Vin Diesel

CHICAGO – “Fast Five,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, is one of the most interesting pop culture phenomena of 2011. All of us who complain that sequels are never good and that films usually get worse as a franchise gets older had to admit that this was the exception to the rule. Not only the most critically-acclaimed film in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise, it also became the highest-grossing in the series, making an AMAZING $620 million worldwide and currently ranking fifth on the year in domestic gross.

CHICAGO – The familiar character actor Tyrese Gibson is on a roll. The singer, author and actor has recurring roles in two big film franchises, including the portrayal of Roman Pearce in “Fast Five,” set to release on Blu-Ray and DVD on Oct. 4, 2011.

CHICAGO – In our latest action/crime edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: DVD, we have 10 DVDs up for grabs for the home entertainment release of “Fast Five” starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson!

CHICAGO – Maybe director Justin Lin learned how to have fun directing the now-classic paintball episode of “Community.” Wherever he figured out that his movies need not be so damn self-serious or wordy, he took that knowledge to the set of “Fast Five,” a movie that this critic who hated “Fast & Furious” absolutely dreaded when it was first announced. Now I can’t wait for the inevitable sixth movie in the most unexpected mega-franchise of the new millennium.

CHICAGO – In our latest action/drama edition of HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 100 admit-two passes up for grabs to the advance Chicago screening of the new film “Fast Five” with Vin Diesel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Paul Walker!

CHICAGO – One of the reasons that Blu-ray hasn’t taken over like so many of the technology’s early adopters hoped that it would is that a lot of the films that drove the success of standard DVD weren’t available on the format. It has taken time for early DVD hits like “The Matrix” and even “The Lord of the Rings” to come out in HD. When people buy a Blu-ray machine, they want to be able to get their favorite films right away. Now they can add another long-wanted option to the first-day-purchase list with “Saving Private Ryan”.

CHICAGO – The Blu-Ray release of Universal’s “Fast & Furious,” also now available on DVD, is a tough one for a critic who hated the film when he had to review it in theaters. “Fast & Furious” is not a good movie, even when judged against the relatively low standards of this lackluster franchise. But the Blu-Ray? It’s pretty great.

Video Game Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Vin Diesel should stick to making video games. After headlining last month’s “Wheelman” and this month’s “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena,” I have to admit that I like the actor more as a video game hero than I do as a movie star. “Athena” gives fans the most bang for their buck of anything the actor has been involved with in years.

CHICAGO – Midway’s “Wheelman” is my guilty pleasure game of the season. I know the game has some serious design flaws, but like an action movie you watch over and over again, the flaws are easier to forgive in the name of old-fashioned fun.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Has one star ever had such an assault on their demographic as Vin Diesel is having in April 2009? He’s the star of two original video games (“Wheelman,” “The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena”), a blockbuster movie (“Fast & Furious”), and has two catalog titles in “Pitch Black” and “The Chronicles of Riddick” hitting Blu-Ray. And all of it happens in the span of two weeks.