Monday, June 12, 2023
John Wick Chapter 4
- Commentary: Yeow! No, as I write this, I haven't watched the film, yet. I'm waiting until later this evening when I know I won't be disturbed and can really savor it. I must mention, though, that I acquired this movie from My Florida Sister, who is aware of my almost incomprehensible love of this franchise! What a wonderful surprise she's dealt me! Then, of course, as always, I'll spend the next few days watching the entire series, ending up with this fourth installment, allowing everything to settle into some kind of understandable-to-me-only order in my brain. I'm not sure if I'll write more of my initial reaction tonight, or later, maybe tomorrow. But, you can bet, there'll be more, so stay tuned!
Aiyee! Not my usual browser, but Chrome, which, unfortunately, pops up unbidden on my newer Windows computer at all the wrong times, just delivered an article to me that I couldn't avoid, at least not the title! Apparently, in this episode, John Wick dies! I refused to read the article. That's the kind of development for which I really want to wait! Fi on you, Chrome! I thought I deleted you! In fact, I'm sure I did, but you sneaked back in on the heels of the latest Windows 11 update. Hey, Microsoft, see this finger? It's for you!
More news, though, that's somewhat less shocking: Ballerina is still in production and scheduled for release in June of 2024. Here's another, more fleshy, article about what we might expect of this spin-off that is being billed as a separate John Wick franchise. It'll be a bit awkward (unless I have no idea what I'm talking about) because it's slated to be a story that takes place between the events of the 3rd and 4th John Wick films, but I'll be keeping an eye out for it in a year (or so), especially since it'll be co-written by Emerald Fennell, someone toward whom I am very positively disposed. I guess a spin-off franchise is being planned. Hmmm ... we'll see ...
For those of you who are John Wick fan-people, rogerebert.com has published an interview with Chad Stahelski about the series by Nick Allen with inside/background information that is lengthy and interesting.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Keanu Reeves John Wick Donnie Yen Caine Bill Skarsgård Marquis Vincent Bisset de Gramont Laurence Fishburne Bowery King Hiroyuki Sanada Shimazu Koji Shamier Anderson Mr. Nobody/The Tracker Lance Reddick Charon Rina Sawayama Shimazu Akira Scott Adkins Killa Harkan Clancy Brown Harbinger Ian McShane Winston Scott Natalia Tena Katia
Update 06/13/23: So, no, I did not watch this movie last night. As I was about to settle in with it, I was called to join an emergency visitation of one of our book club members who is in the hospital, awaiting, well, as of last night, no one knew quite what she was awaiting, turns out it was surgery and it was successful, so I took two shifts, the second late last night and a final shift very early this morning. So, tonight I watch this movie!
Update 06/15/23: This update is taken from an email to MFS containing my part of a discussion about this movie, so I'll put it in quotations: "I rewound scene after scene of 'John Wick Chapter 4', so much that I didn't really finish it until early this morning, between 3:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., after taking a middle of the night nap (which is usually called 'going to bed'). Then, I watched all the special features, many of which were about the fight choreography and the cinematography. I was so dazzled by the movie that I was glad they were included. Then I took a much longer nap.
"The ending satisfied me, as well, which surprised me. Previous to watching it, I experienced a minor twinge of agony that the saga of John Wick was going to end [which I'd learned, by the way, from the titles of several articles fed to me by my search engine, which is not, I repeat, not a Microsoft search engine]. Now, I'm not only totally okay with that, his death seems justified, like he earned it, and I think, if the film makers somehow resurrect that character after his death, I might feel cheated."
Aside from what I wrote to my sister, above in quotation marks, I scanned (with my eyes, children, not with my printer or a mobile phone [which I do not own] app. I'm old school. I prefer to do things with my body over doing them with a machine or software.) several articles written about the movie that contained multiple spoilers. It seems that John Wick's death was so momentous in the movie and mythological kingdoms that writers simply couldn't put their pens down. There are lots of people (both professional critics and amateurs) who are trying to figure out ways to resurrect John Wick. Even the producers of the film are waiting until its debut in Japan before deciding whether to figure out how to do a fifth. For myself, if a fifth Resurrected Wick film is produced, I'll likely watch it, maybe even add it to my collection as a curiosity, as I did with Glass of the Eastrail 177 (Unbreakable) Trilogy, but I kind of think I will find it unsatisfying, just as I find the story of Resurrected Jesus unsatisfying.
In the meantime, I find the multiple alt-character franchises that are in development surrounding the original "John Wick" series franchise questionable, especially the proposed series about the Continental Hotels [BTW, did you know that a Continental Hotel chain actually exists? It's in Romania, exclusively, and is targetted toward business tourism.]. I mean, really? You're going there? Yes, so-called inanimates can, and usually do, have character (versus being characters; let me explain: to have character does not imply movement or growth; being a character implies both movement and growth, which is what movies, stories, are about) but, I don't know, in this case, it seems like an awfully long reach just to make a little more money. For me, it's kind of like with the Marvel super-hero franchise(s). I loved Iron Man but didn't at all care for the direct spin-offs and, if you'll notice, don't own them. I was okay with Avengers: Endgame, found it entertaining, but only watched it once and have yet to write-up that watching. I collected Captain Marvel and watched it but was not impressed. My write-up for Captain Marvel contains a list of all the other MCU movies I own and my appreciation (or lack thereof) for them.
I know I'm not done watching super-hero movies. I'm probably not done adding to my collection of super-hero movies. I have, however, developed a dogged skepticism of super-hero sequels, no matter what excuses creators (or, as nouveau-lingo labels them, "creatives", jesus, where did that come from, and why) use for their existence. At this point my experience suggests to me that the first in a franchise series is the best that will ever be offered, even if succeeding ones are quite good. In the first, an idea is fresh, exciting and approached as an idea, not as a possible money maker. I mean, initially you don't know if you're going to make any money off the first project. You don't even know whether it'll be the "first" of a string. From then on, though, all bets are off. It's no longer about character development, or at least not purely about character development, it's about extracting more money from fans of the franchise. At that point, not everything about succeeding movies in the franchise passes the smell test, and, almost like a rule of thumb, the more sequels, the more it's not a case of "smell" but of "stink". I know, I know, mixed metaphors and all that shit. All I can say is, read me for meaning, not for art.
All that being said, I really enjoyed this iteration of John Wick. I especially enjoyed the fact that this movie ended his story, at least seemingly. We'll see what happens next, whether the smell of money becomes more tempting to the "creatives" involved than the smell of freshness.
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2023
Directed by Chad Stahelski.
Labels: clancy-brown, don't-ask-me-why, keanu-reeves, laurence-fishburne, neo-noirD, revenge2, super-hero3
Thursday, June 09, 2022
John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum
- Commentary: Under construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Keanu Reeves John Wick Halle Berry Sofia Al-Azwar Ian McShane Winston Laurence Fishburne The Bowery King Mark Dacascos Zero Asia Kate Dillon The Adjudicator Lance Reddick Concierge Charon Tobias Segal Earl Anjelica Huston The Director Saïd Taghmaoui The Elder Jerome Flynn Berrada Randall Duk Kim The Doctor
The Wikipedia write-up for this film is here.
Release Date: 2019
Directed by Chad Stahelski.
Labels: don't-ask-me-why, keanu-reeves, laurence-fishburne, neo-noirC, revenge1, super-hero1
John Wick: Chapter 2
- Commentary: Under construction.
In addition (and much to my surprise, even though I enjoy all three John Wick movies, RogerEbert.com contains a second meditation on this movie.
By the way, many critics liked, loved or adored all three of the John Wick movies. In fact, John Wick: Chapter 4, although it's release has been delayed by almost exactly a year, is due out in May of 2022. According to that Wikipedia article, "Keanu Reeves stated that he will continue making sequels, as long as the films are successful. Lionsgate intended to film the fourth and fifth films back-to-back but dropped those plans in March 2021 ... due to the COVID-19 pandemic." I probably won't see either in a theater, I rarely go to the theater, anymore, but, you can bet, I'll be adding the discs to my collection to watch at home. With enthusiasm.
Update 6/9/2022: This post was originally published on 8/14/16 but disappeared from public view. I am now reinstating it.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Keanu Reeves John Wick Common Cassian Laurence Fishburne The Bowery King Riccardo Scamarcio Santino D'Antonio Ruby Rose Ares Lance Reddick Concierge Charon Peter Stormare Abram Tarasov Bridget Moynahan Helen Wick Franco Nero Julius John Leguizamo Aurelio Ian McShane Winston Claudia Gerini Gianni D'Antonio
The Wikipedia write-up for this film is here.
Release Date: 2017
Directed by Chad Stahelski.
Labels: don't-ask-me-why, keanu-reeves, laurence-fishburne, neo-noirC, revenge1, super-hero1
John Wick
- Commentary: Under construction.
Update 6/9/2022: This post was originally published on 8/14/16 but disappeared from public view. I am now reinstating it.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Keanu Reeves John Wick Michael Nyqvist Viggo Tarasov Alfie Allen Iosef Tarasov Adrianne Palicki Ms. Perkins Bridget Moynahan Helen Wick Dean Winters Avi Ian McShane Winston John Leguizamo Aurelio Willem Dafoe Marcus David Patrick Kelly Cleaner Charlie Randall Duk Kim Specialty Doctor Lance Reddick Hotel Concierge Charon
The Wikipedia write-up for this film is here.
Release Date: 2014
Directed by Chad Stahelski.
Labels: don't-ask-me-why, keanu-reeves, neo-noirC, revenge1, super-hero1, willem-dafoe
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
Casino Royale
- Commentary: Under Construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Daniel Craig James Bond Eva Green Vesper Lynd Mads Mikkelsen Le Chiffre Giancarlo Giannini René Mathis Judi Dench M Jeffrey Wright Felix Leiter Tobias Menzies Villiers Simon Abkarian Alex Dimitrios
Here's the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
Release Date: 2006
Directed by Martin Campbell.
Labels: don't-ask-me-why, james-bond, judi-dench, mads-mikkelsen
Quantum of Solace
- Commentary: Under Construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Daniel Craig James Bond Olga Kurylenko Camille Montes Mathieu Amalric Dominic Greene Giancarlo Giannini René Mathis Gemma Arterton Strawberry Fields Anatole Taubman Elvis Judi Dench M Jeffrey Wright Felix Leiter
Here's the Wikipedia write-up for this film.
Release Date: 2008
Directed by Marc Forster.
Labels: don't-ask-me-why, james-bond, judi-dench
Skyfall
- Commentary: Under Construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Daniel Craig James Bond Judi Dench M Javier Bardem Raoul Silva Ralph Fiennes Gareth Mallory Naomie Harris Eve Moneypenny Albert Finney Kincade Ben Whishaw Q Bérénice Marlohe Sévérine
Here's the link for the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
Release Date: 2012
Directed by Sam Mendes.
Labels: don't-ask-me-why, james-bond, judi-dench
Spectre
- Commentary: Under Construction.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Daniel Craig James Bond Christoph Waltz Ernst Stavro Blofeld Léa Seydoux Madeleine Swann Ralph Fiennes M Ben Whishaw Q Naomie Harris Eve Moneypenny Andrew Scott C Dave Bautista Mr. Hinx
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up for this movie.
Release Date: 2015
Directed by Sam Mendes.
Labels: don't-ask-me-why, james-bond
Saturday, January 16, 2021
Wonder Woman
- Commentary: I really enjoy the part of this movie which focuses on Diana's Amazonian life. The rest of it, once she leaves Themyscira, eh. My reaction to the story of how Diana becomes embroiled in World War I and, as the blurbs say, discovers her true destiny, left me flat. Yes, the underplot of Diana actually battling Ares as she becomes involved in WWI is interesting, but frankly, anti-climactic. I'm not sure why. You'd think this mission would be exciting. That's certainly the secondary reason why I purchased the movie. The primary reason was because I collect certain super-hero movies and I wanted this particular origin story in my catalog. Will I watch it again? Probably. As I do, though, I'll always wish ...
Update 8/7/2021: I haven't decided whether I want to obtain Wonder Woman: 1984. I've read synopses (some detailed) of the movie, so I know the story, but, of course, that's not important, since, if I like a movie, I'll watch it multiple times, with the story already firmly in mind for all but one of those watches. And, as well, I don't particularly care about the conflicted reviews, like the one immediately above in this paragraph. Thing is, I've watched the original only once and, despite my adoration for the character as played by Gal Gadot, I may never watch this movie, again. My copy won't end up at my local library, since I consider it a must-keep in my super-hero caches (both caches linked, by the way; one to "super-hero" and one to "caches"). But, unlike Iron Man, for instance, I'm not drawn back to yet another watching. Then, again, this movie features Kristin Wiig as a villian, and that sounds like fun. Perhaps I'll check it out of my local library and see how I like it.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Gal Gadot Diana/Wonder Woman Chris Pine Steve Trevor Robin Wright Antiope Danny Huston Erich Ludendorff David Thewlis Sir Patrick Connie Nielsen Hippolyta Elena Anaya Dr. Isabel Maru Lucy Davis Etta Candy Saïd Taghmaoui Sameer Ewen Bremner Charlie Eugene Brave Rock Chief Lisa Loven Kongsli Menalippe
The Wikipedia article on this movie is here.
Release Date: 2017
Directed by Patty Jenkins, as is the second film in this series.
Labels: action2, adventure2, don't-ask-me-why, drama1, fantasy1, female-director3, military, period1, political1, popcorn-and-soda1, pseudo-cgi-animation, super-hero1, suspense1, thriller1, violence1, war1
Monday, July 01, 2019
Captain Marvel
- Commentary: Frankly, although I like this movie, I'm not a huge fan. Not like like I am with, say, Iron Man or the Unbreakable trilogy (I know it's not called that, but I think it's more recognizable as that). I haven't been following a lot of the Marvel Universe characters on film. I watch some of the Netflix series, which seems to do a good job with MCU characters): The Punisher, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Daredevil, but the movies haven't really caught my attention. The reason I bought this movie is because Samuel L. Jackson, Annette Bening and Jude Law are in it: thus, I thought, it's gotta be great, you know?!? Long story short, I was wrong. It's not bad, and I have nothing against Brie Larson. I've caught accidental snippets of commentary against her, but, as far as I can tell, none of it attacks her performance as Captain Marvel. I ended up deciding to own Captain Marvel for the same reason I own Black Panther. I thought it might be interesting and promising. Turns out, I find Black Panther much more interesting and involving, and promising. I've watched that movie a couple of times since I bought it and I'm anticipating spin-offs of some of the characters. Some of those spin-offs have already been proposed, and/or promised. But, if a sequel to this movie is launched, I'll probably skip it.
After the beginning, the movie was tedious for me, until close to the end. I liked the special effects in it, especially what they did with the de-aging/aging of Samuel L. Jackson. I think the problem is with the script. The story just didn't have enough oomph, enough surprise, nor was its presentation of backstory particularly imaginative, or, for that matter, innovative.
I won't be donating it to the library, yet, anyway, although they would probably be glad of another copy, considering how popular it is. I cherish my super-hero movies, even if they're bad (although I haven't yet found one that is truly bad, probably because I am initially so very, very selective). And, anyway, considering all the other characters in the movie I liked, well, maybe, just maybe ...
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Brie Larson Carol Danvers/Vers/ Captain Marvel Samuel L. Jackson Nick Fury Ben Mendelsohn Talos/Keller Djimon Hounsou Korath Lee Pace Ronan the Accuser Lashana Lynch Maria Rambeau Gemma Chan Minn-Erva Annette Bening Supreme Intelligence/Mar-Vell/Dr. Wendy Lawson Clark Gregg Phil Coulson Jude Law Yon-Rogg Algenis Pérez Soto Att-Lass Rune Temte Bron-Char
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2019
Directed by Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck.
Labels: action2, adventure2, aliens, annette-bening, ben-mendelsohn, don't-ask-me-why, female-director3, popcorn-and-soda2, pseudo-cgi-animation, samuel-l-jackson, science-fiction1, super-hero1, violence2
