Black Adam - 黑亞當

Black Adam (黑亞當) is an 2022 film. The movie stars Dwayne Johnson. The supporting cast include Aldis Hodge, Noah Centineo, Sarah Shahi, Quintessa Swindell, and Pierce Brosnan. The movie is part of the DCEU. As of this writing, the future of the DCEU is rather up in the air. The movie was released after a long drought of blockbusters. The film was considered a flop because it failed to make enough at the box office, even though it held the #1 spot for many weeks.



In a fictionaly country of Kahndaq 5,000 years ago, a thyrant is taken down by champion. In the present Kahndaq, the country is occupied by Intergang and the people seek freedom. When a group of "freedom fighters" seek to remove the Eternium crown. But the group is ambushed by Intergang goons. In desperation, a spell is casted to release Teth Adam. The champion from Kahndaq 5,000 years ago. However, Teth Adam is not a pacifist and starts to take down intergang goons. The Justice Society arrives to stop Teth Adam. And the crown is set release a powerful demon. Can Teth Adam the Justice Society get along?

As a action movie, Black Adam was a fun watch. I liked the CGI mostly and the introduction of the Justice Society. However, the story suffers from so many plot holes. The DCEU are also introducing a who's who of their library of charaters. I thought it was hard to just digest all these introductions.The DCEU seems to have a lack of defining who's in the universe.

Outside of that, I did enjoy the movie and thought the fiction country served to remove distractions of real life geopolictic leanings. Go watch Black Adam, it was a fun watch. Just leave your thinking hat at home or outside.

Jumanji: The Next Level - 野蠻遊戲:全面晉級

Jumanji: The Next Level (野蠻遊戲:全面晉級) is an 2019 film. The movie stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Danny Glover, and Danny DeVito. The supporting case reprise real world roles, played by Alex Wolff, Morgan Turner, Ser'Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, and Colin Hanks. This game is a sequel to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (野蠻遊戲:瘋狂叢林).

Set 2 years later, all four main characters are in their first year of college and head back home for Christmas break. Fridge, Martha, and Britany seem to be living their best lives. Cut to Spencer and we see a unconfident and seemly miserable at his CVS type job. When they all head back to Brantford to meet at Nora's, Spencer's a no show. They go looking for him and find out that he's been sucked back into Jumanji. After some debate, they decide to go help find Spencer so they can win the game. However, grandpa Eddie and Milo get sucked in as well. Later on, they find Spencer and set out to solve the game.



Even though this movie follows a similar formula as the first, the introduction of the grandpas and Awkwafina did refresh the movie. Add to it a new story and obstacles, I was thoroughly entertained throughout. You also see that they did increase the budget as the locales were vastly different. From the jungle, they entered into the dessert and snow capped mountains.

I caught this at a local AMC theatre.

Fighting With My Family- 我和我的摔角家庭

Fighting With My Family (我和我的摔角家庭) is an 2019 film. The movie stars Florence Pugh. The supporting cast include Lena Headey, Nick Frost, Jack Lowden, Vince Vaughn, and Dwayne Johnson. The story is based on the life of real professional wrestler Paige.



Paige grows up in a family of local professional wrestlers in Norwich England. Her parents through local events and they all participate, including her older brother Zac. When the WWE come to Norwich to recruit, they hold try outs. Zak and Paige both join. Zak's been dreaming of reaching the WWE since he was a wee lad. After try outs, Zak is not chosen and asks the promoter why. The response was that he doesn't have "it". On the flip side, Paige, who was only tagging along, was the long contestant chosen to enter the WWE training program. Zak grows distant and Paige heads off to the WWE development center in Florida. Paige leaves home for the first time and has to compete daily with other chosen contestant to make it to the big shows. Along the way, challenges arise and we see if Paige can overcome them.



This was a great film about have talent and not throwing it away. You knew she would make it, because Paige is a bonafide star in the WWE. Throw Vince as the hard nose drill sergeant, you have a great film. The cameo from The Rock Dwayne Johnson was also a nice touch. All in all, you should watch the movie even if you don't have a good understanding of the professional wrestling world. The film does a good job of giving you enough to feel like you don't need to learn it.

I caught this via a Redbox T-Mobile Tuesday deal.

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw - 玩命關頭:特別行動

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (玩命關頭:特別行動) is an 2019 film. The movie stars Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Vanessa Kirby, and Idris Elba. The supporting cast include Eiza González, Cliff Curtis, Helen Mirren and Leati "Roman Reigns" Anoaʻi. Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Hart make uncredited cameo appearances.



Vanessa Kirby plays Hattie Shaw, a MI6 field agent that gets a virus stuck inside of her. Hattie also happens to the be sister of Decker Shaw, played by Jason Statham. Dwayne Johnson, playing Luke Hobbs, is recruited by the CIA to track down the virus and get it back to safety. MI6 covertly recruits Decker to track Hattie down. As they both make their way to finding her, Black superman, played by Idris Elba, shows up to mess things up. Hobbs and Shaw must now team up to get to the bottom of this.



Just like the other Fast and Furious (FF) movies, there are lots of cars and lots of explosions. Since the 6th FF movie, the storyline has shifted towards to the superhero aspects. Enter Black Superman.

I caught this in the local theatre and was entertained.

Skyscraper - 摩天大樓

Skyscraper (摩天大樓) is an 2018 movie. The film stars Dwayne Johnson. The supporting cast include Byron Mann, Hannah Quinlivan, Neve Campbell, Chin Han, and Pablo Schreiber. The film set in Hong Kong.



Dwayne Johnson plays former FBI agent who internally battles a decision he made that killed many on his team. After leaving the FBI, he's become a security expert consultant. Specially for skyscrapers. He's hired to rubber stamp the most sophisticated ever help in Hong Kong. While he's there, a mercenary group tries to take down his employer and the building. His family is also in the building while its falling apart. Can you save his family and survive the Skyscraper?

Fun movie. I was thoroughly entertained throughout. The twist and turns were expected so I went along for the ride. The Rock is building himself into a certain type of persona. Tough but has a soft side. This movie puts all those pieces in play.

Caught this movie via T-Mobile Tuesday Redbox promo. Highly recommend this if you want to have fun and turn your brain off.

Rampage - 毀滅大作戰

Rampage (毀滅大作戰) is an 2018 film. The movie stars Dwayne Johnson and Naomie Harris. The supporting cast include Malin Åkerman, Joe Manganiello, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The movie is based on a video game of the same name from the 1980s.

The Rock plays a Primatologist, Davis Okoye. Okoye is at a reserve for wild animals and is shown to be a master of interacting with animals and prefers them to humans. In space, a science experiment that mutates animals is destroyed and three canisters are flung to earth. One of them hits Okoye's best bud, George, an albino Gorilla. The canister infects George and he starts to grow bigger. The government steps in and they find that another canister infected a wolf. The third is still a mystery, but infects a croc. The three head towards Chicago and duke it out. Okoye does his best to assist George.

I rented this via Redbox recently and watched it in one night. I was tired and the movie didn't keep up. A couple of times, I snoozed and had to rewind. The movie is well made in terms of the action and the CGI. All very polished, but the story itself isn't all the griping. I really didn't feel for George. The villains of the film were also made to cartoonish.

If you're looking for a couple hours to relax and watching mindless action. This is your joint.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle - 野蠻遊戲:瘋狂叢林

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (野蠻遊戲:瘋狂叢林) is an 2017 film. The movie stars Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas. The supporting cast include Bobby Cannavale, Rhys Darby, and Colin Hanks. The film was primarily shot in Hawaii and takes place 26 years after the events of the first movie, starring Robin Williams.

Four teenagers get into mischief at school and are sent to detention. There, they discover a old video game and decide to play it. The four pick characters and are magically transported into the game. They discover that they have 3 lives to complete the game and maybe get back home. Along the way they find out their skills and become "woke" to their ways in the real world.

The movie was a lot of fun to watch, the story was simple and the action kept me engaged. I like that each character had their moments and it wasn't completely a Rock movie. Johnson does get most of the scene time, but they do end up focusing on the other players a lot too.

This movie was also much different than the Robin Williams one. Where the game came to our world, this one was the gamers going into their world. A fun watch and recommended for a fun time.

A sequel was releases in 2019, Jumanji: The Next Level (野蠻遊戲:全面晉級).

The Fate of the Furious - 玩命關頭8

The Fate of the Furious (玩命關頭8) is an 2017 film. The film stars Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Scott Eastwood, Nathalie Emmanuel, Elsa Pataky, Kurt Russell, and Charlize Theron. This is the eighth movie of the franchise.

We start out with a race in Cuba where Dom comes out a winner and makes a friend. While on a raid, he's tempted away by Cipher to do her bidding. The group luckily doesn't die and is super confused. Why would Dom turn on his friend. Think about it for a bit, you have your answer. The crew continues on with their mission with Dom, but time and time again, Dom messes them up. How do you defeat Dom? You don't. Dom comes around and saves the day. Some driving involved, but lots of airtime too.

This is the eighth time out. None of the folks here have been in everyone. Because with #2 and #3, no one wanted to be around. But when Justin Lin put the cool back in, all the folks wanted back with #4. But its now running long in the tooth and even the box office is responding now. Can there be too much of a good thing? Can Hobbs And Shaw's spinoff do well. Shaw still killed Han, never forget. But the international market trumps the box office of the US, so they'll keep pumping them out. Vin has announce that they'll make it up to a final 10th film. Not including the spin offs.

It's been on HBO non-stop recently so I've caught parts of the movie, but there wasn't a time that I stopped to finish to the end.

Fast and Furious 6 - 玩命關頭6 - Fast Six - Furious 6

Fast and Furious 6 (玩命關頭6/Fast Six/Furious 6) is an 2013 film. The movie stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. The support cast include Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Luke Evans, Joe Taslim, Sarah Li, and Gina Carano. Cameo appearances from Elsa Pataky, Rita Ora, and Jason Statham. This is Justin Lin's fourth and final film of the series.



Dom and Brian retreat a quiet life raising Jack. Hobbs approaches Dom to come out of retirement to help track down a gang of driving speedsters. Dom rejects the offer, but Hobbs pulls out a wild card. A picture of Letty at the most recent heist. Dom instantly signs up and goes after the target, Owen Shaw. Dom reassembles the crew and Hobbs promises to wipe their records if they succeed. When they meet the first time, Shaw's team hands it to Dom's group and get away. But not before Dom comes face to face with Letty. But Letty does not remember Dom and escapes with Shaw's group. Dom's pursuit of Letty leads to encounters with Shaws group. Everything leads to a final showdown. Since the timeline events of Tokyo Drift merge up with the present, we know some tragic things will happen.



I've seen this movie on Blu-ray and on multiple re-runs on cable during the days leading up to the release of Fast and Furious 7. I feel like I know it like I do Fast Five. The movie was entertaining. You see the characters try to look as cool as they can. You see a lot of comedy. You see a lot of cars. Lots of action. This is one of those movies that you can start up at anytime and watch a few moments and not have to skip a beat.

Fast Five - 玩命關頭5

Fast Five (玩命關頭5) is an 2011 film. The film stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Matt Schulze, Sung Kang, and Dwayne Johnson. As the title suggest, this is the fifth installment of the The Fast and the Furious film series. This film also introduces The Rock as part of the regular cast.



After the events of Fast & Furious, Dominic, Brian, and Mia are on the run and show up in Brazil. Vince has relocated to Brazil and now has an wife and child since the events of the first film. Vince has a heist planned out for cars on a train. In need of some cash, Dominic and Brian agree to help Vince and his friends. They find that the US Feds are on the train and know there's something important about the cars. Dom catches Vince trying to remove a chip from the GSP system. When they find out that the chip is very important, a heist is planned out to steal from the biggest crook in Rio. Enter in the rest of the crew from the previous 4 films. The heist is on and its pretty amazing.



I am writing this review after I've seen Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7. I still like this movie the best of all of them in the series. When 2, 4, and 6 are in rotation on cable, I barely stop to re-watch. I may feel the same about 7, but time will tell when it goes into rotation on cable. I still stop and watch segments of 5 all the time. 1 seems like its from another era now, something from an bygone era and nostalgic. Tokyo Drift holds a special place still, but its hardly on reruns.

I enjoyed Fast Five because its the most enjoyable heist of them all. From trying to get access to impossible places, to the full use of the team, and to having The Rock on their tail, the movie had all the right elements to make for an lasting impression.

Furious 7 - Furious Seven - 玩命關頭7

Furious 7 (玩命關頭7) is an 2015 film. The movie stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, and Jason Statham. The supporting cast include Kurt Russell, Elsa Pataky, Nathalie Emmanuel, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, and Ronda Rousey. The movie has cameo appearances from Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Bow Wow, Nathalie Kelley, Noel Gugliemi, Luke Evans, Levy Tran, and Iggy Azalea. Malaysian Chinese film director James Wan takes over for the departing Justin Lin.



Furious 7 takes off where Fast & Furious 6 left off. The crew back in LA living life. Deckard Shaw is up to no good as he starts his hunt for those that crippled his little brother Owen Shaw. Deckard starts with Hobbs to find the rest of the crew. When Deckard puts Hobbs in the hospital, he goes after Han and the Toretto house. From that point on, the action goes strong and doesn't stop, no need to explain more.

Furious 7 goes for the jugular and doesn't make any apologies. It's another good entry into the franchise. Fast cars, lots of action, the car racing scene on display. Along the way, a common theme emerges, "Family". This merry band of misfits are a family and it shows in how they take care of each other.

Don't expect the same humor as Lin's FF entries. James Wan puts his stamp on this installment with suspenseful actions scenes that make you go "whoa!" Do it, I dare you to watch it and not smile and even LOL!

This was also a sad good bye to the late Paul Walker. *SPOILER* Entering the film, I thought they would kill him off, but they didn't. Instead, they made a touching tribute to Paul with a video montage. RIP Paul Walker.

Snitch - 毒火線 - 限時翻供

Snitch (限時翻供/毒火線) is an 2013 film. The movie stars The Rock, Dwayne Johnson. The supporting cast include Barry Pepper, Susan Sarandon, Benjamin Bratt, Jon Bernthal, Melina Kanakaredes, and Nadine Velazquez. The film is inspired by a true story.



The Rock owns a shipping business and is doing well. He has a McMansion in the suburbs of Missouri. His son from his ex-wife accepts a drug shipment and is busted by the DEA. Sent to jail, The Rock tries to get him free. The Rock decides to snitch on a big player in the drug cartel to get his son released from jail sooner. The workers in his yard have criminal history and he get a connection in. From that point on, it's the cat and mouse chase of getting his son of jail without getting himself and his family killed.



The Rock is a presence and I like his movies. I still refer to him as The Rock. The women in the film were nice eye candy, but it was a thriller with bits of action thrown in. A layman going in to set up a drug deal is crazy in itself. To do it for boy in jail and to basically upturn families for the rest of your life. That just seems crazy.

Watch it. The Rock is in it.