Watched, Read Loved and what I’ve been up to in 2018

Hello everybody! I’ve been rather inconspicuous the last few months, and I’ve really missed blogging and interacting with everyone in the blogging world. I’ve posted a few times, and thanks to everyone that still popped in – you are appreciated! I’m almost ready in having a normalized life again, so I plan to be a bit more active with reading and posting about how I’ve managed to entertain myself since December 2017.

Firstly, I started my new position in the company I work for. It’s been quite a change, and I’ve been struggling to adapt to this new life of crazy deadlines and people with serious lack of work ethic. I’m almost motivated again, and I’m not blind to how extraordinarily lucky I’ve been to get to a point where my qualification and my job are actually aligned.

I’ve also graduated, and the event was… anticlimactic? I’ve worked my butt off to get here, and yet the day felt rushed and the moment passed too quick. However, my BSc is now in the bag and I can continue with this crazy career path of mine.

I am also finally in my own apartment. I hope someday soon it will actually feel like I live here, but for now I am just enjoying the experience and getting used to having my own place.

So yes. This year has been really big so far. We are only at the end of August now and I have been all over the place. It is good, right? To be honest it is all just a bit overwhelming.

This post has basically said nothing that I originally thought to write on it, but here’s a rundown of the films (it’s probably not all, because it has been so long), books and series I’ve explored.

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies – One movie night and three really dedicated people lead to all three Hobbit movies being watched, with a variety of sarcastic comments (mostly from me) about the length and things that happen that is entirely unrelated to the actual Hobbit book. I haven’t  had a look at the reviews about these films up here for ages, and it is probably time to revisit them. They aren’t bad, but compared to The Lord of The Rings trilogy (incidentally never reviewed on here because I don’t know how to review perfection like that), they are a bit uninspiring.

Edward Scissorhands (1990): A pretty cool film and very deserving of its reputation, I enjoyed seeing Johnny Depp in something pre-Jack Sparrow. This is some of Tim Burton’s best work and really great to watch.

The Duff (2015): Yes, again. It’s great to watch and such a nice laugh, I can’t understand why this film received such a negative backlash at the time. It’s certainly better than it’s hormonal book counterpart! This reminds me of a 2015 version of Mean Girls (although Mean Girls is certainly better), and on that note, I probably watched Mean Girls sometime this year too, as well as Easy A, a simply hilarious staple for chick flicks.

Pride and Prejudice (2005): Yes, also again. I can watch this all the time, and this rerun was triggered by reading the book again.

Vampire Academy (2015) Okay this one does deserve the hate that gets thrown its way, but it is a guilty pleasure of mine.

Jane Eyre (2011): I loooooovvveeeedddd this. It is a wonderfully accurate adaption to the book, and another film I’ll probably end up watching ten million times.

Ant-Man (2015): I somehow kept postponing this film, and it is so stupid because you all know how much I like watching Marvel superheroes do their thing. Eventually Ant-Man turned out really fun and is a great film, and I will actually manage to see the second one before the turn of the century.

Nacho Libre (2006) and Napoleon Dynamite (2004). I can at least claimed to have heard about Napoleon Dynamite prior to my watching it. The spectacularly ginger teenager Napoleon is really a staple image in everyone’s recollection of the internet, occupying his own, very unique space. It was really quite a weird film and I am not sure what else to say about it. Nacho Libre is also… really weird. Jack Black has some strange titles under his belt, and this might bee the strangest yet.

Jumanji (2017) – Jumanji deserves an actual review, not necessarily because of it’s cinematic prowess but because of my eternal love for Dwayne Johnson. This film was surprisingly good, and included another viewing of Jack Black, who was actually quite fantastic in this film.

Fallen (2016) – Got in my YA dose with this, and I am not sorry for a second. Is it bad? yes. Do I care? No. I had fun.

About a Boy (2002) – one of the better random films I picked up to watch the last couple of months. Review coming soon

Tomorrowland (2014), Freaky Friday (2003) and Did you hear about the Morgans? (2009) – neither of these deserves posters on this post. Tomorrowland is getting a thrashing in it’s review (when I end up writing it), because what a load of turd. Freaky Friday is fun, but it also serves as a really sad reminder of how someone can screw themselves up so badly. The last, Did you hear about the Morgans, is neither inspirational, funny or adventurous, and is some of the poorest films in it’s genre.

 

Blindspots: I’m behind (which is a shocking surprise, I know)

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Ghostbusters (1984), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy  (2005), Die Hard (1988)

2018 releases:

Avengers: Infinity War , Tomb Raider , Black Panther, The Maze Runner: Death Cure, The Greatest Showman, Jurassic World (Fallen Kingdom), Deadpool 2

The Obsession (Nora Roberts), Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte), Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen), Harry Potter (series), The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams), How To Hang A Witch (Adriana Mather), Shelter in Place (Nora Roberts, ongoing), The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones

I am really bad at finishing series. I will start off with great enthusiasm, but I never have the patience to get through the lull that inevitably strikes every show about halfway through when the original cast wants to leave and the writers are tired of finding something interesting to keep the watchers entertained. I was recommended to watch Call The Midwife Seasons 1&2 because of my love for Downton Abbey. It’s good, and I enjoy the show. I should continue into Season 3 soon and continue with my knowledge of female reproductive health when women had even less rights than we do now.

Friends Season 1-7: A series I actually finished! I loved this show. It is hilarious, and even though there are some lulls it stays funny, sweet and relatable.

Brooklyn Nine Nine Season 1 – this is a hilarious comedy and I will definitely watch some more. I was a bit crushed when they announced the series was coming to an end, but I see that there will be a final season of Jack Peralta and his fellow officers. Yay!

Riverdale Season 1&2 – I have a review coming in shortly for season 2, and I really like this show despite the lack of quality the last part of season 2 had.

Grey’s Anatomy Seasons 1 – 7: As I am finalizing this post I come to you from a space where I have now banned myself watching this show during the week. There are a couple of reasons why – the lack of will to live if I am not watching it, the extreme emotional attachment to the characters and the stern talking to I had with myself that they are not real and that I can’t stop watching at night and then I am exhausted the following day (really, I need a boyfriend or a life at this stage). I couldn’t have expected this show would be so good. I mean, at seven seasons I am only halfway through the series, because the show remains super popular and it is now at it’s fifteenth (?!) season. It is heartbreaking and intense and happy and sad, and I.AM.ADDICTED.

Pride and Prejudice (1995): I am telling all of you, I know I have an unhealthy attachment to this story. The series is by far the most accurate to the book, and it is a lovely adaption that makes me really happy to watch.

So, there you have it. I have been writing on and off on this post for ages, so it is so good to have it finally out there! Let me know what you’ve seen, whether or not it has correlated with my watches. Adios!

August 24, 2018 by Natasha Categories: 2018, Avengers, Blindspot, Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, SeriesTags: About A Boy, Addison Timlin, Adriana Mather, Andy Samberg, Ant-Man, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Cassandra Clare, Charlotte Bronte, City of Bones, Cole Sprouse, Deadpool, Death Cure, Did You Hear About The Morgans, Die Hard, Douglas Adams, Dwayne Johnson, Edward Scissorhands, Fallen, Freaky Friday, friends, Ghostbustters, Grey's Anatomy, Harrison Gilbertson, Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy, Hugh Grant, Jane Austen, Jane Eyre, Jeremy Irvine, Johnny Depp, JRR Tolkien, Jumanji, Jurassic World, Lily Reinhart, Martin Freeman, marvel, Meredith Grey, Mortal Instruments, Nacho Libre, Napoleon Dynamite, Nora Roberts, Pride and Prejudice, Riverdale, The DUFF, The Greatest Showman, The Hobbit, The Maze Runner, The Silence of The Lambs, Tim Burton, Tomb Raider, Tomorrowland, Vampire Academy 9 Comments

Movie Review: The Fate of the Furious (2017)

Plot:When a mysterious woman seduces Dom into the world of terrorism and a betrayal of those closest to him, the crew face trials that will test them as never before.

I am quite the big fan of the Fast and Furious franchise. I reviewed the entire series a while ago, and naturally the mere mention of the return of Dominic Toretto and his family was enough to get me excited. These movies have become progressively bigger and more extreme as the series developed, and the Fate of The Furious makes no exception.

To be honest, this is the first film that I felt was overly ridiculous. It has always been very ridiculous with this franchise, but this one went very extra. The “banter” between Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham made my toes curl with embarrassment. Seriously – the testosterone these two emit in each other’s presence was nothing short of hilarious. Dwayne Johnson had some pretty funny lines as a school soccer coach, and his desperation in having his girls win the game to avoid a Tay-Tay concert was quite funny and understandable. Fast 8 tries to market Jason Statham now as one of the team, as a Shaw brother it is quite confusing as he was a main villain about fifteen seconds ago.

Dominic Toretto abandoning his family seems crazy, and that is exactly what he does. Villian Cypher (Charlize Theron) shows Dom something on a screen and it is enough to make him drop his wife Lettie (Michelle Rodriguez) and his team. What could make him do this? What does Cypher want? That’s never too clear, because I don’t think the plot is the primary point of this film, and we are left in the dark more than once.

I won’t say why Dom did what he did, but there WAS a BIG reason. Naturally Brian (Paul Walker) must be mentioned loudly at least once, and that he can’t come help because they decided he needs to be away. I don’t really agree with the decision on that, because Brian O’Connor in the Law of the Furious would never drop Dominic Toretto – however sad Paul Walker’s death may be, I think the character would have died too instead of abandoning his family.

Charlize Theron’s Cypher has a very blurry reason for the things she does. The chemistry between her and Vin Diesel is less than zero, and that kiss they share is cold and plain weird (despite Diesel’s strange comments about it). There is a lot of explosions and more bad dialogue, and when Diesel, Johnson and Statham appear together onscreen the manly manliness is almost too much to witness. The rest of the crew – Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Megan (Nathalie Emmanuel) and  Ludacris (Tej) get laughably terrible lines. Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) is still cool AF, and he’s joined by tough guy Scott Eastwood as a new recruit. The awesome Kristofer Hiviju is Cypher’s henchman, and I still love Tormund even though he’s a baddy in here.

The last few scenes of the film is naturally very dramatic and highly unlikely, and the end is  mushy but manly-still. This formulaic fan festival of epic proportions is outrageous, crazy and very similar to the last couple of Fast films. I found it slightly less engaging with a little worse dialogue, but I’m not even fooling myself – if there is a Fast 9, I will still watch it.

Rating: 6/10

October 30, 2017October 15, 2017 by Natasha Categories: 2017, Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Charlize Theron, Cypher, Dominic Toretto, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Kristofer Hiviju, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez, Movies, Nathalie Emmanuel, Paul Walker, Reviews, Roman Pearce, Tej, The Fast and the Furious, The Fate of the Furious, Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel 2 Comments

Watched, Read, Loved: September 2017

Yay! Spring is here in South-Africa and I couldn’t be more excited. When the weather is so much better I am so much better. Getting to work while the sun is actually up makes me a much nicer colleague.

I’ve been doing a couple of Parkruns. My work gave us all the opportunity in taking part in the Discovery Pulse challenge, which made me realize (again) how little steps I take each day. I’ve been trying to average it at 5000 steps, but that is already a challenge. The challenge officially began on the 27th of September 2017, and I really am working hard to do everything healthier – eating, sleeping, more exercise, less stress (HA!). It runs for three months and I will definitely let you know how it progresses.

Movies

The Fate of The Furious: Continuing the ridicule of series that is the Fast Franchise, Dominic Toretto this time abandons his family for some obscure reason. I really enjoy these films because they are so brain dead and is just easy entertainment, but this one was particularly ridiculous.

Hidden Figures: So.Much.Love. It is heartwarming and beautiful with excellent performances, and I am so happy the film was released in such an important time in history. Not only is it about racial prejudice, it is about female empowerment, determination, love, courage and there are also great scenes of the early days of NASA.

Walk The Line: I was SO proud when I finally watched this – I’ve had the DVD on my shelf for many years now, and I remember hearing people rave about it but I never really made the effort to see for myself. Well, it was great, and a great Blindspot choice for me.

The Girl on the Train: It was okay. I enjoyed Blunt (I always do), and her supporting female co-stars where all very strong. I also really do like Luke Evans. The big plot twist – I caught it half right so I was marginally impressed. Definitely not as good as Gone Girl, but interesting all the same.

Easy A (2010): Emma Stone is one of my favourite young Hollywood stars. She’s just so incredibly talented and really funny. Easy A is some of her earlier work and she’s hilarious as Olive Pendergast. If I ever have daughters I hope they are like Olive – not willing to take bad behaviour from friends, loyal, hilarious, inventive and wildly inappropriate.

Wild Child (2008): Many people wouldn’t necessarily like this film, but I really do. It is one of my favourite teen movies, and although it isn’t as sharp as Easy A, Mean Girls, Heathers or Clueless (other favourites), it still remains one of the nicest things to watch, reminiscent of a time where Emma Roberts and Alex Pettyfer were clean cut, sweet individuals (probably not that sweet).

Australia (2008): One of Baz Luhrman’s work I have had the least exposure to, Australia is a tribute to the wild and terrifying glory that is the continent of Australia. Hugh Jackman is ridiculously attractive, wildly blown out of proportion delicious, and the dainty and unexpectedly hilarious Nicole Kidman impressed me with some of the humour she injected into her character. This was definitely a great watch and I will watch it more in the future

Clueless: Clueless is one of my favorite “high-school” films. It is so silly and sweet and Paul Rudd is so adorable and Alicia Silverstone is so friggin adorable. You can’t feel bad after watching something like this, you just can’t.

Books:

Gone Girl: Gillian Flynn I actually started reading this after The Girl on The Train, because it made me want to explore more thrillers. I am really enjoying so far and finding the writer pretty good at telling a story.

Hot Rocks: Nora Roberts I can’t decide whether it will be worth my time actually reviewing this. I’ve now successfully proven to bestie that I can actually read and review a book and then just not remember it, and it might very well happen with this novel. It wasn’t bad and I actually had a pretty great time, but it feels superfluous reviewing every single Nora Roberts book I read

September 29, 2017September 27, 2017 by Natasha Categories: 2017, Books, Movies, movies, reading, Review, Reviews, RomanceTags: Alicia Silverstone, Australia, Baz Luhrman, Clueless, Dominic Toretto, Dwayne Johnson, easy A, Emily Blunt, Emma Roberts, Emma Stone, Fast 8, Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl, Hot Ice, Hugh Jackman, Jaoquin Phoenix, Jason Statham, Johnny Cash, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Nicole Kidman, Nora Roberts, Paul Rudd, Paula Hawkins, Reese Witherspoon, The Fate of the Furious, The Girl on the Train, Vin Diesel, Walk The Line, Wild Child 1 Comment

Movie Review: Furious 7 (2015)

Plot: Dominic and his crew thought they’d left the criminal mercenary life behind. They’d defeated international terrorist Owen Shaw and went their separate ways. But now, Shaw’s brother, Deckard Shaw, is out killing the crew one by one for revenge. Worse, a Somalian terrorist called Jakarde and a shady government official called “Mr. Nobody” are both competing to steal a computer terrorism program called “God’s Eye,” that can turn any technological device into a weapon. Torretto must reconvene with his team to stop Shaw and retrieve the God’s Eye program while caught in a power struggle between the terrorist and the United States government.

Rating: 7/10

I’m finally through the franchise! I’ve really had a blast, despite some of those first few movies that made me legitimately wonder how they ever got more movies approved.

Furious 7’s production was initially halted when Paul Walker tragically died in a car crash. The world was horrified – both by the death of this well-loved actor and the way that he passed away. Walker has always been a car fanatic, and the car he drove in 2Fast 2Furious was actually his own car. His brothers helped out with filming the remaining scenes, which ensured that Brian O’Connor got the end he deserved.

As for the film? There are numerous mentions for the need for Brian to stop and properly commit to his pregnant wife and son. He struggles with being a standard dad and not an adrenaline seeking ex-cop turned car thief turned assisting the FBI, and wife Mia (Jordana Brewster) notices these struggles. She urges him on one last mission to avenge the death of Han (Sung Kang). Lettie (Michelle Rodriguez) is still struggling to regain her memory and Dominic is struggling with impatience because there are obvious things he wants her to remember. Roman Pierce (Tyrese Gibson) returns to make bad jokes and Tej (Ludacris) returns to being geeky and cool. The most recent permanent instalment returns as Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), who seems to have found even more muscles since the last film.

Furious 7 is as expected over the top, this time with Lamborghinis crashing through sky towers in Dubai. Brian O’Connor escapes a few certain deaths himself, and I couldn’t help but think the writers really wanted to leave clues everywhere. In terms of insanity, the airdrop scene came only second to the Dubai scene. Okay, there was the final collapse in Los Angeles was very crazy too.

Djimon Hounsou is some form of African warlord and he is basically ignored only when he’s really needed. Jason Statham replaces Luke Evans as the Shaw brother to sort out, and for all his capabilities in dealing with action sequences, I have never thought him to be the most solid villain. Elsa Pataky returns as Elena, and I am not really sure why, except (hopefully) that she and Hobbs end up together – a girl can dream! Kurt Russel also has some role, and I was surprised when he was the good guy to the end, it seemed shot in a way that he would have ulterior motives.

But is the film good? Well, it’s not bad. I thought it was a bit loose at the ends and it didn’t gel as it should have. Overall, as part of the franchise, the film didn’t feel like the best. I am glad it ended like it did, but I also thought that Brian O’Connor would never leave Dom behind – ever. It’s pretty much that feeling that Mark Darcy should rather be dead (like in the books) than leave Bridget Jones – I can’t believe I just compared the Fast franchise to Bridget Jones, but there we go.

What are your thoughts? How do you feel about what happened in the last film? Do you agree with the arc regarding Brian O’Connor? Share, share!

July 15, 2016July 13, 2016 by Natasha Categories: 2015, 2016, Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Agent Luke Hobbs, Brian O'Connor, Djimon Hounsou, Dominic Toretto, Dwayne Johnson, Elsa Pataky, Fast cars, Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Kurt Russel, Lettie Ortiz, Ludacris, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, movie, Movies, Paul Walker, Review, Reviews, Roman Pearce, The Fast and the Furious, The Rock, Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel 1 Comment

Movie Review: Furious 6 (2013)

Plot: Hobbs has Dominic and Brian reassemble their crew to take down a team of mercenaries: Dominic unexpectedly gets convoluted also facing his presumed deceased girlfriend, Letty.

Rating: 7/10

This movie is so big for a lot of reasons. The end finally ties in with where Tokyo drift finishes, and the sad death of our beloved Han. It is also where we say bye to beautiful Gisele who dies to (ironically) save Han’s life. It is such a useless way to go, but she couldn’t have known her boyfriend would die only months later. It is also the movie that reintroduces Lettie, which probably needed to be done. The relationship between Elena and Dom felt just way too forced, like something the writers wanted but no one really thought it through. I did find it funny how nice Elena and Lettie were to each other in the end. If Vin was my honey and his dead girlfriend pitched, man, I would not have been that smiley. I thought that Brian and Mia’s baby was expected and has been a long time coming, but I also once again had to laugh at how she basically chased him away because “family needs help”. Agent Luke Hobbs is also back in the picture, and I still think The Rock was a great addition to the cast. Luke is starting to see more of who Dominic is, and realizes that this particular criminal is quite decent under it all. (I think, and it may be too touchy feely for this franchise, that Hobbs is starting to question what he has always believed in). The best scene in the entire film has to be the square off fight between Hobbs, Toretto, (Luke Evans) and his sidekick, played by Kim Kold. The way everyone automatically aims for the guy with the same body type makes me laugh without fail. Luke Evans is probably the best villain yet. Evans does everything with a quiet, dedicated intensity that makes any role he takes on a success. Could they have fleshed out his motives more? Definitely, but this series isn’t interested in doing that. I also thought it was a generally good idea to tie the villain to the villain in 4, which made Lettie’s sudden reappearance more believable. The cars and races are as impressive as always, and grounding that plane so dramatically is as completely possible as that vault scene in 5, if ya know what I mean. I also love how Hobbs is suddenly also capable of racing muscle cars. The man’s talents knows no bounds. It was very cheesy in the end when Hobbs and Toretto finally acknowledged each others’ worth, but I loved it. There is a lot of other things I’ve come to expect and enjoy – Roman Pearce’s makes the worst jokes ever as usual, Han being all calm and collected, Ludacris being his cool self. The crew in this franchise has always been its’ strongest point, and as always brings the feeling of family across. I’m a little bit apprehensive to move on to the 7^th film, because I have no idea how they addressed Paul Walker’s death in there.

Fast & Furious 6 (2013) (L to R) Hobbs (DWAYNE JOHNSON), Dom (VIN DIESEL) and Brian (PAUL WALKER)

July 8, 2016July 3, 2016 by Natasha Categories: Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: 2013, Brian O'Connor, Dominic Toretto, Dwayne Johnson, Elsa Pataky, Gal Gadot, Gina Carano, Jordana Brewster, Kim Kold, Lettie Ortiz, Ludacris, Luke Evans, Luke Hobbs, Michelle Rodriguez, movie, Movies, Paul Walker, Reviews, Roman Pearce, Sung Kang, The Rock, Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel 6 Comments

Movie review: Fast Five (2011) – AND THINGS THAT MOVED THE FAULT

Plot:Dominic Toretto and his crew of street racers plan a massive heist to buy their freedom while in the sights of a powerful Brazilian drug lord and a dangerous federal agent.

Rating: 7.5/10

As we move through the franchise to approach the final (released) movie, we all know what happens – more unlikely, death defying stunts. This 2011 movie features the scene absolutely everyone remembers and absolutely everyone references when talking about the franchise – that vault crashing through Rio attached to two muscle cars by the strongest ties in the universe.

But before we come to that, let’s talk a bit about what else happens. Mia (Jordana Brewster) is pregnant, and it is a very big celebration. I would personally be quite upset being pregnant while on the run from the FBI, but she’s happy and Brian’s happy and I’m happy for them.

Dom is dealing with Lettie’s death still, being a badass and still not able to get his arms through a T-shirt. It’s a really hard life. He decides it would be a great idea to steal from the Brazilian mafia, because when last did such a plan ever go wrong?

 

He calls in a crew to come and assist – Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), who is still really strange, Tej (Ludacris), who thankfully dropped the afro and is now really quite handsome, Han (Sung Kan), our favorite Asian, gorgeous Gisele(Gal Gadot), Tego (Tego Calderon) and Santos (Don Omar) the last two who still acts in their capacity of attaching moving things to other moving things. Dom’s friend Vince (Matt Schulze) from the first movie is now living in Brazil, he has a girl and a child, and is still shady as fuck and still really hates Brian.

 

New on the scene is FBI special agent Luke Hobbs, who has flown to Brazil to find and imprison Toretto and his gang. We obviously hate him because how dare he wish to enforce the law? He specifically asks for Elena (Elsa Pataky) to help him with his Brazilian mission, presumably because her smile is pretty, but we eventually learn that her husband was killed while on duty and she is working to avenge his death.

So I enjoyed the film, but that is not much of a surprise – I’m a fan, I love a good dose of cheese once in a while and the last part of the franchise has been exemplary. However I’m not quite sure whether I’ve enjoyed Fast Five or Fast Four more – I was so happy that they reverted back to the old gang that I loved the fourth film.

The death defying antics start with a jail break where a bus is flipped – and no one dies. I might add that breaking your friend out and seriously endangering his life at the same time might not be the best idea.

Rio is then full of gangsters with guns, and a very smart villain who realizes that if people have something to lose, they will fight very hard to protect it. Brian decides to take on a contract for stealing vehicles and through some more gravity defying maneuvers, they escape with a car that contains a chip with the mafia’s data on. Hence the massive scheme is devised to be rich forever and hopefully being cop free for quite some time.

Luke Hobbs, however, really wants to catch Brian and Dominic. His passion for doing this is purely because it is his job, and I liked it. No over the top agenda or massive secret that is kept from us – he is a special agent and he likes to get done what he is paid for. I thoroughly enjoyed Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs. He was convincing and intimidating, and those muscles must be manufactured somewhere. He is so not ready to let any criminal slide, no matter what sorry excuse they think of. I really liked that, making the quick difference between him and Brian quite obvious.

I thought Elsa Pataky was quite cool as Elena. I don’t see the necessity of making her a love interest of Dominic, who obviously still mourns for Lettie, but I could see why they would find something to bond over, having both lost partners.

The masculinity is on another level in this film, especially when Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel is on screen. The flashing red lights screaming TESTOSTERONE is ever present, and I couldn’t help but laugh when they finally fought it out. It was like GRRR everywhere.

 

THINGS THAT HELPED MOVE THE CARS WITH THE VAULT ATTACHED:

• VIN DIESEL’S MUSCLES
• DWAYNE JOHNSON’S SWEAT
• (AND MUSCLES)
• BROTHERHOOD
• MAGIC

July 1, 2016June 26, 2016 by Natasha Categories: Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Brian O'Connor, Dominic Toretto, Don Omar, Dwayne Johnson, Elsa Pataky, Fast cars, Fast Five, Gal Gadot, Jordana Brewster, Lettie Ortiz, Ludacris, Matt Schulze, Mia Toretto, Michelle Rodriguez, movie, Movies, Paul Walker, Roman Pearce, Sung Kan, Tego Calderon, The Fast and the Furious, The Rock, Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel 9 Comments

Movie Review: The Fast and the Furious (2013

Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his friend, ex-cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) live the highlife after their successful Rio Heist. Dominic is living with Elena (Elsa Pataky) and Brian lives with Mia (Jordana Brewster) and their new born son Jack. Gisele (Gal Gadot) and Han (Sung Kang) now live in Hong Kong. The last two of the Rio heist, Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Ludacrias) live the high life.

Agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) shows up again and wants Toretto and his team to help him with a specialized task. Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) is a former British Special Forces soldier who destroyed a Russian military convoy and may be looking to destroy a few other things as well. Dominic plans to refuse but Hobbs promises full amnesty to the team for their past crimes and shows Dominic a photo of Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), Dominic’s former, presumed dead girlfriend. Knowing that Lettymay be alive forces Dominic to reconsider the deal. Elena says it is okay for him to go and he and Brian sets off to meet with the rest of the crew while the women stay with the baby.

The crew arrives in London and manages to catch one of Shaw’s henchmen. He leads them to Shaw’s hideout, but Shaw has pulled one over them and his team is busy pulling a heist somewhere else. Shaw flees the scene and Dominic and his crew races after him. Letty joins the fray to help Shaw and shoots Dominic.

Hobbs tells the crew that Shaw is planning to steal components to create a Nightshade device that can disable power in the region to the highest bidder. Shaw looks into the other crew and sees that Letty used to date Toretto. She is saved from paying for it because it is obvious she is suffering from some form of amnesia from the blast that killed her.

Taj finds out that Shaw plans to attack a NATO base in Spain. Dominic’s crew interferes and destroys Shaw’s convoy. Shaw, who has Letty with him, drives in a tank and begins to destroy cars and the highway. Letty is horrified, seeing who Shaw really is. Brian and Roman flip the tank and Letty flies through the air but Dominic miraculously catches her mid-air.

Shaw is captured and he tells Brian that he has Mia captured. They are forced to release him and Riley (Gina Carano), Hobbs’ partner, reveals that she is actually working for Shaw. Letty chooses to remain with Dominic and her old crew because she doesn’t remember anything but knows they are the people that truly out care for her.

Shaw and his crew are boarding a plane when Dominic and his show up. Dominic, Letty, Brian and Hobbs manage to board and Brian rescues Mia. They escape to safety as the plane begins to board. Han, Gisele, Roman, Tej, Brian and Mia are keeping the plane from rising by tying their cars to the plane and giving it too much weight to rise. Gisele dies when she rescues Han by sacrificing herself. Letty kills Riley and she and Hobbs leave the plane but Dominic stays behind to find Shaw. Shaw is thrown from the plane and dies, and Dominic miraculously gets out alive in one of the remaining cars. He gives the chip to Hobbs, thus securing their amnesty.

Fast forwarding, the crew is able to return to the United States. Hobbs and Elena go to Dominic’s house, Elena tells him that she wants him to be with Letty and wants them happy and that she belongs in law enforcement. Hobbs confirms that they are now free. Dominic asks Letty if she remembers anything, and although she replies in the negative, she says it feels like home.

In Tokyo, Han is coping with his grief by doing what he loves, driving cars, but his car explodes and he is killed. The other driver walks away from the explosion and leaves a message on Dominic’s phone with the ominous message “You don’t know me. You’re about to”.

Rating: 7/10

The Fast and the Furious franchise is so much fun. It is fast paced and action packed with reasonably good acting and a storyline that is solid enough to keep your attention.

Luke Evans portrayed Shaw very well. He made a brilliant evil mastermind but I think if he had more show time it would probably have pushed my personal rating up.

I have to put it out there that I am not a Michelle Rodriquez fan. She just seems like the type of person I won’t get along with and I think her roles are very typecast and unoriginal. I honestly think Toretto should have stuck with Elena (because maybe then Elsa Pataky can stop pretending that she’s married to my husband, Chris Hemsworth).

Who else thinks the end where Elena tells Toretto that she accepts he should be with Letty is very, very unrealistic? That is the only part I found truly ridiculous. Here honey, go back to your ex I won’t say a word. Asseblief man.

The last big fight scene with the airplane was very long and definitely felt stretched. It was all fun to watch though and I laughed at how Hobbs went with Shaw’s big guy and Toretto went with Shaw – it was like natural selection of let’s fight someone with our own body build (okay, Vin Diesel is much more muscly than Luke Evans but The Rock is fucking terrifyingly big).

Definitely worth the watch!

April 2, 2014 by Natasha Categories: Movies, ReviewsTags: Dwayne Johnson, Elsa Pataky, Gal Gadot, Jordana Brewster, Letty Ortiz, Ludacris, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker, Sun Kang, The Fast and the furious 6, Tyrese Gibson, Vin Diesel 13 Comments