The Wick-verse expands again with John Wick: Chapter 4 in a story that takes us from New York to Japan to Paris, and Keanu Reeves’ Wick is kicking ass all the way. Determined to reach the High Table will require that he return to the fold and be of service. But his target, the Marquis…
Tag: choreography
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) – Chad Stahelski
I have served. I will be of service. I love these films so much. Each one has taken what we have learned in the previous film and builds on it. And John Wick (Keanu Reeves) gets pulled back, completely into the underworld of assassination that he left for five years. When the film opens, he…
John Wick (2014) – Chad Stahelski
I was shocked (and delighted because it meant I could watch them all again) that I hadn’t written about John Wick before. I had written up the second film but for some reason hadn’t done the other three. So that means I could buckle up and dive into this amazing world where assassins thrive, have…
TIFF 25: The Furious dir. Kenji Tanigaki
The Furious is a balls-to-the-wall actioner that is outrageously over-the-top but incredibly crowd-pleasing in its violence and action beats. Having said that, the ADR in the film is terrible, and I honestly think the entire film should just be subtitled. The film has a strong enough appeal that I don’t think it needed to have…
The Raid 2 (2014) – Gareth Evans
Picking up shortly after the first film, The Raid 2 sees Rama (Iko Uwais) recruited into a secret, and small division of the police to go undercover in the hopes of securing tangible and undeniable proof of police corruption. The only way for it to be believable is if Rama breaks the law, and can…
9th Annual Old School Kung Fu Film Fest: Joseph Kuo Edition – 7 Grandmasters (1977)
I was able to check out one last film at the 9th Annual Old School Kung Fu Film Fest that is screening at the Museum of the Moving Image, and presented in conjunction with Subway Cinema, and that was Kuo’s 7 Grandmasters! Featuring a sharp and clean 2K restoration, of the four films I’ve seen…
9th Annual Old School Kung Fu Film Fest: Joseph Kuo Edition – The 36 Deadly Styles (1979)
There’s always something happening in New York, and this weekend, if you’re in Queens, swing by the Museum of the Moving Image who, in conjunction with Subway Cinema, are delivering their ninth annual Old School Kung Fu Film Fest! The focus of this year’s festival is writer/producer/director Joseph Kuo, who has sixty-one directing credits to…
TIFF: Musicals! The Movies That Moved Us – Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
When the musical made the leap from stage to screen, it opened everything up, not just in terms of accessibility for the viewing audience, but the scope of the storytelling canvas – things were no longer confined to a stage, the settings, the choreography, the characters could live in a whole new way. Cameras could…
Mortal Kombat (2021) – 4K Review
Warner Brothers attempts a flawless victory with its 4K release of 2021’s Mortal Kombat, an updated take on the iconic, long-running video game series. While no one company has yet been able to crack a truly successful, and all-appealing game adaptation, everyone keeps trying, and Warner’s latest effort is solid, surprisingly entertaining, but lacking a…
Gemini Man (2019) – Blu-Ray Review
It should have worked. An Academy Award winning director (though action is not his forte), a bankable lead actor, a solid supporting cast, and the seed of a solid story. Will Smith gets his Bourne on (a couple of times) in Gemini Man, the Ang Lee action film that comes home on blu-ray and DVD from…
The Mind Reels 