John Wick 4 (2023) Review

Title: John Wick 4
Year: 2023
Director: Chad Stahelski
Country: US
Language: English

I have not seen the first three installments of the John Wick Franchise, but I had become well aware of its reputation for reinvigorating the action genre with eye popping "did you just see that?" violence. Keanu Reeves has become an action star, one that has more similarities to Buster Keaton than traditional action heroes like Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was quite excited to see this film in theatres. 

John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating The High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe.

Perhaps to the surprise of nobody, the script is razor-thin as the plot only serves to get us to the next action sequence. These sequences are amazing, Coordinated by Chad Stanhelski, the fight choreography comes off as a series of sleek and smooth performances that leave audiences in awe. He manages to suspend our disbelief; even when Reeves survives falling several stories out of a window onto a van.

The camera shots are incredible and inventive, allowing us to be fully immersed in the chaos of each set piece. The editing is refined; much restraint is shown when cutting between shots. Two many "action" movies nowadays feel the need to cut every second whereas John Wick's crew know how to really sell the brutal violence. 

John Wick 4 is the best pure "action" movie I have seen in many years. It's a brainless style-over-substance flick for sure, but it delivers on its promise of showing audiences great visually appealing fights. I enjoyed the picture's obvious references to The Warriors (1978) as well. 

Flubber (1997) Review

Title: Flubber
Year: 1997
Director: Les Mayfield
Country: US
Language: English

Robin Williams is one of the greatest comedic actors to hit the Silver Screen. I'm very glad my childhood was filled with his films, as his infectious unrelenting energy would radiate through the screen and make a huge impression on me. He was even able to make mediocre pictures seem bigger than life. Despite this enigmatic energy, I was 6 years old and I found Flubber (1997) to be a bore. 

A remake of The Absent Minded Professor (1961), Flubber is about a man trying to save his marriage and business by creating an invention that will change the world. He accidentally creates an unstable rubber-like substance called Flubber.

Flubber would make a great short film, maybe 30 minutes at most. The movie has an intriguing gimmick, "what amazing things can we see this weird invention do?", but once we've satisfied out curiosity there really isn't any more substance to this picture. Robin Williams isn't especially zany; infact his forgetfullness lacks charm & makes the guy look like an ass. Who forgets about their own wedding 3x in a row!?

The two leads don't have any chemistry. Like in Mrs.Doubtfire Williams' onscreen wife comes across more like a motherly figure and their "love" just comes across weird. Despite having such an engaging persona, Williams himself doesn't bring anything special to this role. He is an empty vessel & any actor could have played the role with more enthusiasm. 

Flubber was terribly boring when I was 6 years old & its far worse now. What a "flub" of a movie. 

0 Stars

George of the Jungle (1997) Review

Title: George of the Jungle
Year: 1997
Director: Sam Weisman
Country: US
Language: English

Now that Brendan Fraiser won Best Actor for The Whale it's cool to say you enjoyed his earlier, more cheesy work right? George of the Jungle (1997) was Fraiser's breakthrough Hollywood role. It pushed him beyond B-comedy pictures like Encino Man (1991) & made the studio execs consider him a possible leading man candidate. Without this role, he may not have been in the action packed Blockbuster The Mummy (2000).

A man raised in the jungle by apes (Brendan Fraiser) falls in love with a wealthy American heiress (Leslie Mann).

Made alongside a wealth of "Boomer TV Shows made into 90's Family Friendly Movies" (see also: Rocky and Bullwinkle) George of the Jungle is a mindless popcorn munching flick that combines the silliness of the 90's, with the naivete of the 60's. It's charming, heartwarming and is a surprisingly effective romantic comedy. I certainly buy the chemistry between the two leads.

I appreciate that we are given two wacky "fish out of water" scenarios. One where the wealthy heiress is mixing it up in the Jungle, and another where George has to survive the city. For the most part the humor is infectiously funny, but sometimes it can be tone deaf & cringe. George of the Jungle has one too many scatological jokes for my taste.

Both leads give a tremendous performance. Leslie Mann & Brendan Fraiser make us invested in an unbelievable scenario and, despite how silly their lines can be, make us excited for their blossoming romance. George of the Jungle is an underrated classic. 

Knock at the Cabin (2023) Review

Title: Knock at the Cabin
Year: 2023
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Country: US
Language: English

Knock at the Cabin (2023) is director M Night Shyamalan's fifteenth film. His body of work is usually hit or miss. The Sixth Sense (1999) won the hearts of audiences & critics, while pictures like The Last Airbender (2010) resulted in his popularity plummeting. Even his decent films, like Signs (2002) can be polarizing. His latest picture is no exception. 

While vacationing, a girl and her parents are taken hostage by armed strangers who demand that the family make a choice to avert the apocalypse.

Although it takes some liberties with the source material, Paul G. Tremblay’s book The Cabin at the End of the World, Shyamalan's "what would you do?" film is compelling and thought provoking. Throughout the run-time the script picks at our assuredness; inciting us to go from skeptical to unsure about the strangers' claims. 

Manipulating his viewers with fluid camera movements and claustrophobic cinematography, Shyamalan proves that he has the ability to be a master storyteller. The actors, particularly Dave Bautista, do their part in creating a convincing scenario despite how ridiculous it is on paper. 

Knock at the Cabin would be a great picture - if only Shyamalan landed the ending. Is there a way to end this film in a satisfying way? It seems as if he wrote himself into a corner wherein any climax would have 50% of the audience frustrated. I found myself indifferent, and I don't rewatch films that make me feel indifferent. 

Ant-Man: Quantumania (2023) Review

Title: Ant-Man Quantumania
Year: 2023
Director: Peyton Reed
Country: US
Language: English

Ever since Kang the Conquerer (Jonathon Majors) appeared in Loki (2021) I was excited to see how the character would be portrayed in later films. Supposedly, he has killed The Avengers in countless Universes. I was greatly impressed with the Infinity War (2018) villain Thanos (Josh Brolin) and I thought the stakes could only be increased. 

After a mishap, the Pym family is accidentally sent to the Quantum Realm where they found themselves at odds with the creatures within. 

I have a numerous amount of problems with the film. Visually, I could not tell if we were in the MCU Quatum Realm or the Star Wars Universe.  There's a bar scene where many of the creatures look like they came straight from A New Hope's Cantina scene. The villain is a jabroni who doesn't pose any real threat. The stakes for future films (Avengers: Kang Dynasty) are so high that they are unfathomable. 

The film's attempt to be both dramatic & comedic come off as awkward and tone deaf. A character makes a big heroic sacrifice scene...and afterwards we laugh at him. The overt political messages about socialism (Hank Pym even says "In this political climate it's hard to talk about socialism, but it seems to work.") just come off as weird considering the film is made by one of the biggest corporate overlords to ever exist. 

I also hate that in recent MCU films/shows the new characters shrug off older heroes' accomplishments. They have a scene where Scott Lang's daughter basically tells him "You saved the world, but what have you done lately?" What!? Avoid Quantumania if you can. At least I can confirm it's more tolerable than She Hulk (2022).