tries to exceed the limitations of what it is. For example the film takes a different turn in its final act as San Francisco deals with a giant tsunami, helping to make sure each action sequence builds from the previous one and tries to raise the stakes.
While the real stars here are the spectacle and the special effects, the human cast does a great job as well. Carla Gugino seems to have a lot of fun here, and when daughter Alexandra Daddario (The Percy Jackson movies, White Collar) is trying to escape from crumbling and flooding San Francisco, she’s aided by a pair of English brothers who bring a lot of fun and hear to the story.And yes, there’s even a little bit of a love story. Awwww. . . .predictable and trite? Yes. But remember, this is a disaster movie, not Shakespeare.
There’s a great metaphor for this film in its choice of soundtrack, which uses a remake of The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreaming” by Sia. Hey, that’s a good song, and a good singer, and she tries to take it in an interesting direction by making it a soulful ballad. But. . .it kind of misses the mark, as that song is really all about the harmonies and call-and-repeat mechanic that a single singer can’t deliver. Good try. Not bad. Great production values. But ultimately not a classic.
Overall, you can sum up whether or not you should see this movie with this question: Do you want to see Los Angeles and San Francisco get completely wrecked? If yes, enjoy, but don’t expect too much from it. If not, go watch Mad Max: Fury Road again.
Furious 7 (8 out of 10); Directed by James Wan; Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson and Kurt Russell; Written by Chris Morgan; Rated PG-13 for prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action and mayhem, suggestive content and brief strong language; 140 minutes; In wide release on April 3, 2015.
Originally posted at BigShinyRobot.com by Adam.
The Fast and Furious franchise hasn’t made a name for itself for its deep acting, storytelling or filmmaking. Fans go in expecting fast cars, beautiful, scantily clad people and lots of ‘splosions, and most of the series has provided that in spades. Some misfires in the middle gave way to a decent fifth and sixth outing, but this final film has trumped them all and is easily the best in the series. Not only fun and frantic, it also pays tribute to the late Paul Walker and delivers a satisfying and touching experience.
Due to the twisted continuity of the films — four, five and six are prequels — Furious 7 takes place after the events of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift with ex-MI6 assassin Ian Shaw (Jason Statham) on a mission to hunt down Dom (Vin Diesel) and the rest of his crew in revenge for their nearly killing his little brother. Brian (Paul Walker) is happy yet not content with his new life and family and agrees to come out of retirement to help Dom and the crew put the Shaw issue to rest once and for all. Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) and his shadowy government organization rescue them and promise to do everything in their power to stop Shaw if Dom and Brian will do them a favor — rescue a brilliant hacker and her tracking program from a notorious terrorist. The crew races across the globe in an attempt to guarantee her safety and also stay one step ahead of the madman out for their blood. Enemies join forces and force an epic showdown in the streets of L.A. where fast cars and fancy driving may not be enough to help Dom and his family survive.
While this isn’t high art by any means, Furious 7 is definitely one of the more entertaining movies to come along in awhile. In fact, the only other recent one I can think of that I’ve enjoyed this much was Kingsman. Yes, it’s incredibly stupid and has no idea how gravity or the laws of physics work, but the whole experience of watching cars literally fly through the air and the streets is exhilarating. Newcomer James Wan has an incredible eye for shooting action and doesn’t disappoint anywhere. Whether it’s jumping cars in between and through luxury high rises in Abu Dhabi to having them literally fall from the sky, he never lets up or fails to eke out the most excitement possible in each shot.
The same can’t quite be said of the script which, while not horrible, is definitely the weakest point in the film. I wasn’t expecting The Godfather, but the rewrites and edits are evident throughout as characters react or respond to things that were never mentioned or said anywhere else. It’s also too long, clocking in at nearly two and a half hours. It’s entertaining throughout, but there are a few too many moments where we are waiting for everyone to stop talking about family and get to the next action set piece.
The best thing here is the thoughtful and poignant respect they paid to Paul Walker. Without spoiling anything, I can say that they give his character a proper send off that was befitting of his role in all seven of the films. The wonderful montage showing some of the his well-known moments in the series combined with a touching voice over by Dom will no doubt leave moviegoers a bit misty-eyed as they exit the theater.
Too many action movies take themselves far too seriously or end up being brain dead, but Furious 7 never forgets what it is and what it wants to do. It delivers a surprisingly well-done and fun thrill ride that also squeezes in a poignant ending. Film snobs will absolutely hate it, but if anyone is willing to sit down and just enjoy the spectacle for what it is, they’ll have a good time. It’s big, dumb fun with heart … and nitrous.
