Tag Archive: Michelle Rodriguez


F9–Fast & Furious franchise gets an action-packed big trailer for next film

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February 1, 2020

Yes, a tricked-out, revved-up Pontiac Fiero is cool.

As movie trailers go, if you’re a fan of the Fast & Furious series, it can’t get much better than the new nearly four-minute trailer for F9: The Fast Saga.  The film is the tenth in the franchise and ninth in the main storyline following Vin Diesel’s action hero car driver Dominic Toretto.  Diesel returns with all the major players from the last film, 2017’s The Fate of the Furious: Michelle Rodriguez’s Letty Ortiz (who already died once in the series), Jordana Brewster as Dom’s sister Mia, Tyrese Gibson as Rome Pearce, Ludacris as Tej Parker, plus Charlize Theron (sporting a Seven of Nine vibe with that earring) as Cipher, the franchise’s ultimate villain.

There’s been nothing definitive released yet about the next return of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham after last year’s hit tie-in film, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.  But Helen Mirren, who played Shaw’s mom, will be back in the new film and is featured in the first trailer for F9: The Fast Saga (below).

Surprise sibling trope alert!  New to the series is a surprise for fans of the series, a brother to Dom played by John Cena.  And good news: Lucas Black is back as Sean Boswell (we haven’t seen him in the series since Furious 7) and, after an even longer break from the series, look for Sung Kang’s surprise return as Han Lue, who we haven’t seen since he was supposedly killed by Shaw in Fast & Furious 6 (it’s not a spoiler if it’s in the trailer!).

Here is the great, new, over-the-top (and we love it that way) first trailer for F9: The Fast Saga:

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Hobbs & Shaw–A fun ride with Johnson and Statham re-sets the bar for the action genre

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August 21, 2019

Review by C.J. Bunce

The biggest action film of the summer is easily the most enjoyable film of the year.  That’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, a movie that gets so many genre formulas right it just can’t miss.  Certainly one of the better entries in the Fast & Furious franchise, it knows what works and uses it.  That’s a sure-bet cast of Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, Mission: Impossible–Fallout’s Vanessa Kirby, Idris Elba in the ultimate badass role as a James Bond spy gone bad with Superman powers, lots of futuristic cyborg tech, and an understanding of why audiences come to the movie theater in the first place.  Hobbs & Shaw is a movie for people who like movies.

The trailers gave audiences a glimpse at what to expect, and they delivered on all promises: laugh-out-loud funny dialogue, nonstop action, road races and camera angles that the franchise is known for, and lots of surprises and callbacks, and a script that doesn’t take itself seriously.  There’s something for everyone here.  If you’re after only the fast cars, action, and speed of the franchise, this entry measures up.  And that family drama that the regular franchise leads Diesel, Paul Walker, and Jordana Brewster built the franchise on is here, too.  This time that includes digging into the past between Statham’s Deckard Shaw and sister Hattie, played by Kirby, and Helen Mirren back again as their mother (Luke Evans’ brother Owen from the last film may or may not be mentioned this time), and Johnson’s Luke Hobbs is pals with his young daughter at home and returns to the family he left behind years ago in the Samoan Islands.

But stuntman-turned-director David Leitch (Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2, John Wick) and script writers Chris Morgan (writer of five prior Fast & Furious films) and Drew Pearce (Hotel Artemis, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) know why audiences are really buying tickets, and you just need to drift over their previous film credits to see why they were tapped for Hobbs & Shaw.  Hattie is a badass equal to Charlize Theron’s Atomic Blonde (Theron also co-starred in the most recent sequel), any of the four lead characters could give Leitch’s John Wick a run for his money, and moviegoers will hardly remember last year’s much-lauded Mission Impossible: Fallout’s action scenes after they see this.  (A few casting spoilers follow).

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Johnson and Statham merge action and humor in new trailer for Hobbs & Shaw

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April 19, 2019

It emerges from the nearly 20-year franchise about cars and action that began in 2001 with The Fast and the Furious.  The ninth movie in the Fast & Furious franchise is on its way to theaters this summer, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and Universal Pictures has released its second trailer–check it out below.  The five leads have ample action movie street cred, beginning with Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, not only from their previous roles in the franchise.  In addition to his Time Magazine cover appearance as one of the most influential people of today, Johnson has busted heads in films including Walking Tall, The Mummy series, Get Smart, The Other Guys, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Central Intelligence and the new Jumanji series, and, of course, there’s his wrestling days (and he wrestled Seven of Nine in a memorable Star Trek Voyager episode).  He’s already played Hercules, but coming soon look for him as Black Adam, Doc Savage, and he’s said to be in talks to play Jack Burton in a Big Trouble in Little China remake.  Statham’s own on-screen fight record goes back to three action movie series: The Transporter, The Expendables, and The Mechanic, plus The Italian Job, The Bank Job, and a bunch more, from Parker to last year’s The Meg. 

Although she hails from Plaza Sésamo, Eiza González earned her action film cred in Baby Driver, Alita: Battle Angel, and the From Dusk Till Dawn TV series.  Vanessa Kirby climbed the big peak in Everest and had her breakout performance just last year in Mission Impossible: Fallout.  As the film’s villain, you couldn’t ask for a better tough guy than Idris Elba, playing Heimdall in the Marvel movies, plus key roles in Star Trek Beyond, Prometheus, 28 Weeks Later, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Pacific Rim, and The Dark Tower).  And that’s Helen Mirren in the trailer, too, who also has a slate of badass roles in action films including the RED series, The Fate of the Furious, years of Prime Suspect, and the coming Luc Besson action movie Anna.

The Fast & Furious series has seen plenty of break-out performances along the way, including the span of the career of Paul Walker, and memorable roles for Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ted Levine, Ludacris, Lucas Black, Sung Kang, pre-Wonder Woman Gal Gadot in four of her first films, John Ortiz, Luke Evans, and Kurt Russell.  Former Brad Pitt and Jean-Claude Van Damme stunt double-turned-director David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) is directing this entry, bringing even more action movie experience to the film.

Check out the second trailer for A Ninth of Furious, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw:

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Hobbs & Shaw–First look at new Fast & Furious spin-off, running down the rest

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February 1, 2019

It’s a nearly 20-year franchise, all about cars and action in the world of illegal street racing, and it’s fun moviegoing from the first movie, 2001’s The Fast and the Furious, to the latest, 2017’s The Fate of the Furious.  The ninth movie in the Fast & Furious franchise is on its way to theaters this summer, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and Universal Pictures released its first trailer today.  The latest is a spinoff focusing on two of the newest characters joining the series, with Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs, a Diplomatic Security Service agent who began pursuing ex-con Dominic Toretto, played by series star Vin Diesel, his close circle of friends, and their turbo-charged, four-wheeled co-stars beginning with 2011’s Fast Five.  Along the way Hobbs adjusts his loyalties, and in 2015’s Furious 7, Hobbs pursues Deckard Shaw (played by Jason Statham), on a mission of vengeance for Toretto murdering his brother.  For the 2019 sequel, Hobbs and Shaw are joined in an unlikely alliance, as it’s Shaw’s turn to switch loyalties and he redeems himself, at least partially, in The Fate of the Furious.  For the first look at what’s happening next, check out the trailer for Hobbs & Shaw below.

Former Brad Pitt and Jean-Claude Van Damme stunt double-turned-director David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) is directing this entry, which should mean fans are in store for a new level of action within the series.  Idris Elba (Thor: Ragnarok, Star Trek Beyond, Prometheus) plays the show’s villain and superhuman, Brixton.  Eiza González (Baby Driver) and Vanessa Kirby (Mission Impossible: Fallout) co-star.

If you decide to jump in and get caught up on the previous eight films in the series (and why wouldn’t you?) you need to know that you’ll find some bouncing around of characters throughout the series.  It’s Universal’s biggest franchise of all time and currently the eighth-highest-grossing film series of all time, so it’s worth diving into.  Take it from someone who watched the series in the order in which the films were released, you’re better off watching the series with one movie pulled out and added back in later.  And that film is 2006’s The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.  As the third film in the series, Tokyo Drift came as a bit of a surprise, a detour from the regular cast to pull in a new character (and the result of actor and studio conflicts), but once you climb onboard it’s another fun ride on par with the rest of the series.  But there’s a twist at the end of Tokyo Drift that doesn’t get explained until the end of Fast & Furious 6.  So skip the third film and view it sixth.  Got it?

First, check out the first trailer for Furious’s ninth, Hobbs & Shaw:

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All the movies you’ll want to see in 2019

Filed under: Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes — Leave a comment
December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas!

It’s that time of year again, time to take a look forward at what movies should be on your radar for 2019.  Are you going to see them all?  Heck no.  These are the genre films we think borg readers will want to know about to make their own checklists for the coming year–and they are only the films we know about so far.  We pulled 78 of the hundreds of films that have been finalized or are in varying stages of final production, slated for next year’s movie calendar.

What looks to top the list for most fanboys and fangirls?  The last of the nine films in the Star Wars saga.  Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home.  Shazam! is DC’s contribution.  Quentin Tarentino returns to movies to direct Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Martin Scorsese is back with an all-star cast in The Irishman (on Netflix).  M. Night Shyamalan finishes his dark superhero trilogy with Glass.  Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton return in Terminator.  Jordan Peele is back with another horror film with Us.

Do you like sequels?  This is your year.  Another Men in Black, X-Men, Shaft, Happy Death Day, Lego Movie, Hellboy, John Wick, Kingsman, Jumanji, The Secret Life of Pets, How to Train Your Dragon, Fast and the Furious, Zombieland, Addams Family, Charlie’s Angels, Godzilla, Shaun the Sheep, Annabelle,and Stephen King’s It and Pet Sematary—Disney is trying to get you to move into your local theater with another Toy Story, Aladdin, Dumbo, Frozen, and Lion King–all in one year.  Yep, lots and lots of sequels are coming.

Some films don’t have locked-in release dates yet.  Amazon Prime and Netflix haven’t revealed dates for these 2019 releases:

  • Martin Scorcese’s The Irishman, a film about Jimmy Hoffa starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano, and Bobby Cannavale (Netflix)
  • The Kid, a Western biopic with Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Dane DeHaan, and Vincent D’Onofrio (Netflix)
  • The Man Who Killed Hitler Then Bigfoot, starring Sam Elliott (Netflix)
  • 6 Underground, a Michael Bay film starring Ryan Reynolds, Ben Hardy, Dave Franco, and Mélanie Laurent (Netflix)
  • The Last Thing He Wanted, Dee Rees directs Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Willem Dafoe, and Toby Jones; journalist quits newspaper job to become an arms dealer for a covert government agency (Netflix)
  • The Laundromat, Steven Soderbergh directs Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, James Cromwell, about the Pentagon Papers (Netflix)
  • Radioactive, Rosamund Pike plays Marie Curie, with Anya Taylor-Joy (Amazon)

Some of these films will have revised release dates, or get pushed to 2020.

So grab your calendar and start making your plans–here are the movies you’ll want to see in 2019 (and many you might not):

January

Glass – Superhero, M. Night Shyamalan trilogy part 3, stars Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, James McAvoy; continues where Unbreakable and Split left off – January 18.

Serenity – Mystery/Thriller, stars Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke, Djimon Hounsou, Jeremy Strong, Diane Lane; sorry, no relation to Firefly – January 25.

King of Thieves – Heist Comedy, stars Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Charlie Cox, Michael Gambon, and Ray Winstone – January 25.

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SDCC 2018–New trailer… Cameron, Rodriguez, and Landau come together for Alita: Battle Angel

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Movies, Sci-Fi Café — Leave a comment
July 23, 2018

One of the under-the-radar previews at this weekend’s San Diego Comic-Con was for the new James Cameron/Robert Rodriguez/Jon Landau sci-fi film, Alita: Battle Angel.  If you compare the trailer previewed Friday night at Horton Plaza’s Regal Theater to the earlier teaser from last December (see both below) you will see a stark difference, with clear improvements made in the interim in post-production, especially with the CGI face and movements for Alita the lead borg character in the film, with motion capture performance by Rosa Salazar.  Director Robert Rodriguez and producer and Oscar-winner Jon Landau headlined the panel Friday with Salazar and Keean Johnson, who plays Hugo.

WETA featured an Alita display at their booth. Hundreds of WETA Digital creators worked on the film.

Based on Yukito Kishiro’s manga comic Battle Angel Alita, the adaptation follows a doctor, played by Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz, whose character is the latest Geppetto, creating Alita, a cybernetic girl.  The screenplay, written by James Cameron, takes the common borg origin sub-genre of science fiction (Frankenstein, Pinocchio, Edward Scissorhands, Ghost in the Shell, etc.), to make the next sci-fi warrior heroine.  The film co-stars Michelle Rodriguez, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Jackie Earle Haley, and Jeff Fahey.

Check out the trailer for Alita: Battle Angel:

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First look–So how long until “Machete in Space”? Trejo is back in “Machete Kills”

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June 1, 2013

Machete-Kills-Poster

So how long will it be before we see Machete in Space?

Danny Trejo fans (you know who you are), take note.  This one is for you.

In 2010 Danny Trejo was asked whether his 1960s throwback, Robert Rodriguez-directed Grindhouse film Machete was all there was or whether it would be the beginning of a series.  Trejo answered that he wanted to make Machete Kills, Machete Kills Again, and finally Machete in Space.  The first of those sequels is finally real, and yesterday the first trailer was released in all its great, intentionally low-budget quality glory.

The first film, Machete, starred Trejo in the lead role along with an all-star cast, including Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, Michelle Rodriguez, Jeff Fahey, Cheech Marin, and Don Johnson.  Machete Kills again stars Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriquez, and Electra Avellan, adding to the cast both big and little known actors like Antonio Banderas, Mel Gibson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., William Sadler, Amber Heard, Sofia Vergara, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexa Vega, and Lady Gaga.  And, as you’ll see in this preview, Machete Kills introduces the actor born as Carlos Estevez following in his father Martin Sheen’s footsteps as a U.S. President.

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