THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS [2017]

Director F. Gary Gray's The Fate of the Furious, the eighth film in the F&F franchise, shows no sign of the series wrapping up.
This time around Diesel's Dom has turned to the dark side forcing The Rock & The Stath to put their differences aside and work together to bring him down, while evading the walls of a prison, an army of cars and a nuclear submarine.
The film doesn't resemble anything that original films set out to do but that's alright because it's so god-damned fun.  There's plenty of laughs, both intentional and unintentional, jammed in-between the carnage-fueled action sequences.  Surpassing Jurassic Park and even Star Wars at the box office means there's no end in sight for the series but that's all right because the film's stars still seem to be having just as much as it's long-time fans are.

3½ hakas out of 5

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON [2015]

Friday director F. Gary Gray walks with some familiar faces in the music bio-pic Straight Outta Compton, depicting the short-lived rise & fall of pioneering West Coast rap act N.WA.
It's follows the group in 1986 as they come together and leads right up to the 1996 birth of Aftermath Entertainment, so obviously it follows the members for quite a few years after the demise of the controversial group.  So with that being said, it might not be so much a N.W.A. bio-pic and more a E, Dre & Cube bio-pic seeing as M.C. Ren, The D.O.C. and DJ Yella are largely ignored in it's 2½ hour running time.  It's not often when a film like this hires actors who look like the people their playing have actual talent but thankfully due to some excellent direction and strong performances it never becomes distracting or overly phony.  It glazes over quite a few shadier incidents involving our "heroes" of the film but nothing that would push the dramatic plotting of the film.  It's not the perfect musical bio-pic but certainly is one of the more easily digestible and entertaining.

3½ Bye, Felicia's out of 5

Friday (1995)

A comedy about two unemployed friends, Craig Jones (Ice Cube) and Smokey (Chris Tucker), that's set during one hot Friday in the hood. Craig is lazy and a bit of a moocher. Smokey is a small-time weed dealer. The duo sit on mismatched chairs on a porch, shooting the shit while watching passers-by and trying their best to keep a low profile with a 'you don't bother me and I won't bother you' attitude. But, as is often the case in neighbourhoods, unwanted interruptions aren't far away - one of which is Deebo (Tommy Lister).

Nothing much happens, but it's totally engaging. It's a bit Spike Lee, minus the crushing political weight. There are stereotypes, but they're clearly and purposefully written that way. And the small but important level of social commentary that surfaces elevates it above similar location-set comedies.

3½ rotations out of 5

Be Cool (2005)

A sequel to Get Shorty (1995).
Uma outside of a Tarantino film is nearly always going to fail. This does.
Even The Rock and his eyebrow can't save it.

1 cameo too far out of 5