Just when you thought the FAST AND THE FURIOUS films had run out of steam, they up and reinvent them, bringing a fresh spirit and renewed sense of self that flips the dynamic and turns it from something on its last legs into a character driven series of films that could potentially be sustained indefinitely. No mere retread of its previous efforts, FAST FIVE aims to please the fans by offering everything they love about the films without feeling like it has to pander to its series roots. No longer a series about street racing, it has become about criminals who pull off incredible jobs with their unmatched skills behind the wheel. So it seems like a no brainer to shift into fifth gear and turn this into a heist film as they assemble the fan favorites from the previous films into one superteam eager to bring down a South American crime lord.
April 2011
4 posts
Leave it to Disney to take the single most sexually charged night of adolescence and neuter it to the point of being nothing short of a two hour commercial for Prom products. And that’s exactly what they did in their half-baked prom drama, brilliantly titled PROM. Not that I expected anything different, but being a fan of teen comedies – having been as surprised as everyone else by films like CAN’T HARDLY WAIT, MEAN GIRLS, EASY A, and 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU – I was holding out hope that this might have been a little something better than what it is. Sadly, it’s a film trapped between two worlds, one being the sterile, cotton candy environment that is Disney live action filmmaking and the other that of a team really trying to make something good.
The rules to this year’s scavenger hunt are simple. Each team is issued a garden gnome and given three hours to race around town taking pictures of their gnome with any number of elements from the list. For each element in the photo, points will be multiplied. (example: a topless girl by a roaring fire with your Gnome is worth 20pts. Your gnome with James Taylor praying for rain is worth 400pts.) There is no limit to the number of elements that can be contained in a picture, but you can only score points for any given element once – so no driving around with James Taylor to multiply everything by 40.
With something that makes me laugh 2 pts
With a sign that says SPRING somewhere in it 2 pts
With an APD Officer 2 pts
Next to a roaring fire 2 pts
On top of one of those newfangled parking meters 2 pts
Enjoying BBQ 2 pts
Waiting in a line with more than 10 people in it 2 pts
In a Canoe (not a Kayak) 2 pts
At a table where people are actively playing D&D 2 pts
Enjoying some pie 2 pts
With a fixed gear bicycle 2 pts
With a Turtle 5 pts
With Krypto the Wonder Dog 5 pts
Riding public transportation 5 pts
A piano in the outdoors 5 pts
A person dressed as the Easter Bunny 5 pts
A person dressed as Jesus 5 pts
Being examined by a doctor 5 pts
Playing Pool 5 pts
In an eastside bar converted from an old house 5 pts
At an Adults Only book/video store 5 pts
On a walkway overlooking a freeway 5 pts
In a store, bar or Restaurant written about by Jen Blair 5 pts
With something that could be described by a single line from a James Taylor song 10 pts
With an Austin Celebrity I don’t work for or with 10 pts
With a type of food I’ve never eaten before 10 pts
With a topless (live) woman 10 pts
On the pitcher’s mound at the Dell Diamond 10 pts
With something handwritten by Tennessee Williams 10 pts
Re-enacting the “This one’s for Brody” scene from MALLRATS 10 pts
With complete strangers praying for Rain as per the Governor’s request 10 pts
With a child dressed as a member of KISS 20 pts
With Musical Legend James Taylor 40 pts
