Tag: Laurence Fishburne

film

Review: John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum

Posted on by spacecortez

Warning: Spoilers for “Chapter 2”, but not “Chapter 3”

Written by Derek Kolstad, Chris Collins, Marc Abrams, and Shay Hatten and directed by Chad Stahelski “John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum” is the third entry in the John Wick series which finds the titular Wick (Keanu Reeves) right where we left him at the end of the last film; which is to say, running for his life with his dog at his side. For those needing a refresher, the second film established the world only hinted at in the first film, wherein there are rules for the initiated- and those rules are taken with a deadly seriousness. The first rule, is that you may not conduct “business” on continental grounds. The Continental, being the internationally recognized hotel for assassins. The second rule is that once bound to a marker, you must oblige the bearer of any request they make. Markers are circular discs that open to two halves, one side is red with the blood of the needing, and the other is only imprinted with the blood of the subservient once the request has been completed. Once you ask someone for help with a marker, and they accept, you must know that you will have to repay them eventually. “Chapter 2” establishes the severity of not adhering to the will of a bearer with a marker binding you to them. Wick is forced into assisting a bearer in “Chapter 2” and seeks retribution once the task is completed- but kills the bearer on continental grounds and thus labeled Excommunicado with a heavy bounty placed on his head, though the Continental’s manager Winston (Ian McShane) gives Wick a one hour grace period before the contract is open to all known assassins.

You can’t see the dog from the last film here, but trust me, he’s there.

With a $14 Million price tag on his head, Wick scrambles to make it out of the city, but also by getting his dog to the continental where he knows they will take care of him. The first twenty minutes of this film have some of the most inventive and rollicking great action sequences since “The Raid: Redemption” took the action genre by storm eight years ago. Speaking of that film, there are a handful of actors that make the jump to this series for a few particularly formidable foes that Wick must tango with. In fact, one of the best aspects of this film, aside from the crazy-violent and gut-wrenching action scenes, are the multitude of cameos from a variety of sources. The first fight in the film is between Wick and “Ernest”, the 7 ft 3 in tall assassin played by Serbian NBA player Boban Marjanovic, in the New York Public Library. It’s an excellent fight to kick the movie off, it may have been a little short, but wow- I didn’t know you could do THAT to someone with a book! We also get cameos from Jerome Flynn (famously played Bronn in Game of Thrones) and Jason Mantzoukas (He played Rafi from “The League”) as one of the many homeless citizens in league [ba dum tss- I’ll see myself out] with The Bowery King once again played magnanimously by Laurence Fishburne. Of course I’d be negligent in my reviewing duties if I forgot to mention Tiger Hu Chen. Not only has he previously starred as the lead in the only film that Keanu’s directed himself in “Man of Tai Chi” (check it out, it’s fun!) but he also has the goriest death in this film, in my humble opinion.

As with the previous two films, the action in this series is increasingly inventive. If you’ve ever read or seen an interview with the director, Chad Stahelski, you’ll see that he has a deep love of the action genre and cinema as a whole. In both “Chapter 2” and this film the opening scenes pay respect to Buster Keaton in homage to his legendary stunt work in the 1920’s, by playing his work projected on the side of a building and on one of the many large screens in Times Square. Stahelski has thrown in a multitude of nods and winks to cinema’s past and many eagle-eyed, and knowledgeable, fans will catch them. A particularly fun one is when Wick breaks into an old antique gun shop and has to modify two guns into one quickly enough to get one shot off as his pursuers break the door down. The director himself has stated that that shot was a direct callback to “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” with Eli Wallach, putting a pistol together in the gun shop.

While the plot in films like these isn’t always the primary concern, this series knocks that notion off it’s feet by continually expanding on the lore and mythology behind the assassin’s organization by examining how it works, it’s many hidden layers, and who controls whom. I don’t want to get into too many spoilers since the film’s still in its opening week, but admittedly, this one does a great job at giving us morsels of information, like John Wick’s real name for example, and some understanding of where he came from and how he was molded into The Baba Yaga.

This is another excellent entry in the franchise and personally I had a great time with it! The action was superb, satisfying, and mystifying! The cast was well rounded and precise given the runtime, no one felt wasted! However the very best news that this film could give, was that there’s even more Baba Yaga to come! The fourth film has already been greenlit and given a May 2021 release date according to several movie news outlets, and nothing could have made this action fan happier to hear!

Final Score: 7 cuts!

*Here’s a fun interview with the director on the stunt work in the film (though it does contain spoilers!):

https://www.polygon.com/entertainment/2019/5/18/18627988/john-wick-3-fight-scenes-how-they-did-horse-dog-shootout-continental-breakdown

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film

Review: John Wick Chapter 2

Posted on by spacecortez

Written by Derek Kolstad and directed by Chad Stahelski “John Wick Chapter 2” eloquently serves up a solid sequel that doubles down on the intense creative violence that worked so well in the first film. Opening shortly after the end of the first film John Wick (Keanu Reeves) hunts down his car held by the remnants of the villains from that film in an exquisitely violent fashion. After which he returns home to his pit bull pup as he tries to resume his grieving process, however he gets little time to mope about as he is quickly greeted by Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio), an old acquaintance from John’s past looking to make good on blood oath.

While John Wick’s motivation in this film are slightly less singular than the first, it’s a great excuse to explore the world of his past that was hinted and teased at throughout the first film. John goes international this time around as he’s been roped back into the guild of assassins that he now loathes. Even in Italy John Wick’s name carries weight as he is repeatedly recognized, and feared, on sight. As he should be, for it isn’t long before we witness him murder countless rival hit-men and a variety of gun toting henchmen. Speaking of rivals, the standout in this film is none other than real world hip-hop artist Common performing as Cassian, a skilled killer nearing John Wick’s abilities. His fight scenes with Wick are relentless and white knuckled forcing Wick to flex his fighting ability beyond his trigger finger and signature grappling take-downs. One scene playfully threads the guild’s hiding in plain sight nature when both are equipped with pistols bearing silencers as they casually shoot at each other through a crowded metro station without anyone taking notice. That sense of heightened reality in this neon soaked murderfest is truthfully the hook of the film. Intense and precise gunplay within a community that prides itself on a system of rules and civility.

In fact, that is one aspect that I find quite endearing here. In the world of the continental’s guild of assassins there are rules that no man (or woman for that matter) dare break. When Cassian and Wick crash through a window into a hallway of the continental they are quickly reaffirmed of the rules and head to the bar to share a drink, like the civilized folk they pretend to be. This sequel is a more confident story after the successes of the first film, thus we get more of what worked there, and it never comes off as lazy or uninspired. What we get is an expanded version of the first movie, with an excellent set-up for a third chapter in the series, and I for one am positively pleased to know that we’ll be getting more of Keanu Reeves’ latest character.

Final Score: No dead dogs, but dozens and dozens of corpses

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film

Monday Movie Pitch [On a Tuesday]: Expendables 4

Posted on by spacecortez

First of all apologies for the late Movie Pitch this week, occasionally life can take precedence, and this week it did just that. Enough with the speed bumps however because this week I have a tantalizing pitch that I’ve been stewing over for quite some time now: The next iteration of “The Expendables” Franchise.

On the whole I’ve enjoyed “The Expendables” movies but as they continue the movies have an increasingly cumbersome issue with each episodic adventure. Each movie feels like just like the other but with different palettes of actors or explosive situations. It could be said that Marvel Studios films are getting somewhat into this same issue of overly consistent tone, but that’s a whole other issue in itself. As far as I’m concerned Sly and the Gang need to up the ante and change things up big time in the next movie or the franchise will die, especially given the horrific box office of last year’s third entry in the action heavy series. Granted, the numbers were particularly low because of the movie being leaked online two weeks before the release date, but any way you slice it 6 million for an opening weekend with the amount of star power involved just doesn’t add up. That’s simply bad news for everyone involved.

What I would do to revitalize the series is to play to the crowd of the audience, pitting the older action stars up against impossible odds, odds of a particular magnitude. Introduce a superhero into the mix. It’s the perfect direction for the series to reassert itself among the crowded super-powered market with a unique perspective. The trick is to cast a powerhouse in this role, somebody that’s charismatic, able to do action/CGI sequences well, and bring audiences along with him. That man should be nobody other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

I can already see the general outline of the plot. Act one has the Expendables sent to take out a young dictator on the world stage that has gotten unwisely bombastic with his nuclear weapon potential. North Korean assumptions can obviously be made here. Have Stallone and the team knock the palace doors down only to be out-staged by this new incredible force. They’re all out of the job after this sequence of events as the “hero” attempts to do as much as possible for humankind in eradicating war and instituting world peace. Eventually he must become either mad with power or deduce that he should be the earth’s sole leader because multiple sovereign nations will only ever result in war and discord. This is where the Expendables become important once more. After multiple countries attempt to nuke the Superman-like hero, and fail, the secret agencies that have been hiring the Expendables since day one step in and introduce some plot device or perceived weakness etc whatever they can do to trick, reason with, or kill the hero.

We could play into the otherworldly alien hero raised among humanity to save/destroy us storyline but that Superman “skin” has been used countless times as is. I prefer a “radiation/accidental act that transforms the everyday man” sort of event for this central character’s origin. For international appeal, and to make more sense for the global scale of the story, including new additions to the Expendables team from other nations would only help the formation of the group.

My top choices for additions to shake up the core team are as follows:

Jackie Chan: I’ve personally wanted JC in this franchise from the beginning since his contemporary Jet Li has had a spot on each film, small as they may have been. I shouldn’t have to explain why this would be a great deal of fun. Especially if he is against the use of guns.

Kurt Russell: Adding Kurt Russell to any movie is a wise decision in my opinion but he’s proven he’s ready to get back into the limelight with his “Furious 7” and “Hateful eight” roles and I’m sure any role they craft for him would be a blast.

Nicholas Cage: The franchise has gotten a bit ridiculous and if they want to be self aware and referential then adding in Nic Cage would be the just desserts. Especially if they need anyone to go crazy. He could be a conspiracy nut that knows everything on Dwayne Johnson’s character. Woody Harrelson would also fit this type of role… or Charlie Day, but that’s just because I love Charlie Day and will gladly advocate more roles for him.

Laurence Fishburne: The man that made Morpheus work has a certain gravitas to himself that would only help to bring balance to the team, plus he’s proven himself many times over the years for the type of work this film would likely entail.

Tom Cruise: Incredibly unlikely I know, but maybe they could squeeze an extended cameo sequence out of him similarly to how they utilized Chuck Norris in the second flick?

Charlie Hunnam: After “Pacific Rim” and “Sons of Anarchy” he could definitely be comfortable with a gun and growl, plus Stallone seems to enjoy the idea of “Young Blood” being added to the team.

Vin Diesel: Between saying “I am Groot” a hundred times and driving off of cliffs Diesel might be too busy to take on another franchise role anytime soon but no one can deny how much he could bring to the table in this sort of setting.

Idris Elba: Citing “Luther”, “Pacific Rim”, and his recurring “Thor” roles it comes to be seen that not only does Elba have a propensity for genre fair, but he’s a damn fine actor that can handle a one liner, or a monologue. Give that man a gun already!

Gerard Butler: “Shoot ’em up” alone has given this man enough action film cred to be involved in this series, let alone his glorious “300” role as King Leonidas. Give that man a sword, or a gun, or both- and let him have at it!

Chiwetel Ejiofor: I seriously doubt he would even want to take on this caliber of role, but his choice of the villain in the upcoming “Dr. Strange” film opens the conversation for more ridiculous options than the Oscar level work he’s currently being more associated with.

A few other recommendations for this film:

Make it a Hard “R” rating. All, or at least most of, the actors in the franchise come from action series where they are almost constantly killing hordes of bad guys in the process of achieving their goals, let them be who they want to be. Let the movie be what it wants to be too, going PG-13 for a wider audience only alienates the core audience that clamors for this type of movie anyways. Oh and cut the CGI blood splatter and terribly awful renderings of tanks and helicopters, we can all see how terrible it is and in the year 2015 we shouldn’t have to see blatant budget choices every time a bad guy bites the dust.

Put Stallone back in the director’s chair again. I stand by the fact that the original Expendables was the best in the series. While I enjoyed the second one there were clear losses of vision and expertise on several levels that Sly had covered in the first piece. Granted I know this series is not known for Oscar nominated performances or the world’s most stunning cinematography, but the first film excelled in areas where the sequels lacked. Having Stallone back in the saddle again might alleviate these issues and help to keep the tone and feel he wants consistent with what ends up being the wide release version.

Kill one of the main characters. They are called the Expendables after all, right? At this point in the game a death in the family, and I mean a meaningful death *SPOILERS* not what we got in two where a newcomer is introduced and killed two scenes later. It would be a good motivator for the team, but it only works emotionally for the audience if we’ve invested in the character. I nominate Dolph Lundgren’s character. He’s gone through a lot in the series and it would maker sense thematically to painfully cut that chord. Nothing against Lundgren though- he’s great.

All in all this could be a potentially huge game changer for this series if pulled off well. Obviously there needs to be a lot more thought put into Dwayne Johnson’s character to make sure he is overwhelming but not omnipotent as well as pacing issues, and having enough for the action guys to do what they do best, shoot, cut, blow up, and punches to the face! Hopefully Sly can make the next one work because I enjoy the series and love the talent involved, its because of this that I want each installment to be better than the last. That’s my movie pitch for this week!

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