Jason Statham is perhaps the coolest guy in action movies today, and is a gritty and compelling (anti-)hero, even in this, a movie that might as well be written for Jackie Chan.
And that’s the problem with Transporter 2
: Where the original had a European flavor unfamiliar to American audiences, and fights that, although clever, mostly made audience’s teeth ache in sympathy, the sequel is lightweight, silly and it even has a cute kid.
Statham looks lost here, among the lame jokes and bad CGI effects. If there’s a third Transporter, hopefully it will get back to the cross-country, bone-crunching, somewhat edgy tone of the original.
A rental for fans of the original, but nothing more.
This was a nice surprise when I got home from work: A new Lost podcast waiting for me in iTunes (via Juice, of course).
Executive producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse share exclusive clues and preview upcoming episode “The 23rd Psalm.” Also, composer Michael Giacchino talks about the behind-the-scenes scoring of Lost.
Bitchin’.
You know Into the Blue is going to be beautiful, both the stars and the scenery. That’s a given.
The surprise is that this thriller is actually quite good, better than more ambitious recent efforts like After the Sunset. Even if Jessica Alba and Paul Walker aren’t big names like Sunset had, the plot is tighter and more plausible — skin-divers looking for buried treasure exposed by a recent hurricane in the Bahamas find it, along with a nearby crashed plane full of cocaine — and the actors throw themselves into the admittedly not-amazing dialogue with real commitment.
The only real issue in the movie is that Paul Walker is apparently half-dolphin, able to hold his breath for a half-hour at a time. The first time he does this, another character is impressed that he can hold his breath for three minutes at a time. Later in the movie, they’re all doing a lot more than that, in areas where they can’t conveniently get more air, and no one seems to think it’s remarkable at all. There’s also several uncontrolled ascents that scuba divers will wince as they watch — several of the characters should be laid up with the bends at different points in the movie, and possibly have serious damage to their hearing — but otherwise, the filmmakers show a generally strong understanding of diving, both scuba and otherwise.
This is a light and breezy entertainment, to be sure, but a better use of your time than most such films. A strong recommendation for scuba diving movie-watchers, those who just love tropical locations and, of course, anyone interested in lots of sequences of Jessica Alba in a bikini.
The new J.D. INXS CD, Switch, is already out, but the other contestants of Rock Star: INXS aren’t far behind.
One of my favorites, Jordis Unga, has a new site, including a blog and tracks from her “early 2006” album.
Marty Casey and his band (now called “Marty Casey and Lovehammers,” instead of just “The Lovehammers”) have an album on the way as well.
More for iPod owners, new and old: Salon.com, which has a daily download section on their site, has posted their Best Downloads of 2005. It’s an eclectic mix, but with some real gems — Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek” is one of my favorite songs of the past year — and most importantly, it’s free.
Check it out.
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