2 Fast 2 Furious

Released in 2001, The Fast and the Furious was a huge success in theaters, making over $200 million compared to just a $38 million budget. It jump-started the careers of much of its cast and kicked off a hugely successful franchise that through six films has made over $2 billion in theaters. Let's dive into the first sequel, 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious.

Still on the run after letting Dom go back in Los Angeles, Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) is making a name for himself as a street racer in Miami. He's gotten into trouble now and is back on the radar of several different law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and U.S. Customs. If Brian takes on a dangerous assignment for both the FBI and Customs, his record will be wiped clean. The assignment? Help put together a case against smuggler and Argentinian drug lord, Carter Verone (Cole Hauser). With authorities closing in on his circle, Verone needs drivers to help transport piles of drug money under the cops' noses. Brian needs help if he's going to pull off the job and get out alive. He seeks out a childhood friend who's he fallen out with, an ex-con and skilled driver, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson). Can they pull the job off?

Okay, let's get this out of the way. I love the Fast and Furious franchise. Always have. Always will. So all that said, this ain't a good movie -- by a long shot -- but I love it just the same. Of all the movies, this is probably the guiltiest pleasure. How many movies can you hear Paul Walker say 'Forget about it, cuz.'? It tries to be incredibly hip and street and just so cool. Seriously, try a drinking game where anyone says 'cuz' or 'brah.' You'll be drunk for days.

Building on the surprise success of the first Fast/Furious movie two years earlier, '2 Fast' doesn't mess too much with the winning formula. Director John Singleton knows not to bite the hand that feeds so keep things simple. That formula? Some supremely cool cars from street and drag racers to some throwback classics, or as Brian and Roman say several times 'American muscle,' some cool characters and lots of scantily clad ladies all over the place. It ain't rocket science so don't overthink it, right? The races are edited in crazy, hyper fashion as the cars fly by, the soundtrack is littered with some then timely rap and hip-hop songs, and everything is easily digested in 107 minutes. You realize how far the movies have come since these early entries, a roguish, cheap quality that rises up to be pretty entertaining.

Otherwise occupied filming XXX, Vin Diesel -- star of the first Fast/Furious with Walker -- was unable to participate in this first sequel. The winners of that decision/unavailability? Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson. A whole bunch of 'brahs' and 'cuz' lines aside, the biggest appeal of '2 Fast' is the Walker and Gibson pairing. Any screen they're in together, it plays like two friends hanging out and talking. It doesn't feel forced in the least. The character backstory provides some fun fireworks too, the duo growing up close friends but having a falling out when Brian decides to become a police officer. Just the same way Diesel and Walker played off each other so well in that brotherly fashion, Walker and Gibson do the same. You're rooting for them, two talented drivers backed into a less than ideal situation with all sorts of outside forces closing in on them.

Who else to look for? Walker is the only main cast member to make the jump from the original to the sequel so we've got some fresh meat! I've always liked Cole Hauser (wish he was in more movies), and he's having some fun as Verone, clearly doing some sort of slightly subdued Tony Montana impression. Eva Mendes sexes it up as Monica Fuentes, the deep undercover agent working to take Verone down, and flirting some with Brian in the process. Also joining the franchise is Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges as Tej, a do-it-all race organizer and mechanic while model Devon Aoki plays Suki, the designated sexy female driver. Thom Barry does reprise his role as Bilkins, FBI agent extraordinaire while James Remar plays the cantankerous Agent Markham, always mad at somebody. Also look for Michael Ealy as Amaury Nolasco as rival street racers.

Want some more in-depth analysis? Yeah, I didn't think so. If you like these movies, even this type of movies, you're going to enjoy this sequel. I've recommended to moviegoers that it's worth it to stick with the franchise because it has gotten significantly better, especially most recently with Fast Five and Fast and Furious 6. Those are great fun movies, pure entertainment, but these are pretty cool too. Also worth watching? A short film made with Walker showing how Brian ends up in Miami after the finale of the first movie. Check it out HERE.

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003): ***/****

Last Vegas

Everyone liked The Hangover, right? Yeah, we don't have to go into the entertaining, but completely unnecessary sequels, but that original was pretty good, huh?!? When I saw the trailer for this movie, my first thought was "Oh, that sounds cool, The Hangover for older people...and with an A-list cast!" How can you go wrong? I submit that you cannot. Here we go with 2013's Last Vegas.

In his late 60s and a successful businessman, Billy (Michael Douglas) is getting married for the first time, proposing to his 32-year old girlfriend (Bre Blair). To celebrate the upcoming wedding, Billy calls his childhood friends, Archie (Morgan Freeman) and Sam (Kevin Kline), who agree that they need to do a bachelor party right...in Las Vegas. There's a problem though, the fourth member of the group of friends, Paddy (Robert De Niro), refuses to go, holding a grudge against Billy for an incident from the past. Archie and Sam manage to convince a less than excited Paddy to go with to the bachelor party and fly to Las Vegas to meet up with Billy. Each of the four friends is looking for something out of the weekend, and maybe they'll be able to mend the fences from all their past issues. Maybe, just maybe, they'll have some fun doing it too.

This drama-comedy from director Jon Turteltaub is an easy one to figure out if audiences will like it. Watch the trailer and you'll know immediately if this is the movie for you. It's The Hangover with less partying, drinking and drugs, replaced with jokes for an older audience about health problems, aging quicker than ever, and plenty of jokes about the prostate, having to pee a lot, and all your friends passing away or getting sick. I'm making it sound far more negative than it was -- I laughed a lot during the movie -- but come on. It's Douglas, De Niro, Freeman and Kline in a movie together, a story about rekindling old friendships. It's familiar, like home cooking, and funny throughout. This isn't a comedy that rewrites the genre or throws anything new your way. Sit back and watch some very talented actors have a lot of fun together. That's it.

Movies like this are supposed to be just that, a hell of a lot of fun. So what's a good recipe for making that happen? Put four actors together with the caliber of Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Robert De Niro and.....nope, that's it. I would watch this quartet hang out at a bar shooting the breeze. That's it. These guys are four Hollywood legends and working off a script from Dan Fogelman, they are having a hell of a lot of fun. The four friends grew up together in New York City, dubbing themselves the Flatbush Four. They're grown up, started families, become grandparents, drifted apart some, but they keep in touch as much as possible. Given a chance to reunite, they're able to put past differences aside (mostly). This is a very talented quartet working together, all getting a chance to show off their comedic timing -- Freeman and Kline are especially funny -- as they have a hell of a weekend in Las Vegas.

Each is given a gimmick of sorts, a little thing needed to work out. Douglas' Billy is getting hitched but is concerned about seeing Paddy who is pissed at him for a recent event Billly was unable to attend. Their friendship is one that borders on rivalry, especially when they both meet and like Mary Steenburgen's sassy, smart-mouthed lounge singer. Freeman's Archie is coming off a mild stroke, his son (Michael Ealy) worried about his sick dad, placing limits on eating, drinking and just about everything while pushing pill after pill. Kline's Sam is recouping from hip surgery, hating his life in Retirement Village, USA. He's given permission by his wife (Joanna Gleason) to have sex -- no strings attached -- with any woman while in Vegas. For Archie and Sam, the weekend becomes about reuniting with friends but also reclaiming their wild oats. That becomes the funnest part of the 105-minute movie.

Also look for Entourage alum Jerry Ferrara as a Vegas partygoer who gets on the Flatbush Four's bad side and Romany Malco as Lonnie, the Four's personal assistant and tour guide of sorts at their swanky hotel villa. Even look for a quick and you'll miss it cameo from rapper 50 Cent.  

The story is focused on the four friends -- obviously -- as they explore Vegas, meet the dreamy lounge singer, work as judges on a bikini contest, get into a high-end nightclub with some pricey bottle service, gamble a little bit here and there, bust each others' balls but don't let outsiders do the same (only friends can do that), throw the biggest party Las Vegas has ever seen and maybe find out what brought them all together as friends and kept them as friends for over 60 years. It isn't a great movie because it isn't meant to be. More movies should be like this, funny, well-acted and entertaining throughout. Highly recommended if for nothing else than Morgan Freeman is a really good dancer. Age be damned.

Last Vegas (2013): ***/****