Unfortunately, I already get the feeling it's going downhill from here.....
It's an understatement.
I just watched Ford vs Ferrari and I absolutely loved it.
I really enjoyed watching Mythbusters.
RIP
So I made it through the first five now, and here are my quick thots:
1. The Fast and the Furious
It's a relic of its time, but a pretty decent romp that doesn't overstay its welcome. Somewhat grounded film about an undercover cop trying to peg thieves in the street racing circuit......to think what this franchise has become. I enjoyed the relationship between Dom and Brian, and the overall feel of the film feels like the cheesy but enjoyable side of the late 90s. Score: 6/10
2. Fast 2 Furious
BRING ON THE NEEEEEOOOOONNNNN!!!!! -Ludacris probably. Honestly I liked having him and Tyrese Gibson on board, and Miami is a cool location. Cole Hauser's villain is one of the best in the series' history. I dunno, despite all the positive additions I feel like this one's aged the worst. It's perfectly watchable and makes for a good long music video, but it ain't much to write home about. Score: 5/10
3. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift
I'm conflicted. The dialogue can be Star Wars level bad at times, the main character isn't well developed, and its usage of women makes even me, a non-feminist, roll my eyes. On the flip side, taking the series to Tokyo was a great move, Han gets introduced to the franchise and Justin Lin's direction holds up after all these years. I'm titling towards the positive side of the ledger, perhaps against my objective leanings. Score: 6/10
4. Fast and Furious
All the main players are back, including the Torettos, Letty (for a bit) and Brian. Easily the weakest film in the series in terms of intrigue and fun, even if it's nice to see Walker and Diesel back together. One notable aspect of the film is its transition into a fully fledged heist series, an aspect it used to share with the whole street racing scene. The main positive is how it sets up its follow-up.....and that's about it. Even the f***ing title is derivative as f***. Score: 3/10
5. Fast Five
Most regard this as the best entry, and I can't disagree. The second act goes a touch too long for my liking, but the bookend action sequences are ludicrous and spectacular, and even I got swept up in the FAMILY of it all: Sung Kang, Ludacris, Gal Gadot, Tyrese Gibson all back with the main crew was great to see. Oh yeah, it also brought in The Rock. Need I say more? Score: 8/10
Unfortunately, I already get the feeling it's going downhill from here.....
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.
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
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?
The first one I believe, Aramis was a woman
Biggest plot twist ever