OT: Let's talk about movies and TV - Part XXVI
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6. Fast and Furious 6
Though this entry wishes to maximize the thrills of Fast Five, the context provided is far less personal, making this a weaker entry. In order to up the ante, the duo of behind the previous three entries decided to remove the heisting entirely in place of a Bond/CIA style global adventure that never lands emotionally. Positives are the ludicrous action sequences, but even the insane 25 mile runway at the end and the return of Rodriguez's Letty can save this entry. It ain't the worst in the series, but it's definitely the most forgettable. Score: 4/10
7. Fast and Furious 7
I guess 6 wasn't crazy enough, so f*** it, SKYSCRAPER DRIVING AND AIRDROPS IN CARS. To be fair, this is a better entry than its predecessor due to the emotionality generated through Walker's swan song.....makes me wonder if the film would have sucked without his real life death now, which concerns me for various reasons. At least Jason Statham makes for a good villain playing Jason Statham, and the action is very well done if bullshit impossible. All being told, would have been a decent way to send off the series with the departure of the original protagonist, but they decided to keep going. Will be interesting to see if Brian's presence will be missed in future entries. Score: 6/10
8. Fate of the Furious
The answer is yes. While Paul Walker may not have been a great actor, his place in the franchise felt every bit as critical to the central themes as Dom, and this is not something that can be replaced eight films in. So now Dom is working for the baddies and there's a battle with a submarine. Honestly, I can't say I cared too much, and no amount of Helen Mirren or Jason Statham (who f***ING KILLED HAN, HOW IS HE REASONABLY A PART OF THE f***ING FAMILY!?!?!) can prevent me from giving this one a 3/10.
9. F9
Obviously haven't seen this yet, but it is noteworthy that Han is alive again based on the trailers. The series clearly forgot to tell the side story of how Dom collected the Dragonballs.
Though this entry wishes to maximize the thrills of Fast Five, the context provided is far less personal, making this a weaker entry. In order to up the ante, the duo of behind the previous three entries decided to remove the heisting entirely in place of a Bond/CIA style global adventure that never lands emotionally. Positives are the ludicrous action sequences, but even the insane 25 mile runway at the end and the return of Rodriguez's Letty can save this entry. It ain't the worst in the series, but it's definitely the most forgettable. Score: 4/10
7. Fast and Furious 7
I guess 6 wasn't crazy enough, so f*** it, SKYSCRAPER DRIVING AND AIRDROPS IN CARS. To be fair, this is a better entry than its predecessor due to the emotionality generated through Walker's swan song.....makes me wonder if the film would have sucked without his real life death now, which concerns me for various reasons. At least Jason Statham makes for a good villain playing Jason Statham, and the action is very well done if bullshit impossible. All being told, would have been a decent way to send off the series with the departure of the original protagonist, but they decided to keep going. Will be interesting to see if Brian's presence will be missed in future entries. Score: 6/10
8. Fate of the Furious
The answer is yes. While Paul Walker may not have been a great actor, his place in the franchise felt every bit as critical to the central themes as Dom, and this is not something that can be replaced eight films in. So now Dom is working for the baddies and there's a battle with a submarine. Honestly, I can't say I cared too much, and no amount of Helen Mirren or Jason Statham (who f***ING KILLED HAN, HOW IS HE REASONABLY A PART OF THE f***ING FAMILY!?!?!) can prevent me from giving this one a 3/10.
9. F9
Obviously haven't seen this yet, but it is noteworthy that Han is alive again based on the trailers. The series clearly forgot to tell the side story of how Dom collected the Dragonballs.
Grate n Colorful Oz
Hutson Hawk
Great movie. Damon and Bale were great.
Josh Lucas back in A-list movies doing the one thing he does best, playing an a-hole
Adam Michaels
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Grate n Colorful Oz
Hutson Hawk
Kimota
ROY DU NORD!!!
Strangely it's not downhill from there, my favorite after the fifth one is the eight one, the Fate of the Furious. Just a well-made action flick. And the last of Paul Walker. (and the sixth one is good also)
This franchise is pretty unique in that the second one was midly successful after the highly successful first one and then there was Tokyo Drift who failed at the box office. There was the director of the first one who moved on from the franchise with Vigh Diesel and they went and did XXX which was gonna be a huge big franchise for Diesel cause he was so hot at this point(and seen not only as the reason these movies were successful but he also was seen as the next big action star) and Walker felt disrespect by him not coming back for the second movie.
But then something happened, XXX underperformed! Diesel made amends, teamed up with Walker for the next one, it was a success and then for whatever reasons, the francise exploded and it got more and more successful as it went along. It was just a smart business move to just decide to return to basics and it has been doing box office records in the billions competing with Transformers and Marvel. I don't think something like that has ever happened before and will ever happen again. And the guys at the helm, the producers, etc...must be pinching themselves.
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DAChampion
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- May 28, 2011
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I watched the 2010 documentary Senna, about the Brazilian formula one race car driver Ayrton Senna. It Chronicles his five or so years in formula one (1988-1992 approximately) and his rivalry with Alain Prost.
I thought it was really well made, and did a good job of transporting me to a different time. The athletes were a lot more carefree, they engaged in more trash talk. The sport was also a lot more dangerous, with frequent injuries and even deaths taking happening during races. I didn't know how this story was going to end.
The rivalry with Prost was electrifying, and it's probably the case that the greatest athletes are defined by strong rivals, rather than total absolute domination. Think Bird vs Johnson from that era, or Sampras vs Agassi.
Fun anecdote, in the first race shown, Senna beats Nikki Lauda, the driver profiled in the 2013 dramatization Rush by Ron Howard.
Recommended viewing.
I thought it was really well made, and did a good job of transporting me to a different time. The athletes were a lot more carefree, they engaged in more trash talk. The sport was also a lot more dangerous, with frequent injuries and even deaths taking happening during races. I didn't know how this story was going to end.
The rivalry with Prost was electrifying, and it's probably the case that the greatest athletes are defined by strong rivals, rather than total absolute domination. Think Bird vs Johnson from that era, or Sampras vs Agassi.
Fun anecdote, in the first race shown, Senna beats Nikki Lauda, the driver profiled in the 2013 dramatization Rush by Ron Howard.
Recommended viewing.
DAChampion
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- May 28, 2011
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I watched Women at War 1939-1945. It's a French film on Netflix, with English subtitles, that discusses the roles and the effects on European women during WW2, mostly that if French women but with some focus on Jewish, German, and Russian women as well.
French women played a pivotal role in the resistance effort, but received something like 1% of the medals of heroism for it when the war was over. Though they did get the right to vote for it.
The Nazis' misogyny likely accelerated their defeat. They wanted women to stay home and make babies. At that time, Russian women served as snipers and were helping Soviet factories run for 24 hours a day.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTRH_mile0IS6tArJPi5PCDPXHCP2lNjVjaFA&usqp=CAU
Women at War 1939-1945 - History - Factual - Lagardère Studios Distribution
French women played a pivotal role in the resistance effort, but received something like 1% of the medals of heroism for it when the war was over. Though they did get the right to vote for it.
The Nazis' misogyny likely accelerated their defeat. They wanted women to stay home and make babies. At that time, Russian women served as snipers and were helping Soviet factories run for 24 hours a day.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTRH_mile0IS6tArJPi5PCDPXHCP2lNjVjaFA&usqp=CAU
Women at War 1939-1945 - History - Factual - Lagardère Studios Distribution
DAChampion
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- May 28, 2011
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This is an interesting documentary on archaeological efforts in Egypt, Israel, Syria, and Babylon, and the picture that they trace of the emergence of Israel and Judaism. Sone parts of the Bible hold up (e.g. the timeline post-David), others such as Exodus story, not do much. But that is a significant change from views that ancient Israel never existed, which were once common.
But the origins are well explained. It is thought that the Bible was written by four separate writers, and that much of it was assembled by exile priests in Babylon.
It's also an interesting insight into a paradox of archaeology. It's a destructive science. They necessarily destroy remnants of history in order to study them.
It's narrated by Liev Schreiber.
But the origins are well explained. It is thought that the Bible was written by four separate writers, and that much of it was assembled by exile priests in Babylon.
It's also an interesting insight into a paradox of archaeology. It's a destructive science. They necessarily destroy remnants of history in order to study them.
It's narrated by Liev Schreiber.
DAChampion
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Athlete A, the title, refers to Maggie Nichols, who was referred to that way in documents during the earlier parts of the investigation. She's also the main character in this documentary, though we hear from several other women, who were girls when the critical events took place.
Nichols was a world silver medalist in 2015, and in that same year her parents reported Nassar to USA Gymnastics officials. They proceeded to do nothing but yo isolate Nichols, in a manner which is demonstrably damning of the people in that organization. We know that Nasser went to jail, but it's clear that several other people need to join him.
The documentary does several other things right, such as going over the history of the sport, the broader abuse culture, and showing how incredible these girls are.
They weren't always girls. Prior to 1976, it was mostly women who competed in women's gymnastics, but then there was a switch to girls with Nadia Comaneci's historic win. There are athletic and stylistic reasons for this, but the documentary reminds us that girls are also smaller, and easier for coaches to control.
There are events from history that now appear different. For example, Nadia Comaneci hardly smiled when she won in 1976, why not? Was she unhappy? Perhaps. It was her coaches who developed a lot of USA gymnastics in the 80s through to today. They defected to the USA.
Though I don't remember Comaneci, as I was born in 1983, I do remember Kerri Strug who competed in the 1996 Olympics. She was celebrated as a hero for doing a jump while injured. Everybody was so happy for her and for how great she was. I was 12 and did not question this narrative at all but ... As a former gymnast points out, she should never have made that jump. It was cruel to make her move like that while injured. And calling her a hero implies that she was made a choice, but really she was a teenage girl who had no choice but to obey her coaches.
The documentary does also show some happy moments. We see how incredibly talented these girls are ... The jumps and the coordination are just so incredible. They also show how several of them responded to the trial, and the incredible emotional labour that took.
***
Athlete A is about 100 minutes long, available on Netflix, and I recommend it.
Athlete A (2020) - IMDb
Nichols was a world silver medalist in 2015, and in that same year her parents reported Nassar to USA Gymnastics officials. They proceeded to do nothing but yo isolate Nichols, in a manner which is demonstrably damning of the people in that organization. We know that Nasser went to jail, but it's clear that several other people need to join him.
The documentary does several other things right, such as going over the history of the sport, the broader abuse culture, and showing how incredible these girls are.
They weren't always girls. Prior to 1976, it was mostly women who competed in women's gymnastics, but then there was a switch to girls with Nadia Comaneci's historic win. There are athletic and stylistic reasons for this, but the documentary reminds us that girls are also smaller, and easier for coaches to control.
There are events from history that now appear different. For example, Nadia Comaneci hardly smiled when she won in 1976, why not? Was she unhappy? Perhaps. It was her coaches who developed a lot of USA gymnastics in the 80s through to today. They defected to the USA.
Though I don't remember Comaneci, as I was born in 1983, I do remember Kerri Strug who competed in the 1996 Olympics. She was celebrated as a hero for doing a jump while injured. Everybody was so happy for her and for how great she was. I was 12 and did not question this narrative at all but ... As a former gymnast points out, she should never have made that jump. It was cruel to make her move like that while injured. And calling her a hero implies that she was made a choice, but really she was a teenage girl who had no choice but to obey her coaches.
The documentary does also show some happy moments. We see how incredibly talented these girls are ... The jumps and the coordination are just so incredible. They also show how several of them responded to the trial, and the incredible emotional labour that took.
***
Athlete A is about 100 minutes long, available on Netflix, and I recommend it.
Athlete A (2020) - IMDb
Grate n Colorful Oz
Hutson Hawk
Grate n Colorful Oz
Hutson Hawk
Was watching Rundown, which I hadn't seen again since when it came out. Didnt remember much of it, but low and behold, who's doing the villain? Friggin Christopher Walken, as always. And then bam it hit me, he'd do a great Donal Trump in a bioflick. Nobody else better suited.
groovejuice
Without deviation progress is not possible
I'll look for that once I decide to reintroduce myself to Netflix.
Comaneci was definitely a game-changer to women's gymnastics, but I'd nominate Olga Korbut from Russia as the original superstar in that sport.
Adam Michaels
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OnTheRun
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I have been enjoying the Muskeeters show from the BBC (2014) in the last week. Probably much more enjoyable than local sports these days.
(I always liked the Musketeers since watching a cartoon show when I was a kid)
Was it Anime Sanjuushi or WanWan Sanjuushi?
ArtPeur
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OnTheRun
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Palm Springs: 7.8/10 good movie. Nothing new but still well done and fun.
Greyhound: 7/10
Greyhound: 7/10
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- Jun 24, 2012
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Finished rewatching The Sopranos a few days ago.
I couldn't believe how much of it I had forgotten, which is a good thing since it made it all the more entertaining.
The last episode aired in 2007. If you haven't watched it since and you're looking for a quality fix, consider diving back in. You'll once again be reminded as I was, why a lot of lists routinely place it among the top 3 TV shows ever made.
I couldn't believe how much of it I had forgotten, which is a good thing since it made it all the more entertaining.
The last episode aired in 2007. If you haven't watched it since and you're looking for a quality fix, consider diving back in. You'll once again be reminded as I was, why a lot of lists routinely place it among the top 3 TV shows ever made.
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