Fast & Furious 6 is a machine running close to peak performance.  The Fast & Furious franchise has been stripped down and rebuilt through six iterations.  It’s gone from racing to revenge to a heist and now it’s forced to find its own identity.    After finding a good group of characters and upping the stakes in the action scenes, there’s finally a level of confidence instead of simply watching fast cars drive around.  The new movie struts into the room and proudly proclaims, “If we’re going to be goofy and loud, we’re going to be the goofiest, loudest movie we can be!”  It’s almost admirable in its own twisted way.  After four films, Justin Lin‘s direction has finally matched the ambition of his set pieces, and aside from indulging in the “family is everything” treacle, Fast & Furious 6 is easily the best film in the franchise yet.

Hero Steve Rogers, a.k.a Captain America, can use his peak human powers to battle the forces of evil, but even he is no match for plot holes, budget constraints, and downright silly story choices. The 1990 Captain America film directed by Albert Pyun, the first live action film starring Marvel Comic’s iconic patriotic superhero, is a textbook example of what happens when a crew gives their all to a production that was doomed with an almost non-existent budget and tight filming schedule.  Hit the jump for my Blu-ray review of Captain America.

The Hangover feels like a franchise created by a studio rather than a storyteller.  The original film was a huge sleeper hit, and Warner Bros. wanted to chase that high.  We get sequels because audiences presumably want more, and the assumption was that we wanted to see more of Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Alan (Zach Galifianakis), a.k.a. “The Wolfpack”.  The Hangover Part II gave audiences more of the same to the point where it felt like a remake rather than a sequel.  Once again, the filmmakers have responded not by really buckling down on a good story, but reacting to the response towards the previous movie.  This time we would get an original story—a Hangover without the hangover.  But The Hangover Part III is a case of being careful what you wish for, and even though sequels are supposed to provide more, Part III somehow gives us less.  The chemistry between the Wolfpack is diminished, the pacing is lethargic, and the humor is sporadic.  The only thing Part III gives us more of is Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong) in an attempt to personify the insanity of the previous plots, but who only serves to distract from what should be the franchise’s last hurrah.

Writer-director Tommy Wirkola’s style is one that will either delight you with its over-the-top gore and sick brand of humor, or will disgust you for the same reasons.  I’m happily in the former camp.  My first introduction to Wirkola’s work was the fantastic original film Dead Snow – two words: Nazi zombies.  While I missed his broader effort Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters when it opened in theaters, last night I had the opportunity to attend the premiere of the film in all of its uncut glory.  The film may not have found its audience stateside, but the global box office of nearly $225 million gives hope that Wirkola will be around for future efforts.  Perhaps the unrated cut version of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, available now on digital platforms and due out on Blu-ray/DVD on June 11th, will find more of a home with American audiences.  For my review of that particular cut, which features 12 minutes of previously-unseen bloody and violent footage, hit the jump.

Bates Motel gave us an interesting and necessary finale to a great season of a (surprisingly?) great show.  Though Bates has unfortunately been largely forgotten by most people in the deluge of great TV on at the moment, it’s uncrowded Monday night spot at least gave it the ratings to thankfully warrant a second season.  The show has been a surprise and delight in the way it has woven its story in an open, intricate and twisty way, along with the quality of its cast (particularly, of course, Vera Farmiga), as well as its ability to create some compelling new characters (Dylan and Emma) as well as fascinating new situations (the secrets of White Pine Bay).  Bates Motel has always had hints that will lead up to the film on which it was based, but it saved the biggest nod until the last scene in this finale, and rightfully so.  Hit the jump for why “not in my town, you piece of shit!”

Director Gus Van Sant is an auteur capable of dropping an award-winning character-driven film (Good Will Hunting) with big-name actors one year, and small, provocative films where characters barely talk to each other the whole time (Last Days) the next.  No matter which Van Sant flavor is your favorite, the man is great at both of them.  For his latest, Promised Land, he goes the mainstream route – taking A-list actors into a farming community for a fracking debate.  The film was originally supposed to be Matt Damon‘s (School Ties) directorial debut, but scheduling conflicts threw it in Van Sant’s lap with just over a month to prepare.  Despite some solid direction and acting, Promised Land suffers from a few hiccups.  But how does it hold up on Universal’s Blu-ray?  Hit the jump and I’ll tell you all about it.

I played this game for Xbox 360.  Full disclosure: I am a sci-fi nerd.  I love both Star Trek and Star Wars and was really looking forward to playing this game.  That said, I wish they would have taken the opportunity to really flesh this one out.

Let’s get this out of the way early; if you don’t like Star Trek, you should probably stay away.  If you do like it, be prepared for some good voice work by many of the movie actors in what feels like a Trek-veneer of an old game.  Hit the jump for my full review.

Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner doesn’t like TV critics, and while most show runners probably have the same perspective, I don’t know why Weiner in particular has such a bee in his bonnet.  Mad Men does get criticized and unravelled, and has for the last seven years, but it’s with genuine love and a desire to understand a complicated show.  TV criticism is often, to me at least (and I’m biased, of course), a great form of flattery: if your show is worth talking about and dissecting, it’s because it’s a great show.  That doesn’t mean it’s infallible, though.  But back to my original point, I’m pretty sure that “The Crash” was created just to get TV critics weeping softly at having to review this episode so quickly, because it was so deep and layered.  On the other hand, maybe it was created just to mess with all of us.  Hit the jump to see which.

Game of Thrones is juggling a lot of stories, as it always has, but this year it feels different because for the first time I think that viewers are really clearly feeling the stakes.  We know the major characters, we know the major trajectory.  There are zombies to the north and dragons to the east, and a lot of political intrigue in between.  What’s been nice about this season too is that we’ve gotten lots of great character moments, even in the midst of so many stories.  The storytelling has often been fractured though, but what “Second Sons” did a great job with was actually giving us time to pause and really embrace the plots and characters this week — no Jon, no Robb, no Bran, no Jaime and Brienne and no Theon meant lots of time to spend with the others, especially because so many of them for once shared the same screen.  Hit the jump for more on why your brother is now your father-in-law (it is known).

Another excellent episode of Hannibal, which continues to be so gorgeously and hauntingly shot.  From Will outside of his house in the snow, gazing across the dormant winter landscape, to Tobias in his violin shop with its rich wood and old world feel.  I was actually in a violin shop like that recently, and the show captured exactly the feeling of being surrounded by so many beautiful instruments, hand crafted with such expertise and beauty.  Though Hannibal‘s violence is much, much more overt than two other recent, excellent series, Top of the Lake and Rectify, they share an intensity and immersive storytelling that wraps up the darkest of horrors in the most stunningly rendered visual blanket.  How could such terrors occur in a place that’s full of such beauty and richness?  Hit the jump for more on why “life is like a musical performance. We are finite events, unique arrangements.”

Creating the perfect mix of drama, comedy, romance, and powerful acting is often a theatrical recipe that stands just out of reach of most productions. Sometimes the drama and romance is there, but the comedic moments fall flat, or the actors give their all to a script that jumps from place to place, fostering few laughs and even fewer tears. Silver Linings Playbook, an Academy nominated film with an award-winning cast, gives audiences a full helping of laughs, tears, and embraces in amazing, yet equal measure, brought to the table by a stellar group of actors who not only made their characters lovable, but astonishingly believable.

Star Trek is not iconography.  There are plenty of iconic moments, inside jokes, winks, nods, and more, but it all stems from an original story starring fleshed-out characters who answered the call of duty and the call of adventure in equal and enthusiastic measure.  Director J.J. Abrams only sees iconography, but it was enough to get him through 2009′s reboot.  The story was barely patched together, still filled with holes, and wrapped in coincidences, but Abrams’ talent as a director managed to bring the story and characters to life in a way that felt fresh and exciting.  Much like his take on Captain Kirk, it was slapdash, occasionally clever, frantic, and charming.  Unfortunately, a flashy smile and big set pieces can’t save Abrams a second time as his follow-up, Star Trek Into Darkness, amplifies the shortcomings of his original effort, and removes the joy as the picture stumbles around looking for character arcs, themes, and a compelling, well-constructed plot.  But its greatest embarrassment is in trying to steal classic Star Trek moments without having a clue as to why those moments had meaning.

“Underwater” was an interesting but fragmented penultimate episode for Bates Motel‘s first season, especially after that shocker last week.  This may have been my least favorite episode of the season, because though it set up a final showdown really well, I don’t feel all that invested with the Abernathy situation yet.  We know he’s an uber villain who was Shelby and Keith Summers boss, but his vague threats to Norma seemed to reflect more of her own craziness than his.  Norman hardly had anything to do this week, and Bradley continues to successfully manipulate everyone in town.  Hit the jump for why crazy people keep gravitating towards Norma (hint: she’s crazy!)

Considering that the film was bumped around from September to January due to a national tragedy, it would be nice to feel a little sorry for Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad.  The period film, which casts Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling as cops going against Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) for control of Los Angeles, has a great cast and period setting.  On top of that, The Untouchables is a great film and it wouldn’t be the worst thing to see more films like it.  And yet, Gangster Squad is a total miss.  My review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Oh, Don.  What the heck?  After a shaky start, Mad Men really received rave reviews last week for an episode that felt like old times, even though I just can’t really trust Matthew Weiner at this point to really give us what we want.  There must be a catch about this merger.  Before that shoe drops though, we got a thoroughly Don-centric episode that was, even outside of Don’s plot, all about power plays.  Don’s question of likability and watchability is still an issue for me, but the way things ended up tonight did leave me wondering what is coming next for him.  Hit the jump for why you are not to pick up the phone.