FAST AND FURIOUS 9 (in theatres) & FALSE POSITIVE (Hulu)

From 2001 the action defined “Fast & Furious” franchise has plummeted audiences; this, the 9^th version was my first, and in all likelihood, my last; not because it wasn’t good, the thrills, death defying chases, special effects were stupendous, but have been replicated ad nauseam in filmdom: Marvel movies,  James Bond, Liam Nesson escapades, cannot neglect the Terminator series; staleness, has transcended shock, monotony has replaced ingenuity. Unaware of the protagonists, their history, past travails, was of keen interest: hero “Dom Toretto” depicted by pneumatically sculpted Vin Diesel and his nefarious brother “Jakob” (John Cena, an Arnold Schwarzenegger clone) are a balanced Cain/Abel unit; “Letty” (Michelle Rodriguez) tough, focused, no nonsense, killer cyclist; Helen Mirren and Charlize Theron were exploited in their mini, inconsequential roles; Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris added much appreciated comic mitigation.

In summation it was a wide screen spectacle; for 2 & 1/2 hours, unmasked, reveling in a milieu fraught with meanness and mettle but pandemically, spared.

THREE STARS!!!

FALSE POSITIVE  (Hulu)

Ilana Glazer’s plagiaristic, imitative version of “Rosemary’s Baby” should be shunned. A husband/wife team, Glazer and Justin Theroux, (devoid of chemistry) seek help from a fertility clinic, run by “Dr. Hindle” (Pierce Brosnan as a supercilious, pandering, lickspittle twirp); instead of empathy for those unable to conceive, adoption seemed a safer, healthier path to parenthood.

ONE STAR!

PENEFLIX