Furious 6 (2013)

Dominic Toretto and his game are enjoying the fruits of their hundred million dollar heist when Dom gets a visit from law enforcement agent Luke Hobbs.  Hobbs isn't looking to arrest or extradite him, though.  Instead, he wants Dom and his team to help bring in another group who conduct bonkers car-based crimes.  Why should Dom & Co help, though?  Well, apart from the fact that this crew look to be stealing the components for a device what would threaten millions of lives, it turns out there's a far more personal stake here: this other crew includes Dom's supposedly dead girlfriend Letty, last seen being apparently blown up in the fourth film in the franchise.

Dom, of course, growls something about "mi familia" and calls in the gang.

I described Fast Five as "bonkers, balls to the wall action", and Furious 6 is pretty much all that and more, as a team of superheroes whose superpower is "cars" goes up against a team of supervillains whose superpower is "cars.  And cheating".  It's two and a bit hours of gloriously ridiculous action and stunt sequences wrapped in a just enough plot to connect it all together.  If you've ever been a fan of the franchise, this and the next film are more or less its apotheosis.  Get some popcorn and settle in for quite a ride.

The Shield, Season 7 (2008)

This is it, the final reckoning for Vic Mackey and his colleagues on Farmington PD's Strike Team.  Will Vic, Shane and Ronnie stay ahead of the various forces working to expose their illicit dealings?

The Shield started out as a decent police procedural cops of varying ethical standards, and has evolved over seven years into a fascinating battle of wits and wills between corrupt cops, cynical politicians, dangerous criminals and even the occasional decent person.  It's one of the few shows I can think of that has continually become stronger with every season. This closing series continues that trend, ending with an intense, extended final episode.  It's really very good stuff, and I honestly feel it's good enough that the show as a whole deserves a firm recommendation.

Good writing, great performances, and a firm sense of closure: even if not every single storyline is fully resolved, the show knows which stories do need to finish, and gives them all a satisfying conclusion.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Frank Abagnale Jr was a con-man and grifter who passed hundreds of fraudulent cheques and successfully impersonated an airline pilot, a physician, and an attorney; all before his twenty-first birthday.

Abagnale, it should be noted, is a real person who - after finally being caught and spending a number of years in prison - turned to a career as a security consultant.  This movie presents a highly fictionalised and dramatised version of his story.  It's well cast - in particular I think Leonardo di Caprio definitely has the easy charm to carry off Abagnale's exploits - and well acted.  It's even mildly entertaining, in a low key, takes-slightly-too-long-about-things kind of way.

All that said, however, I wouldn't really recommend the film because it is quite slow and really rather self-indulgent and schmaltzy (but then, it is a Spielberg film).  Also, and probably more important to me personally, I have read Abagnale's book of the same name and it frankly far more engaging and interesting.  The same story in different media will (and generally should) be delivered differently, of course.  But in this case I think the final product just doesn't gel together as well.

Read the book, says I.  It's a good one.

Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Season 1 (2209)

Sixteen year-old Tony Stark is already a brilliant inventor, engaging in a friendly rivalry with his father Howard, a billionaire industrialist, over who can create the more impressive technological marvel.

But when Howard Stark is killed in a plane accident, and Tony finds himself locked out of his own company (at least until he turns 18), the boy genius's latest invention becomes about a lot more than just bragging rights.  The "Iron Man" suit will be his main tool to find those responsible for his father's death, and to reclaim the company he sees as his birthright.

And no doubt he'll also find himself fighting a lot of supervillains in the process!

So this animated series is essentially "Teen Iron Man", with Tony Stark facing the challenges of school and homework and having a social life.  It has solid character designs, solid CGI, and fun writing.  Its versions of Obadiah Stane, Whitney Stane, Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan are favourite of any Marvel Comic-related media I have seen so far, including the big budget films.  I'm also quite pleased with the antagonist/foil.

Good stuff here, with fun individual episodes that also build on each other into a coherent longer-term narrative.  Recommended for anyone who is a supers fan who isn't also the kind of stick-in-the-mud that's outraged by the very premise of making Tony Stark a teenager instead of a grown man.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Live Arena Tour (2012)

Civil discontent is rife, and the wealthy citizens fear a government crackdown that will sweep away not just the malcontents but the 'haves' who did not do enough to stop them.  They identify one man, Jesus Christ, as the crux of the rising swell of unrest, and resolve to destroy him.  They can't do that while he is surrounded by his adoring crowds, of course, but perhaps they could capture him in a private moment if they could find just one disillusioned follower of his to help them ...

So yeah, I did indeed watch two different versions of Jesus Christ Superstar in rapid succession.  From a performance and staging perspective, this is easily the superior of the two offerings.  Not that the 1973 version had bad performances, but it did have a deliberately camp "community theatre" kind of feel to it.  This version is just as camp, but in more of an extravagant, Fast and the Furious kind of way.  It co-opts the "Occupy" movement as the framework behind the conflict between the recognised authorities and Jesus's followers and has a much more rock-oriented feel to the soundtrack.  Judging it purely as a musical, and ignoring the problematic aspects of the show (as outlined last week), it's the superior show.  I also think it profits from not presenting Jesus's story as a performance within the wider production.  Jesus and Judas are actual characters within the story here, not actors playing roles in a play they're putting on within the movie.  That gives their competing perspectives more weight, I think.

I should also note, in case it wasn't abundantly clear from the name of the film, that this is a recording of a live performance, not a move adaptation of the show.  This doesn't worry me, but if occasional shots of the live band or of the crowd would be an irritation for you, your mileage may vary.

Arrow, Season 3 (2014)

Former billionaire Oliver Queen is also The Arrow, vigilante protector of Starling City.  But "a man cannot live by two names", and the ongoing strain of his dual identities threatens his family, his friendships, and even his life.  Being all about the MANPAIN, Oliver often makes decisions that - however well-intentioned - make these strains even worse, particularly when another handsome billionaire turns up in town with an interest not just in Oliver's former company, but also the woman he loves.

Of course, there's also the machinations of the murderous Malcolm Merlyn, father to Oliver's half-sister Thea, to contend with.  Said machinations put The Arrow and his friends on a collision course with the League of Assassins.  As you might imagine, that's a hazardous course to take!

Arrow season 3 continues to build on the back-story and characters established in the previous two years, as well as introducing new wrinkles and challenges in their lives.  It continues to depend heavily on the supporting cast, as Oliver himself is very much the stoic man of action type. 

Arrow has never been a perfect show and honestly, things do get a bit self-indulgently grim here, which wore on me in the latter stages of the season.  On the other hand, the finale of the season delivers a solid culmination point to the themes of the first three years and make a great point where a casual fan could walk away feeling satisfied.  For myself, I'm sufficiently into the wider DC TV universe that I will continue along for the ride in season 4.

Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)

A theatre group rides a bus into the desert to stage a reenactment of the final days of Christ.  They spill out, laughing and chatting as they done their costumes.  About ninety minutes later, the performance is over.  They all clamber back onto the bus and drive off, with only three of them seeming aware that the actor who played Jesus is no longer with them.

The "ninety minutes" that I just skipped over is, of course, the actual Jesus Christ Superstar part of Jesus Christ Superstar.  Getting some fundamentals out of the way first, the musical on which this is based as has been accused of a lot of things, including antisemitism and blasphemy (the former rather more plausibly than the latter, in my opinion).  If you have fundamental issues with the musical, nothing about this version will change your mind.  In fact, if your charge is antisemitism, you may find more to complain about than you ever did before, due to a new song written specifically for the film.

Setting those issues aside (which as a non-religious gentile is obviously a lot easier for me than for those who feel attacked by the work), how is the film?  Well frankly, it's an odd duck.  The original musical has a lot of modern slang and anachronistic references in it (for instance, it has Judas mention Muhammad, who lived about 600 years after Christ), and like many productions, it leans into that by weaving modern issues and themes into the story and setting.  The Vietnam War and the counter-culture that it provoked clearly loom large, here.  The decision to make the musical a stage performance within the film is an interesting one, perhaps intended to help explain the anachronisms.  It certainly helps justify the non-realist sets and costumes, which are quite at odd with normal movie sensibilities.  Mind you, Lindsay Ellis makes a pretty cogent argument that normal movie sensibilities and big stage musicals are not a good mix.

This 'show within a film' concept is a bit unevenly implemented, however, such as the scenes where real jet fighters and tanks rumble across the screen.  Perhaps this is itself another deliberate anachronism.

There is definitely some catchy music in the show, and the performances here are generally good, but I suspect the content matter will shape most people's reaction to the film.  For myself, as a relatively non-impacted outsider, I love the film's camp rendition of Herod's Song a little too much to be too down on it.

The Flash, Season 1 (2014)

Barry Allen's mother was murdered when he was just 11 years old.  His father was convicted of the crime, despite Barry's protests that there was someone else in the house that night: someone who created a whirling vortex of red and yellow lightning.

Fourteen years later, Barry is working as a CSI technician for the police force, and still insisting that some mysteries have answers that defy the "possible".  And then a major scientific experiment at STAR Labs goes awry, releasing a pulse of energy across the city.  One of the consequences: a blast of lightning that leaves young Barry in a nine month coma.

When Barry finally awakens, he discovers that the lightning has granted him uncanny powers: he can run at hundreds of miles per hour, and perform ordinary tasks with superhuman speed.  He quickly also discovers that other people have received powers from the energy pulse, and many of them are much less altruistic in how they intend to use those abilities.

With the help of a handful of scientists still working at STAR Labs, Barry sets out to better understand his new abilities and to protect his city from the schemes of these 'metahumans'.  But perhaps the biggest threat is one much closer than he expects ...

The Flash is the second show in what has been dubbed the "Arrowverse", a collection of TV programs based on DC Comics that began with Arrow and has expanded to also include Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow.  And if you like your costumed hero media, then you should definitely check it out.  It's well executed, with a likeable cast and a good blend of humour and drama.

While The Flash shares a universe with Arrow, and characters cross over between the shows, the producers and writers have smartly made an effort to keep them feeling different: Arrow is grim and angsty while this show leans much more optimistic and light-hearted, despite the various back guys and their evil schemes, or even Barry's tragic backstory.

Superhero fan?  Check it out.

Paranorman (2012)

Norman Babcock sees dead people.  Unlike the kid from The Sixth Sense, though, he made the mistake of telling pretty much everyone this fact.  The result: he's ostracised and hassled at school, and the only one of his family who 'gets' him is his grandmother ... who is, unfortunately, one of the aforesaid dead people.

Well actually, perhaps there is someone else in Norman's family who 'gets' him: this crazy, hermit-like uncle who lives in a decrepit cabin in the woods.  Said uncle, as you have probably already guessed, also sees dead people, and he has an important message - and an important mission - for Norman before he can shuffle off this mortal coil.

Which is how an eleven year-old kid finds himself trying to save his town from a three hundred year-old curse involving zombies and a vengeful witch.  And he thought his life was a mess before this!

Paranorman is a fun film, neatly finding that sweet spot of ooky kooky weirdness where the 'monster' bits are still family-friendly while being convincingly scary for the characters.  It's pretty much a perfect Halloween film in that regard, which of course is why I am watching it the week before Easter and scheduling the review for July :)

This movie has good animation, solid voice-acting, and a decently engaging script with some genuinely funny moments.  Unless you're one of those people who dislikes animation on principle (in which case, my condolences), you should check it out.