Fast and Furious 6: Film Review


Whether this is actually a film or not is up to you. In my mind, it’s more an algorithm of Nuts magazine, an episode of a particularly destructive Top Gear and an ultra-hard gym.

Now in its sixth instalment, the Fast and Furious series, which started with a moderately well composed supercar-come gangster flick, has now evolved into nothing more than a crazed 15-year-old’s concoction. It’s absolute mayhem and, actually, it’s quite entertaining.

I’m certainly not a fan of Nuts, nor am I all that fond of top gear or gyms filled with meat heads, but from the safety of my sofa I don’t mind watching a collection of supercharged alpha males charge around the West End and Spain trying to sort things out.

After settling down following a successful heist in the last revved up film, the group of petrol heads now find themselves brought back into play after a crazed former Special Forces soldier gets rather unsavoury.

It’s up to Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) to pull the old guard together with some bribery and persuasion to stop the soldier from wreaking even more havoc. His primary man is of course Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), who finds himself with no other choice.

In this lengthy, fuelled and ultimately brainless epic (its 130 minutes long), the standard form appears to be simply speed, girls and criminals so revered that the highest authorities can only work with them, rather than against, in defeating the true ‘bad guy’.

The car crashes, immature quips and sleek moves are well moulded and will attract a host of followers. On one level, it’s a very well executed sixth edition; on the other, it’s ridiculous and should never be watched.
I suppose it’s relatively Marmite in composition. There’s really nothing wrong with it. But there’s really nothing to it, either. That said, I reiterate, it’s quite entertaining really.

Director: Justin Lin
Produced by: Neal H. Moritz; Vin Diesel; Clayton Townsend
Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Sung Kang, Luke Evans, Gina Carano, John Ortiz
Release: May 2013
Running time: 130 minutes

- Joshua Barrie


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Hangover Part III: Film Review


As with the norm, the Hangover saga has steadily declined in feasibility, originality and most importantly, humour.

After forcefully, yet thankfully, thrusting the first Vegas epic on us all, the alcohol – and such – fuelled flick made even a stiff grandmother laugh. It is unsurprising that we now find ourselves amid a trilogy.

The second Hangover saw Bangkok as the setting and without question simply retold the tale in a new environment. It was strangely reflective of a typical fan: get drunk at home and have a laugh; go to Thailand and do the same there in the hope that something magical will happen. While Bangkok undoubtedly does often offer that escapism and ‘next level’, the film did not see a similar effect.

Now, the third take is upon us, as director Todd Phillips injects the tired characters back where it all started. It’s a nice idea in theory, a full circle; if anything was going to work this was it. Sadly, the film offers little more than a replay. A lacklustre attempt at rekindling an old flame with a lazy script and a drowsy plot.

Despite car chases and a pacey feel, it lacks energy. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha and even Zach Galifianakis fail to forge the bond of old as Phil, Stu, Doug and Alan. They seemed a bit bored. It’s a kidnapping, a mob boss and some fast driving.

Hangover created a dude’s night out with style and charisma. It had its ease, misdirection in parts and erratic points, but they were overcome by Mike Tyson punching Alan in the face, or contriving the Wolf Pack. No film seemed better over a beer.

Yet the beer, evidently, has run dry. It will take much more than a pill on a roof to get the party going again and really, while the third is understandable, it really is utterly pointless in cinematic terms.

Director: Todd Phillips
Produced by: Todd Phillips; Daniel Goldberg
Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Zach Galifinakis, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor, John Goodman
Release: 2013
Running time: 100 minutes

- Joshua Barrie


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The Great Gatsby: Film Review



It would be nice if people put down their copies of The Great Gatsby, a novel so brilliant it makes Champagne look like Lambrini, and appreciate film for film’s sake. I found it refreshing the other day, listening to a conversation between two people who had just watched Baz Luhrmann’s dazzling, explosive take who had decidedly not read the book. I know this because person A asked person B if he had heard of the author, to which person B replied ‘no’.

As a result, they were upbeat and merry on their exit of the cinema. They praised the effects, Di Caprio’s wonderful charisma and the vibrancy and electricity of it all. 1920s New York – who wouldn’t want to have been at one of Gatsby’s parties? Luhrmann certainly throws a lavish watch for the eye; takes on those golden jazz days with colour and song.

But of course if you compare the adaptation to the novel, you are left with disappointment. Perhaps a bitterness at the very joviality of it all. How Fitzgerald’s subtlety is left behind, how his intricacy and his complexity is left shattered in a million bubbles and blinded by sparkling light.

The author himself conjured up these scenes, sure. But he did so with a different tone entirely. The book, we all know, is a masterpiece of literature. It does things Luhrmann, or indeed probably very few if any directors could do, however brilliant the cast and resounding the budget.

This year’s telling of the tale marks nothing masterful. But then to me, it is far from catastrophic in design. It throws the book out the window, having read it and positively enjoyed it, had a bottle of wine and thrown it onto screen. It doesn’t thwart the original wit, charm or intelligence of it all, it celebrates it in a new and exciting way.
Di Caprio as Gatsby is wonderful. Carrey Mulligan as Daisy, too, is excellent casting. Tobey McGuire as our guide Nick Carraway is perhaps the closest thing to the novel as anything.

The Great Gatsby of 2013 is nothing of the 1920s. Perhaps it is completely out of focus, maybe it would look a fool in brogues. But it’s a fantastical drama, which, as films go offers a feast for the eyes if nothing more. Read the book and marvel at Fitzgerald, at the story that unfolds. Watch the film and just relax. It’s not that bad.

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Produced by: Baz Luhrmann; Douglas Wick; Lucy Fisher; Catherine Martin; Catherine Knapman
Leonardo Di Caprio, Isla Fisher, Carrey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki, Adelaide Clemens
Release: 2013
Running time: 143 minutes

- Joshua Barrie




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Dead Man Down: Film Review



There aren’t many better than Colin Farrell at playing the neurotic; the confused; the paranoid; the dreamboat; the drunk. Or all at the same time. His brilliant performance in In Bruge was nearly topped recently in Seven Psychopaths. And he is not restricted by skill in the characters he plays – nor is he constrained to do so.

He is very much at the heart of Dead Man Down, which sadly isn’t a good thing. What appears to be a harrowing and twisting tale early on quickly descends into a meaningless, supposedly thrilling gangster farce. It is lacking in substance and while Farrell is joined by the likes of Dominic Cooper and Noomi Rapace, with Niels Arden Oplev at the helm, Dead Man Down offers nothing more than chasing bad guys, good guys, shoot outs and some pretty faces.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Oplev’s wonderfully strong and clever Swedish film of four years ago, showed his ability to weave complexity and compel an audience with darkness and with beauty. None of this is evident here however, and all that’s left is a painfully standard criminal flick. What it puts out in variants in plot and numerous subtexts, it lacks in actual substance; in what could have given such rewarding exchanges between the likes of Farrell and Cooper.

It’s not that it’s entirely awful – it’s got some nice touches and a degree of excitement. But it’s disappointing when the likes of Oplev and Farrell could provide far, far more.

Director: Niels Arden Polev
Produced by: Neal H. Moritz; J.H. Wyman
Colin Farrell, Dominic Cooper, Noomi Repace, Terrence Howard, Isabelle Huppert
Release: 2013
Running time: 117 minutes

- Joshua Barrie


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21 and Over: Film Review



Much like the Hangover 2 was tired and exasperated, 21 and Over falls foul of the same fate. The trouble is these whimsical tales of fun and games, excessive drinking, seductive Latino girls and the occasional punch are all too revered today. Just look at its already promising box office tally. Goodness knows why.

What puzzles me is that the days of the golden frat-style comedy have long since worn thin, and knowingly so, yet they are still ploughed out so readily. And while this one has done well financially, it was by no means a certainty.

American Pie and Old School were brilliant because they were new and pacey. They brought with them a fresh batch of credible talent and they appealed to more than just a student fan base, more than one that wasn’t either sci-fi ‘geeky’ or artistic and intellectual too – though that is perhaps getting too bogged down in socio demographics.

The problem with 21 and Over is that it is so far gone; it does nothing with style or flair. Light-hearted parents would never sit down and enjoy it, as perhaps the more liberal would with Orange County. It is overtly immature, thrown together and malnourished.

Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, who devised the Hangover, essentially a masterpiece of sorts, have spoilt the formula while crossing over to directing. They have played so closely to the code that they have tried to tick too many boxes and, as a result, left nothing to their own imaginations it seems.

21 and Over does nothing but follow three standard boys get drunk and get into trouble, with an exam pending and some mild, diluted racial references.

This is not to say that the frat-comedies have died completely – they just have to be a lot clever today to get by. Everything must evolve to survive, and this is a poorly constructed throwback to a better time. Only students playing Ring of Fire will benefit from this one.

Directors: Jon Lucas; Scott Moore
Produced by: David Hoberman; Ryan Kavanaugh; Todd Lieberman
Justin Chon, Skylar Astin, Miles Teller, Sarah Wright
Release: 2013
Running time: 93 minutes

- Joshua Barrie


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