Fast Five - Thoughts

After 4 Fast & Furious movies, it’s safe to say that anyone who loves fast cars and action will love the franchise. While some have complained over the years of lackluster storylines, general audiences worldwide have enjoyed everything the franchise has thrown at them so far. Fast Five premiered in Brazil on April 15th, 2011, and subsequently released in theatres worldwide. Starting-off exactly where the 4th movie ended, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are again on the run from the law. While in hiding in Rio, a seemingly simple job goes wrong, and they need to get back into action to thwart a drug lord named Reyes, while evading federal agent and tracker played by Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock).


Being a fan of the franchise and having seen the trailer, I was pretty sure that I was gonna enjoy Fast Five. To that end, Fast Five not only managed to impress, but to be fair took it up a few notches and outshined the 4th installment from 2009. In true Fast & Furious fashion, there was action and impressive car stunt sequences from the get go. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and the rest of the team kept things entertaining, and fun. Though there were a few slower story/drama moments, never was there a dull moment. The Rock proved to be a very welcome addition to the plot; his clash with Vin Diesel’s character Dominic Toretto being iconic. In Fast Five there was very little focus on street racing, with the plot and its serious elements being at the core. The action sequences were hard hitting and intense, and enjoyed with the right theatre surround sound setup, it was amazing. While the overall narrative was in keeping with the usual design of Fast & Furious plots, it didn’t come across as boring or repetitive. If you love fast cars and action (aka the Fast & Furious franchise), you’ll probably love Fast Five. Only avoid it if action movies are totally not your thing.

While Paul Walker has been in more Fast & Furious movies than Vin Diesel, his character Brian O'Conner is at best an evolved sidekick of Dominic Toretto. Vin Diesel is perfectly at home in his anti-hero role as Dominic Toretto. Owing to his larger than life presence, it’s not surprising that Paul Walker is easily overshadowed. For the first time there is a seemingly challenging adversary in Luke Hobbs played by Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock). The Rock performs admirably as the massive Hobbs. His relentless nature added to his solid brick wall sorta image makes him a perfect fit in Fast Five. Jordana Brewster plays Mia Toretto, who is a little less hardcore in this installment. With the exception of the first few minutes wherein she gets her hands dirty, she mostly acts as a coordinator/control station. This works well in keeping with the plot.

Owing to various circumstances I never got to see this movie in the theatre, though I’d originally planned to. So I patiently waited for the original DVD to be released, and then sampled it. As always it was a Region 1 US DVD, which has just under 8 GB of data including extras and trailers. Video was clear and favored warm tones; having a dark yellowish color to it. Due to this, the color vibrancy of primary colors were subdued. Sound was presented by means of a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack and was amazing. The cars roared as they passed by, and there were resonating thuds during the high impact action sequences. Surround sound stage usage was ample, and the positional audio added to the realism of Fast Five. Anyone who either succumbed to watching a poor DivX rip, or watched this movie with a stereo soundtrack on an old school TV or portable media device, certainly missed out on the best parts of Fast Five.

My Recommendation: Watch It + (Turning on the cool in Rio de Janeiro)

Modern Family: Season 1 - Thoughts

Modern Family is one of those shows I hadn’t heard of up until recently when a friend brought it to my attention. Over time, and repeated suggestions from my friend to check it out, I finally decided to. From what I was told it looked to be a drama comedy; my limited reading online indicated that the story revolved around 3 couples, 1 being gay, 1 being straight with 3 children, and 1 senior remarried man and his hot younger Latino wife.


Frankly, it’s hard to make a fresh start and impress when it comes to television entertainment; especially with the barrage of new entrants, most of them being lackluster, and the many impressive long running shows. To make matters worse, details on Modern Family seemed sketchy and not overly compelling. To be fair I had hardly any expectations going into it. Just a mere 1 episode later, my opinion was greatly altered. Not only was the show entertaining and funny, but it wasn’t overly casual and superficial like several other sitcoms. It had a gripping sense to it that made me want to watch every single episode in the season. All the characters added something to the mix, and though some were stereotypes, it all worked together wonderfully. The constant family values theme looming atop was pleasant, and put everything in a very positive light. As simple and straight forward as Modern Family seems, I will go out on a limb and say it’s different, as it stands out and does come across as a unique show. Unless drama and comedy is something of a bore, it’s hard not to appreciate Modern Family and its brilliant easy nature.

One of the big pros for me was Julie Bowen’s addition to the cast of Modern Family. Episode 1 of season 1 opened with a scene with Ms. Bowen, and aided in the shows instant appeal. In Modern Family she plays Claire Dunphy, bringing to her role the upbeat vivacity that was noticeable, only in a different form in her role in Seasons 3 and 4 of Boston Legal. Ty Burrell plays Phil Dunphy, her husband and father of 3 kids. He plays the stereotype “I’m the coolest dad” sorts, in a lame and laughable fashion that adds immense comedy to the show. His character in many ways is similar to that of Michael Scott from The Office. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet play the characters of Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron Tucker, who are introduced as the gay couple who have just adopted a baby. They manage to portray the gay couple dynamic in a humorous and affirmative light, giving a very constructive outlook to modern families today. They both have their feminine traits, while one is overly dramatic and the other is a somewhat stuck-up sissy. The last couple is Jay Pritchett and Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, played by Ed O'Neill and Sofia Vergara. Jay is the older rich well settled man, with a comfortable life. He is a hardcore American at heart, and that makes things interesting, as his wife Gloria is an attractive younger lady of Hispanic descent. What makes Modern Family most enjoyable is how all these differences come together and form the tight family unit. Overall, Modern Family succeeds thanks to its efficient and optimistic exploitation of stereotypes.

The content I was sampling was a regular DivX of standard DVD/TV rip quality. As with all lossy content, there was mild pixilation and rich color vibrancy was lost. That said, picture was acceptable, and color tones seemed regular and unmodified in post production. Sound was presented by means of a 2.0 stereo mp3 soundtrack. Since ambience was minimal and the bulk of the sound was dialog, it was acceptable even without a dedicated Center channel for voice.

My Recommendation: Watch It + (Family values at its entertaining best)

Shrek 4D (The Universal Studios Experience) - Thoughts

I’ve watched the first two Shrek movies from 2001 and 2004, though I haven’t seen the more recent 3rd and 4th installments. While it was fun and I quite enjoyed them, with so many new movies vying for limited free time, the Shrek movies have taken a back seat over the years. In Shrek 4D, audiences are treated to content and presentation that is custom and specific to Universal Studios theme parks. The story continues where the first movie ended, and is independent of the following movies with no bearing on them. Lord Farquaad who was successfully defeated makes a return as a ghost, and tries to capture Princess Fiona yet again. Shrek along with the witty Donkey are left with the task of saving Fiona and foiling Farquaad’s plans.


Being a special attraction at a theme park the runtime of the movie was quite short. The initial 10 minute introduction summarized the first Shrek movie from 2001. The presentation was a combination of video, animatronics, and voice acting. The main feature was a 15 to 20 minutes 4D presentation on the big screen. In addition to having to wear the 3D glasses, the 4th dimension of realism is brought about by mean of audience interactive effects such as water sprays, wobbling seats, and various such tactile effects. The plot is built keeping in mind the 4th dimension, and is short, funny, and crisp. Getting sprayed when Donkey sneezes and feeling creepy crawlies in the scene with spiders, creates for an immersive entertainment experience second to none. Thanks to the intro provided and the easy nature of the Shrek franchise, newcomers will not have a problem getting sucked into the presentation. Anyone who loves Shrek and enjoys a good laugh will love Shrek 4D. Add to that the novelty of the 4D experience and what you have is a sure winner.

Being an expansion of the original Shrek, the key characters of Shrek 4D are Shrek, Donkey, Lord Farquaad, Princess Fiona and Thelonious (Lord Farquaad’s henchman). Voice acting is provided by the same cast of the original Shrek movie, and I was able to quickly relate to the characters. While Mike Myers and the rest of the cast are enjoyable, the star of Shrek is and has always been Eddie Murphy who provides the voice of Donkey. Donkey’s wit alone has been the USP of the Shrek franchise for me.

Shrek 4D is unique to the Universal Studios theme parks and cannot be viewed on DVD. The video is similar to most 3D presentations that require 3D glasses; video is not very sharp and clear, but this is needed for the 3D effect. Colors tend to be a little darker with more shadows than normal. Sound was pretty impressive, with the surround stage being used very actively. The 4th dimension of realism was very impressive, and served the comedic theme of Shrek well. With no other reference point it’s hard to make a comparison, but it’s safe to say that it was a solid well rounded experience.

My Recommendation: Watch It + (A one of a kind Shrek experience)

Hall Pass - Thoughts

My first memory of Hall Pass was from my routine HD trailer review; but subsequently I recall plenty of commercials on the radio. Both the HD trailer as well as the radio commercials seemed super funny, and thus Hall Pass came to be on my ‘to watch’ list. Starring Owen Wilson as the married man who is given a one week Hall Pass, which is a one week ticket from having to deal with the responsibilities that come with being married; he gets the opportunity to experience life as a bachelor again.


First off, this movie like several others suffers from the trailer misrepresenting it. The trailer makes it seem like a hilarious thrill ride, more along the lines of The Hangover, while in reality the movie is a lot more tame. That said, the movie is by no means bad; go into it with the right expectations and you’ll find it quite enjoyable. Aside from the obvious comedy theme, there is a surprisingly hefty importance given to the romantic couple relationship element. Values and wants in everyday scenarios are tested and rediscovered. There are several slower moments, and pace is mostly calm. The plot is largely predictable and stereotype, but there are a few bits which are unexpected and pleasant. While the trailer makes it seem like a ‘fun for the boys’ sorta movie, female audiences will be able to relate to it as well, owing to the strong romantic sentiment. If you’re looking to get drunk with the boys and watch an animated comedy flick, Hall Pass isn’t the best suited, but on most other counts you’ll find it to be entertaining and fun.

Owen Wilson plays Rick, the lead character in Hall Pass. Expect his performance to be in keeping with similar performances from his past romantic comedy efforts. It’s safe to say that his roles are more or less repetitive. Thankfully, though repetitive it’s pretty decent and entertaining. Jenna Fischer (of The Office US fame) plays his wife Maggie. While her contribution to the comedy is limited, she brings in the serious binding aspects of a relationship to the movie. Her performance was pretty impressive, and it’s nice to see her get into mainstream movies. Jason Sudeikis plays Fred, Rick’s wingman. His character is pretty extreme and crazy, and brings the maximum humor to the table, in a totally laughable lame fashion. Finally, Christina Applegate plays Grace, Fred’s wife and Maggie’s friend. She comes across as a little more assertive and edgy as compared to Maggie’s character. It’s also possibly the first time I’m seeing her in a slightly older role, having seen her mostly in young single roles. All 4 characters and performances do justice to the script and make the cumulative blend work together very well.

I was watching Hall Pass as part of in-flight entertainment while flying with Jet Airways. The video was a lossy DivX presented on an average quality LCD screen with a limited viewing angle. Color vibrancy was poor as with most DivX, but picture remained acceptably clear. I’d expect for the DVD to be pretty decent, and colors to be favoring warm. Sound was presented by means of a 2.0 stereo soundtrack. While it served the purpose, it left a lot to be desired for the discerning audiophile. Being a recent release it’s safe to assume that both video and audio should be pretty good. Lastly, it seemed as if certain sections of the movie were edited/chopped, in keeping with restrictive mass audience viewing compliance norms. Owing to this I’d expect that my viewing was devoid of any moderately risqué content

My Recommendation: Watch It (A comedy at heart that leans towards the romantic side)