Watched John Wick for the first time. Good movie, great fight choreography. Keanu doesn’t really need to act much but he gets the job done. I’d probably only point to a lack of visual oomph as a negative, but I’ve heard the sequels are a bump in that department given the first one was the guy’s directorial debut.
@nessisonett I've not seen the latest one yet, but I would rate them from best to worst:
1
3
2
I thought the 2nd had too much exposition for me. The 3rd has added attack dogs , so gets bonus points from me.
John Wick 2 was pretty good as well. Easier to just imagine it as some sort of alternate reality where hitmen are a regular occurrence on public transport though! Maybe not quite as focused as the first one but the fighting was still great and the ending was definitely interesting.
@nessisonett I agree, I've always considered John Wick's world as an alternate reality, at least from 2 onward, anyway (too long since I first saw the first one to remember if I thought so back then).
I recently rewatched all of them before seeing 4 in IMAX and they all hold up very well, I think. Gun to my head, I would say 3 is the weakest and 4 is the strongest. I actually consider JW4 to be one of my favourite action movies of all time; easily top 5 for me.
My annual trip to the cinema was to go and watch Dungeons and Dragons. It was fine, a fun movie, nothing more and nothing less, which I'm in no rush too see again anytime soon. Some of the story beats felt a tad formulaic, and the quipy humour I began to tire by the end. It is nowhere near a vomit inducing as say Thor Love & Thunder however.
Maybe it was because the trailer for the third film was shown, but it felt like a fantasy set Guardians of the Galaxy, even down to a Drax like character who doesn't get irony or sarcasm.
Visually I thought it was very good, with it only looking a bit dodgy in a couple of minor places, weirdly when it comes to practical effects. The action scenes were excellent, especially the Dragon scene, and anything that invloves Michelle Rodriguez smashing stuff. Regé-Jean Page also has cool fight scene.
Overall I enjoyed it and it didn't feel like the 2 hour plus run time.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@JohnnyShoulder I agree, I had a good time with it, too. And as I left the cinema I remember thinking that there aren't enough movies with Michelle Rodriguez smashing stuff, as you put it She's a proper badass and quite charming as well.
I think the movie survives primarily by not taking itself seriously while at the same time keeping the story light and moving at a relatively quick pace. Good cast, too.
Tom Hanks in the role of the captain of the "Greyhound", an attack ship charged with protecting a convoy of troop & supply trips from German U-Boats during WWII.
Wasn't mind-blowing, but it was pretty solid overall. Certainly effective at making me feel the cold of the icy waters & the action kept up at a good pace.
Zeiram 2 (Blu-Ray)
Like the first one I actually liked this one quite a bit.
I don't think the creature special effects were quite up to par with the first (certainly not as creepy as often), but it still has it's moments, and as a trade off it had much more of an action angle (almost like an Alien to Aliens transition). Had a fun time with it when all is said & done.
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
I definitely understand why the Super Mario Bros. Movie scored the way it did from both critics and audiences. It's a mostly delightful film for Mario fans that's beautifully animated and stuffed with references, but there's not really much to it. It's also sort of weirdly paced and doesn't spend time sufficiently developing plot points and character relationships. Nonetheless, it's probably the most fun I'll have with a film this year, and also one of the best video game adaptation films I've seen to date.
It has now passed $700 million worldwide after its second weekend, lmao.
Currently Playing: Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (NS2); Corpse Factory (PC)
@Ralizah And that is before releasing in Japan, is that right?
Strangely, the last two films (Avatar and Super Mario Bros.) that have done gangbuster numbers at the box office, I have almost zero interest in seeing. Like ever.
After seeing Sonic and not really enjoying it, I've realised that these type of films aren't really for me. And that goes for most of Illumination's films (I realise they have nothing to do with Sonic lol). From memory it is only The Secret Life of Pets and The Sing movies I've enjoyed in recent times.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
@JohnnyShoulder Yeah, it doesn't open in Japan until the 28th. Bit ironic, eh? It'll be interesting to see if there's sufficient interest there to help carry the worldwide box office sales.
Good call on Avatar 2. The film was really quite boring. I probably would have left halfway through if I hadn't seen it with my family.
Still better than the new Ant-Man, at least.
@LN78 There'll be a smattering of success stories here and there, but it's clear the superhero bubble largely burst after Avengers: Endgame and COVID capped off the cape craze of the 2010s. Disney won't let its ultra-lucrative MCU machine go down without a fight, though, but I think it's fair to say the magic is largely gone.
I think people are only really starting to realize how lucrative the gaming market has become worldwide. It's the pre-eminent entertainment medium in the U.S., and that's only going to increase into the future, and you have this deep well of nostalgia to mine with stuff like Mario that people have grown up with across generations.
@LN78 Don't forget the Gran Turinso movie and Twisted Metal tv series. I bet there is a load more which Sony having cooking but not yet announced.
@Ralizah I was beginning to lose interest in the MCU before Infinity War, and have not regained any since. If Disney's track record is anything to go by, they will milk the MCU until people are sick of it and the quality dries up.
With James Gunn saying that there have been talks with Marvel to do crossover stuff with DC, it will be most likely a while before the bubble bursts. But it will happen, like with most things in the industry.
Life is more fun when you help people succeed, instead of wishing them to fail.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
Attended a local preview of Evil Dead Rise on Tuesday and enjoyed it quite a bit.
It didn't quite live up to the remake from 2013 (which I absolutely love) and while it changes the setting from a cabin in the woods to an apartment building in the city, it really doesn't do anything new, which was a bit of a missed opportunity, I think.
Still, a solid addition to the franchise and I'd definitely recommend seeing it if you enjoy these kinds of movies.
NOTE: Tonally it is more in line with the 2013 remake than the Bruce Campbell movies.
John Wick 3. Maybe my favourite one so far? In terms of visuals, fight scenes and especially the lovely lighting then absolutely. I think though that after watching 2 and 3, I can appreciate the first one’s more focused approach a lot more. It‘s getting a bit bogged down in exposition, lore etc by now. I can definitely see why some people would point to the first as the best one.
@FuriousMachine
As a life long Evil Dead fan I think I preferred Rise to 2013 due to better pacing and characters I actually could sympathize more with. The cast in 2013 was mostly not very likeable and in this one I actually wanted them to survive. Also to be fair the whole premise of the franchise is something you can only do so much with in a 90 minute movie and I recon if you want a plot that takes more risks with the source material then the tv show is a better bet. I would probably rank this 3rd behind 1 and 2.
Born too early to explore space and born too late to explore Earth, but born just in time to explore memes.
@PegasusActual93 Yeah, I actually agree with all your points there, and I did like Rise quite a lot, but for some reason I prefer the 2013 one. Can't really put my finger on it; may be because I felt that one sidled right up to the line of bats..t insanity and then gleefully ran across it without looking back, thus leaving any sequel with a mammoth task trying to top it. Didn't think Rise quite managed it, though it came close towards the end there.
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