A B-actioner with grade-A action seems like a cinematic contradiction, but what better way to describe “John Wick” and its sparkling new sequel? The cheesy one-liners, stock villains, thin plot, and characters built entirely on an actor’s presence all put John Wick: Chapter 2 in B-ish territory (an easier place for shoot-em-up pics to find…
Anyone who has read my reviews with any sense of regularity will know that when confronted with a remake or a reboot (which seems to be the norm and not the exception in Hollywood today), I always return to the source film for guidance. These projects usually fall into two categories, a) an improvement upon…
What will it take for you to believe in something you don’t believe in? Is hearing from your most trusted friend enough? Do you need a reliable written source instead? Of course not. What you need is the most popular option: A truth that must be seen with your own eyes. But what happens when…
So it turns out that sixty years prior to Mel Brook’s epic 80s run of classics, Buster Keaton was busy beating him to the parodic punch. Keaton’s brand of physical gag comedy has always been wildly distinctive and brilliant, but his work is not generally so focused on the specific spoof. That brand of comedy…
To celebrate his 65th birthday, Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo) throws one hell of a party. The view is spectacular, the alcohol is flowing freely, and everyone — and I mean EVERYONE — is having an amazing time. At first, you mistake the scene for a hip, happening night club, and as it turns out, you…
I hadn’t heard much about The Last Legion. But what I had heard was that it wasn’t particularly good — it doesn’t follow any true historical events and the action was rather inactive. Now, I certainly wouldn’t call myself a history major (I’ll leave that to my brother), so the possibility of that ruining my…
