John Wick

John Wick is the first film directed by David Leitch and Chad Stahelski. They were the team that gave us the action scenes for the Matrix films. So needless to say these guys know how to make a cool action scene. The film stars Keanu Reeves in the title role in John Wick. The film is about an ex hitman who's wife has recently died. With her dying wish she gives him a dog. When a group of  man come and kill said dog it sends Wick back into the underground of the city.

Leich and Stahelkis did something that is truly amazing. They made Reeves relevant again as an action star. I have to say every action scene in this film is absolutely perfect. I loved every action scene in the film. They all had a great style to them and just all around cool factor that a lot of action films of this day and age are sorely lacking. Another thing I can say about the team is that this film has a great style a loved it. You guys know that I am huge sucker for anything with a cool style and this film has that in spades. Also something that I would like to mention is the fact that the world that these guys made is completely and totally realized in this two hour film. There are a lot of moments in the film where characters talk and they have age behind them. I really loved that about this film. It also leads me into the fact that I would really like to see a sequel to this film. Just so I can see more of the world that the two had created. I hoped this film makes a lot of money because it truly earns it these guys really made a great action film. I want to see more from them. Don't let these guys go into unknown territory. I used to love the Boondock Saints, I have rewatched it and didn't age well with me. The reason why I mention this is because I think this film really is what Boondock Saints should have been. Now Reeves is 50 years old and it is great to see him kick some serious butt thought out the whole film. He also gives one of his best performances that I have personally have seen him give. He also does a ton of the stunt work which is always just great to see.

Now this film was really for lack of a better word completely geared toward someone like me. It does everything that I like in a film. Super style, great music, and a great hero that is very gray character. Just look up my Drive review and you see that I had the same problem with that film as I do this film. It is so perfect in what it does that it truly alienates and goes for a specify group of people. So if you are into films that are big on action and style this film is for you. But if you don't like films of that type you are going to have a real hard time sitting down and watching this one. With that, my finally thoughts are this if you like a film with the style of Drive and the action of The Matrix. Go see this film. Go see it now. But if you hated both of those films stay far away.

RATING
3.75 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Fury

Fury is the next World War II film this time directed by David Ayer of End Of Watch fame. This one centering around a group of 5 men that pilot the US tank Fury. The film stars Brad Pitt, Logan Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Micheal Pena and Jon Bernthal.

There were 2 WWII films that came out this year. One of them being Monuments Men. I personally didn't really enjoy that film and was very let down by it. I was very excited for this film. It really did a great job of being a war film. I also have to really stress that I went into the this film hoping for just a very good war film. What we got was one of the darkest and grittiest war movie I have ever seen about war.  When it comes to WWII films that are about the war. Saving Private Ryan is one of the best if not the best. Now the D-Day scene in that film is the darkest that film gets I would say, Fury hits the tone of that scene and stays with it. I really got to hand it to David Ayer for this. With that tone he was able to create a group of characters that are very well rounded. You may not like every create in the film and I don't think Ayer really wants you to. He really wanted to show the darkness and the evil that is created from war. He does this with flying colors. Another thing that I really enjoyed about the film was pretty much everything on the production side.  The film looked and sounded so real. I loved the look of this film. I mean I really loved the look of this film. The shots done by Roman Vasyanov(so happy I didn't have to say that because I would have screwed that one up) were beautiful looking. He does my favorite thing again. Giving the film a gray and colorless look until the end. The sound design of the film was also great. It felt like I was being shot at. There was very little that I honestly hate about the film. I loved the score from Steven Price he put a lot of choir singers giving every action scene this super mythological feel. I thought it was a great choice.

The only that I haven't really touched on is the cast. A film with this good of a production crew. Needed a cast that could bring it all to life. I will admit they did it. There is not a bad performance in the bunch. All of the actors really give a great performance.  It's hard to pick a favorite because they are all so very good. Brad Pitt again plays a great war character that is just a leader and someone that the men that has seen the darkest side. Lerman gives a great performance of a good man in a bad situation. The other three also give great and character pervading moments. I have to say my only real problem is the end of the film and the story of the film. The end is a hard topic to talk about without spoiling stuff, but here it goes.  A character escapes a very hard, dangerous spot in a very unbelievable way.  That is all I will say about it just because I don't want to spoil the film. The other part is more of a preference. There is much of a story or mission I would say the crew is doing. I personally don't mind this because it lets the world, characters, and area build and tell the story which is something I love, but I can see if you want a more story driven film.

Fury is a star studded WWII film that shows the real darkness of war. It doesn't glorify these people. It lets the characters tell the story and also has some great tank warfare action. So if you are looking for a dark slower, but a powerful war film this the film for you. I would not be surprised to this film on my top 10 later this year.

RATING
3.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

The Judge

The Judge stars Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall as a strained father and son. Jr. is a hot shot lawyer who comes from a small town where is the father is a Judge (Duvall). Duvall was out one night after a funeral of his wife. They wake up and find that there is a dent in his car and that he may have run down a man. So Jr. most come to help is father and save him from jail time.

Now, that the story is out of the way I have two huge things to say about this film. The casting was great in this film. Downey and Duvall are great in this film. Both actors go thought the whole cycle of emotions. All the from happy and laughing to sad and angry. I will also say the characters are both very good and feel like real people. At least the characters themselves do the plot and way it's handled is different. I can really see that both of these characters are related. I really enjoyed it for that reason and that reason alone. You really get that the writers and director really wanted to tell a family drama more than a courtroom drama. Just this court thing is the background noise to the real story that is Duvall and Downey's relationship. The other thing that I really enjoyed about this film was cinematography done by Janusz Kaminski. If Roger Deakins is my all type favorite cinematographer, then Kaminski is easily my second. He really works a lot with Steven Spielberg. Shot some of his best work in Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. This movie looks absolutely amazing. Going into the film I didn't know he had shot it. Leaving the film I knew it had to be him. He does some of my favorite things with low lighting in the courts for the dark moments and bright and sunny for the great out doors moments. There are so many very good looking shots. There was only one that I really didn't enjoy,  but nothing that is distracting when it comes to the image.

My big problems are the pace and how the overall story is handled. The pace of the film is very slow. I mean that is a big problem for a film with a run time of two and a half hours. There are two characters that I will not mention because they serve to the overall film. It doesn't focus on the relationship or the court room parts. It just slows the film down and adds more screen time that isn't really needed. The trailer is another thing that I had a huge problem with they are really trying to sell this huge courtroom drama. I never really got that from this film. It shouldn't have been the center or the main focus. The court room part actually kind of bored me except for the last one, but that is because that was mostly about the relationship between the father and son. I think that if they wanted to sell courtroom drama, it should have been a lot more intense.

I think overall this film is very okay. You get two great performances from the leads and some great looking scenery, but the overall story is just too heavy handed with the story and long. I think if you are looking for a descent family drama and good leads, then you have found your movie. But if you are looking for a 12 Angry Men or A Few Good Men. You sadly won't find it here.

RATING
2.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs

Horns

Horns stars Harry Potter, I am sorry I mean Daniel Radcliffe as Ig Perrish, who has be wrongly of accused of killing and raping his girlfriend. He goes on a bender on the night of a candle light vigil for her. He awakes with Horns coming from the top of his head and giving the power to know and tempt people to do their darkest wishes. The film is directed by Alexandre Aja, who has made The Hills Have Eyes (2006) and Piranha 3D. It is also based off the book of the same title written by Joe Hill.

I have read the book, but I will do my best to keep my opinion on just the film. Because we all know how bad I am at letting things that I have read first get in the way of actually viewing the film as just the film. I am looking at you almost every comic book movie. Well to start Aja is one of the directors that I think is a little under liked. I think if you are a horror junkie like me, you will like his style and tone of his films, but if not he is always a tough sale. Here he isn't in full gory, over the top horror mood like the The Hills Have Eyes. He hits more of a middle ground between that and Piranha 3D. He has some really dark moments, but really hits the really dark comedy that is all over the place in this film. I also really have to give him props for his imagery as well in the film. It's not a great looking film, but there are shots in the film that look great. Two really come to mind, one is of Radcliffe walking out of a barn and another is of Radcliffe just sitting in a car with a burning building behind him. It just looks very cool. There was a major problem with pace at the beginning of the film. It felt very fast. Like nothing really got a chance to breath, but then about at the half way point of the film it slowed down and gave us some real character moments. The thing the strongest part of the film is the story. It is very unique kind of. We have all seen a revenge movie before, but this one differently has its own style and look to it. Which I personally really dug, but I can see people having a hard time getting into. 

The acting of the film is good for the most part. There are a few people that just stick out like a sore thumb one of them being Heather Graham. I really think she was just there for the paycheck, not her best. The two stand outs really are Radcliffe as the lead and I would say Juno Temple playing Merrin Radcliffe's dead girlfriend. Those two on screen really looked good together and had great chemistry on screen and I wanted to see them happy. Radcliffe really impressed me sporting an American accent. The only part where his acting feels a little off really is in this Voice Over parts, but overall he is very good. He really has stopped being Harry Potter. I never really saw Radcliffe or Potter for that matter. Which is one of the best comments you can get from someone like me. He did a great job at the bar scene with Juno Temple. It is easily his biggest moment, but he really gives it his all and makes you feel very bad for the character.

Overall, if you are a fan of the book I think you like the film version. It does  some things different and cuts and moves things around, but it all works for the overall film.  Now if I was going to recommend this to people.  I would say if you like Aja you should see it. I think you will really enjoy this. It fits very well with all of his other films, being a fan of him myself. The casual viewer, however it would be a tough sale. You have to like dark humor or a dark story. If not you should stay away, but if you like the story elements and don't mind a dark story I think you would find something to enjoy.

RATING
2 out 4 Ticket Stubs

Gone Girl

Gone Girl is the next Ben Affleck film. The film was based on the book with the same title written by Gillian Flynn. The film tells the story of Nick Dunn (Affleck) waking up in the morning of his and his wife's Amy (Rosamund Pike) anniversary. The happy morning for the couple turns to dread when Nick finds his wife is missing.

Let me start this review off saying this I am a huge David Fincher fan. He is one of my top three favorite directors of all time. I have seen all of his films and will say Seven is one of my all time favorite films. So if you want to take everything I say with a grain of salt you can. David Fincher knocks the film out of the park with his direction of the film. The tone of the film is perfect nothing truly feels out of place. He also wisely really chooses a great subtext about the film concerning how the media (oh the irony of writing this) can really control how people think of you. The script of this film is great. It has a great three act structure. Each act truly has a point and has a end. Which is super important to the story. I also really enjoyed the fact that I had no idea how the film was going to end. I know the book ending was changed, but I loved the ending to the film. It does one of my favorite things which is ending where it started.

The acting and characters were very well done. Affleck was so good in the film. He gives a great performance. He doesn't have a very big moment, but he makes you really see the character and what he is going through. You know every emotion the man feels, but the film doesn't just tell you. Affleck physical posture does that. Pike for me was always a really hard pill for me to swallow. I just never thought she was that good. Well after this film Pike and the character of Amy makes me want to review everything she has ever done. Amy maybe one of my favorite female characters of all time. This is one of the characters I wish I should have written. I loved everything about her. Pike just kills it as her. Affleck maybe getting all the press, but the performance from Pike was just pure amazing. I do have one character and actor that I have problems with. No, its not Tyler Perry he was very good in the film. It's sadly NPH (Neil Patrick Harris) I felt like he was just missed casted as him. The first time he speaks feels very wooden. Then after that he has this really odd moment with Pike. I am not sure if he was supposed to come off as creepy or just a nice guy. The character just felt very off.

This film is perfect thriller and a perfect way to start off my favorite season for movies. I do have some minor nitpicky problems. The third act of the film felt very slow. It maybe because all the thriller aspects and the what's going to happen next feeling had left. It really a was a great ending, but it had a lot of loose ends to tie up and I felt like that part was poorly handled. This film will fit perfectly into Fincher's filmography. It will go right alongside of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. It is not as good as Seven or Zodiac, but better than Panic Room.   This film is great for a weekday out at the movies for a weekend if you are looking for a perfectly crafted thriller.

RATING
3.5 out of 4 Ticket Stubs