Tag: Franco Nero

Valentine’s Day Shandy – ‘John Wick’ & ‘John Wick: Chapter 2’ – Back and Backer

Why see just one when you can see both?

Hollywood’s always trying to figure out how to maximize box office returns, including figuring out what movie to release when.  For example, James Cameron’s Titanic was originally slated for a summer release, but got pushed back to the weekend before Christmas, thus making wintertime the new summertime for big budget blockbusters (the Star Wars franchise has been dominating this slot for the past two Decembers and likely will continue to do so indefinitely).

On a much smaller scale from a money standpoint, but equally as revelatory, 20th Century Fox discovered a couple years ago that there’s a market for fresh, fun, violent, R-rated action on Valentine’s Day weekend with a little movie called Kingsman (which itself was originally slated for October, as is its coming sequel).  A year later they followed that up with the even more successful Deadpool.  Frankly, how Logan is NOT in the same slot this year is utterly baffling.  Maybe Lionsgate/Summit just beat Fox to the punch this time around, but, in any case, this year’s contestant in the R-rated Valentine’s Day massacre is the somewhat anticipated John Wick: Chapter 2.

I feel a little guilty that I was as excited for John Wick 2 as I was, because the studio was obviously pandering to my generation with the promised on-screen reunion of Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne (in reference to some other movie), but, what can I say?  The marketing got me in the door.

Of course, the natural question is, “Is John Wick: Chapter 2 better than the first one?”

Swarms upon swarms of people are answering, “YAS!” because it has “MOAR ACTION!” but I don’t agree.  Chapter 2 might have more (and more stylized) action, but the 2014 original is the superior film because of story and characters.

The first time I saw John Wick was in a real IMAX theater, completely alone.  Seriously, I was literally the only person in the theater (I don’t think there were even any staff), so it was LOUD.  At the time, I thought it was an okay action movie, but I realized after seeing it again ahead of Chapter 2 that I was missing something: an audience.

I have a rule that I don’t write any reviews here unless I’ve seen a movie theatrically, because movies are meant to be seen theatrically, but there’s something else you don’t get while watching a movie on your couch, and that’s the collective experience of other people in the theater; the oohs and aahs, the audible laughter, the heightened sense of awareness that adds to the enjoyment of the film.  I missed that the first time I saw John Wick, and seeing it again under more proper circumstances made me realize I had been underrating it.

Action movies in general aren’t quite what they used to be, largely because of bad CGI, but John Wick is very good for its time, and its biggest strength is its clarity.  We know what’s happening, we know why, we connect with why, and John Wick himself is uncomplicated in his quest.  Throw in some more-than-competent action, a dash of good humor here and there, and a nice gallery of supporting characters (good and bad), and you’ve got a real crowd-pleaser of a film.

On the other hand, where John Wick is clear, Chapter 2 is muddled.  His motivation is less interesting (the first one he did it because he wanted to; now he’s doing it out of obligation), the villains aren’t as strong, there are no supporting characters who can compete with Willem Dafoe from the first one, the plot is more convoluted, and there’s some backtracking with John Wick’s character (trying to soften his edge) that I did not appreciate.  Not to mention the third act is a disappointment from a story perspective.

This is not to say that Chapter 2 is utterly useless.  I enjoyed how it expanded the secret hitman universe established in the first movie, and the build-up is a lot of fun, but, on the whole, it’s more than a full step down from John Wick.  There’s just too much we don’t know or care about, and too much sequelitis (aka “Remember this!?).

They make a fine pairing back-to-back, but the difference is clear.

(Also, as someone familiar with public transportation in and around New York City, I was annoyed with the “geography” of the PATH train in Chapter 2.  Like, either use real locations or don’t.  I know this is a bit of a nitpick on my part, but it just got to me.)

Ratings:
John Wick: ★★★★☆
Chapter 2: ★★½

P.S.
Shout out to Alamo Drafthouse (as usual) for their John Wick-themed specials this month.  The “Carbonara Pizza: Chapter 2” and “Hotel Continental Special” are worth killing for.

Quick Thoughts – July Round-Up, Part 2 of 2

‘Kamikaze 89’ (1982)

I wish I could more effectively talk about this film, but it’s based on a book I’ve never read (“Murder on the Thirty-First Floor”) and produced in a language I don’t speak (German), so I’m somewhat limited in my understanding.  However, I can tell you it’s a futuristic dystopian crime story.

‘Kamikaze 89’ is about Inspector Jansen (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, in his final film role), who is given charge of solving the case of a bomb threat at “The Combine”, which controls all media in the land.  The biggest problem is that he only has a few days to pull it off, but, fortunately, the list of suspects turns out to be comparatively short.  However, the more suspects he meets, the more he learns that things may not all they seem at “The Combine”.

I wanted to like this movie, I really did, but ultimately I’m going to have to throw it in with ‘High-Rise‘ as another dystopian film that looks good and has a lot of cool retro-futuristic elements, but ultimately is missing something.  With ‘High-Rise’, I wasn’t really sure how to fix it, but with ‘Kamikaze 89’ it’s plain to see that it lacks energy.  I’m usually the last person to call a film “boring”, but ‘Kamikaze’ was definitely leading me down that road.

Some more money in the budget may have helped as well, either that or a director who could do more with less.  In the end though, I can’t give it a solid recommendation.

Rating: ★★½

 

‘Coming to America’ (1988)

It’s cliché, I know, but I honestly don’t know what to say about this movie that hasn’t been said already.

Everybody involved was firing on all cylinders: John Landis in the director’s chair; Eddie Murphy at his apex; Arsenio Hall threatens to steal the movie; Rick Baker with all the special make-up; Nile Rodgers with the musical score; all the supporting actors (too many to list).  Everything comes together to make this a classic (not to mention the New York stuff is great to see).

There are so many great bits and little moments, from “Soul Glo”, to the barbershop, to Reverend Brown.  It’s a wonderfully hilarious comedy, but, in addition, it has some real heart, in the form of Akeem and Lisa’s budding relationship.

I know I say this often, but if you’ve never seen it, get on it!

Rating: ★★★★½

 

‘Wolfen’ (1981)

ⅯⅭⅯⅬⅩⅩⅩⅠ – ANNO LVPVS

1981 – The Year of the Wolf

For those in my generation, the concept of “twin films” is quite familiar.  You know, when two high-profile movies come out in the same year and have major similarities (not to say that they are the same, however): ‘Dante’s Peak’ and ‘Volcano’; ‘Antz’ and ‘A Bug’s Life’; ‘Deep Impact’ and ‘Armageddon’; and so on.

1981 offers us perhaps the ultimate example of “triplet films”, as it gave us three horror movies involving wolf creatures: first, in April, came Joe Dante’s ‘The Howling‘; then came ‘Wolfen’ in July; and then August gave us the most famous of the three, ‘An American Werewolf in London‘, directed by John Landis.

Now, I must specify that ‘Wolfen’ is not about werewolves, but about…super wolves?  Honestly, the movie doesn’t do a great job of explaining exactly what they are, except that they are portrayed on screen by actual wolves, and somehow they tie into Native American history (in the movie; not in real life).

‘Wolfen’ is a movie I really wanted to love.  It has such a cool vibe, it was shot almost entirely in NYC, Albert Finney plays a classic laconic detective, and Gregory Hines absolutely shines in his first movie (technically, ‘History of the World: Part Ⅰ’ was his debut, but ‘Wolfen’ went into production beforehand).  And, of the three wolf films of ’81, I think it’s the scariest.  The problem is that the story just doesn’t quite gel, especially compared with its siblings.

That said, I think it’s definitely a film worth seeing, and I’d be happy to watch it again.  There’s more than enough good work to appreciate.

Rating: ★★★½