Hobbs & Shaw - This Movie Is Insane(ly) Fun

I continue to be amazed by the Fast & Furious franchise (Universe?), and that a movie about catching thieves who stole DVD players (remember those?) would spawn 7 direct sequels (with two more on the way) and its first spin-off in Hobbs & Shaw.  If you go back to the first few films, they definitely had a straight to DVD vibe about them.  They were nothing special and the producers could have easily ended the franchise after the forgettable Tokyo Drift. However, I'm glad they didn't, because we never would have been introduced to The Rock's best on-screen character, Luke Hobbs.  He was the Viagra that the F&F franchise needed and transformed the series from run-of-the-mill racing movies to James Bond in cars.  Sadly, like most great bands, these actors couldn't quite last.  The Rock and Vin Diesel essentially refused to be on set together in the 8th installment, and it doesn't look likely that they'll ever collaborate in a F&F film again.  Hey, if Axl & Slash can play in Guns N' Roses again, anything is possible.  Until that day, we'll probably get a slew of spin-offs to keep the characters active... and I'm OK with that.

Hobbs & Shaw is a movie that feels like an action film from a forgotten era.  It's a 90s-style thrill ride from start to finish, and a definite escape from real world madness.  To describe the plot of this film would probably be an insult to the word, "plot."  It essentially boils down to the following: Bad guy does bad guys stuff, and two former foes team up to stop him.

I've long been a fan of The Rock, the wrestler, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, the actor.  He has a natural charisma that not many people have.  He's a larger than life screen presence, both in the ring and on the silver screen.  My one quibble with him is that he needs to learn to say "no" to every role thrown at him.  For every Fast & Furious success, there's a Rampage or Skyscraper (legitimately one of the worst movies I've ever seen) that tanks.  Just because someone offers you something, doesn't mean you have to take it.  I think he needs to be more selective with the roles he chooses going forward.

On the other hand, Jason Statham has more misses than hits.  He works best when he has someone to play off of, and Hobbs is the perfect Yin to Shaw's Yang.  They spend the entire movie trading insults and somehow it never got old. 

Another bright spot to come out of this is that Idris Elba gets to shine as the villain.  He's a genetically modified human (you read that correctly) hellbent on taking over the world.  Elba is delightfully devious and gets plenty of room to shine here.

The final act is bat shit crazy (in the best way possible) and you have to see it to believe it.  There's a fight with cars, helicopters and tribal Samoan weapons.  I can't really describe the madness since it makes my brain hurt, but you can kind of get my point. 

Hobbs & Shaw is an insanely good time at the movies.  Stay tuned for a couple surprise cameos and, I believe, five post-credit scenes. 

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Is The Least "Tarantino" Tarantino Movie - And That's A Good Thing!

Quentin Tarantino is, without a doubt, one of my favorite directors of all-time.  He's also a master of subverting expectations.  Think of Death Proof and the mid-movie twist, or how Kill Bill 2 was essentially a completely different movie than the first volume.  He's always keeping his audience guessing, and I love that about him.

I understand that he's a love it or leave it personality to most people, but I'm fully on board the "love it" train.  My one gripe about his filmography is that most, if not all, of his films can be considered homages to certain genres and film stars.  From war movies to kung-fu to westerns, his most recent films have been essentially "Tarantino does _____."  For the longest time (since Jackie Brown, really), I've wanted Quentin Tarantino to do an original, character driven story.  After watching his latest film, the sun-soaked and trippy, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, I can share that my hopes have been rewarded.  Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is Tarantino's least flashy, more grounded film in years.  It's a film that catches you in a dream and made me want to watch it again immediately.

Once Upon A Time is essentially a few days in the life of Rick Dalton (a never funnier Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (a movie-stealing Brad Pitt), who are a washed-up actor and his forgotten stunt man.  The movie isn't really "about" anything, but rather a series of vignettes that culminate with a fateful night in the annals of Hollywood history.  It's a sublime piece of historical fiction, but a welcomed surprise for a movie buff wannabe like myself.

Your love for this film will largely boil down to your ability to sit through large chunks of "inside baseball" dialogue and scenes about the inner-workings of late 60's Hollywood.  Of course, Tarantino does his best with dialogue and scene building to entice even the most hardcore Tarantino cynics.  Both Dalton and Booth are some of the more three-dimensional leading characters that Tarantino's put together on film.  Dalton's insecurities and realizations about becoming washed-up seem to mimic Tarantino's own brush with film mortality (he's on the ninth of a planned 10 film career).  DiCaprio plays him with such gusto and with little self-awareness as to how foolish he is that it might just be my favorite performance of his illustrious career.  And Pitt has never been cooler on-screen (and that's saying a lot!).

A lot of fuss has been made about the lack of dialogue for Margot Robbie's Sharon Tate, but I think it's been unfounded.  Robbie has the unique inability to completely set a mood with a smile, and her performance here is no different.  The shadow of the Manson family hovers over this entire movie, but it doesn't detract from anything.  They're creepy by being minimally invasive, and I think Tate's innocence is the perfect antibody for them.

I'm not saying Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is a perfect film.  I'm not even quite sure where to rank it in Tarantino's filmography.  It's a film that requires repeated views to peel back all the layers.  It's definitely not for everyone and it's length (Tarantino's really struggled with length since the death of his longtime editor, Sally Menke) will surely turn people off.  In fact, I struggled with its pacing in the first act until I finally succumbed to its mood.  Just sit back and enjoy the ride, because it's a gorgeous one, and one that will only grow in stature as the years go by.  I'm not even ready to give it a star rating, but if someone offered me a ticket to go see it again today, I would jump on that offer in a minute.