After some mediocre sequels, “The Fast and the Furious” franchise has been resuscitated and infused with new energy in director Justin Lin’s “Fast Five.”
Just in time, the director has found his rhythm so that even the most implausible, preposterous action in a multitude of car stunts is grand fun even if it lacks the barest shred of credibility.
In fact, the more over-the-top are the car chases and stunts that defy the laws of gravity the more entertaining “Fast Five” inevitably becomes. This is sheer mindless fun at its best.
The action is kick-started only minutes after master auto racer and car thief Dom (Vin Diesel) is sentenced to prison. Dom’s sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and old pal Brian (Paul Walker), a former federal agent, engineer a stunning breakout from a prison bus.
Hardly skipping a beat, the action quickly shifts to Brazil where the trio hides out in the squalid favelas of Rio de Janeiro. It looks like being on the lam won’t be glamorous fun, especially when funds run low.
Being outlaws, soon to be sought by bad-ass federal agent Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), Dom, Mia and Brian get drawn into a wild scheme to steal very expensive sports cars from a moving train.
Putting a bold plan into action, the trio turns “Fast Five” into a heist movie, one that grows in reach and scope beyond the initial outlandish and death-defying maneuvers.
The highlight involves one of the cars driving off a cliff and plunging into water deep into a canyon. If you fail to lean forward in your seat and gasp in awe at the pure absurdity of this daredevil stunt, then “Fast Five” is not for you.
Things get dicey when it turns out that the gang has robbed truly villainous drug kingpin lord Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). He doesn’t take kindly to criminal upstarts horning in on his turf.
As if to put the trio on the side of virtue, the inevitable clash with Reyes, a man so powerful he has most of Rio’s cops in his back pocket, causes street racing to take a back seat, if only momentarily.
While being pursued by Hobbs and gun-toting federal agents, Dom and his crew figure out that they will have to take down Reyes in such a big way that he’ll fold like a cheap suit in summer heat.
Thus is concocted a wild scheme to hit every drop house where Reyes keeps a cumulative total of more than $100 million. To make this happen, Dom calls in old friends from around the globe.
Dom’s dream team includes Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Hang and Gal Gadot, an authentic multicultural ensemble company of specialists and misfits. Planning of the big heist is not so meticulous as to sap the film of constant action stunts.
If you watched the film’s trailer, you’ve seen many of the highlights and, as a result, pretty much know the entire story. There’s no topping the amazing sight of a huge steel vault being towed by hot rods through the downtown streets, wiping out everything in its path.
Did I fail to mention that beyond all the car crashes there are the obligatory hot chicks attracted to street racing? The franchise never forgets the eye candy for the intended male audience.
The action climax of countless cars being wiped out will be hard to exceed in any film, unless it’s a sequel. By the way, be sure to stay for the end credits, for the one scene that almost surely is a tip-off for the next installment.
DVD RELEASE UPDATE
We don’t often have the opportunity to screen French films, much less hype them. “Farewell” (otherwise known as “L’Affaire Farewell”), which garnered critical acclaim when it debuted in limited release last July, now gets the DVD treatment.
“Farewell” is the riveting true story of a KGB colonel who, disenchanted with what the Communist ideal had become under Leonid Brezhev, gives top-secret documents to a French businessman working in Russia, helping to hasten the end of the Cold War.
Not motivated by any monetary concerns, the Soviet military man was inspired to seek a new dawn for his fellow Russians.
“Farewell” boasts an international ensemble cast, including familiar names like Willem Dafoe, David Soul and Diane Kruger. Fred Ward plays the role of President Ronald Reagan, the central figure in the ultimate downfall of the Soviet empire.
“Farewell,” based on the book “Bonjour Farewell,” is a terrific spy movie.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
Kathleen Langermann from Sonoma County, Calif., dances a Neoclassical style with the Lake County Symphony. Courtesy photo.
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Now that the Lake County Symphony has found a new home at Lakeport's Soper-Reese Theatre, conductor John Parkinson is exploring approaches for the orchestra that have never been possible before, some of which will be introduced at the annual Mother's Day concert.
The Mother's Day program is presented by Clear Lake Performing Arts in conjunction with Mendocino College Lake Center.
It will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 8.
Conductor Parkinson said the theater venue will provide many new entertainment options for Lake County music lovers and the symphony.
“We now have the ability to present programs we could only dream about up 'til now,” he said.
Among these are the ability to add additional vocal music and dance to the repertoire, now feasible because of the theater's state of the arts lighting and sound system. As a result, the program, entitled “Spanish Masterpieces” will feature such novelties as arias from the opera “Carmen” as well as a a fiery Flamenco dance to the music of Manuel de Falla's “La Vida Breve.”
Along with the centerpiece opera will be selections from such well-known Latin composers as Ernesto Lecuona – whose “Malaguena” has become a world favorite – Enrique Granados, whose “Goyescas” blends the music of Spain with the art of Francisco Goya, and Jaime Teixidor, one of Spain's most prolific composers.
Although Latin in theme, "Carmen" was written by a Frenchman Georges Bizet, and therefore both vocal performers will sing their lyrics in that language.
The artwork on the film’s poster gives away the dramatic love story of “Water for Elephants,” seeing how it pictures Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon dancing as if they were a truly romantic couple.
Of course, you don’t really need this hint from the advertising to figure out where this story is going, one that starts in the modern day and works its way back to the era of the Great Depression.
Hal Holbrook, having escaped from a nursing home, seeks refuge at a traveling circus, which affords him the opportunity to reminisce about his career path from the time he had to unexpectedly withdraw from Cornell University before completing his graduating final exams.
Flash back to 1931, and college student Jake Jankowski (Robert Pattinson) finds his life falling apart as the result of a family tragedy. Unfortunately, he is forced to cut short his studies in veterinary medicine.
With only the clothes on his back, Jake unknowingly hops a circus train heading to the big city.
At first, he’s not openly welcomed by the roustabouts camping in a boxcar. Most of them are belligerent or drunk, but the grizzled veteran Camel (Jim Norton) takes Jake under his wing.
The traveling circus is a second-rate operation known as the Benzini Brothers, the ringleader of which is the mercurial August (Christoph Waltz), who is both oddly charismatic and sadistically cruel.
August thinks about tossing Jake from the train until he realizes that his veterinary skills may come in handy with the circus animals.
What gets Jake’s attention more than the menagerie of wild animals is the incandescent star performer Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), a porcelain-skinned platinum blonde whose beauty is dazzling to behold as she rides a white show horse. Jake is smitten immediately, ignoring the dangers that lurk in even the hint of a potential liaison.
While Marlena’s the prime attraction of the circus, she’s also married to August, who is deeply possessive. But through a shared love for the animals, a close bond soon develops between Marlena and Jake that stirs paranoia and resentment for the circus owner.
As the film’s setting is the Great Depression, there’s plenty of angst and bitterness in the ranks of the circus workers, most of them afraid of August’s frequent bouts of rage and hostility. Many look upon Jake as an interloper and unwanted outsider.
While the circus constantly struggles with finances, things finally start to look up when August acquires a stubborn but regal old elephant named Rosie. The pachyderm’s disobedience and reluctance to perform causes August to inflict cruel treatment with the vicious use of a bull hook.
Fortunately, Jake manages to figure out what motivates the elephant to perform elegantly, allowing Marlena to triumphantly ride Rosie in an astounding circus act that starts to draw curious audiences.
“Water for Elephants” is more than a dramatic love story, one fraught with danger, deception and intrigue. It’s also a beautifully realized recreation of the old-fashioned circus that would pitch its big top virtually anywhere on its traveling road show.
Details and images of the early 1930s are delivered in an authentic manner by director Francis Lawrence and his production team. The look of “Water for Elephants” is an entirely plausible one-ring traveling circus that nicely captures the traditions of a by-gone era.
Even more impressive for this film is that it is a rare entertainment for grown-ups. Though everyone is quite good in their roles, the really serious acting comes from Christoph Waltz, who plays a complicated, edgy and unpredictable character well worth watching.
TCM CLASSIC FILM FESTIVAL
The second annual TCM Classic Film Festival is this weekend, so I will take one more stab at promoting its virtues to cinema lovers.
The four-day affair, which began Thursday, April 28, takes place in the heart of Hollywood, and is chock full of classic films introduced by noted celebrities.
The highlight will be Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas chatting on stage with TCM host Robert Osbourne about his career, leading into a screening of Stanley Kubrick’s epic film “Spartacus.”
Mickey Rooney will make a rare public appearance for a presentation of the Gershwin musical “Girl Crazy,” in which he starred with Judy Garland in 1943.
Another Gershwin musical is represented in the opening gala presentation of the 60th anniversary world premiere restoration of “An American in Paris,” with star Leslie Caron helping introduce the film. Roger Corman will introduce his low-budget classic “The Little Shop of Horrors,” which was reportedly made in only two days.
Debbie Reynolds will introduce “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” which was based on a Broadway musical.
The screening of “The Man with the Golden Arm,” a film that earned Frank Sinatra a Best Actor Oscar nomination, is a family affair in that the film will be introduced by Sinatra’s daughters as well by the daughter of famed director Otto Preminger.
For an evening of levity, the hilarious Marx Brothers romp, “A Night at the Opera,” will be introduced by Groucho’s grandson, Andy Marx.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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