"Fear Street Part 1: 1994" Early Movie Review

 

Netflix's upcoming horror trilogy is off to a pretty good start. The trio of movies, Fear Street, is based on books by R.L. Stine, author of the hugely popular Goosebumps series. However, Stine departs from the preteen shenanigans of his most well-known books to delve into actual scares featuring teenagers for Fear Street and the film adaptation (the first one, anyway) pulls no punches with the blood and gore. 

The first movie, 1994, is a slasher film set in the fictional town of Shadyside, Ohio. Shadyside suffers from an economic slump, while nearby Sunnyvale (not to be confused with Buffy the Vampire's Sunnydale, California) is affluent. This contrast fuels a fierce rivalry between the residents, especially the high school students, of the two cities. Shadyside also has an unfortunate history of numerous homicides, while we're told early on that Sunnyvale has remained murder-free for the past 30 years.

The story wastes no time establishing what we're in for, opening with the aptly-named Shadyside Massacre, which involves a significant body count at the Shadyside Mall. A little later, we're introduced to siblings Josh, a skilled hacker, and Deena, who's depressed following the collapse of her relationship and her ex-girlfriend's move to Sunnyvale. After realizing that her ex, Samantha, now has a rich boyfriend at a football game, Deena and her friends, Kate and Simon, local drug-dealers, participate in a fight between the respective town's high school students. The fight leads to a car chase, which eventually leads to Deena, feeling betrayed, unintentionally (maybe) running Samantha's boyfriend, Peter, off the road.

And then the killers show up. There's also an ancient curse involving a long-dead witch, which I won't get into so as not to spoil too much. But I can tell you that Fear Street Part 1: 1994 is the best teen slasher flick that I've seen since 2012's Cabin in the Woods and the best overall horror movie since 2017's Get Out. The sequel takes a trip back to 1978 and the final entry goes all the way back to 1666. And if they're anything like 1994, we're gonna be in for quite a blood-drenched treat.   

Available on Netflix on July 2.

"Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)" Early Movie Review

 

by John Zenoni and Ran

Roots drummer Amir "Questlove" Thompson's directorial debut is this documentary detailing the mostly-forgotten Harlem Cultural Festival, a six-week celebration of Black art that spanned most of the summer of 1969. This may be your first time hearing about the event because, while it was filmed, the footage was almost immediately stored in a basement, where it stayed for nearly 50 years, when the producers failed to find any interest from exhibitors.

While the festival itself was incredible, what's even harder to believe is its position as an obscure relic lost to time. The Harlem Cultural Festival, which was free to the public and held at the 20-acre Mount Morris Park (now named Marcus Garvey Park), drew a crowd of at least 300,000 and featured unqualified music superstars, including, but not limited to: Sly and the Family Stone, B.B. King, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, The 5th Dimension (giving their first Harlem performance), David Ruffin and a 19-year-old Stevie Wonder (he even plays a drum solo!). Lasting six weeks, each weekend focused on a different genre, including: Broadway in Harlem; the Gospel Festival; the Caribbean Festival; the Blues & Jazz Festival; and the Miss Harlem Beauty Pageant and Local Talent show. Even then NYC mayor John V. Lindsay showed up and spoke to the crowd -- as did Rev. Jesse Jackson. It's worth noting that the event was funded by both the city of New York and Maxwell House (I was surprised to learn that Maxwell House released a commercial detailing coffee's African origins).

As the footage reveals, there was greater interest in the festival than in the Moon Landing, which occurred during the middle of the event, in Harlem. And some Harlemites express the belief that the HCF was instrumental in preventing riots in the area (Harlem, along with 100 American cities erupted in violence following Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination the previous year.)   

The "soul" part of the documentary's title has a double-meaning. Yes, the festival was Black but it also featured a heavy gospel component. Aside from Mahalia Jackson, Pop Staple & the Staple Singers performed and the Edwin Hawkins Singers graced the crowd with their international hit "Oh Happy Day". And don't think the event was no laughing matter. Comedians Willie Tyler (& Lester) and Moms Mabley hit the stage as well

While event host and producer Tony Lawrence did a masterful job of compiling a legendary line-up of talent for the festival, Questlove should be commended for recruiting such a formidable list of interviewees for the documentary. He gets takes from Stevie Wonder, Chris Rock, Rev. Al Sharpton, Mavis Staples, Lin-Manuel and Luis Miranda, Sheila E. and former NY Times reporter Charlayne Hunter-Gault, who, along with orthopedic physician Hamilton Holmes, comprised the pair of African-American students who integrated the University of Georgia. Even better, several festival attendees detail their personal experiences.

Summer of Soul (Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is the best early contender for the Best Documentary Academy Award-winner next year. The film already won Grand Jury prize and the Audience Award at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Another music festival that took place that summer (a mere 100 miles away) got all of the notoriety and the first documentary to focus on it went on to become the fifth highest-grossing film of 1970. If there's any justice in the world, Summer of Soul won't fall into obscurity like the event on which it's based.

Great review, Ran, and you captured my sentiments exactly. Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love music and I don’t even know where to begin in terms of describing how I felt watching this ‘lost piece of art.’ And that's exactly what this is. First of all, it's a documentary about music so that's a plus to begin with. Also, I loved how the film balanced the actual footage of the performers and the event itself while allowing those who attended and/or performed to recount their feelings of actually being there in the moment without taking too much away from the music. A lot of times, docs will spend too much time focusing on people recounting their memories versus showing actual footage so you don’t really feel like you experience the moment yourself. I felt totally immersed in the feeling of the concert and it was an absolute honor watching the musicians/comedians/performers and speakers at this event.

As Ran mentioned in his review, some of the performers included Sly and the Family Stone, B.B. King, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Mahalia Jackson, The 5th Dimension, David Ruffin, who had just left The Temptations, and Stevie Wonder. I recall hearing so many things about the legend that is Mahalia Jackson while growing up and hearing her voice bellow out such beautiful gospel music. But this is the first time I had ever seen her perform and it was amazing. Then on top of that, to have a young Mavis Staples perform with her was just incredible. Sly and the Family Stone really drew the crowd together - literally, as people got so excited they were pushing forward and it was scary for a bit - but things settled down and everyone then just got into it. The lady backup singers/musicians in the band - let me just say were amazing! The one lady who would sing backup then jump back into playing the trumpet was just incredible. Also, Gladys Knight and the Pips were also spot on; but the Pips and the dancing they did was fantastic. Finally, I loved watching Billy Davis, Jr. and Marilyn McCoo perform as part of The Fifth Dimension. I especially loved Marilyn’s statement, ‘How can one put a color on sound?’

This festival had everything for everyone - gospel, R&B, blues, soul, rock, latin sounds, and more. Do yourself a favor and watch this wonderful documentary! It's amazing!

Coming to theaters and Hulu on July 2.

"The Serpent" Review

 

by John Zenoni

For those into true crime shows, I recommend the story about ruthless killer, Charles Sobhraj, aka ‘The Serpent’, in the Netflix drama by the same name. There are eight episodes in total and I will say the first one definitely didn't start off catching my attention right away, as I had hoped as it had a little bit of a slow start. But I decided I needed to give the series a shot and I'm glad I did.

The story is based on Sobhraj and his murder spree in the 70’s along what was known then as the ‘hippie trail.’ He would meet up with young couples and/or single people traveling through foreign countries with the intent of exploring new culture, having new experiences and living life just carefree and end up doping them with drugs and robbing them or, in some cases, poisoning them and worse. Along the way, he has help from his girlfriend, Marie-Andree and cohort/friend Ajay. Ajay would find travelers with money or jewels and would introduce them to Sobhraj.

Another couple, Herman and Angela Knippenberg, eventually gets involved in this story. Herman is a Dutch diplomat who hears about the disappearance of a young Dutch couple and as he digs more and more into the investigation he gets onto the trail of Sobhraj.

The overall story and episodes dealing with the case and investigation into disappearances of these people is definitely intriguing and keeps your attention. The flaws that I see with this drama are the going back-and-forth timeline as it does get annoying at times and there are some slow moments - perhaps some repetitiveness is more what it is - at times. But I have to say that the cast does a great job, including Tamar Rahim as Sobhraj. He definitely gives the character the creepiness factor that is needed.

Definitely an interesting story and execution of it.

#cinemafiends

#fullycinematic

#theserpent

#theserpentnetflix

The Karate Kid Universe, Ranked from Dojo Drop-Out to Master

 

What has now become the Karate Kid saga spans 37 years and includes five feature films, a streaming series and even a cartoon. Setting the animated show aside for now, we've ranked the live-action incarnations of the story, from worst to best.

6. The Next Karate Kid

The Next Karate Kid holds the distinction of being the only Karate Kid movie to lose money at the box office. It's also the first one not to include Daniel LaRusso or to be directed by John G. Avildsen. Their absences loom large over this dumpster juice. The filmmakers that stuck around unwisely remade the original movie with stand-ins for many of that film's characters and organizations, mistakenly believing that a remake would suffice as a sequel a mere 10 years after the initial entry's debut. Mr. Miyagi's new student, Julie Pierce, is the new Daniel (her father died as well); Michael Ironside's Colonel Paul Dugan is the new Kreese; Ned Randall is the new Johnny Lawrence; and the Alpha Elite is the new Cobra Kai. Imagine if a poorly-directed version of The Force Awakens had premiered in 1987 featuring Han Solo as the only returning original character.

Mr. Miyagi and Julie are interesting characters stuck in a terrible movie. If you haven't seen it, don't bother. It'll make forgetting its existence that much easier.

Here's a bit of cinema trivia: actor Walton Goggins appears in The Next Karate Kid (as a member of the Alpha Elite) in only his third feature film role.

5. The Karate Kid Part III

The third Karate Kid movie is more like a feature-length What If? story than a legitimate continuation of Daniel's relationship with Mr. Miyagi. If you're one of the handful of people who wondered what it would look like if Daniel had joined Cobra Kai then this movie gives you a nonsensical version of that alternate reality. It's the Rocky V of the Karate Kid saga: the film that shouldn't have been made and nearly ended the entire series. Miyagi, Kreese and Daniel are back but none of the other characters are interesting and the events that unfold aren't even believable.

Even the director, John G. Avildsen, described the film "a poor imitation of the first one" and went so far as to call it "a horrible movie". It shouldn't come as a surprise that it earned five Razzie nominations. 

In this case, the third time isn't charming at all and it's best to treat The Karate Kid Part III like it never even happened.

4. The Karate Kid (2010)

This 2010 remake actually has the wrong title. It should've been named The Kung Fu Kid, since that's the martial art that the movie focuses on. While still very much a fish-out-of-water story like the original movie, this one moves the action from LA to Beijing. Not only is Dre Parker a foreigner, he doesn't even speak the local language. Daniel LaRusso didn't know how easy he had it. Mirroring Daniel's story, Dre finds a friend in one of his schoolmates, Meiying, but that relationship gets him targeted by a local group of kung fu students.

It's fitting that the remake features an African-American lead, given that the sole Black Cobra Kai student, Jerry, in the original received the worst treatment out of the bunch by that movie (the first onscreen victim of Sensei Kreese's no mercy philosophy and the first Cobra to exit the tournament -- seemingly without even scoring a point).

3. Cobra Kai

Because we've all agreed to pretend that the third and fourth Karate Kid movies never happened, Cobra Kai catches up with Daniel LaRusso, Johnny Lawrence, John Kreese, Chozen Toguchi, Kumiko and Yuna for the first time since The Karate Kid Part II. Unfortunately, Mr. Miyagi and Sato passed away during the ensuing decades. But Daniel's mom, Lucille LaRusso is still alive and well.

Cobra Kai continues the story while redeeming it from damage done to the series' legacy by the sequels which shall not be named. The series also redeems several characters, including: Johnny, Chozen, Bobby and Jimmy. 

2. The Karate Kid Part II

The Karate Kid's first (and what should've been last) sequel picks up immediately where the first movie ended. In the wake of Daniel LaRusso's victory at the All Valley Karate Tournament, the runner-up. Johnnie Lawrence, is chastised and assaulted by his sensei, John Kreese, for placing second. Mr. Miyagi defeats him without breaking a sweat and all's well that ends well...temporarily. 

Six months later, Ali has not only wrecked Daniel's car, which was a birthday present from Miyagi, she's also dumped him for a college guy. Ali had no apparent character flaws in the original film but you know what they say: "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is." 

Anyway, a letter explaining that Mr. Miyagi's father is on his deathbed sends the former back to his native Okinawa and, needing a distraction from his girl troubles, Daniel tags along. Miyagi is subsequently reunited with his dad after 40 years; he's also reunited with a lost love, Yukie. Daniel, on the other hand, meets a new love, Kumiko, who happens to be Yukie's niece.

This time around, Mr. Miyagi's love triangle, not Daniel's, causes problems. You see, Miyagi fled Okinawa after declaring his love for Yukie. Unfortunately for him, she was already arranged to be married to Miyagi's best friend, Sato. The insult prompted Sato to challenge his former friend to mortal combat. And not wanting to kill his boy, Miyagi kicked rocks. 

SPOILER ALERT

Daniel gets into trouble as well. Sato's nephew, Chozen, pressures the All Valley champ into a deathmatch as well. Because he's the title character, he wins. But keep in mind, Daniel has roughly 10 months of karate training (two months at the YMCA, and eight with Miyagi) at this point. It's established that Sato has trained U.S. troops in the art of the empty hand for decades. He's also trained his nephew so well that the latter has become an instructor himself. Does it make sense that Chozen would (or could) lose this particular fight?

1. The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid tells the story of Daniel LaRusso, a Newark, New Jersey-native who very reluctantly moves to Los Angeles with his single mom (a widow) after she lands a new job. In no time at all, Daniel ends up in a love triangle with a rich girl and her ex-boyfriend, who just so happens to have a black belt in karate -- and so do the members of his crew. After a couple of humiliating incidents and two painful beatings, Daniel discovers that his building's maintenance man knows a few things about the way of the empty hand himself. So the victim finds a a new father-figure and a widower becomes a sensei.

The Karate Kid was conceived as "the new Rocky" with the hope that it would be at least half as successful. The similarities aren't hard to spot. Both Rocky Balboa and Daniel LaRusso are Italian-American; Rocky's from Philadelphia, Daniel hails from nearby Newark; Rocky's a boxer, Daniel's a martial-artist; each fighter is trained by an elderly expert after having already learned the basics elsewhere; both Rocky and Daniel are trained by unconventional means; they each fall in love during the film; they're both dumb as rocks; and both are poor. The two films even share the same director (John G. Avildsen). Fortunately, the "Great White Hope" storyline wasn't included in The Karate Kid. 

Rocky was the highest-grossing movie of 1976 at $55 million. Eight years later, The Karate Kid snagged over $100 million. Noriyuki "Pat" Morita even snagged a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his portrayal of Mr. Miyagi.

"Lisey's Story" is a Confusing Mess

 

by John Zenoni

If anyone has watched ‘Lisey’s Story’ on Apple TV+ and has any clue as to what it's about please let me know. It takes a lot for me to discontinue watching a series or movie and I've really tried with it but this show is absolutely the most confusing thing I've seen in a long time. I keep thinking, ‘How can this be with such a great cast and Stephen King’s involvement?’ But it's a mess in my opinion and I'm done with it. I think I made it to episode 4 or 5, I don’t know or care, and had to stop.

I love Stephen King but this is too much, even for me. The thing is, I just don’t like how it's being played out. It is what it is. It's getting on my nerves so I just have to move on. Life is too short, ha! I was looking forward to it before I started watching but am so disappointed.

#cinemafiends

#fullycinematic

#liseysstory

#appletvliseysstory

All 11 Fast and Furious Movies (Fast X), Ranked from Worst to Best

 

Believe it or not, the Fast & Furious saga is 11 movies in and 202 years strong. But the individual films were created by different writers, directors and, at times, different actors. So naturally, the flicks vary in quality and entertainment value. Some are definitely better than others and some aren't even worth a watch. We've ranked all 11, in order from the lowest of the low to the not-so-bad.   

11. Fast X

While the previous entry in the Furious saga, F9, was a step in the wrong direction, Fast X has plumbed new depths -- to audience's mass dismay.

10. F9

Following pandemic-related delays, the 10th installment (including spinoff Hobbs & Shaw) in the Fast and Furious Saga arrives 20 years and three days after the inaugural film, The Fast and the Furious. The Toretto extended family story has come a long way in the last couple of decades, from obvious Point Break ripoff to ushering tuner culture into the mainstream to a 10-part franchise with two billion-grossing movies under its belt.

While F9 picks up where the last mainline movie, The Fate of the Furious, left off, it also serves as main character Dominic Torreto's origin story via numerous flashbacks. As spoiled by the poster and the trailers, F9 introduces us to Dom's long-lost evil brother, Jakob, portrayed by yet another WWE alum (after Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson and Ronda Rousey), John Cena. We also finally see events referenced in the first movie; namely, Dom's father dying during a stockcar race and his son enacting the vengeance that lands him in Lompoc, effectively kicking off his criminal career. Most of the gang returns, including some surprising members, and, thanks again to trailer spoilers, one not-so-surprising member in the form of Han Lue. For those unfamiliar with the overarching story, Han was killed (or so it appeared) in a car explosion in the third film in the series, Tokyo Drift, way back in 2006. Anyway, just like in the 6th, 7th and 8th entries, the team is tasked with preventing a super-powerful tech device from falling into the wrong hands and their mission leads to various points across the globe -- with car-related hijinks along the way. 

As if things hadn't already been outrageous, it's really getting stupid now, what with the long-lost brother soap opera shenanigans and the second return of a dead character -- so far. In case you missed it, Dom's longtime girlfriend, Letty, was killed (seemingly) in an explosion in Fast & Furious back in 2009. She was revealed to have survived, afflicted with AMNESIA (!) and working with an international crime ring in Fast & Furious 6 (2013). I promise I'm not making this stuff up. Maybe Brixton Lore and Johnny Tran'll be resurrected in the next movie. Our own John Zenoni can't get over the fact that Furious 7 featured a car jumping from one skyscraper to another and if you feel the same way, you really won't be able to handle the Tom Cruise-defying stunts in this one. The days when a character jumping from one moving vehicle to another actually seemed like he was in danger are long gone.

The plausibility of street racers being assigned impossible missions by the CIA aside, my biggest issue with this saga is the ongoing tendency for the white villains to survive (like Cipher) , and in some cases, to even be given (unearned) redemption, complete with a spot on the team (Owen Shaw and Deckard Shaw). Meanwhile, most of the minority antagonists are either sentenced to a million years in prison (Arturo Braga) or killed off and never given a second thought (Mose Jakande, Kiet, D.K., Hernan Reyes, Fenix Calderon and the aforementioned Brixton Lore and Johnny Tran). That's a pretty foul track record for a series that's frequently praised for its ethnic diversity.

Anyway, F9 is pretty much guaranteed to become the highest-grossing movie of the year when it hits western theaters (it's already debuted in China, Russia and South Korea to the tune of $244 million) -- at least until the MCU returns to multiplexes. Never mind #JusticeforHan, skip this movie and the entire franchise unless and until the filmmakers provide justice for the minority antagonists.

9. Tokyo Drift

Because Tokyo Drift is so bad -- so bad that it nearly brought the entire series to a screeching halt -- various contrarians have attempted to defend its "merits". Honestly, the actual drifting looks exciting. But even that wasn't revisited in subsequent installments. Initially, Drift was a part of the Fast saga in name only (and a blink-and-you'll miss it cameo from Vin Diesel at the very end). And it should've stayed that way -- if it had to be made at all. It says a lot that none of the series regulars (Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez) reprised their roles for any significant amount of screen-time.

8. Hobbs & Shaw

The twin highlights of Hobbs & Shaw are its celebration of Samoan culture and the fact that it showcases Jason Statham's dry wit. Other than that, it's pretty unwatchable. There's a substantial -- and ridiculous -- sci-fi element that should've been left behind and it represents the kind of return to inane action movies that the Expendables movies mock. All of the actors involved (Idris Elba, the Rock, Jason Statham, Cliff Curtis, etc.) can do and deserve better.

7. Fast & Furious

Fast & Furious isn't bad so much as it's boring, which isn't good for a movie full of shootouts and car chases. F&F reintroduced Han Lue, Brian O'Conner, Mia Toretto and Letty Ortiz to the story, following Han's death in 2006's Tokyo Drift and Brian's absence since the second movie -- Mia and Letty were absent since the first.

Five years after escaping from prison, Dominic Toretto discovers that now FBI agent Brian recruited his girlfriend, Letty, for an undercover operation against Mexican drug kingpin Arturo Braga that got her killed. So Dom and Brian target Braga for vengeance.

You do get to see modified cars racing at top-speed through tunnels under the US/Mexico border but the highlight of the movie is the inclusion of a 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport. 

6. 2 Fast 2 Furious

Twelve years after Boyz N the Hood, John Singleton traded Doughboy's '63 Impala and Trey's '72 Cabriolet for Roman's '03 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder and Brian's '99 Skyline GT-R.

Appropriately enough, Singleton's contribution to the Fast and Furious series infused some Blackness into the wildly popular franchise. And new additions Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Chris "Ludacris" Bridges) have since become mainstays in the car-chase saga.

After allowing wanted criminal Dominic Toretto escape arrest, LAPD Officer Brian O'Conner is wanted for arrest himself. So he high-tails it outta Los Angeles and eventually makes his way to Miami, financing his cross-country road trip by entering illegal street races along the way. Upon arriving in Magic City,

Brian meets up with his childhood friend Roman Pearce, who's currently under house arrest after serving time in prison for possession of stolen cars -- for which he holds Brian responsible.

The now-fugitive Brian also reconnects with his old friend, Tej Parker, a mechanic who arranges underground street-racing events.

Following one such race, Brian is arrested and offered a chance to both avoid prison and resurrect his law enforcement career. The same FBI agent who oversaw Brian's undercover operation in LA proposes that he participate in a joint investigation with U.S. Customs. The target is drug kingpin Carter Verone, with whom undercover agent Monica Fuentes has ingratiated herself. Brian agrees to the deal, with the caveat that he be allowed to recruit someone whom he trusts. When the feds reluctantly agree,

Following an introduction by Agent Fuentes, Verone hires O'Conner and Pearce to transport drugs for him, contingent upon the duo proving their skills by retrieving a package from a car in an impound lot before another team of drivers. The pair win the competition, in spite of interference from Fuentes' Customs supervisor.

While Brian is able to gather intel on Verone's plans to flee the country, he frustrates Roman by developing feelings for Fuentes, compromising his focus.

When a corrupt Miami police detective attempts to have O'Conner and Pearce arrested, Tej arranges a diversion comprised of several import tuners, allowing the pair to evade the police and save Fuentes, who Verone had determined was a federal agent. After making their way onto the drug baron's yacht, where he's holding Fuentes, Brian and Roman rescue Monica and incapacitate Verone (Brian even shoots him).

5. The Fast and the Furious

The Fast and the Furious essentially takes Point Break -- a film about extreme athletes who rob banks -- and substitutes import tuners for surfboards (and semi-trailer trucks for banks). But in the same way that I'd rather watch Joker's burgeoning supervillain than The King of Comedy's delusional comic, I prefer street-racing to surfing. 

Undercover LAPD officer Brian O'Conner ingratiates himself into ex-convict Dominic Toretto's circle of friends as part of a federal investigation into a rash of truck hijackings. Brian, a former car thief (which we'll learn in the sequel), finds common ground with Dom by participating in the local illegal street racing scene, in which Dom is revered. Along the way, the cop falls for the criminal's sister, Mia, and eventually learns that Dom and his crew actually are behind the robberies. So he lets Dom go, throwing away his career in the process.

The success of The Fast and the Furious catapulted both street racing and, especially, import tuning into the mainstream, spawning copycat movies and several automotive-based reality shows, the most famous of which was MTV's Pimp My Ride.

The franchise would eventually involve globe-trotting, world domination schemes, the CIA and space travel but The Fast and the Furious is an LA crime story about very mortal people trying to get ahead.

4. Fast & Furious 6

Fast & Furious 6 upped the melodrama significantly. F6 reintroduced Letty to the series after she was murdered in Fast & Furious. It was revealed that the car explosion that "killed" her actually blew her away from the wreckage and down a hill, which left her with amnesia, soap opera-style. Her memory loss allows her to be recruited by international criminal Owen Shaw and she goes so far as to shoot ex-boyfriend Dom when they see each other again. Team member and former Mossad agent Gisele Yashar is killed off -- like Han and Letty before her. So maybe she'll be back.

The highlight of the movie is the high-speed tank chase on the freeway.

3. The Fate of the Furious

The Fate of the Furious wasn't the first Fast and Furious movie without Paul Walker, but it's the first to be produced after his death. Director F. Gary Gray, who helmed Straight Outta Compton, replaced Justin Lin, who moved on to shoot Star Trek Beyond. Furious 7 made over $1 billion at the box office and this follow-up did the same thing. Fate went even bigger in order to capitalize on the momentum and it paid off. 

The highlight of the movie is the sequence that cuts back-and-forth between the submarine chase and the Shaw brothers' mid-air jet infiltration.

2. Furious 7

Paul Walker was killed in an off-set auto accident before Furious 7 completed production and as a result, this is his final Fast movie. It's also the best-reviewed as well as the highest-grossing entry in the series. Interestingly enough, Walker's character, Brian O'Conner, takes more risks than he ever has in one of these flicks. 

The Toretto gang finds themselves hunted by Deckard Shaw (who starts by "killing" Han), brother of Owen Shaw, which necessitates a team-up with the CIA in order to both stop Shaw and to recover a tech device that's too powerful to fall into the wrong hands. 

The twin highlights are the airdrop-turned-car chase in the Caucasus Mountains and Dom and Brian's jump between Abu Dhabi skyscrapers in a Lykan HyperSport.

1. Fast Five

Fast Five introduced The Rock's Luke Hobbs to the series and got the entire saga back on track after a less-than-entertaining trilogy. Most Fast movies involve heists and the highlight of the movie -- and the entire franchise -- is the $100 million high-octane bank robbery in Rio de Janeiro.

Updated 7/12/23

"I Thought You Said This Would Work" Book Review

 

by John Zenoni

What a wonderful, charming novel! I really didn't expect to like it as much as I did because I feared the storyline was going to be predictable based on the overview but it really had unexpected twists and turns, which surprised me. I also loved all the primary characters as they were fun to get to know. Holly, the smart, logical thinking one with the stern demeanor (only to find out she does have a heart), Katie, the sweet, calm one that everyone loves (the reason for the road trip that takes place in the story), Summer, the kooky, crazy, celebrity who's just endearing and has an answer for everything and finally, Samantha, the real star of the novel, in my opinion, who's so good-hearted and has so many wonderful qualities.

The road trip is one that deals with many emotions - anger, truths, sadness, love and more. It's an engrossing time with these ladies and I can see this being made into a movie. The ending is just perfect in my opinion.

I definitely recommend this one and I wouldn't mind reading about them again!

#ithoughtyousaidthiswouldwork
#bookfiends
#thoughthiswouldworknovel
#anngarvinthoughtthiswouldwork

"The Girl with the Louding Voice" Book Review

 

by John Zenoni

What an absolutely stunning novel! It's ironic that I start my review with that statement because initially I wasn't too sure I was going to like it because of the writing style. The narrative is told by the main character, Adunni, a fourteen-year-old Nigerian girl who wants nothing more than an education. This, her mother has told her, is the only way to get a "louding voice"—the ability to speak for herself and decide her own future. Adunni tells her story in broken English, combined with her native Nigerian tongue. It's definitely something that you have to get used to. But I stuck with it and am so glad, as what a story she has to tell! I became concerned about her safety, was heartbroken over the living conditions she had to deal with and was absolutely furious after being introduced to what has to be one of the meanest characters in recent history, a woman known as Big Madam! This character makes Nurse Ratched from ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ look like Snow White! But even with all that Adunni goes through, she's amazing. I love this quote:

“My mama say education will give me a voice. I want more than just a voice, Ms. Tia. I want a louding voice, I say. I want to enter a room and people will hear me even before I open my mouth to be speaking. I want to live in this life and help many people so that when I grow old and die, I will still be living through the people I am helping.”

This defines a wonderful character and I'm so glad I was able to get to know her through this novel.

#bookfiends
#thegirlwiththeloudingvoice
#thegirlwiththeloudingvoicenovel
#adunnigirlwithloudingvoice

"Mary J. Blige's My Life" Early Review

 

by John Zenoni

What a great documentary I watched tonight on singer-songwriter, Mary J Blige, called ‘Mary J Blige’s My Life’, an intimate look into the creation of the album of the same name. I will admit up front that I have not followed her entire career but remember listening a lot to the song ‘Real Love’ from the album, ‘What’s the 411?’ and then I didn't catch up on her again until her ‘No More Drama’ album and that amazing song, ‘Family Affair.’ That's a brilliant song in itself. But apparently I skipped over the most revered and loved album she did, ‘My Life.’ Needless to say, after watching this doc I'm going to have to listen to that album.

This is such a well-made documentary and one of the things that stands out for me is how it flows. Meaning, you catch a clip of a live interview with Mary J. or her family members and then you see these animated clips acting out what Mary J is talking about or how she's feeling. The other, and probably obvious, good thing are the clips from her live shows. Not ever having seen her perform live, I still could feel the energy you get from her on stage and her audience input and interaction - and obvious love for her - is just amazing.

I also felt like I was really getting the inside details of her life during this documentary. She told you things about herself; her family; why she didn't smile as a teenager; what it was like living in the projects; her dreams; getting into the music industry with her at-home music audition; her connection with Puffy Combs and his impact on her career; and her relationship with K-Ci Hailey. But I have to say that what I admire about her most is her love of being a woman and wanting to help others. She's someone who just comes across as honest and real and willing to share her good and bad times but fighting to make it.

This documentary is a definite recommend!

Available for streaming on Amazon on June 25.

#cinemafiends

#fullycinematic

#maryjbligemylife

#mylifemaryjblige

#amazonprimemaryjblige

"The Devil Below" Movie Review

 

by John Zenoni

While not as big a horror fan as I used to be, I still decided to give one of the latest entries on Netflix a try and have to say it definitely gave me a few jolts. ‘The Devil Below’ has a pretty good storyline and some decent acting so overall I would say it's a pretty good scare flick. It's not great by any stretch of the imagination but it kept my interest. The story is about a group of geologists/scientists who are led by a travel guide to try and find a town that had a coal mine that was abandoned due to a mysterious fire, for which no one has an explanation. In the beginning of the film, we see Will Patton and his son, both coal miners, leaving when something happens and a creature of some sort pulls the son down into the hole. Needless to say we see Will Patton show up later.

The biggest thing about this film that bothered me is that all I could think about was ‘The Descent’, which is a similar but much, much better film. This film tries to play off of that one in my opinion and there's just no comparison. If you're looking for a great film about a cave, hunters and monsters, save your time and energy on ‘The Descent.’

#cinemafiends
#fullycinematic
#thedevilbelow
#thedevilbelownetflix

The 12 Best Time Travel Movies of All....You Know

Whether someone travels through time, reverses time or gets stuck in a time-loop, stories about temporal shenanigans can provide loads of thought-provoking cinematic entertainment. But when mishandled these types of stories can be pretty lame (A Wrinkle in Time, Bill & Ted Face the Music, The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Terminator: Dark Fate, Terminator: Genisys, Terminator: Rise of the Machines). It takes more than just showing a guy meeting his great-grandkids (or ancient ancestors) to make a great time flick. Here are the 12 best:

12. Predestination

I can't tell you much about Predestination without spoiling some narrative treats. What I can say is that Ethan Hawke's protagonist is basically a time cop. But don't confuse this movie with the one from the 90s starring Van Damme. Just watch it.

11. Two Distant Strangers

In Groundhog Day, reliving the same 24 hours became so torturous for Phil Connors that he became suicidal. And Phil was a white guy in small-town Pennsylvania. Imagine being trapped in the same day as a Black man in the Big Apple encountering a racist NYPD officer over and over again. That's Carter James' existence in Two Distant Strangers. And like Phil, dying only serves to reset the clock. 

10. The Flash

This loose adaptation of DC Comics' Flashpoint storyline follows Barry Allen as he travels to the past in order to prevent his mother's murder, which would also prevent his father's wrongful criminal prosecution for said murder. Unfortunately, his interference with the space/time continuum results in several unforeseen consequences; the worst of which is a successful alien invasion of Earth.

9. Tenet

This is the first Christopher Nolan movie on this list and boy does that guy like playing around with time. Tenet revolves around a CIA operative tasked with preventing global destruction by way of reversed entropy. He learns that a future scientist will develop a way to invert entropy (which allows objects and people to move backward through time) and realized the catastrophic potential of this technology a little too late. Some of the tech has made its way into the wrong hands and they won't be satisfied until they locate her hidden formula.

8. Interstellar

Because the planet is losing its ability to sustain plant life, by 2067 mankind needs to find a new home -- like yesterday. So ace pilot Joseph Cooper leaves his 15-year-old son, 10-year-old daughter, father-in-law and everybody else he knows in order to join an expedition to find a new planet. This journey necessitates the use of wormholes, which have the effect of distorting time. By the time Coop sees his daughter again, she's a senior citizen and he appears to be the same age that he was when he left.

7. The Terminator

The Terminator is aptly named. Though you root for them, none of the film's human characters manage to even come close to stealing the spotlight away from the hulking cyborg in its posters.

In the year 2029, mankind is at war with an army of robots under the command of a self aware  artificially intelligent defense network called Skynet that initiated a nuclear holocaust in an attempt to eradicate humanity. Concluding that the human resistance is on the verge of defeating the machines, Skynet uses time travel technology to send one its T-800 Model 101 cyborgs to 1984 to assassinate unassuming waitress Sarah Connor. As it turns out, Sarah is due to conceive John Connor, who will lead the human resistance, in the next few days. Discovering the plot, John sends one of his soldiers back in time as well in the hopes of preventing the murder.

Before the soldier, Kyle Reese, arrives, the cyborg, which appears to be a competitive bodybuilder due to a layer of flesh over its metallic endoskeleton, racks up quite a body-count. The robot kills thugs for their clothing, dusts off a gun store salesman for weapons and systematically goes through the Los Angeles phone book bumping off residents who happen to be named Sarah Connor.

After Reese locates Sarah in time to rescue her from the literal killing machine, he's arrested and Sarah's taken along to the police station in order to give a statement. Undeterred by its target's now seemingly impenetrable level of security, the Terminator mows through 17 police officers and her mom in another attempt to take her out.

Because the film has one of the slickest twists in sci-fi movie history, I won't spoil the ending or give any more details.

6. The Snyder Cut

The Snyder Cut features DC's mightiest heroes banding together to prevent Apokoliptan general Steppenwolf's alien invasion of the Earth. But the experienced conqueror knows his business and succeeds in turning Kal-El, Victor Stone, Arthur Curry and Diana to ash with his three mother boxes. End of story? Nope. Barry Allen is fast enough to wind the clock back just by running, which gives the heroes one more bite at the apple.  

5. The Edge of Tomorrow

I gotta confess...when I saw the commercial for this movie I figured I'd skip it. I figured it would just be Tom Cruise going through the motions in a dumb, big-budget, glossy attempt to keep up with all the superhero flicks. I was so wrong I ended up going to see it twice. Tom Cruise's third alien invasion movie (and the only one without an assist from Morgan Freeman) is also his best. Edge of Tomorrow surpasses both 2005's critically-embraced (but audience-panned) War of the Worlds and 2013's excellent Oblivion. While Worlds mainly focused on the civilian flight from the aliens and Oblivion concerned itself with the aftermath of the invasion, Edge is all about the military's role during the war against the invaders. This film also provides much more information about, and glimpses of, the off-worlders. 

Some time in 2015, extra-terrestrials, nicknamed Mimics, show up and ruthlessly slaughter their way from Germany to the rest of Europe (Sound familiar?). The hive-like organization of the aliens' society makes them more than a match for Earthlings. Luckily, former Major and now Private William Cage develops a neurological link with the Mimics that allows him to "see" what they're planning.

The heavy and detailed emphasis on the military makes it perhaps the best futuristic war movie of all time (The Empire Strikes Back is set "long, long ago", FYI). The film contains an amusing nod to another memorable sci-fi movie featuring the military as well. I'm not gonna spoil it by telling you which one. There is a significant amount of attention paid to combat training which is not customary at all for sci-fi war films. In this aspect, Edge is rivaled only by Starship Troopers and Edge is a far superior movie. Make no mistake, it is indeed a war movie, complete with Marine culture, scuffed up, tangible-looking high-tech weaponry and it has what could be described as the futuristic version of the opening of Saving Private Ryan. The most distinctive pieces of equipment featured in the film are the various exoskeleton battle suits utilized by the infantry in combat. Incidentally, such suits may not be science fiction for long as real life prototypes for similar types of apparatuses have been recorded as producing such results as lifting more than 200 lbs for the person donning it and walking at least one mile on a full charge.

The performances far exceed expectations as both recognizable faces and otherwise among the cast all manage to wholly disappear into their respective roles. Cruise in particular eschews his usual cocky, sometimes selfless, hotshot onscreen persona in favor of the complete opposite in order to render the cowardly and selfish Major William Cage. Displaying far more talent than is expected in a sci-fi action flick, Cruise really does seem like he's scared and desperate to save his own skin when everything hits the fan. This isn't just "Tom Cruise in a battle suit". He's doing some acting here. Edge of Tomorrow is adapted from a 2004 Japanese novel entitled, "All You Need is Kill", which itself was partly inspired by the author's experience playing video games.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, the fact that it's on this list already spoils the fact that time travel is involved. But that's as far as I'll go with the spoilers.

4. The Tomorrow War

 

By the year 2023, Iraq War veteran and family man Dan Forester has seemingly made a successful transition back into civilian life. And then he's drafted for military service in a global effort to repel alien invaders. However, because the invasion doesn't take place until 2051, Forester and his fellow draftees are sent to the front lines via a wormhole. Why use fighters from the past? Because the war has ground the human population down to less than 500,000. And the situation is so dire that conscripts are given about seven days (if they're lucky) of basic training before deployment. The war machine is in desperate need of bodies.

3. Back to the Future

High school student Marty McFly finds himself having to jumpstart his own origin story after making a speedy getaway in a pimped-out DeLorean. The car, which belongs to his friend -- and local nutty professor -- Emmett Brown. Doc Brown had stolen plutonium from Libyan extremists for use in the DeLorean. Unfortunately for Doc, the terrorists track him to the parking lot of the Twin Pines mall in their town, Hill Valley, California. Doc Brown is shot to death and Marty naturally hops in the fast car in order to escape the same fate. Unbeknownst to Marty, the vehicle is set for November 5, 1955 and he guns it to 88 mph, which is the speed it must achieve in order to travel through time. Unfortunately, the trip uses the last of the plutonium (the necessary ingredient for temporal displacement) and that particular radioactive element isn't exactly readily available in the 1950s.

Marty winds up meeting a younger version of Doc as well as both of his parents. To his dismay, he discovers that getting his parents together (so that he can eventually be born) will be easier said than done -- especially since his future mom, Lorraine, has a crush on him. 

My only complaint about Back to the Future is the suggestion that Marty inadvertently invented rock 'n roll.

2. Star Trek

A decade after the release of the first Star Wars prequel, The Phantom Menace, Star Trek followed suit with infinitely more successful results. Captain Kirk and the gang came back from the dead at a great time seeing as how Star Wars, Star Trek's only real competition in the space epic game, had supposedly wrapped up for good four years earlier. The new look Trek benefited from an infusion of Star Wars-esque action, which immediately earned it the title of the absolute best of the then 11 Star Trek movies (and better than half of the then six Star Wars movies). Director J.J. Abrams would resurrect Star Wars as well six years later.

This origin story goes back further than any other Trek movie -- to the
birth of James T. Kirk. Years later, while Kirk rebels against his
stepfather, stealing his vintage 1965 Corvette Stingray for a joyride that
ends with him in police custody and the car at the bottom of a gorge, a
young Spock stands up to racist bullies on the planet Vulcan. The two are
set on a collision course when Kirk is challenged to live up to his dead
father's legacy by joining Starfleet, while Spock declines an invitation to
attend the Vulcan Science Academy in favor of enlisting in the famed
spacefaring fleet himself. When they finally meet it does not go well. After Spock accuses Kirk of cheating, the latter is ordered to appear at a disciplinary hearing. However, a distress call from Vulcan interrupts the proceedings and the unavailability of the fleet necessitates the ordering of Kirk's fellow cadets into action in order to aid in the rescue of the planet's inhabitants from a catastrophic storm.

Having grown up hearing his mother's first-hand account of the attack that cost his father's life, Kirk recognizes the atmospheric disturbance for what it is: a Romulan assault. After conning his way onto Starfleet's newest and most advanced ship, the USS Enterprise, with the help of his friend, medical officer Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, Kirk relays his suspicions to the vessel's commander. And upon their arrival at Vulcan, the Enterprise crew witnesses a Romulan mining ship, the Narada, drilling into the planet's core. Though the previous incident occurred 20 years earlier, the Narada is indeed the same vessel that attacked Kirk's father's ship, the USS Kelvin. In an attempt to negotiate peace, Captain Pike surrenders to the Narada's commander, Captain Nero, leaving the Enterprise under Spock's command and naming Kirk the first officer. Though Kirk and helmsman Hikaru Sulu head down to the drilling platform in order to thwart Nero's plan to create a black hole at Vulcan's center by depositing red matter in the global core, they're ultimately too late and the planet implodes. Spock, who'd beamed down to the surface, is unable to save his mother, though his father and the Vulcan high council survive.

Back aboard the Enterprise, Kirk and Spock clash, resulting in the former's being marooned on a desolate Starfleet outpost, where he meets an older Spock from 129 years in the future who involuntarily traveled to the past along with the crew of the Narada via a black hole (their arrival in the past, on the day of Kirk's birth, resulted in the destruction of George Kirk's ship). Kirk also encounters disgraced Starfleet engineer Montgomery Scott, who manages to get them back aboard the Enterprise. After provoking the younger Spock into a violent rage, Kirk becomes the ship's acting captain. The duo subsequently travels to the Narada to both rescue Captain Pike and to prevent Nero from destroying Earth in the same manner that he obliterated Vulcan.

1. Infinity War

The MCU seems to have fallen in love with time travel. The first of these movies to explicitly feature temporal shenanigans was Doctor Strange. And of course, Endgame gave us the infamous "time-heist". Now, Loki is being prosecuted for his crimes against the timeline in his self-titled streaming series. But the best Marvel movie to tamper with the normal flow of time is Infinity War. 

During the Battle of Wakanda, galactic warlord Thanos used one of the famed Infinity Gems (the Time Stone) to obtain another (the Mind Stone). Unfortunately for the Vision, said stone was implanted in his forehead at the time. While the Avengers knew that Visions noggin wasn't safe -- because Corvus Glaive had attempted to extract the headpiece earlier -- and Wanda Maximoff had reluctantly shattered it, killing the android that she loved in the process, Thanos reversed time so that he could personally rip the intact stone from Vision's head.

Updated 7/1/21

and 8/27/23