I GIVE IT A YEAR (Dan Mazer, 2013)

Posted on June 8, 2013 by MoodyB

i give it a year

 

Starring: Rafe Spall, Rose Byrne, Stephen Merchant

You may like this if you like: Going the Distance (Nanette Burstein, 2010), Knocked Up (Judd Apatow, 2007), Crazy, Stupid, Love. (Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, 2011)

When Josh (Spall) and Nat (Byrne) meet it seems to be love at first sight. However they would appear to not exactly appear to be the perfect match; she is a high flyer and he is an unsuccessful writer. At first it appears that opposites attract but the individual quirks that they both found charming soon turn annoying and those around them, yes you guessed it, Give it a Year. The two of them, aware of the struggles they may both face, also decide to Give it a Year. What follows is the many mishaps and farcical challenges that they face over the following year, not helped by Nat meeting a handsome American client (Simon Baker) and Josh’s ex (Anna Faris) returning to his life.

I myself am not a fan of this genre, but I heard some good things and decided to give it a go. I personally found that I Give it a Year was on the whole a very enjoyable film, which did a few different things with the genre and did have some genuinely funny moments. However there were also many misfiring jokes, scenes that did not work and a lack of realised potential.

This is Dan Mazer’s (one of the writers of Borat) debut so maybe there was an understandable element of restraint for many possible reasons but that for me was the main reason why IGIAY is only a good watchable film, but no more. In my view there did feel to be too many missed opportunities here that a better script may have taken advantage of. There are scenes where so much more subtext could have been added making a more subtle but definitely more humorous scene. Another problem I personally had was the writing of the characters; some were underwritten, some were overwritten but most of them were very hard to actually like. Rafe Spall’s character is a walking cliché personifying the ‘loveable twit’, but there appears to be a lot more emphasis on the latter of those two words and very little work on the former. He is just plain irritating and I found myself wanting him to leave the screen and do it alone. He is of course essentially the protagonist and if the protagonist is hard to like then therefore so is the film. The acting is fine, but our four main characters are actually a little flat and forgettable, often with the supporting cast stealing the scene. Thankfully this supporting cast do provide genuine laughs. Stephen Merchant is of course playing the same faux pas prone character as he always does (but he does do it so well) and some of his scenes are genuinely funny, thankfully his character is not overused, but still some of his scenes just try our patience a little too much. Olivier Coleman’s marriage councillor is a bonkers scene stealer, but for me it was Jason Flemyng and Minnie Driver’s embittered married couple that provide the most laughs with every scene and piece of dialogue they say really bringing the best out of Mazer’s script.

Naturally as the narrative reaches its conclusion this is extremely predictable and clichéd. However due to the nature of the genre I am not even going to use that as grounds for criticism. To be fair to Mazer he does attempt to manipulate this very tired formula with a slightly different closing scene that for me was one of the more successful scenes in the film that involved solely the four protagonists.  Indeed throughout the narrative there are some refreshing takes on the genre and it is nice to see that Mazer is not scared to make a 15 certificate film and put in some more racy jokes which in many cases provide the funniest moments of the film.

A mixed bag that demonstrates potential for better predominantly with just a few more hits than misses, but overall I Give it a Year is an entertaining, very watchable and often funny film that (occasionally) tries something a little different with a very tired genre.

5/10

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BULLET TO THE HEAD (Walter Hill, 2012)

Posted on June 8, 2013 by MoodyB

bullet to the head

 

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Momoa, Sung Kang

You may like this if you like: Guns, violence, grumbling or all three.

Here Sly plays a veteran hit man Jimmy Bobo (a real fear inducing name isn’t it?) that is good at what he does (of course he is). After what seems to be a text book job, there is then a hit on them leaving his partner dead. After learning that his hit was on a corrupt ex police officer, Stallone is determined to exact his revenge. He finds an unlikely ally in a young by-the-book Washington detective Taylor Kwon (Kang), the ex partner of the man Bobo killed. Together the two fist fight, bicker, grumble (whinge in Kwon’s case) and smash their way through a city of fellow hit men, corrupt officials and Christian Slater as they search for the truth surrounding their respective ex partner’s deaths.

Well they say movies often come in twos and maybe it was no coincidence that Planet Hollywood’s two prodigal sons released films at very similar times, and both with less than subtle titles. Well I had the ‘fortune’ of seeing both within a few days of each other and though both obviously have their tongue firmly in their heavily wrinkled cheeks I personally enjoyed Arnie’s offering that little bit more. However there is fun to be had here. The script and story are horrifically clunky and clichéd and it is only Stallone’s stoic self awareness that makes it quite as entertaining as it is. His tongue in cheek delivery and surprising comic timing actually save Bullet to the Head from being what is otherwise a completely dire text book B-movie. Though admittedly I am not sure how intentional this was as per usual the laughs are more at than with.

Veteran director Walter Hill does give good action and Stallone grunts his way through the scenes still looking the part. Jason Momoa has also certainly found his niche, do not expect him receiving any Oscar nominations anytime soon but he genuinely looks the part as a fellow assassin. When he is on screen you know people will die. Badly.

The actual story itself is a potentially good premise for a fun buddy movie, and though Stallone seems game Sung Kang is an absolute charisma vacuum. Admittedly the weak and flat script does not help, but he is just plain annoying and impossible to like as he whines and moans his way through the story. Meanwhile Christian Slater is obviously wondering whatever happened to his career. At 88 minutes this film knows not to outstay its welcome, but there are so many own goals that it does really try our patience at times. Admittedly, this is still just about watchable escapist mindless fun, but only just. However, in a market absolutely crammed with this type of film, there are better alternatives such as Arnie’s or Statham’s latest.

Stallone’s efforts are commendable and there is some decent action, but this is an only just watchable shoddy action B-movie. A late, late Saturday night movie only.

4/10

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EVERYDAY (Michael Winterbottom, 2012)

Posted on June 5, 2013 by MoodyB

everyday

Starring: John Simm, Shirley Henderson, Shaun Kirk

You may like this if you liked: Wonderland (Michael Winterbottom, 1999), The Dreamlife of Angels (Erick Zonka, 1998), Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012)

Shot a few weeks at a time over the course of five years, Everyday focuses on the everyday struggles of a family trying to keep it all together as the father Ian (Simm) serves a five year prison sentence while Karen (Henderson) struggles to look after their four children (played by four real life siblings).

Admittedly this does not sound like the most riveting story, and I must confess that if this was not directed by Michael Winterbottom (one of my favourite directors) then I may not have watched this myself. I am however very glad I did as it is a deeply personal and powerful film avoiding all the clichés that a lesser director may have tripped over. I found that this film captures perfectly with raw and passionate realism just how easy life passes us by due to its struggles and routine. The concept is a little different, only shot a few weeks at a time over the course of five years. The almost real time growing up of the four siblings helps add to the feeling of poignancy and tragedy of life just passing by quicker than we would ever like. It all serves as a poignant reminder that this is irretrievable time that Ian will never get to spend with his children and that we (and those we are close to) often suffer for the mistakes we have made.

I know this if a film that will not appeal to everyone and there is no real conventional narrative structure. There are no real character arcs as such and not a massive amount of narrative closure, but does life ever truly have character arcs or narrative closure?

However, neither character is judged nor given a back story; we learn about their personalities through experiencing their daily struggles with them and can both relate to them and care about them. Simm and Henderson give honest and raw performances evoking genuine sympathy for their everyday characters. The episodic structure of the narrative is held together by a poignant score from Michael Nyman that truly evokes the sombre but also at times optimistic and compassionate tone of the narrative.

Though of course unlikely to appeal to a huge audience, Everyday is a refreshing piece of cinema depicting everyday lives and characters we can truly relate to. It is raw, poignant and honest reminding us why Winterbottom is one of Britain’s truly original and greatest film makers.

7/10

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THE LAST STAND (Kim Jee –Woon, 2013)

Posted on June 5, 2013 by MoodyB

the last stand

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville

You may like this if you liked: The Expendables 2 (Simon West, 2012), A Good Day to Die Hard (John Moore, 2013), Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988)

Former LAPD narcotics officer Ray Owens (Schwarzenegger) has turned his back on the mean streets of LA and now resigned himself to the post of sheriff in the sleepy border town of Sommerton Junction, being responsible for the very little crime that occurs there.  However, after spectacularly escaping FBI custody, notorious drug kingpin Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) is hurtling towards the town in a souped-up Corvette. The FBI see no reason why he is heading there as unknown to them Cortez has had his henchman lead by a more bonkers than ever Peter Stormare build a bridge over a gauge that crosses the Mexican border. With only him, a small group of police officers that have never fired a gun before and Johnny Knoxville (!), Sheriff Owens must make a stand. Indeed, The Last Stand between Cortez and freedom in his country of Mexico. My god that is a clever title!

So, with his political career behind him and two appearances in The Expendables films our favourite all action hero is back and looking very old. Thankfully though he has certainly gained a few wrinkles, but has not lost his sense of humour. There is a light tone that dominates throughout the narrative and it is this feeling of knowing its place and capitalising on that which produces a very entertaining and very fun film. If you were expecting anything deep and meaningful then let’s face it, you are not going to watch Arnie’s latest are you? Arnie looks like he is enjoying himself and so does director Kim Jee – Woon and so do we providing we have the right expectations.

My main criticism of this film is that it is perhaps a little too long and takes a while to get going. The version I watched was 109 minutes and no more than 90 minutes is truly sufficient for this type of film in my humble opinion. There maybe a little bit too much of an attempt at ‘serious character development’ and setting the whole scene which does perhaps feel a little grating at times. These moments also require a cast to do some ‘serious acting’, which let’s face it is not their forte. It also feels that Forest Whitaker’s FBI agent is more there to get his name on the poster.

It is when The Last Stand enters its final third and the action kicks in that is at its best. Even here the fun tone is kept with some action set pieces being ridiculously over the top, with the odd Arnie one liner and madness from Johnny Knoxville there to keep it all together. Naturally a lot of the humour revolves around poor old Arnie’s age, and though with Stallone and Willis doing that too this is all already a little too tired a concept but as the film is this much fun, that is forgivable. The final chase scene involving supercars charging through a cornfield is as audacious as it is fun.

The Last Stand is predominantly pure escapist fun that certainly knows its place. It is of course instantly forgettable and could have been a little shorter, but on the whole Arnie still has it and if you enter with the right expectations then you will not be disappointed.

6/10

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THE HANGOVER PART III (Todd Phillips, 2013)

Posted on June 2, 2013 by MoodyB

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis You may like this if you liked: The Hangover (Todd Phillips, 2009), Due Date (Todd Phillips, 2010), Ted (Seth MacFarlane, 2012) After the death of Alan’s (Galifianakis) father, the other members of the … Continue reading →

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GANGSTER SQUAD (Ruben Fleischer, 2013)

Posted on June 2, 2013 by MoodyB

gangster squad

Starring: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling

You may like this if you liked: L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997), The Black Dahlia (Brian De Palma, 2006), The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, 1987)

Los Angeles in 1949, notorious gangster Mickey Cohen (Penn) controls the entire city, including many judges and members of the police force. Those that will not work with him are too afraid to stand up to him or testify against him. One cop, ex war vet John O’Mara (Brolin) is not (just as well or it would be much of a story) and is enlisted by Police chief William Parker (a gruffer than ever Nick Nolte) to form a secret team to bring Cohen down. O’Mara forms his secret team, enlisting four uniquely skilled men (of course one is a rookie), and also asks fellow cop and ex vet Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) to join him. One who prefers the easy life, but after witnessing Cohen’s men murder a boy he was close too, decides to join in the fun. Oh and just to make matters worse, Wooters is secretly involved with Grace Faraday (Emma Stone), the clichéd ‘femme fatale’ that Cohen is very close to. Together this group of six cliché ticking cops attempt to secretly bring down Cohen’s empire and bring justice back to Los Angeles, making him think it is the attempts of a rival gang and not cops. Oh and they call themselves the ‘Gangster Squad’, hence the film’s less than subtle title.

Sounds like a slightly familiar story doesn’t it? Well, if it is familiarity and very little surprises you are after then Gangster Squad is pure cinematic perfection. This film is a perfect example of Hollywood being a machine simply there to make money. The attention to detail is immaculate in the perfect set design and the cinematography is spot on. However once again those lovely Hollywood producers have elected to think pretty images, combined with a plethora of big name stars is enough. Instead we are left with a gorgeous looking but extremely hollow and forgettable experience. Even the actors cannot seem to be too bothered, admittedly Brolin does what he does best and Penn (complete with distracting prosthetic nose) does his best James Cagney impression. Gosling is on total autopilot, looking as though he is there to pick up the pay check to fund one of his lower budget projects (and good for him) and Emma Stone is both criminally underused and horrifically miscast. Nick Nolte simply sounds like he smokes 80 a day.

The predictable narrative essentially goes through a check list of gangster film clichés all the way to the expected outcome. However, I must confess, enter this film with low expectations and there is something reassuring about the extreme predictability of it all. It is above everything else, extremely watchable. If you are looking for a challenging watch to get you thinking then stay clear of this one. However, if you have had a long day and just want to watch something extremely easy then you could do far, far worse than Gangster Squad. The high production values, familiar cast and complete predictability of the narrative almost make this feel like a 100 minute long relaxing piece of music. You may not remember much of it, but you will feel relaxed. Despite some of the moments of brutal violence and loud gunfire, you will never be on edge as it is impossible to care for any characters, and you know exactly what will happen next.

As shallow and gorgeous looking as Hollywood itself; Gangster Squad is an extremely watchable, entertaining and almost reassuring watch that will not challenge any part of your brain except your memory.

5/10

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WRECK-IT RALPH (Rich Moore, 2012)

Posted on June 2, 2013 by MoodyB

wreck it ralph

Starring: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer

You may like this if you liked: Toy Story 1-3 (1995 – 2010), Rise of the Guardians (Peter Ramsey, 2012), How to Train Your Dragon (Dean DeBois and Chris Sanders, 2010)

Ralph (Reilly) is the villain in the video game Fix – it Felix and is tired of always being the bad guy as he wants to be popular and receive medals just like Felix (McBrayer), who is nothing like Super Mario at all (!), the game’s good guy. Desperate to be the good guy and receive a medal, Ralph goes ‘turbo’ and enters a different game called Heroes Duty (basically Halo) containing soldiers lead by the hard talking Sergeant Calhoun (Jane Lynch). Things go slightly wrong which lead to Ralph and one of the multiplying ‘aliens’ from Heroes Duty landing in a candy themed racing game called Sugar Rush. Now in a different game and no soldiers to stop them, these aliens will only do what they are programmed to do, which threatens to destroy every game. Once these games develop these apparently unfixable glitches they will be switched off, leaving all the characters without a game and therefore home. To earn a medal and save the day Ralph must help wannabe racer and glitch, Vanollepe Von Schweetz (Silverman). Meanwhile Felix and Calhoun travel to Sugar Rush to kill the alien before it destroys all the games.

For me, Disney set a high standard with Tangled and then after seeing the first trailers for this, this was always going to be a great concept, but could so easily be a complete disaster. Thankfully the House of Mouse have in my view utilised this concept to produce an absolute gem that will appeal to children and adults alike. Disney have really taken advantage of the natural nostalgia those of my age will get with all the subtle game references (the Metal Gear Solid reference was a personal favourite of mine) and the landscapes appear to be crafted with genuine passion for this world. However they thankfully do not over do it and though all these references are tremendous fun if constantly there, they would have quickly turned tiresome. Thankfully most characters or games are referenced just the once which for me was just right, allowing the story to still dominate but present perfect nostalgic winks and nods that provide some genuinely funny moments.

The story itself is once again one of universal appeal providing a perfect balance of humour, morality and heart. John C. Reilly’s voice is perfectly suited to the character of Ralph, and the dilemma he and Von Schweetz, face as well as the developments in their relationship portray all the usual themes of self acceptance and sacrifice that are to be expected from a Disney film. Thankfully these are never over done and the temptation to be become over sentimental or over schmaltzy is always avoided. The primary purpose of computer games is to be ‘fun’, and Wreck – it Ralph is in that spirit throughout the narrative. Even at a running time of over 100 minutes, the pace never starts to slow down. The only aspect that becomes slightly tiring is the character of Von Schweetz as her character verges on a little irritating at times and maybe some of her dialogue should have been cut, but she more than redeems for it in the end. Apart from that the script itself is very witty and sharp, allowing both moments of genuine humour and sentiment.

The animation itself is as good as anything Pixar have ever done with lovingly created landscapes and some breathtaking action set pieces. The excellent Tangled for me was a perfect mix of modern animation with a traditional feel, and here the animation is perfect for the context of the story and truly brings it to life.

Disney have once again for me proved they can cut it in the 21st century. Wreck – it Ralph is a well written and beautifully crafted film that takes advantage of a great concept to combine perfectly the humour and heart needed to produce a film that appeals to kids, adults and even game geeks.

7/10

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GOOD VIBRATIONS (Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn, 2012)

Posted on June 2, 2013 by MoodyB

good vibrations

Starring: Richard Dormer, Liam Cunningham, Jodie Whittaker

You may like this if you liked: Searching for Sugar Man (Malik Bendjelloul, 2012), 24 Hour Party People (Michael Winterbottom, 2002), Human Traffic (Justin Kerrigan, 1999)

Good Vibrations chronicles the life of Terri Hooley (Dormer) who, solely motivated by his love of music, decided to open up a record shop called ‘Good Vibrations’ in Belfast city centre in the 1970s. He did this despite the constant danger produced by The Troubles producing a heavily divided and conflicted nation. On one visit to a music club, Terri hears punk music for the very first time and the raw power in the music has a profound effect on him that changes his life. Determined to spread the word, he sets up his own record label and local tours for these local bands, including The Undertones.  He even travels to London to try and get bigger record companies to take on these bands and a chance meeting with Radio One DJ John Peel leads to ‘Teenage Kicks’ being played on Radio One and them hitting the big time. His continued passion for this music helped unite a troubled city at times, but this came at a cost.

I am personally not a fan of punk music, though I appreciate what it stood for, and being born in 1984 I am a little too young to have experienced the punk movement. However if a film of this nature is a success then whether you are a fan, or indeed whether you were there or not should not matter one bit.  Thankfully in my view Good Vibrations is a success as it manages to be appealing and genuinely involving to all audiences. This is a film made with genuine passion for its subject that is very clear throughout the narrative; this always makes a huge difference. Even for a young laymen like me when it comes to the punk era I found Good Vibrations extremely accessible. Sometimes films of this type of subject can be preachy and a little alienating giving off the attitude ‘if you were not there then you will not understand’. Thankfully with Good Vibrations this is not the case as this is a film that depicts with genuine passion just how powerful music can be and what it can do for people, whether you are a fan of punk or not.

I personally found that Good Vibrations dealt with The Troubles in a respectful and appropriate way. There are occasional clips that use archive footage from the time and they are used to add poignant context but are never over used. None of us need a history lesson and Good Vibrations never preaches to us about the appalling violence that occurred, as the focus of the narrative is predominantly optimism and the music. Though being a ‘feel good biopic’ (not my words) there are some inevitable cheesy moments but one of the main centre pieces of the narrative is when we the audience hear ‘Teenage Kicks’ for the first time and I found this was done in an extremely and genuinely powerful way that truly portrayed what that song as well as the genre meant to people at that time, especially in Belfast.

The permanently optimistic tone of Good Vibrations sometimes maybe undermines the flaws in Terri Hooley’s personality and the fact his passion for the music destroys his marriage. Though he is depicted with honesty as his tendency to be very bad with money and neglect his wife and new born child are shown clearly, his almost naive approach to life and the music industry make him quite hard to like. However, if that is the truth then fair play to the film makers for making it that way. However, the main subject here is of the power of the music and that in my view is depicted perfectly. In fact the music itself could definitely be described as one of the film’s protagonists. Though it is of course Hooley’s unparalleled passion for the music that drives the narrative, the music itself is very much a character too. Both depend on each other. It is the main focus on music that allows Good Vibrations to be a constantly engaging and genuinely uplifting by the end. The scene showing the ‘legendary’ sold at gig at Belfast’s Ulster Hall that Terri Hooley organises where all the bands he discovered plays together will uplift even the more cynical film viewer (even me).

Good Vibrations is genuinely uplifting, funny and engaging experience made with legitimate passion for its subject matter. It is made for anyone who can appreciate the power of music and tells us the story of a character very few of us would have ever have heard of but after watching this will be glad we have.

7/10

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FAST & FURIOUS 6 (Justin Lin, 2012)

Posted on May 26, 2013 by MoodyB

fast and furious 6

Starring: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson

You may like this if you liked: Is that really relevant?

Well, for those of you not up to speed with the franchise so far, after their successful Rio heist Dom (Diesel), Brian (Walker) and the gang are left with a fortune but wanted by the law. They are now living separate lives across the globe unable to return to their home countries. When Hobbs (Johnson) pays Dom a surprise visit he even more ‘surprisingly’ asks for his help: For Dom to get his team back together to help catch a ruthless and highly organised criminal organisation lead by Owen Shaw (Evans – typical British bad guy) who conveniently likes to drive fast cars really fast as well. To persuade Dom, Hobbs shows him images that show his presumed dead ex-wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) working with this organisation. Dom agrees and his team (or ‘family’ as they like to call themselves) vow to join him, providing Hobbs can provide them all with full pardons when they have caught Shaw and brought his organisation down. So our beloved gang of criminals travel to London to catch Shaw and allow director Justin Lin to include every possible London landmark and the usual casual English stereotyping that we have come to expect from Hollywood films.

Usually when a franchise reaches number six there is very little fuel left in the tank and it often finds itself in neutral or even reverse. Thankfully it appears the wheels have not come off and when number six is this much fun, then in my view it was the right decision not to put the brakes on just yet. What left the starting grid as some reasonably serious action film about the culture of street car racing has basically been gradually modified into another franchise of silly mindless blockbusters. Thankfully those involved now know this and in my view FF6 is the most outrageously entertaining by far. Justin Lin has been in the driving seat since number three and knows exactly what route to take in order to pick up an increasing number of happy passengers.

The plot is an extremely basic model with in fact very little modifications but was this ever going to be about plot? Of course not! As the ‘plot’ picks up the pace and moves frantically through the gears, the set pieces become increasingly loud, frenetic and downright outrageous with reason and physics often being conveniently forgotten. There is an even bigger cast list with everyone along with Rodriguez returning as well as Gina Carano as Hobb’s new sidekick and Luke Evans and his gang. However the script seems to have a strong enough suspension to carry the weight of such a big cast list and the aerodynamics of this ever increasing cast work well with banter and one liners being given mainly to Johnson (probably contractual) as well as Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris. Though some ‘humorous’ moments are more down to laughing AT rather than WITH.

However, the cracks in the bodywork of Chris Morgan’s script begin to show when the action takes a pit stop and we are left with ‘plot’. The tank definitely does feel to be running on pure fumes when the more ‘serious’ moments occur that simply feel like unnecessary speed bumps, such as the extremely lazy explanation of why Letty is actually alive and cringe worthy scenes where Dom tries to remind her who she ‘truly is’ almost feel like Justin Lin has fallen asleep at the wheel. Of course this being an American film set in London, expect the usual causal racism of us English either being upper class toffs or cockney geezers. Rita Ora (no I don’t know why either) starting a race declaring “this is London baby” suggests that maybe they have watched a little too much Austin Powers. These are minor blips of pace as the film very quickly puts its foot down once again and motors on with another spectacular action set piece.

As we speed towards the film’s two major final set pieces maybe Justin Lin had run out of money to put into the parking meter and we head to Spain following Shaw’s crew, as Vin Diesel eloquently explains “he is in a different country”. If the London action set pieces involved solely cars, we now have more. Much more. The sequence on a Spanish motorway involves a tank and the film’s final set piece is not only set on by far the world’s longest runway, but naturally involves a humongous aeroplane. Despite this, this never feels like too much fine tuning as they actually produce very little wheel spin and just add to the consistent aerodynamic flow of the story. It is beyond description how audacious these are, but they are so loud, frantic and ludicrous that it is impossible not to be entertained. There are of course some huge p(l)ot holes on the road of the narrative, but when it is all this much fun and the film shows know concern for logic or the basic rules of science, does it really matter?

Well what did you expect? It was never going to be Shakespeare was it?!? Fast and Furious 6 is the most ludicrous, loud and frantic of the franchise so far showing no concern for, well anything. Yes it is as flawed as hell in terms of plot and the script continuously develops punctures inducing laughs at more than with. However this may well be in my view summer’s most ludicrously entertaining ride. Get in, sit back, lock the doors and remember to put your seat belt on!

5/10

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VEHICLE 19 (Mukunda Michael Dewil, 2013)

Posted on May 26, 2013 by MoodyB

vehicle 19

Starring: Paul Walker, Naima McLean, Gys de Villiers

You may like this if you liked: Carjacked (John Bonito, 2011), Running Scared (Wayne Kramer, 2006), The Fast and the Furious (Rob Cohen, 2001)

Michael Woods (Walker) is a down and out ex con trying to turn his life around (naturally), he breaks his parole to travel to Johannesburg to sort out his marriage. It is always refreshing to see original ideas isn’t it? He picks up a rental car that is; you guessed it, Vehicle 19. Unfortunately when driving along he finds a phone with a text message stating “be quick and discreet”, he subsequently finds a gun under the pedals and an unconscious woman tied up in the boot. It then emerges that she is an attorney who has evidence that would convict the chief of police and he soon finds himself a wanted criminal with the entire Johannesburg police force after him. Oh Paul, what are you going to do?

It is always good to see actors leaving their comfort zone occasionally (!) and the marketing team behind this film have really gone pedal to the metal at capitalising on the fact it is a film about Paul Walker driving a car. This is pretty much a B-movie with the entire film taking place inside the car. There is obviously a low budget as a vast majority of the film consists of Paul Walker sitting in the car looking confused/intense/both. He is likeable but only mainly because he is quite funny, he does try bless him, but has a slight tendency to overact. However I must confess I found the film entertaining and though the plot is very generic and lacks any genuine shocks or surprises it plods along at a good pace producing a very watchable, if slightly, forgettable action B-movie. As the film reaches its conclusion and there is actually a proper car chase the action is surprisingly half decent and the ending, though not spectacular is actually half decent in how it is made. Naturally expect a few plot holes along the way but this is actually entertaining enough for those to be forgiven.

Vehicle 19 is a text book but competent B-movie, but surprisingly watchable and fun. I would never recommend putting it at the top of any rental list, but if you are looking for an extremely easy to watch 90 minutes with a surprisingly likeable lead actor really giving it his (surprisingly but unintentionally funny) best, then you could do far worse than this.

5/10

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