Well only two films to note that are released this week. It is not a bad week for new releases that is for sure:
THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE
Directed by Chris McKay
Screenplay by Seth Grame-Smith;Chris McKenna; Erika Sommers; Jared Stern; and John Whittington
Voices by Will Arnett; Michael Cera; Rosario Dawson; and Ralph Fiennes
This film was got twice as many laughs out of me then any comedy last year.
It is a very funny script with picking apart superhero films and the characters egos.
The film just piles on so many funny lines that you can miss many of these lines while laughing.
It all starts and ends with Will Arnett. He keeps the same tone the whole time...in all situations which makes his delivery even funnier.
Underneath it all is a nice message for the little ones of the importance of having loyal friends and family..
Negatives?
Yes. This film reminded me a lot of the Scary Movie franchise. Where they make fun of a genre of films. This film clearly takes shots at superhero films. The problem with these films are they have a habit of over staying their welcome. After an hour in, it seemed like the Lego Batman Movie felt long. The jokes were coming slower. The plot became messy. And for some reason the animation felt lazy with the same background for the last half hour. Odd...colors popped in the first hour. Shadows were used well. Then...it fell apart like the script.
Still....4 stars out of 5 for The Lego Batman Movie. 4 stars for the humor. The idea. The humor will keep parents watching. That humor which may go over the kids heads, but fear not they will stay in their seats watching the action. Did I mention this was funny.
JOHN WICK CHAPTER 2
Directed by Chad Stehelski
Screenplay by Derek Kolstad
Starring Keanu Reeves; Riccardo Scamarcio; Ian McShane; Common; Laurence Fishburne; and Ruby Rose
Just let the guy retire quietly with his dog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please!!!!!
Is John Wick Chapter 2 better than the first John Wick? No. Why?
-The first John Wick you felt like it was done on a low budget. It felt small. Compact. More personal.
Here in Chapter 2, obviously they had a bigger budget and with the bigger budget they decided to ....well...go big. Small/compact is why the first film worked. You have more killings in this film then maybe any film in the previous year combined. It almost got silly. Okay....it was silly. Bigger does not always mean better. There were scenes where bad guys with guns ...like at an outdoor concert were coming out of the woodwork....maybe 100's....and no one sees them....they were like gunman ninjas. HUH?! They must be quick. Where did they all come from? Were they just hanging out.
-In the first film even though John had a talent of....well...killing people he came across as the every man. He was just a guy with a car and a dog. Here he comes across as a superhero almost. As per example at one point during a fight with a bad guy they roll down maybe 100 concrete steps and then they get up and fight some more. No broken bones? I mean many people die falling down 100 or more steps!! They had no bones broke...no broken ribs? That is just one example. The film almost became a video game.
-Editing. 2 hours of constant gun battles and I do mean constant. It felt exhausting. Even when it ended......as usual no spoilers here...it seemed to have another ending to lead into a third film. It all seemed way to long and repetitive.
Well after all that..............................this film did a lot of good things:
-First it is Keanu. The part was meant for him. He just has great body language like he is exhausted. He walks like his legs are so heavy. After fights he seems to drag his legs. When he talks to people he does not make eye contact. He talks while looking down. Like a man who rather not be out in public. He still wants to be left alone with his dog. He is John Wick. Keanu is wonderful again.
- The film does not work without a good bad guy and Scamarcio as D'Antonio is great. He is the opposite of Wick. Clean pressed suit. He loves being out and about. Wants to be more. I mean he even wants his sister killed to climb a ladder!!! We hate him!!
-The film looks beautiful from New York to Rome. Great use of shadows and even mirrors (In a real trippy gun battle near the end).
-A nice, but too short, reunion with Reeves's Matrix costar, Fishburne, was nice to see.
-Common as Cassian had a big part, and it is funny because, I did not know he was in the film. I was like .."Hey It's Common". I think Common is a good actor and he usually plays good/soft guys. So when he was fighting Reeves I was kind of hoping Common would not get killed. Like watching two friends fight. I wanted them to call timeout and join forces.
-Now the biggest of all the biggest ;positives of this film is...why you go see this film:
Action...well you get that from start to finish
John Wick...You liked the first one and you want to see more of him and you do.
You do not go see this film for sex and love. You do not go see this film for big laughs. You go for excitement and action in that respect I give John Wick Chapter 2, 3 1/2 out of 5 stars. I just wish it was more compact and shorter,
I have a shirt at home that says, "I do not care who gets killed in a movie just so it is not the dog" Kind of fits here for Chapter 2.
From the shadows as always thanks for your time.
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