Movie Review: ‘Fast-X’

Continued from page 5 with a 20 kiloton bomb along the way and ending the movie at the side of a dam in Portugal in a cliffhanger. Stick around for the credits and even more megastars are promised for the next installment.

What you get this time are two brutal hand-to-hand fights, a car smashing two helicopters and rush hour traffic, car bombs, remote-controlled cars (big and small), vehicles that leap into the sky like salmon and a plane that drops a souped-up racer from its belly onto the highway.

Taking material from “Fast Five” means the delicate task of returning to Paul Walker, the franchise veteran who died in 2013. Old footage of Walker does appear in “Fast X” as the movie recreates events on that Rio bridge. It is handled respectfully and coolly. In a nice touch, Walker’s daughter, Meadow, has a cameo as a flight attendant.

With a foot in the past, one in the future and one on the gas, “Fast X” is pure popcorn lunacy. Was that too many feet? Oh, excuse us, you wanted logic?

“Fast X,” a Universal Pictures release, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for intense sequences of violence and action, language and some suggestive material. Running time: 134 minutes.

Mariners win 15-9 slugfest and CIF title

The Pacifica High School softball team won its eihth CIF-SS title on Friday, defeating Norco High 15-9 at Deanna Manning in Irvine for the Division 1 crown.

The Mariners, coached by Tony Arduino, won their last seven games and finished 23-8. And it’s probably not over. The M’s have six juniors on their varsity roster, five sophomores and three frosh.

Color-blind Lakers too tired? Or big comeback on the way?

Continued from page 8 opportunity to go home and play great basketball and hold serve. Until a team beats you four times, you always have an opportunity to come out of it. So that’s the confidence that we should have. I know it’s going to be a tough hill to climb up, but we still have an opportunity to play the best basketball of the series in Game 3.”

The Lakers insist they’re not as tired as they looked for stretches of both games in Denver, when they settled for too many jumpers, ran the court less effectively and lost a fraction of their defensive intensity. James and Anthony Davis both say the fatigue of this relentless twomonth sprint toward title contention isn’t finally too much for a team that altered half of its roster just three months ago.

“If you’re not tired in the postseason...,” James said after LA’s 108-103 loss in Game 2. “I mean, everybody’s tired.”

But James’ weariness appears to be evident in his jump shot — and in his reliance on that shot instead of the more physically demanding task of driving to the hoop. The top scorer in NBA history went 0 for 6 on 3-pointers in Game 2, making him 0 for 10 in the series. He has also missed 19 consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter over the Lakers’ last 11 playoff games.

On top of the fatigue from the heavy workload for his 38-yearold body, James also sprained his left ankle in the third quarter of Game 2, although said he would be fine for Game 3.

Davis is prone to offensive inconsistency, and the stress of leading the Lakers’ defensive effort against mighty Denver may have affected him — although he insists it didn’t. What’s clear is that Davis’ 18-point performance on 4-of-15 shooting in Game 2 isn’t enough from the Lakers’ franchise big man, particularly after his 40-point effort in Game 1, when the Lakers’ defense was much worse.

The Lakers are hoping for a big boost from their success-hungry home fans when they get back to their downtown arena, where they’re 7-0 at home since the regular season ended.

“The higher the levels you get to, you’re going to face much, much tougher teams,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “No disrespect to Memphis or Golden State, but (Denver) has been at the top of the food chain for a reason. Not just this year, but the last few years. So we’ve definitely got our work cut out for us, but we’re going to get better from this, as we always do, and we’ll bounce back on our home floor.” nice person with a thick accent. You can’t follow what’s been said, so you just nod and say, “Sure. Of course. Naturally.”

I think that instead of trying to turn a kid’s game into quantum mechanics, the color guy should arrive at every game with a file folder of really good jokes. They would be entertaining and provide relief from the impenetrable blather. Say, what do you call 50 color-men with laryngitis?

Yes, that would be a good start, wouldn’t it?