After watching the flick, count me in that group.
Showing posts with label action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label action. Show all posts
Friday, June 04, 2021
Sunday, April 25, 2021
Saturday, January 30, 2021
Greenland (2020)
Morgan Freeman's role as President Trumbull appears dramatically reduced. During the credit roll I realized I didn't even notice him in this film.
Monday, April 20, 2020
The Gentlemen
"Whatcha wanna watch on Prime tonight,?" she asked.
"You choose." I didn't care. I've been cooped up due to the coronavirus for so long that I welcomed any entertainment short of watching a White House COVID-19 briefing.
She sorted through the Amazon options, paused to read the summary for a couple of horror flicks, then landed in the drama section.
"How about The Gentlemen?"
In my head I screamed: "Nooooooooooo!" But out loud I said "Sure, fine with me."
Damn it. Guy Ritchie again.
I tend to shy away from Ritchie flicks for several reasons: they tend to be stylized in a way that just looks too obvious to me, sorta like an understated Wes Anderson film. Ritchie film plots are often a little too fast moving for me. He's a terrific teller of stories, but he requires the audience to be in lock-step with his pace and I always feel a full step behind. Then there's the fact that I can never understand his dialogue.
Ever! I mean, have you tried watching Snatch without closed captioning?
There's still a lot of all that in The Gentlemen. But there's a lot I enjoyed, too. Most of what I enjoyed comes from the effort of Hugh Grant. It's through the eyes of Fletcher, his character, that we experience most of this story. And while I wouldn't hang out socially with Fletcher, he's a fun guy to observe from afar.
Matthew McConaeghey is good as the protagonist, and Charlie Hunnam is excellent as Raymond. The plot is complicated, but it's told in a way that unfolds for the audience and is easy to understand.
I left the closed captioning on, though. Just in case.
"You choose." I didn't care. I've been cooped up due to the coronavirus for so long that I welcomed any entertainment short of watching a White House COVID-19 briefing.
She sorted through the Amazon options, paused to read the summary for a couple of horror flicks, then landed in the drama section.
"How about The Gentlemen?"
In my head I screamed: "Nooooooooooo!" But out loud I said "Sure, fine with me."
Damn it. Guy Ritchie again.
I tend to shy away from Ritchie flicks for several reasons: they tend to be stylized in a way that just looks too obvious to me, sorta like an understated Wes Anderson film. Ritchie film plots are often a little too fast moving for me. He's a terrific teller of stories, but he requires the audience to be in lock-step with his pace and I always feel a full step behind. Then there's the fact that I can never understand his dialogue.
Ever! I mean, have you tried watching Snatch without closed captioning?
There's still a lot of all that in The Gentlemen. But there's a lot I enjoyed, too. Most of what I enjoyed comes from the effort of Hugh Grant. It's through the eyes of Fletcher, his character, that we experience most of this story. And while I wouldn't hang out socially with Fletcher, he's a fun guy to observe from afar.
Matthew McConaeghey is good as the protagonist, and Charlie Hunnam is excellent as Raymond. The plot is complicated, but it's told in a way that unfolds for the audience and is easy to understand.
I left the closed captioning on, though. Just in case.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum
Director Chad Stahelski channel Sergio Leone in his John Wick series, and this third installment is no different. Chapter 3: Parabellum has a larger budget and more supporting actor star power than the two previous installments, but the flick is classic A Fistful of Dollars.
A modern Spaghetti Western.
Chapter 3: Parabellum digs deeper into, and adds to, the franchise mythology. And, perhaps, that's the biggest weakness of the film. The beauty of John Wick, the original, was that it had a simple plot based on a simple premise: Bad guy falls in love, is changed forever for the better, loses girl, struggles to stay true to her memory, then kills several dozen people as he works through that conflict.
Well, maybe it wasn't that simple. It wasn't, however, just a fucking puppy.
Chapter 3: Parabellum has a larger budget and lots of big-name supporting actors. But it's the action that brings people to the show. By now everyone in the audience knows Wick's moves. . . he never backs up, instead always moving forward into the fight. He's gonna arm drag one guy onto the ground, then hold him tightly with his legs while he shoots another guy who is running toward him. He'll then re-load the gun and shoot the first guy he's been holding down all this time. He'll shoot a bunch of guys close-up in the face while working through a crowded venue. And then later he'll have at least two knife fights that make the best martial arts films look weak.
But we don't care that all his moves are the same. That's just who John Wick is. He's a man of focus. A man of sheer will. I once saw him kill three men in a bar using nothing but a pencil. Who does that?
John Wick.
While I prefer the first film to either of the sequels, I enjoy watching the character evolve and the mythology being built. We learn a little more about the personal life of Wick in Parabellum, and that insight helps us appreciate the guy even more.
Can't wait to watch Chapter 4.
A modern Spaghetti Western.
Chapter 3: Parabellum digs deeper into, and adds to, the franchise mythology. And, perhaps, that's the biggest weakness of the film. The beauty of John Wick, the original, was that it had a simple plot based on a simple premise: Bad guy falls in love, is changed forever for the better, loses girl, struggles to stay true to her memory, then kills several dozen people as he works through that conflict.
Well, maybe it wasn't that simple. It wasn't, however, just a fucking puppy.
Chapter 3: Parabellum has a larger budget and lots of big-name supporting actors. But it's the action that brings people to the show. By now everyone in the audience knows Wick's moves. . . he never backs up, instead always moving forward into the fight. He's gonna arm drag one guy onto the ground, then hold him tightly with his legs while he shoots another guy who is running toward him. He'll then re-load the gun and shoot the first guy he's been holding down all this time. He'll shoot a bunch of guys close-up in the face while working through a crowded venue. And then later he'll have at least two knife fights that make the best martial arts films look weak.
But we don't care that all his moves are the same. That's just who John Wick is. He's a man of focus. A man of sheer will. I once saw him kill three men in a bar using nothing but a pencil. Who does that?
John Wick.
While I prefer the first film to either of the sequels, I enjoy watching the character evolve and the mythology being built. We learn a little more about the personal life of Wick in Parabellum, and that insight helps us appreciate the guy even more.
Can't wait to watch Chapter 4.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)