My 'heavily edited' Fast & Furious Review...

I don't often agree with how my managing editor edits my works, but what else can I do? More often than not, my work gets butchered down to make it more 'web-friendly' by keeping things short and sweet.

That's bullshit, I say.

If a reader finds your work interesting, they'll still read it irregardless of its length. I know I do.

And so, just in case you're interested to read my full, unsanitized review, here it is.

*****

Whoever said that movie sequels aren’t as good the original hasn’t seen Fast & Furious, the latest installment to The Fast & The Furious movie franchise.

Fast & Furious is an interquel that’s set between 2 Fast 2 Furious and The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift so it picks up right after Brian O’ Connor (Paul Walker) gets back into the good graces of the FBI after catching a South American drug lord while Dominic “Dom” Toretto (Vin Diesel) is still on the run from the authorities - both local and foreign - while he’s still at it with Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez), this time hijacking fuel tanks in the Dominican Republic. But with the authorities getting hot on his trail, Dom decides it’s better if he leaves Letty for her own good since, in his own words, “it’s me they want.”

Soon after that, Dom gets the word from his sister, Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster), that Letty was killed in America, making him take the risk of crossing the border to find out who was responsible. Using his rage and his bulging biceps, Dom finds out that Letty was working as a drug courier for Arturo Braga, a drug lord who uses street racers to smuggle heroin across the US-Mexican border. Eventually, Dom bumps into O’ Connor who, as an FBI agent, is also on the trail of Braga as they both try to secure a spot on Braga’s smuggling ring by going through a street race with other racers through Braga’s right-hand man, Ramon Campos. In the process, Dom also finds out that Letty was killed by a member of Braga’s smuggling ring, someone who drives a nitromethane-boosted ’72 Ford Grand Torino, and that she went back to America and worked undercover with O’ Connor after striking a deal that, if they caught Braga, Dom’s name would be cleared of all charges against him.

The tagline ‘New Model, Original Parts’ fits the movie to a tee since it’s a brand new movie with the original cast that started the ball rolling on the franchise. That’s what also makes the movie very watchable because, if you’re familiar with the franchise, it’s akin to watching old friends coming together again. There’s the familiarity with each other that makes it worth watching since each character’s background story has been fleshed out in the previous installments; there’s no more of the getting-to-know-you feeling. 

As for the cars, Fast & Furious is more about American Muscle than Japanese Tech since, compared to the other movies in the franchise, this installment has more American muscle cars. Besides Dom’s resurrected Dodge Charger from the first movie, there’s also his Chevy Chevelle (which appears in Tokyo Drift, I think), the aforementioned Grand Torino, and the Buick Grand National GNX in the movie’s opening scene. Still, as a nod to the rice racers that the first movie was all about, among the many Japanese cars in the movie, what stands out are Nissan’s legendary R34 Skyline GT-R and a current-model Subaru Impreza WRX STI that gets totaled in the end, both of which served as O’Connor’s rides in the movie. And of course, not to be forgotten too, are European sports cars like a souped-up BMW M5, a Ford RS200 (that went head-to-head with a Toyota Corolla AE86!) and a Porsche Turbo.

Although the old characters were good to see being back to their old selves, the new ones were a hit-and-miss affair. John Ortiz’ Ramon Campos was close to John Ortiz’ Jose Yero in Michael Mann’s Miami Vice, so that could either be a good thing or a bad thing to say based on Ortiz’ acting talent. Yes, he can definitely play a Latin American drug ring's top honcho, but the sad fact that he played two characters in two different movies so similarly says little about his range. Gal Gadot’s Gisele Harabo is one hot tamale as she tried to seduce Dom time and time again. And yes, she’s damn pretty and damn sexy but that’s all there is to her. She was just eye candy in a film full of eye candies, both mechanical and biological. And honestly, I think Michelle Rodriguez has more sex appeal than her.  But that doesn't mean I won't tap that ass if it presented itself to me because I definitely would.

Sung Kang’s Han also provided a good lead into …Tokyo Drift, saying how he’s thinking of going back to Tokyo after Dom decided to break up their Dominican Republic gang, thereby setting up how he became who he was in …Tokyo Drift. If only Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce from …2 Furious also made a brief appearance in this installment, everything would’ve come full circle perfectly.

All in all, if you’re a true gearhead, the sheer number of cars present in the movie would satisfy you. And if you loved the other movies in the franchise, you’ll definitely love this one since it offers more of everything really. But if you’re coming into the theater blind with no idea what the other movies were all about, prepare to be disappointed since the experience is almost like watching a movie that’s already half-finished since you’ve pretty much missed the lead-in that set up this particular movie.

So for this Underachiever of a car nut, Fast & Furious is one fast and furious achievement.

Dirty Harry is back,...

...in a way, in Clint Eastwood's newest film, Gran Torino.

I say 'in a way' because, although Dirty Harry, arguably Clint Eastwood's most memorable character on film ever, isn't the character he plays in the film, his hard-nosed, tough-as-nails attitude certainly makes its presence felt - and more, even - in his role as Walt Kowalski, the anti-hero in Gran Torino.

Walt Kowalski is a Korean War veteran and a retired assembly line worker for Ford. He views his sons and their families as a disappointment, and with his wife's recent passing, he just spends his day either drinking beer on the front porch of his house or taking meticulous care of his most prized possession, a 1972 Ford Gran Torino that's in immaculately good condition, like it just stepped off of the assembly line.

Walt Kowalski makes no apologies for being what he is; a straightforward, no-holds-barred kind of man who's never afraid to say what's on his mind, political correctness be damned. But when his new next-door neighbors, a family of Hmong people, move in, his once-quiet life changes dramatically.

First, the steady arrival of fellow Hmong well-wishers welcoming the new family to their home irritates him. But when someone breaks into his garage, trying to steal his precious Gran Torino as part of a Hmong gang's initiation, only to find out later that it was Thao (Bee Vang), the teenage son of his new next-door neighbors, Walt seethes in anger, as he angrily tells the family to keep Thao off of his property. After a few days, the gang, led by Thao's older cousin, Spider (Doua Moua), comes back and tries to drag off Thao from his home while his family tries to stop them from succeeding in their plans. But seeing how the ensuing struggle for Thao spilled onto his lawn, in the process uprooting some of the plants and breaking the ceramic gnomes that stand guard in his garden, Walt storms out of his house with his loaded M1 Garand rifle, a souvenir from his Korean War days, pointing it at the gangbangers while telling them all to get off of his lawn.

But once the heavily-Hmong populated neighborhood hears how Walt acted like a hero to save Thao, they show their gratitude by leaving his doorsteps and front porch littered with traditional Hmong gifts and offerings.  

But Walt's cold, hard heart takes a turn for the better after he saves Sue (Ahney Her), the older teenage daughter of his neighbor, from being harrassed by a local gang of black teenagers.  As they drive back to their own neighborhood, Walt and Sue, as well as her entire family, get to know each other a little better, to the point that Walt even takes Thao under his proverbial wing; first, as part of Thao's punishment from his family for trying to steal Walt's Gran Torino, but later on, as a friend and mentor of sorts as Walt teaches Thao what it is to be a man.  

Walt then realizes that the world around him, as well as he himself, is changing.  His neighborhood is now mostly populated by the Hmong people, the nurse in his doctor's clinic is a Middle Eastern woman while his previous doctor has now retired and has been replaced by an Asian woman.  And after he gets the results of his medical exam, he calls one of his sons and tries to talk to him awkwardly, only to be rebuffed by the son telling Walt that he's busy but he'll talk to him during the weekend.

Soon after, the Hmong gang retaliates against Thao, first by accosting him and burning his face with a cigarette, and then by shooting up Thao's house a few days later, wounding him in the neck.  But the final straw is when Sue comes back, beaten black and blue and raped.  Walt's once-quiet life then goes into a headspin that, as a viewer, you know would only end in a hail of bullets and a volley of gunfire.

Once more, I was lucky enough to get invited to Warner Bros. press screening of Gran Torino.  And since I grew up watching Clint Eastwood movies, thanks to my Dad who's been a loyal fan of his since Eastwood's spaghetti western days as the Man with No Name, and since this just may be his last movie as an actor, there simply was no way I was going to miss out on watching this one.

Much like his recent movies, Gran Torino follows the same pacing for each and every one of them; slow to pick up yet still captivating to watch, with the pace quickly picking up speed in the last hour of the film before coming to an abrupt stop at the end.  Now, I won't spoil the ending for you but I will say this; if you know how Million Dollar Baby ended, Gran Torino ends pretty much the same - with a twist that touches your heart yet leaves you depressed.

Clint Eastwood was great, ably portraying the role of an action hero who just happens to be a senior citizen.  As for the actors who played the lead Hmong teenagers, Thao and Sue, they did a pretty good job for a couple of acting rookies in their very first film role ever, particularly Sue's Ahney Her, not to mention that the chemistry among the three of them blended quite well.  The other supporting actors were just as good, particularly Brian Haley who, although known more for his comedic roles, was able to play the role as one of Walt's son with the same kind of character treatment he does in his funny movies; the supposedly indifferent character who's got a hidden agenda up his sleeves.  But as for the Hmong gangbangers Doua Moua hangs out with, fuhgeddaboudit.  They were just plain awful, especially the loud one whose head Clint Eastwood tapdanced on.

Gran Torino is definitely one of the top films of 2009, and that's saying a lot since we're just in the second month of the year.  After all, if a movie can make you root for an old crudmugeon as he tugs at your heartstrings gently, only to violently yank it at the end, particularly if it's done with Clint Eastwood's personally depressing touch, then it's certainly ranks right up there for me.

So for this Underachiever, Gran Torino is a stereotypical Clint Eastwood achievement. 

What's the buzz?

Well, a lot has been happening in my life since 2009 started.  First off, my Dad passed away - on New Year's Day, no less - after having been in a coma that was caused by a heart attack that struck him down on Christmas Day.  

Now that was a really crappy way to start a new year, and that's seriously an understatement since I've been missing my Dad ever since he migrated to the US to be with Tita Flor, my stepmom.  You see, when my Mom died in 2000, my Dad and I became really close; we shared a relationship that was just more than that between a father and his son; we became friends, but perhaps more importantly, we treated each others as adults.  I guess that was really the turning point in our relationship; that I was no longer a child in his eyes, but a man.  Of course, having Dana and Dylan refer to Robin Williams' Teddy Roosevelt in Night at the Museum and a moustachioed and bespectacled Mr. Potato Head as 'Lolo Angel' makes me miss him even more since my kids - his grandchildren - would never know just how much a kind, loving and funny man their grandfather was.

On the job front, although I loved what I was doing for my clients, Personal Friday, and perhaps most importantly, the client that I served with exclusively for almost a year, Pandemic Labs, the company I was connected with - Open Access Marketing (OAM) - quickly lost its sheen to me.  The Google-like atmosphere I dreamt the company would have turned out to be just that - a dream - as the senior executive management were quick to wash their hands off of their disgruntled employees and left it to the local senior management to deal with them.  And to think that the one who facilitated my hiring and appraised my overall performance with the company that prompted them to regularize me as their very first Senior Writer didn't take the time to address my concerns or even just send a simple reply to any of my e-mails.  Well, to be fair with them, their open-door policy was great since you could approach any one of them to air your concerns - just don't expect them to act on it or even give you a simple reply.  To tell you the truth, talking to a concrete wall would've been better because at least you can hear your concerns being echoed back at you.

But what's even worse is OAM's local senior management.  With them, everything is black and white, and I mean EVERYTHING.  There are no greys to them, no middle ground; to them, it's either you did something wrong or not at all.  

You see, OAM has an attendance policy that asks their employees to call in at least 2 hours before the start of their shift if they can't report for work for that day, supposedly for staffing purposes, so that they'll have enough time to find someone to cover for your absence and some other illogical excuse, particularly in my case since I was their ONE AND ONLY Senior Writer at that time.  Well, in my particular case, I wasn't going to be absent, I was just going to be late, but still, I informed them 2 hours before my shift started that I was going to be late since Rachel, my wife, went out to fix something regarding her land's paperwork at the Manila City Hall.  Again, knowing that the red tape in government offices could significantly delay her progress and leave me to take care of our kids for much longer than necessary, I informed them of my dilemma.  My client had an assignment for me that needed my attention, so instead of calling in as absent for that day, I opted to still report for work, just so that I wouldn't leave my client hanging.  So, problem solved - or so I thought.

As it was, I thought incorrectly.  I came in 17 minutes late, but then, since I informed them ahead of time that I'll be late, thus following the company-set policy to the T, I thought that I was safe from any repercussion.  But lo and behold, the following day, I get served with a 5-day suspension notice, saying that I violated the company's policy of coming in late "for a total of 15 minutes or 3 times, whichever comes first."  I sent an e-mail to OAM's senior executive management asking for some reconsideration since I couldn't very well leave my kids alone at home just so I can make it to work on time but I didn't get a single reply from any one of them.  As for OAM's local senior management, they wouldn't even hear me out, saying that no concession could be made and that they're just following company policy.

Now, if I came in because it was of my own doing, like if it's because I got up late or I took my own sweet time to go to work, then I would've readily signed the suspension notice.  As it is, since I did tell them ahead of time that I'd be late, only to be figuratively slapped in the face by being served with that suspension, that was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.  The way I see it, I would've been better off calling in as absent for that day.  Since I'm hardly ever absent, that would've made me safe from their oh-so-strict, black-and-white policies.  Now that really demoralized me to the point that I started job hunting again, knowing that I'll be leaving behind a good paycheck and some good people I call as friends since my days in PeopleSupport.  After all, if I came in late again, and since OAM's local senior management are such sticklers to the black-and-white company policies, the next step - again according to the black-and-white company policy - was that I was going to be terminated.  So when a good job opportunity came knocking just as I was looking for a new one, I didn't hesitate.  I did the usual interviews, and thanks to my having worked with them on a freelance basis before, I got the position.  Of course, I told the company that was hiring me that I had to give my then-current employer my two-weeks' notice which they (the company that was hiring me) were cool with.  So the very next instance that I came in late, I came in armed with the two-weeks notice of my resignation.  And honestly, it felt good doing that; sort of like beating them to the gun and sticking it to them when they least expected it.

And so, with my resignation taking effect yesterday, that makes today my first day of being in-between jobs literally since I'm now effectively resigned from OAM while I still have to facilitate some paperwork needed by the company I'm moving to.  Like I said in the social media sites I'm a part of, leaving OAM is a bittersweet feeling.  It's sweet because I'm free from OAM's oppressive shackles of misguided authority yet I'm bitter because the company's executive management and local senior management teams' minds are too closed to what I'm doing for them, how my clients - their clients - only had good words to say about what I've done for them, and yet, as anal-retentive as they are to their black-and-white policies, they would rather suspend me and leave the clients hanging for 5 days rather than just look in the grey area - if there is one - in their precious company policies and look the other way instead.

And that's also another thing that got my goat in OAM -  they're rolling out and enforcing their new policies but yet they still have to inform OAM's employees what exactly are the new policies.  Essentially, what they're doing is putting up a new set of rules and yet they're leaving their employees blind because they, the employees, have no idea what rules are being followed now.  And that's no joke because I've asked some of the local senior management people and to their knowledge, the old policies are the ones still being used.  But when you ask OAM's administrative department, they'll give you a different answer, that it's the new, still-unknown-to-the-rank-and-file-employees policies that are being used - SERIOUSLY.  It's like OAM's is taking the whole "ignorance of the law is no excuse" precept to a whole new level.  And if you ask me, although I'm no legal expert, while that may be acceptable as a general law of the streets, in a corporate setting, that's just downright illegal, and I mean against-the-Labor-Code-somebody-better-get-in-touch-with-the-National-Labor-Relations-Commission illegal.

So, what's in store for me outside of OAM?  Well, I'll let you know once I start my first day at work with the company I'm moving to.  But let me just say this - it certainly feels like I've reached the 'Summit' of things as I help the company I'm moving to by contributing my experience in writing exclusively for the web to the new 'Digital' arena the company is eager to start on.  And with the way things are going, I'll certainly strive to reach the 'Top' of my field, bringing with me my experience along with all the things and other 'Gear' I've learned.

Oh, and after 5 years of not having gone inside a movie house since the last film I saw was the premiere showing of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King when Rachel was still pregnant with Dana, I finally saw a movie again courtesy of Azrael Coladilla's Pop Machine Media bloggers' group.  Catch my review of Jim Carrey's Yes Man here.

Stay tuned for more developments soon...

The solution to life's problem lies with just three words...

...Say 'Yes' More!

Or at least, that's the premise in Jim Carrey's latest feature, Yes Man.

Based on a true story and a 2005 book called The Yes Man by British humorist Danny Wallace, the movie follows the story of Carl Allen (Jim Carrey), a recalcitrant junior loan approval officer in a bank who's perfectly content to vegetate on his couch in front of the TV watching rented DVD movies as he conveniently dodges one social engagement after another. But, as luck would have it, he bumps into Nick, a former colleague whose newfound spontaneity and impetuous zest for life prompts Carl to check out a life-affirming motivational seminar called 'Yes!' that turned Nick into who he is now.

Shortly after meeting the overly zealous motivational 'Yes' guru, Terrence Bundley (Terrence Stamp), Carl makes a covenant with him to live his life fully by saying 'Yes' to anything and everything. And soon enough, once Carl embraces the 'Yes!' philosophy completely, bigger and better things start happening to his life; he gets his long-awaited promotion, he meets Allison (Zooey Deschanel), a girl whose free spirited ways (minus the 'Yes' programming, of course) he becomes attracted to, and he even takes up flying lessons, guitar lessons, and even learns to speak Korean. But after Allison discovers Carl's 'Yes' covenant to answer 'Yes!' to any and every opportunity, request, or invitation that presents itself to him, she doubts if he was even committed to her in the first place, prompting Carl to rethink if saying 'Yes' to everything really is as life-affirming as he has come to believe.

As part of Azrael Coladilla's Pop Machine Media bloggers group, I was lucky enough to score an invite to Warner Bros. press screening for the aforementioned movie. I've been a big fan of Jim Carrey since his 'In Living Color' days so, even though he's had some big misses lately (The Majestic, The Number 23, anyone?), his number of hits and his sheer comedy genius still has me rooting for him. Now, the question is; does he still have the swing to knock this one out of box-office ball park?

Yes? No?

Maybe is more like it, really.

When I first heard that Jim Carrey was doing a movie where he feels the need to say 'Yes' to everything that's thrown his way, I immediately thought, 'Wait a minute? Doesn't that just sound like Liar Liar's premise where he has to tell the truth every single time?'

Still, with an open mind, I watched the movie to see how it fares with the rest of Jim's vast body of work. As it turns out, I was wrong, but only because Yes Man turned out to be an amalgam of some of Jim's top-grossing hits like Liar Liar and Bruce Almighty, but with a dash of Jack Black's Shallow Hal thrown in.

If Robert Kosberg, Hollywood's king of pitch, delivered it like that to Warner Bros. top honchos, then, yeah, the movie sure sounds promising and looks like a surefire winner if Jim Carrey signs up. But as always, any plan that's executed poorly, or at best, in utter mediocrity, is bound to fail.

It's fairly easy to see where the Liar Liar (man commited to do something even if he doesn't like it) and Shallow Hal (motivational guru 'brainwashing' man to override his impulse reaction) bits in the movie are, but as much as the movie tried to grasp the heart that Bruce Almighty had, it ultimately failed. Considering Peyton Reed's limited body of work (Bring It On, The Break-Up), I can only say that maybe he simply didn't have the chops to make it work. But if Jim's frequent collaborator, Tom Shadyac, helmed this one, or maybe even Dennis Dugan, Adam Sandler's favorite director, the movie would've resonated more with the audience.

Jim Carrey's physical brand of comedy was present, as always, and though some bordered on toilet humor, to a Jim Carrey fan like myself, it never fails to elicit a laugh from me. But I do admit, a few of the comedy spots he did was getting old, to say the least. I dunno, it may be just me but I really think he's turning into Generation X's Jerry Lewis - once absurdly funny, but as time passed by, his comedy routines became, well, routine and stale.

Zooey Deschanel was lovely, as always, with the role of a free-spirirted musician fitting her to a T. Unfortunately, her character wasn't well developed as the audience only saw a fleeting glimpse of what Allison, her character, was truly like. What's more, there was hardly even any chemistry between her and Jim Carrey, so much so that in the very few romantic scenes that they had, everything seemed awfully forced.

All in all, if you're a Jim Carrey fan, I'd recommend you see the movie. His classic Jim Carrey routines are all here for your enjoyment, with one of my particular favorites being the scene where he talks down Luis Guzman from jumping off of a building by singing Third Eye Blind's Jumper.

But if you're looking for more heart, more depth to the story, I suggest you just wait for the DVD release. For such a promising premise, Yes Man fails to deliver all the goodies. In the hands of the right director, the chemistry between Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel might've been ignited even further compared to the lukewarm sensation both of them projected onscreen as a couple, with the ending having the said heart and depth the movie lacked for almost the entire 1 1/2 hour screening time. Sadly, we're left to see a glimpse of Jim's naked buttocks to elicit a few more laughs before the credit starts rolling.

So for this Underachiever, Yes Man is a huge underachievement.