2 Fast 2 Furious
While there is no Vin Diesel in this one, we still have good cop turned bad, Brian O’Conner, played by Paul Walker, who leads us on a story that is apparently supposed to make us understand him better as we learn about his past. Well, I wouldn’t say they achieved it. But they did have fast cars running around the scenes that may entertain the PG-13 crowd.
The storyline was much more obvious, with its more unrealistic plot; it did still manage to entertain anyone looking for something other than repeats on TV. We did get to watch the slightly comical antics of Roman Pierce, played by Tyrese, and Brian as they are undercover trying to get the goods on a drug trafficker. Of course it is every day that you drive your car off a pier and actually land on a boat. No thinking involved is a good description for 2 Fast 2 Furious.
Bend It Like Beckham
Bend It Like Beckham
This movie may not have been popular with the average movie-goer, but it is definitely worth taking the time to see. It brings insight into the Indian culture, and it also tells the story of a girl trying to break through the culture barriers to be her own individual. It is filled with comedy as we learn about her sister and the trials of an arranged marriage.
Commercials make it seem like it is solely a soccer movie meant for the kids, but it honestly is enjoyable. As you slowly get reeled into the secrets that Jess and her sister keep from their parents, the anticipation of the outcome of their revelations builds and keeps you watching. This is wat makes you begin to see the very realness this movie shows.
The acting was very good and the cast seemed to mesh well. The director did a good job of incorporating the Indian culture and the daily events into a movie that flowed at a good pace. The dialogue allowed the characters to interact so naturally that you feel that you are standing next to them. Overall it is a refreshing movie that stands out among the sequels and predictable movies that are out today.
The Italian Job
The Italian Job, about a turnaround robbery, is slightly predictable but certainly a lot of fun. Even though it may have only comically achieved a combination of a drama and a comedy, it still found a way to produce a movie that flowed. As we watch a group of five thieving buddies team up to do “one last job,” we slowly realize they have done many together and can really predict each other’s moves. Then one person goes astray leaving one dead and three to seek out revenge.
The gang finds a very helpful daughter that is left behind when her father dies but she proves to be a distraction as much as she is a help. As they work out the unique details to this very interesting plan, something of course goes awry. The antics that follow keep you entertained as you laugh through the follies and jokes.
Overall the movie is quite entertaining, and is worth seeing on the big screen. The acting was decent, and the cast at first seems like an odd choice but certainly does fit well in the end.
Terminator 3
Many people thought that the story was over at the end of the second movie; the lab at which SkyNet was developed was destroyed, all the research gone, the chief technician dead. The future crisis was averted; “no fate but what we make.” But, as many people know, a new director has taken up the challenge of creating another sequel.
Arnold Schwarzenegger returns again as a terminator that has been sent back in time to save an adult John Connor from a more advanced robot (this time masquerading as a woman) that was sent back to kill his lieutenants and, if possible, him. But while this plot worked in the second movie, it does not go over so well in the third. The central theme of the first two movies was thrown to the side, and instead of people being able to determine their own future, the audience was told that there was absolutely no changing the future.
This is not to say that the movie is not good overall. Lack of a credible plot and theme has not stopped other movies such as Equilibrium. The first 45 minutes of this movie are well worth the ticket price, as the central characters tear through LA, wrecking cars and buildings right and left, with many an explosion to dazzle the audience. It beautifully delivers on this front. A must-see-in-theaters for any action fan. Seeing it on a smaller screen would not do it justice.
Finding Nemo
The basis of the movie seems a little shaky at first: A father fish searching the ocean to find his son fish who is in an aquarium in a dentist’s office. And if Finding Nemo were a simple, straight-forward movie, it might be lame. However, there are constant twists, turns, and just plain silliness around every corner.
The movie begins with a great tragedy that leaves Marlin (voice by Albert Brooks) with only his son, Nemo (voice by Alexander Gould). The seriousness of the first few minutes of the film are a far cry from what you can expect from the rest of the movie.
Once Nemo disappears, Marlin begins his frantically hilarious journey throughout the ocean to find him, along with his new friend, Dory (Ellen DeGeneres), a blue fish with a rather leaky memory. There is hardly a dull moment as Marlin escapes from the harrowing situations that the large ocean throws at him.
As we have all come to expect from a Pixar animation, the film targets both young and old alike. It is definitely worth seeing at some point, although most likely at UPAC.
Down With Love
Down with Love appears to be a typical “chick flick” on the surface. There is a guy and girl, and they’re supposed to get together in the end. However, instead of sticking to the usual formula for a girlie movie, Down with Love takes a few twists and turns, and throws in some satire of the 1960s to boot.
In the film, Renee Zellweger (Barbara Novak) appears opposite Ewan McGregor (Catcher Block ). While both actors put in a stellar performance, Zellweger clearly stands above the rest.
The basic premise is that Barbara Novak has written a book about how women can lead a more satisfying life enjoying non-committal relationships and achieve success in the workplace. After denying her an audience previously, award-winning writer Catcher Block is anxious to score an interview once Novak’s book becomes a success.
The ensuing movie is very light-hearted and funny. The commentary on women in the workplace can hardly be missed and the satire gets a bit ridiculous at moments, but it all adds up to a very clever machination with a few surprise twists and turns.
Down with Love is definitely worth watching, probably as a rental on a date night or on a rainy Saturday.
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded was probably, by and far, one of the most anticipated movies of the summer. Unlike the original Matrix, Reloaded was far less plot-driven and relied far more on extensive, somewhat over-the-top, action sequences.
The original crew of Neo (Keanu Reeves), Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), and Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) return as they attempt to stop an army of Squiddies from reaching and destroying Zion, a haven for people freed from the matrix.
The bad guys are pretty good, so to speak. Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving) returns, along with several hundred clones, and there are some evil twins to contend with as well. This hardly exhausts the list of antagonists, though.
There were really only two annoying things about The Matrix Reloaded: It was a little weak on plot and character development as well as very obviously made to rely on its sequel to be a complete work. It wasn’t until the end of the film that the plot became the predominant driving force, leaving the audience holding its breath for The Matrix Revolutions—scheduled for release in November 2003.
The movie is definitely worth seeing, if not because it’s part of The Matrix trilogy, then because the fighting sequences really are phenomenal. It’s even worth the $9+ it costs to see in the theaters.
X2: X-Men United
X2: X-Men United was one of the major blockbuster hits in the beginning of this summer, and for good reason.
Following the foreboding musings of Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) in the first installment of this trilogy, the plot focuses on the invasion of the X-men school and mansion and the growing tension between humans and mutants.
While a little less thrilling than its predecessor, and with a few obvious deviations from the X-Men story line, the film has some good action scenes and the ever-redeeming quality of being an X-Men movie.
The long and short of it: Rent it sometime if you haven’t seen it yet.
Editor’s Note
