John Wick

                                                         

John Wick – movie review by Tony Baksa 11/13/2014
Hamburg Sun

Rating – 4 Suns

Take one part Quentin Tarantino, one part Kung Fu and one part Clint Eastwood and you will have “John Wick”.  On their own, each is entertaining to their target audience. Mixed thoroughly and you have a superior entertainment for everyone.

Keanu Reeves stars as a retired high level hit man who encounters a trio of thugs hell bent on stealing his snazzy car. In the process they beat him violently and to top it off kill his adorable dog before they speed off with his Mustang. Their big mistake was not knowing who he is. He’s John Wick famous assassin – formerly known as “The Boogeyman” – an unstoppable force. Their bigger mistake was not knowing that Wick was a “colleague” of the father of the trio’s leader. Their biggest mistake was killing John Wick’s dog. You see, our beloved hit man recently lost his beautiful wife to a terminal illness. The dog was her parting gift to him. We are treated to scenes of Wick lavishing affection on the dog as he grieves.  With brief flashbacks of his deceased wife, there is a sense that he gave up his life of crime for her and the decency she represented. Therefore, this dog is everything to him – EVERYTHING.

Well, that is all you need to know of the movie’s plot. The remainder of the movie is all revenge played out in some of the most exciting action you will encounter. This is not an overstatement. Directed by David Leitch and Chad Stahelski we are treated to wildly enthralling fights and shoot outs that are brilliant in their execution. The directors know their material all too well. They are former stunt doubles for the film’s star, Keanu Reeves. What is even more interesting and, frankly astonishing, is that “John Wick” is the first film directed by Leitch and Stahelski. They must have been paying attention as stunt men on the many movies they worked. I am guessing they have also watched a lot of Kung Fu movies as well. “John Wick” plays like Kung Fu with guns instead of flying feet and fists.

The amazing fight choreography especially the shoot outs are unequalled in recent memory. Inspired by martial arts movies, it is fast and furious like a runaway train. The all-important editing in such a film cannot be denied. I am predicting an Oscar nomination for film editing.

As for the cast, they are fine especially John Leguizamo in a tiny cameo that is, nevertheless memorable. But it is all Reeves. He is so strong in presence. As a loner of few words - relentless for vengeance, he will surely bring to mind the revenge seeking Clint Eastwood in his younger days. Keanu Reeves has had a string of bombs in the last few years. As the title character he states in a confrontational prelude to his rampage, “I’m thinking I’m back!” Yes, Keanu, you are and welcome back.

The look of the film is strangely beautiful for this genre. With New York City as the backdrop, the choreographed violence is mesmerizing and, above all, exciting. It’s not real and we know it. It’s fun. It’s iconic movie making. It’s cowboys and gangsters – good guys and bad guys - Gary Cooper in “High Noon”, Spencer Tracy in “Bad Day at Black Rock”.  It’s classic. It’s movie time – popcorn and candy.  We leave the theater exhilarated and satisfied.

“John Wick” is currently in theaters.                                         

Men, Women & Children

Men, Women & Children - Movie Review by Tony Baksa

10/23/2014

Rating - 4 Suns

The internet, social media and all the modern day devices like Ipads, androids and IPhones provide us with great connectivity - or does it? Yes, we email and prolifically post on Facebook, Instagram, twitter, blogs and YouTube. We may feel involved in each other’s lives and to some degree we are. But to what degree? Have all these platforms for social discourse and self-expression actually made us less connected? That’s the irony presented to us by producer, director and screenwriter Jason Reitman in his cautionary tale, "Men, Women & Children.”

It is a powerfully sad film about private lives and enormous secrets. With a strong ensemble cast, "Men, Women &Children" pulls no punches in its frank story of the harm technology does to society - more accurately, the abuse of technology.

The large cast of characters includes teenagers with their constant texting - often times sending messages to friends who occupy their very same space. It should be funny but it is not. Then there are the adults surfing the web for companionship outside their marriages. With so much available on the internet from an abundance of news, games, gossip to misinformation and the illicit, a sort of worldwide obsession seems to have taken hold. 

A major theme is played out in the story of a suicidal teen believing that nothing matters. The earth viewed from the perspective of the entire universe, he feels, is an insignificant dot.  Ansel Elgort as Tim Mooney has latched on to this theory after reading Carl Sagan’s “Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space”. Tim should be enjoying his high school years. He is the star football player and admired by the student body as well as the faculty. Yet, he has gotten this notion into his head how unimportant football is and therefore winning is especially meaningless. Tim has come to hate football. So, he has decided to quit the team to everyone’s dismay including his father. All he seems to care about anymore is computer games – bloody war games – hours spent on this one lonely endeavor.  His only connection to his absent mother is through Facebook where, unknown to her, he reads her postings.

Another teen, full of innocence, is pushed into sudden maturity by circumstances she is ill equipped to understand. Rude awakenings and unlikely outcomes abound for all these innocents – young and old alike. All this technology has produced a world of people leading lives of quiet desperation. Misunderstandings and alienation are the order of the day.

Adan Sandler as suburban husband and father Don Truby heads the best ensemble cast of the year. Yes, Adam Sandler! Rarely associated with serious social drama, Sandler has probably the best written and most effective scene in the film that sums up everything Reitman wants to say. It is classic in style and chilling as Don (Sandler) responds to his wife after secrets and lies are confronted. I was shocked by his authority in the scene. I hope to see more of this caliber of work from him in the future.

Also outstanding is Elena Kampouris as a doe eyed waif disillusioned by her big crush. She is heartbreaking. Olivia Crocicchia as an aspiring model/actress and her conspiratorial mother (Judy Greer) bring a new twist to the stage mother myth. Dean Norris as a middle aged man searching for true love is also commanding. I was especially taken with Jennifer Garner as an obsessed helicopter mom tracking her daughter’s every move through a collection of devices. Garner gives an Oscar worthy performance. The fact is, the entire cast is extraordinary.

"Men, Women & Children" is a bold film. It is among the most compelling movies you will see this fall. The narration by Emma Thompson adds an offbeat and eerie quality to the proceedings. With her cool demeanor and British accent, Thompson's off screen commentary adds to the disconnect. It is a brilliant stroke.

With solid and compassionate direction, Reitman delivers the best movie to date on the dark side of computers, cell phones and the internet - truly a cautionary tale.

"Men, Women & Children" is coming soon to an area theater.

http://www.thesunnews.net/scene/973-Men_Women__Children_is_a_bold_cautionary_tale.html