Yearly Archives: 2017

John Wick Chapter 2 (2017) Review:John Wick and the Terrible, Murderous, No Good, Very Bloody Day It’s easy to think that originality in Hollywood is dead. Case in point: Lego Batman. A movie based on a line of toys, based on a comic book character. The cynic in me wants to give up on cinema altogether. Then a movie like 2014’s 'John Wick' comes around. The brainchild of long time stunt coordinators and first-time directors. With its captivating style and intriguing world, John Wick was a sleeper hit that thankfully, has been granted a sequel.  Blessed are we the meek, who have been granted by the Gods of film, this bountiful gift.Compared to the first film, John Wick Chapter 2 is a definite upping of the ante. Everything that made its predecessor an exhilarating thrill, is present in this sequel. It’s never going to be as impressive as that first instance, but John Wick Chapter 2 does enough to keep the film feeling fresh, despite stepping over familiar ground. Then again, avid viewers of the first film might be slightly disappointed at how familiar this movie is. Many of the same beats are hit. Sometimes exactly. For my money, I was happy to get a mix of new interesting characters, and dimensions to John Wick’s world of coordinated assassins. There’s an air of immense playfulness and creativity to the film, a quality that runs from its world expansion, t the many many…

Hacksaw Ridge (2016) Review: A Movie For Everyone, And No One The world has no shortage of war films. Additionally there is no shortage of world war II films. Yet ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ is just that. A World War II film that in fact, has a story worth telling. I suppose one more couldn’t hurt. The story is of US army medic Desmond Doss. A trained soldier, who believes in the fight against Nazi Germany, but he only has one condition. No guns.Immediately that sounds a little more than problematic on the battlefield. It’s what makes ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ such a compelling story. Desmond believes no man should take the life of another, as intended by God. A gun is built for just that. A killing machine. The movie spends a great part of its run-time watching Desmond defend his beliefs to his superiors. Suffering the contempt of his fellow soldiers in the process.The brilliance in ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ is its brutality. At the very first scene there are shots of men with flaming sleeves, running in terror. Screaming. When a soldier is shot, the camera picks up every gory detail. The movie immerses you in the horrific details, that prompted a few in the audience to turn away. I can’t think of a better way to convince you of the main character’s conviction. You feel the same way about violence as he does by the end of the movie. It's the Battlefield 1 of…

Fences (2016) Review: Denzel As Your Dad After weeks of the holiday season, going from house to house and being surrounded by loved ones, ‘Fences’ comes along with a reminder of the dark side of family. Based on the 1983 play of the same name, ‘Fences’ takes place in 1950s Pittsburgh and follows the Maxson family, and the conflict that comes with raising a family, and the struggles of coming to terms with the life you ended up living.‘Fences’ does this through a series of conversations between the family members. Most palpable are those between father Troy Maxson, played by Denzel Washington, and son Cory, played by Jovan Adepo. The family drama that’s presented feels all too familiar, with scenarios I’m sure will resonate. Even as the film veers into its more dramatic elements, it still feels like a story that many people have already been a part of.Where ‘Fences’ soars is in the undoubtedly stellar performances of its cast. Everyone delivers the letter above A game. Every micro expression feels thought out, and as big of a presence Washington has, he still has to contend with the scene stealing antics of Viola Davis, who more than gives him a run for his money. If anything he can blame his double role as both director and actor.What I found most interesting about 'Fences' is it's use of silence. There's hardly any score, and the films biggest emotional moments are met with a…