Fast Five

“Fast Five” doesn’t try to be more than an action movie, but that’s okay because it accomplishes the task well providing audiences with an action movie that is entertaining, thrilling and contains strong interaction between characters.

“Fast Five” picks up where the last movie left off, Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster) broke Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) out of prison. Now the three are trying to avoid capture by authorities and are living in Rio de Janerio. Vince (Matt Schulze) convinces them to help with a job, so they steal some cars.

They discover that the cars they stole belong to the man in charge of Rio, Reyes (Joaquim De Almedia). They also figure out how they can steal $100 million from Reyes. So Dom calls in the old team.

However, Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) a federal agent is after them and he always gets his man. Also, Reyes is still pretty peeved that his car was stolen so he sends his men after the team as well. So while they avoid capture from two different people they also have to plan the perfect job, which isn’t as easy as it sounds.

“Fast Five” is not part of the “Fast and the Furious” franchise for nothing, it is fast and the people are anything short of furious. Cars chases, explosions, gun fights, fist fights and street races plague the movie.

At times the action is a little far-fetched that seems to deny the laws of physics or appears to be too convenient. The movie at times has a little too much of the macho men flexing their muscles.

However, it’s not just the action that makes this movie engage the audience’s attention, but the plot itself. Audiences are not just worried about one bad guy, but two. So audiences try to guess how the characters will avoid capture after capture from villain after villain. Audiences also wonder how the team will pull off the job as they encounter obstacle after obstacle.

The acting in “Fast Five” is not necessarily exceptional for an action movie and sometimes the performances are flat. The characters are unique from other characters in the movie giving “Fast Five” a well-rounded list of characters. The characters also have excellent chemistry with each other.

The characters are supposed to be friends, and friends who have a long history with each other and it certainly feels that way through the performance. They laugh and joke with one another just like long-time friends would, and it makes the audience laugh along with them. The characters also care for each other, especially brother and sister Dom and Mia.

The characters also have good motivation for what they are doing. Dom, Mia and Brian all want the money so they disappear and start a new life without fearing the law. Other characters want the money to have their dreams. Hobbs wants to catch the criminals and Reyes wants to keep his money safe, get his car back and get the guys who did it. The drive of the characters also drives the plot.

If you want a deep, thought-provoking film, “Fast Five” isn’t your movie. However, if you want an action packed, fast-paced, entertaining movie filled with strong characters (and I’m not just talking about muscles) then “Fast Five” is the movie for you. Oh, by the way, if you do see “Fast Five” there is a special treat after the credits, don’t miss it!

Water for Elephants

Despite what the title might suggest “Water for Elephants” is ultimately filled with a dry plot and performances, but some sprinkles of moisture appear throughout the film.

Jacob Jankowski (Robert Pattinson) is about to graduate from Cornell to get his veterinary license when he is told that his parents have died in a car crash. The bank then takes his home and he is left with nothing.

Trying to figure out what to do next he hops on a train and finds himself with a circus and a job. He becomes the circus vet, then elephant trainer for a new act; all the while falling for Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), the star performer and wife of the circus leader, August (Christopher Waltz). August also happens to be the ultimate control freak, see the problem?

The story itself is predictable and as the plot continues on nothing comes as a surprise, which makes “Water for Elephants” boring at times. However, since it is the story of a circus, scenes of circus acts and performances brighten up the otherwise dull story and make it slightly more tolerable.

The supporting cast of circus characters also spices up the boring plot by giving the audience interesting characters to connect with. The supporting cast includes a man named Camel (Jim Norton) who always breaks prohibition laws by consuming alcohol and giving some to the elephant; along with a midget, Walter (Mark Povinelli) and his trained dog. These characters once again make the movie more interesting than it otherwise would be if the characters were no there.

Pattinson’s performance in “Water for Elephants” is not the greatest. He fails to give his character much emotion and his voice remains monotone like a… vampire throughout the whole movie. There are times where life seems to have entered his performance and therefore his character but then it dies again and all goes back to sullen.

Witherspoon is better since she gives her character more emotion, but still not enough to create a believable character. The character itself is confusing on whether or not she is a “good” girl or a “bad” girl and whether or not she’s always been a strong women under the control of a manic or if she has to find the strength to stand up to him. Perhaps Witherspoon portrays Marlena unconvincingly because the character isn’t convinced of who she is either.

Marlena isn’t the only one who has trouble convincing the audience, the “love” between Jacob and Marlena is displayed without conviction as well. Sure the characters tell each other “I love you,” however, it fails to convince the audience. Since the characters lack the emotional connection with each other, they lose the connection with the audience.

“Water for Elephants” does contain at least one solid performance and that from Waltz playing the villain. Waltz portrays August’s rage and controlling personality realistically from the way he sounds and acts it makes the audience believe. That also makes the audience absolutely despise him, which as bad as it sounds, is good.

Other positives from “Water for Elephants” include the cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto) which gives a breath-taking insight into the circus. From the train, to setting up the tents and the circus acts themselves the audience sweeps through beautifully. The music (James Newton Howard) fits the time period perfectly and also the setting giving a circus sound or a jazzy sound. It also fits the mood of the scene as well, the music is faster during intense moment and slower and softer during the quieter moments.

“Water for Elephants” is a movie that could’ve worked and it does try, but due to ineffective characters and the love they supposedly share, the movie falls apart. It did manage to get some things right, but not enough to completely redeem “Water for Elephants.”

Follow the Recipe

This weekend I was making cookies for my 2-3rd grade Sunday School class. The recipe called for 2 1/2 cups of flour. I was using the 1/2 measuring cup so I wouldn't have more to clean up. I thought I had put in the full 2 1/2 cups of flour, but when the buzzer sounded and I looked at my "cookies" I realized that something was wrong. The cookies weren't cookies, they were puddled pancakes of gargantuan size. Yes, something was indeed wrong. That's when I realized that I failed to put the full amount of flour in the dough. So I added more flour and the next batch came out, still a little frazzled by the horrific events, but the nonetheless edible and more cookie like.
That's when I realized just how important it is to follow the recipe. If your anything like me, if you don't follow the recipe your cookies will end up... well just not the way a cookie should be. Even just straying from the recipe for just a cup can make all the difference between a delicious cookie and a doughy mess.
It reminds me just how much we need direction in life. We need a recipe for life. We have a recipe for life: the bible. The bible gives us the recipe to living a full life. However, many people fail to follow the recipe and instead of ending up with yummy cookie lives, their lives are puddlely, messy cookie-pancake hybrids that don't really look all that appetizing.
So in order to have a life that's fulfilling and delicious, you need to follow the recipe that the bible gives. Otherwise you'll end up with a life that is less than desirable. Following the recipe also makes the cookie look good and more appealing making others will want to follow the recipe.
The recipe is also written by the Master Baker. The one who knows everything there is to know about cookies. He knows what makes a good cookie, what ingredients to use and how to mix and bake so that cookies come out absolutely perfect. So his recipe for cookies (and life) is the best and perfect recipe we could ever follow.
Everybody wants to make good cookies, but you have to follow the recipe and everybody wants to have a good life, but you need to follow the recipe for that as well. The most perfect recipe written by the most amazing Baker in the world. Sounds like a pretty good cookie to me.

Hanna

“Hanna” the story of teenage killer gives audiences a story and performances as deadly as Hanna herself.

Hanna (Saoirse Ronan) didn’t have a normal childhood. Instead of living in the comforts of modern technology spending her days playing with toys and reading children’s books, she spent her days learning how to kill, fight, how to speak different languages and reading through the encyclopedia. Hanna also lives in the article circle with her father (Eric Bana) away from technology and people.

Finally the time has come for Hanna to receive her mission: to kill Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett). So Hana plans to leave her home and use all her years of training, always following her father’s motto, “adapt or die.”

The plot is fast-paced giving audiences thrill after thrill. It also keeps audiences guessing on how Hanna will avoid capture as Marissa seeks her out. Also Hanna tries to find answers about herself and the audience joins her on the quest for truth.

Part of what makes “Hanna” feel so fast-paced is the quick editing (Paul Tothill). During the action scenes the shots are quickly cut into short clips and move rapidly from one to the other. The quick cuts heightens the tension and makes the film feel like it’s moving faster.

The score by the Chemical Brothers also drives the pace of the film. The music has a fast, pulsing beat so when Hanna is running or beating up bad guys it quickly moves the film. The beats are also in sync with the editing cuts making it flow together beautifully.

The acting in the film is phenomenal, partly because the characters are such hard, cold people. Hanna never really shows her emotion, always observing her surroundings; she hardly ever lets her guard down. Hanna, also has never seen electricity, although she can recite the encyclopedia entry on it and when she finally sees it in real life she is mesmerized. Ronan displays the unemotional, monotone, Hanna and the awe-filled Hanna with realism.

Marissa is a cold-hearted CIA agent and she, like Hanna is not afraid to kill. She is also an obsessive-compulsive, neat-freak who just wants to “clean up the mess” that Hanna and her father have created. Blanchett gives the audience a good bad guy to hate. She’s scary, creepy and a killer and Blanchett’s performance is just a lethal as her character.

Erik, Hanna’s father, once again isn’t much of a softie when it comes to killing people or beating the pulp out of them. However, everything he does, including her rigorous, life-long training is to protect Hanna. Bana is able to show the audience he’s tough-guy side while still creating an emotional character that cares for his daughter.

The cinematography (Martin Kenzie and David Knox) in “Hanna” is also note-worthy. It contains different high and low angles and perspective angles that give the audience a deeper glimpse into the story from Hanna’s point-of-view. It also has some extreme close-up of characters. There is also one scene where the camera spins Hanna’s panicked face across the screen and it creates a unique effect for audiences to experience.

Although not many people will understand or appreciate some of “Hanna” technical aspects, “Hanna” also provides audiences with strong characters and actors give solid performances. The story keeps moving and keeps the audience’s attention and “Hanna” deserves it.

Source Code

“Source Code” proves to be a smart, original thriller that keeps the twists and turns coming making audiences want to go back into the “Source Code” again and again.

Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) wakes up on train. Most people wouldn’t find this unusual, however Colter does. He doesn’t know where he is, why he’s there or even why his reflection isn’t his reflection. Then it all blows up in his face, literally.

Colter wakes up in a different room, but he still has no idea what’s going on. He then discovers that he’s part of a program called the source code. Colter is able to live the last eight minutes of a man’s life in order to find a bomb and the person who planted it so he can prevent another attack. So he re-lives the eight minutes on the train over and over receiving more and more clues and starts a relationship with one of the passengers, Christina (Michelle Monaghan)

“Source Code” provides audiences with a gripping thriller. It always keeps audiences guessing on who did it, but more than that it keeps audiences guessing on what will happen to Colter and Christina. Each time in the source code Colter as well as the audience learns more and more that help both the audience and the character figure out what is going on.

The entire cast gives a solid performance but Gyllenhaal provides a strong foundation for the central character which helps to tie down the supporting actors as well as the plot. Gyllenhaal is also able to give his character lots of emotion as he tries to decipher the clues. Along with that he also tries to remember and learn what happen to him and why he is in the source code. Gyllenhaal portrays Colter’s drive for understanding with realism helping the audience to sympathize with the character.

As a supporting role, Monaghan gives support to Colter even though she doesn’t understand. Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) one of the people in charge of the source code also gives a solid performance as an unyielding Army official.

“Source Code” also contains incredible visuals as Colter enters and exits the source code. Images of clues and memories flash across the screen, making audiences feel that they are entering the source code with Colter. The visuals used for when the bomb explodes are also realistic as well as painful looking.

The score (written by Chris P. Bacon) for “Source Code” adds to the intensity of the film. It sounds almost spyish at times and it crescendos when moments becomes climatic. However, it also calms down during the tender moments of the film.

I could add more paragraphs explaining more reasons why “Source Code” is so good, but if I did it would ruin it. Besides it’ll be better if you just go out and see if for yourself. I’ll end with this, “Source Code” is a mesmerizing film with a plot that will constantly have you asking question. The acting by Gyllenhaal is an authentic portrayal of a desperate man seeking answers. Visuals and music also add to make this film a captivating story that shouldn’t be missed.