FILM STRIP: Tokyo Drift

What were you in the mood for this past weekend?

Ridiculous Humor [Nacho Libre]...Heart-wrenching romance [The Lake House]...or Adrenaline-Pumping Action [The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift]?

I braved the blazing heat to sit in an air conditioned theater for some admittedly mindless action, but nevertheless truly entertaining stunts for Tokyo Drift. Sure, the sexy and mischievous Paul Walker wasn't in it, but that was actually half the attraction. With an all knew cast, the audience was challenged to keep up with an extensive introduction into a new racing world. The stunts, needless to say were incredible to see on such a huge screen. But most interesting of all (besides the crowd-cheer inducing, amazing surprise in the end), was the birth of what could be a lucrative future for several of the cast members. You may be surprised by a couple of their backgrounds.

For example, the bad ass of the entire flick known as DK, the Drift King, is played by Brian Tee a completely obscure and all-over-the-place asian actor. Since 2000, he's appeared in the soap opera "Passions," the comedy "Monk," crime thrillers like "Without a Trace" and "The Unit," and rounded out his resume with Nickolodeon's "Zoey 101." None of these scream rebel, but his amateur acting may have snagged him a couple more big screen grimaces.

DK's side kick and mini-bad ass, Morimoto, was played by Leonard Nam. The guys may best know him for his hilarious stoned-smart-asian act in The Perfect Score...and the ladies may have a soft spot for his endearing performance as a gamer opposite Amber Tamblyn in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Thus, Tokyo Drift was definitely a change of pace for Nam. It took me a while to recognize him, but once I did, I was amazed by how unfunny his psychotic behavior was. Perhaps he truly is a multi-faceted actor.

Sung Kang, who plays Hans, the simultaneous voice of reason and cause for disaster, also has a spotty record on TV with the one exception of executive producing and starring in the asian revenge, stereotype-bashing film, "Better Luck Tomorrow." But unlike Tee, he already has another film in the bag, taking a major back seat to Jet Li, Devon Aoki (who happens to have appeared in 2 Fast 2 Furious), and Jason Statham in Rogue (2007). No worries. His performance in Tokyo Drift was reminiscent of Chow Yung Fat in Replacement Killers, which if I'm not mistaken was Fat's official debut in American cinema, leading him to a critically acclaimed performance in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

However, the most astonishing revelation of all the cast members is the fact that this was the leading lady, Nathalie Kelley's, first acting gig. She was pretty damn good for a newbie. According to a few forums, she was born in Peru and raised in Australia. Bearing the aussie accent may get her a few interesting gigs. Or she could americanize herself as others have and steal all of Eva Mendes' jobs.

The leading man, a tad more well known than the rest of the cast, Lucas Black, the literal Paul Walker replacement (attitude, cockiness, and all), has already appeared in Friday Night Lights and Jarhead. Now he's headlining movies. After the box office numbers come in tomorrow morning, we'll see if there's a new Black in town to stay.

Speaking of which, Jack has done it again...burned an unsightly performance into our retina with the completely bizarre and ridiculous Nachoooooooo Libre. I didn't watch the flick, but I was begged several times, while waiting for Tokyo Drift to begin, by my friend to ditch the action thriller and sneak into the sure-to-be hilarious comedy. I would've, since I almost died laughing when I first saw the trailer, but I really really really wanted to see how the third installment of Fast and the Furious was without being soiled by the critics.

As for the Lake House, I cheated and went to www.imdb.com 's forums to read the ending, because I really hate crying in movie theaters and I knew it would compel me to make a scene, but I had to know if they would meet in the end. If you're as much of a sap as I am, sneak a peek. But since I did read it and I can gauge what kind of performance I can expect from Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves from the clips shown on daytime television, I'd say it's worth a look-see on a rainy summer day.

--Monica