'From The World Of John Wick: Ballerina' A Review

Ballerina is an action movie a spinoff from the John Wick series set between John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4. In a prologue flashback we learn that Eve is an orphan after a nameless gang attacked her home and killed her father, in a montage we see Eve(Ana de Armas) become a "protector" assassin, taken in by one of the John Wick world gangs. She leaves the nest when she begins to unravel the mystery of her past.

de Armas is a talented actor, on the come up and justly in demand, she does quite a bit of her own stunt work(or so it appears) and anchors the movie as best she can. Unfortunately she has to contend with an overly convoluted frequently unintentionally silly script. She is a bit too green for this kind of role. Keanu Reeves in this series or Charlize Theron in Atomic Blonde had the benefit of decades of movie-stardom before they came to their gritty action films and here you can tell de Armas(although clearly putting in colossal effort) doesn't have the years of fight choreography/martial arts experience on her CV. She still sells it, there are some great kills and a wonderful flamethrower duel in the final act but her ability to execute the action is inconsistent. The supporting cast is basically just a parade of cameos where they show up for a close up to monologue exposition or spout truly embarrassing John Wick lore.

The problem with this movie is the same that all the JW movies have had since the first which is that the people behind it, namely shepherd of the franchise director/producer Chad Stahelski doesn't really understand why people like the series. It's not because of the overly convoluted melodramatic assassin underworld worldbuilding, it's the practical action as well as the pleasure of seeing a lead we can root for be an unstoppable force. Here there's too much plotting, too much pointless soap opera, not enough of de Armas kicking ass and dropping bodies. We want to see her to be realistic emotionally but we don't want to see her be realistic in combat. She gets beat up too much, we're shown she's not a super assassin but a mid-range one, which doesn't quite make sense given the context of the story nor is it particularly fun. The stakes are incredibly mushy, in this kind of movie there's a certain amount of suspension of disbelief necessary but narrative logic can't be jettison completely. It attempts to juggle and integrate all the absolutely unnecessary and preposterous lore created by the main JW movies and as a result it's not particularly entertaining nor does it feel like it's own story it's just John Wick 3.5.

On the high end of the tedium scale, a certifiable do-chores-to feature.

Currently in theaters.

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Summer in the City

In Chicago
summer comes in at a crawl
in fits and starts
it teases
then retreats

it bludgeons

then recedes

but eventually

when least expected

it settles in

all we denizens sigh

and relish

the promise

once again fulfilled

'Predator: Killer of Killers' A Review

Predator: Killer of Killers is a scifi action animated movie, a standalone entry in the Predator franchise. The film is composed of four segments, the first three in various times throughout history where three warriors best a predator(Viking age, feudal Japan, and WWII), in the fourth segment those three humans face off against the titular killer of killers on the predator home world.

With no real A-listers(thankfully) the voice cast all soar creating dynamic, emotional, and potent performances. In a time of voice actors getting edged out by stunt casting celebrities in animated films this is a welcome return to form and proof that voice acting is a different beast and voice actors are the best people to do voice work.

The animation style is rich and evocative, clearly influenced by anime and comics, not overly complex or meticulously rendered but still beautiful, transportive, and effective with the action sequences being particularly thrilling and cool. There's a scruffiness to it which melds perfectly with the subject matter. It works as a highly entertaining stand alone feature as well as to build out the Predator world in an organic and exploratory way. Director Dan Trachtenberg continues his clever revitalization of the franchise in this follow-up to Prey but much like that film this should have been released theatrically.

A homerun for any with an interest in SFF.

Currently streaming on Hulu.

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'The Life of Chuck' A Review

The Life of Chuck is a SFF drama about the titular Chuck told in reverse chronology in three acts, based on the Stephen King story of the same name. The film opens on the last days of the apocalypse, the middle section features Chuck(Tom Hiddleston) during a business trip as an adult, and the third section features Chuck as a child through his teenage years.

Hiddleston is nominally the face of the movie even though he doesn't get much more screentime than any of the other ensemble and he, unfortunately, is the only one kinda miscast. He's a name which presumably helped the film get made(so kuddos on that front) but dramatically he's a little wooden, a little stiff, and doesn't project the kind of everyman gravitas that the role requires(that say narrator Nick Offerman definitely does). It works OK and the biggest sequence in the movie, the dance, is impressive, his performance in general leaves a bit to be desired. The rest of the cast however are all pretty much pitch-perfect with many of writer/director Mike Flanagan reparatory players making appearances- Mark Hamill, Hamish Linklater, Kate Siegel, Samantha Sloyan, Carl Lumbly- to name a few as well as A-listers Chiwetel Ejiofor and Karen Gillan. The list goes on and they are all great, unified under one vision of empathy, compassion, and the theme of the film which is that human life has value and meaning regardless of it's scope.

Like a lot of Flanagan's work there are some stand out sequences, overall decent visuals, but there is a kind of saturated color pallet that can evoke a TV movie cheapness that is a bit distracting. The score is subtle and effective, the locations(shot in Alabama) are pretty bland and uninspired but functional, and there's minimal effects(in the first sequence) which is welcome. The source material is unconventional and this relatively faithful adaptation is as well and as a result it's not always coherent, what comes together in the imagination when reading isn't as easily tied together when made explicit onscreen, the tone management is a bit uneven. There are some really powerful emotional moments but others that veer maudlin or saccharine, sections of Offerman's VO really work others come across ham-fisted. But overall the earnestness of the message is what comes through and that message is potent and needed during our current divisive times.

An imperfect, stirring, celebration of humanity. Perhaps overly complicated structurally and overly simple thematically.

Currently in theaters.

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Corporate Irony

The longer I've worked

the more I've realized

'management'

the people in charge

the owners

the 6-7-8 figure folk

have very little understanding

of the day-to-day necessities

the nuts-and-bolts function

of any business

their position dictated

(for the most part)

not by ability or knowledge

but collegiate pedigree

or familial connection

by the insipid networking

competence isn't

(and maybe never was)

a requirement

accepting this

most astounding reality

is the true job

of all working stiffs

'Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning' A Review

 Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning is an action movie theoretically the conclusion of the franchise, at least with Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. Following the events of Dead Reckoning the super-duper AI 'The Entity' is loose and the world is in turmoil, only one man(god?) can save us!

As the years have gone by and the installments have wracked up Ethan Hunt wears a bit thin on Cruise but he's still a star and it's nice to see him in this victory lap. Many return to the franchise for a send off and, surprisingly, there is still some inspired casting with additions Tramell Tillman, Katy O'Brian, Hannah Waddingham and others. But the biggest surprise and success is the return of Rolf Saxon from the first installment, he brings incredible presence to this film and some needed continuity to the whole series.

Visually the movie is uneven, the first act is tons of exposition, tons of flashbacks to the previous installments, tons of scenes of characters telling Ethan Hunt "You're the only one that can save us." It's redundant, unnecessary, and puts a massive drag on the pacing. BUT. Once the action actually gets underway, starting when the team goes to an arctic CIA outpost and Ethan gets on a battleship, the story gets moving, there are some stunning action set pieces(no surprise) and it turns into if not a totally cogent movie at least a pretty entertaining one. There's some undertones of Scientology and maybe even societal commentary but those are pretty muddled and ultimately don't much matter.

A messy, thrilling, sometimes corny sometimes funny, end(?) to a frequently uneven but almost always interesting franchise.

Currently in theaters.

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'Last Breath' A Review

Last Breath is an action/thriller based on the real-life loss and rescue of a deep sea diver. Duncan(Woody Harrelson), David(Simu Liu), and Chris(Finn Cole) are saturation divers who work to maintain undersea gas pipelines. On a rotation heavy storm activity causes a technical malfunction that results in Chris being cut off from the ship with limited oxygen.

Harrelson, Liu, and Cole(who kinda has the least to do) are all compelling and competent, its not the kind of movie that requires a tone of acting but Harrelson and Liu have the presence, as do the supporting cast, to give the story appropriate stakes and also dimension to the characters, not a ton as the focus is on the events, but enough for us to be invested.

Mostly practical filming, whether on location or in tanks/on sets, makes for a pretty process-driven tactile feel, which is perfect for the subject matter. It appropriately evokes the environment and the risk. If there's a detraction its that at 90 minutes it feels a bit rushed and ultimately we aren't as invested as we could be in the characters as we don't get to see them much outside of crisis mode. Still holds the interest.

A tight, relatively low budget, adult flick focused on process, no frills. 

Currently available to rent on most VOD platforms, streaming on Peacock.

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