John Wick (Movie Review)

   

Don't "keep thinking I'm back," Neo. YOU. ARE. BACK!

     At this point, considering the resurgence of the action movie genre, it was only a matter of time before Keanu & action movies reemerged together to create something interesting, to say the least. The plot of John Wick is basic if you merely just consider the obvious: His dog gets killed early on and he wants vengeance. Though, there's a bit more to it than losing a companion, he loses something else in his life that serves a much bigger purpose. His wife, played by Bridget Moynihan, dies of cancer and as her dying wish, gives John a dog to cope with the pain. Basically, the dog represents some form of humanity from a guy who once was a part of a criminal syndicate. Unfortunately, this brief moment of peace is interrupted when a couple of men break into his house and proceed on stealing his car, kill his dog and bring out the monster that was once buried away beneath his psyche.

    There really isn't much to say about the acting and the story other than that it's good. The actors and the plot do enough to execute on the simplicity of the film. But, if you came here for a dense narrative, you're in the wrong place. The main attraction is the gun-play. They're well-choreographed and well-shot. A lot of time seemed to have been dedicated to getting a certain tempo to those particular moments in the movie. All of them have a certain fluidity and are surprisingly distinctive.

     Also, it's a short movie (101 minutes) that knows when to end at the right time, so it doesn't prolong into an unnecessary new story arc. As for any faults? Nothing significant to speak of, really. Yes, stilted Keanu is here in all its glory and some lines are a bit off, but that's nitpicking to the max. There's only one way to enjoy a movie like this, which is to allow it to be an action movie, nothing else. Kinda makes me wonder, if there's a sequel to this movie, I do wonder if they'll to explore the criminal market more depending on the film's royalties. 

     If you thought The Equalizer was brutal in its violence, John Wick makes it look like a small accident. It doesn't take much for Wick to lose his mind. Otherwise, welcome to the new paradigm of action movies, Keanu.

Good: Superb action, simple story

Bad: Really nothing

5 out of 5

Gone Girl (movie review)

      

Here, you see, a very lost man, not knowing the game is rigged against him.
  

       David Fincher has a way of playing with an audience with his anti-"good guy always win" stance. Gone Girl is another example of him pulling the strings on all of us expecting that one character is going to finally get one over the other, only for the tables to turn against him again, just in a more subtle fashion. Based on the novel, written by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote Gone Girl is about how typical murders are treated in the mainstream press and how married relationships fall and could get resuscitated. You have your accused killer, Nick Dunne, played by Ben Affleck and your "victim", Amy Dunne, played by Rosamund Pike. These roles are played out as a satire of how murders are portrayed by perception from media companies, people misconception and the portrayal of marriage by the two, as one plays a game with everyone just to make a point to a loved one. Is it exaggerated? Yes, but that's really the point in all these scandals being covered on various media outlets that do this for money: Use exploitation as a weapon. Not that's a bad thing, though, it happens a lot with whatever court case you happen to be watching on television.

      The thing that Gone Girl succeeds at, is how Pike basically plays everyone into thinking how she was the one who suffered through the ordeal that her husband put her through; one push was too much for her, so she plotted how to smear him in order to take me back into my arms without criminally implicating herself. It's honestly some of the crazies stuff that I've ever seen in cinema history; and, the way she does it without the narrative changing against her was interesting. Fincher, time and time again, gets the best out of his cast, which I think is why you see such superb performances from Rosamund, Affleck and Tyler Perry (no joke, he's great here). Neil Patrick Harris give a great performance as he plays a character who was once Amy's boyfriend.

      I can say flatly that, I haven't read this book, as of this blog post, but I will be in due time, because there is more that I want to know after learning the tropes of this film. Some publications have criticized it for being misogynistic and accusing some of the actors of having overwrought lines, but, I didn't really come across much of those complaints. That being said, on the other hand, sure, some of the people may come across as cold and not capable of having compassion. Then again, that's usually what troubled people would sound like if he or she may sound if they, you know, lack compassion.

      In closing, for such an awesome movie, I did a lot of laughing, not for "hate-watching" but the scenarios that took place were sort of out of a place from cable news programs. Sela Ward & Missi Pyle play caricatures of cable news personalities and it's humorous because that what Cable TV is: humorous with a large splash of ridiculous. Also, don't worry about trying to read the book before you see the movie; it stands on its own if you aren't inquiring the context of the book. It's that good.

     

Good: Stellar cast, intriguing premise, Fincher's direction.

Bad: That you might fall for the sociopath at the end.

     5 out of 5

The Equalizer (Movie Reviews)

     

"What do you see when you look at me?" Badassery.

     Ever since Olympus Has Fallen made the Action genre matter again, it has restored my faith with all of these movies that have come out in recent years. So what if they don't feature hi-caliber acting or nuisanced stories, they do what they do best, and that's entertain me. Denzel Washington has been familar to this branch of films for a decade. Yeah, there was a past in which he did "Ricohet" & "Virtuosity" back in the 90s, but he got a headstart into this genre before Liam Nesson became a household name in the action game.

     As random as it seems, but The Equalizer is based off an old 80s TV show with the same title from the 1980s. Denzel plays Robert Mc Call,  retired black ops government operative who's just settling into civilian life. Then, one night a friend he meets from a diner gets abused by an escort service that's cover for a massive Russian, it becomes a problem for Mr. Mc Call. And, as they say, it's just the tip of the iceberg from there.

     Waiting for the calamity to take place isn't really a chore for this movie. Yes, it's story formulaic and basic, but all action movies are; it's all about payoff, The things that McCall does to his foes in this are brutal. Also, he used one bullet for the entire film, which makes him way better than America's favorite improvisational ass-kicker MacGuyver. In one scene, for example, he uses a nail-gun to impail a hired gun who's about to kill one of his friends at a mock Home Depot shop; and, I'll just say, the result is simply painful.

     I really enjoyed this movie. There were some writing hiccups and some story issues, but, I didn't care about that, really. If you manage to stick it out for the first 30 minutes, which is meant for developing the story, the payoff is worthwhile, and that's all that matters. As for the side characters? They do what they can, which is fine for me. It's an action movie, not a leading Oscar nominee for "Best Leading Original Villain" with Marton Csoskas being the main man sent to take on Denzel's Mc Call. Also, Chloe Grace-Moretz isn't in the movie for a long period of time, but her role is defined enough that it makes sense for the story.

     Not for the squeamish, but it wasn't meant for them anyway.

4 out of 5

   
  Good: Denzel swag, solid action scenes & nice setting

  Bad: Story & dialogue is basic, but I didn't care about that, really.