Up first this week is John Wick: Chapter 4. It was my #1 most anticipated film of 2023 and after watching it, it’s my #1 film of 2023. In all honesty, it might be the greatest action film ever made. I’m 100% serious about that. Action is one of my favorite film genres whether it’s 1980s big muscle men or Asian martial arts flicks and John Wick: Chapter 4 combines all of what the genre is great at. The action is utterly mind-blowing. There is a staircase scene and overhead action sequence towards the end that makes you feel exhausted while watching it and you’re not even participating. Plus it adds martial arts legends Donnie Yen and Scott Adkins to do battle with Keanu Reeves. You expect big action in this franchise, but what makes Chapter 4 so special is the direction, color scheme, score and pacing. Director Chad Stahelski amped up every aspect of filmmaking to make his piece de resistance. It’s visually gorgeous with colors and pacing that add layer after layer to the overall appeal. The score and soundtrack add even more. There is a scene with a DJ and John Wick trying to stay alive on the streets that uses multiple songs to keep you glued to the screen. Same for a fight sequence with hundreds of extras dancing. All of it intertwines to make a breathtaking movie that surpasses all expectations. The 4K shines beautifully and sounds even better. It’s flooded with bonus features that I will be going through time and time again. If you like the franchise, this is a must own. A MUST OWN.
Speaking of Donnie Yen, this week we get his return to directing with Sakra. Yen also stars as a leader of a gang of martial artists who is accused of murder and needs to prove his innocence. He soon realizes he has a past he knows nothing about and those around him are pulling the strings behind his back. The film is solid, but Yen is aging so he’s not doing as much hand-to-hand fighting. There’s a lot of wire work which you expect in these period fantasy films. Don’t get me wrong, Yen is still fantastic and I’ll watch anything he’s in, but I wanted a bit more from this. I prefer his Ip Man franchise and current day dramas over these period fantasy films, but I’ll never say no to a Yen film. The costuming and set design are fantastic as is the fight choreography, I just wish it had more intimate, person-to-person fighting and less rooftop chasing and wire pulling. But if you’re like me and enjoy Yen’s work, definitely seek it out.
Third we have Bone Cold which could have been a pretty good sniper film, but it takes a supernatural twist that I honestly felt wasn’t necessary. It’s about a two person team (sniper and spotter) sent to Ukraine to take down a high valued Russian target. When bad intel leads to a bad kill, the pair need to stay, figure out who they killed and take down the real target. It’s not great, but I was overall digging it. There’s some Russian soldiers with their own sniper and then there’s a weird entity the US sniper keeps seeing. It attacks them and now he’s on the run from it and the Russians. We’ve seen a lot of realistic military movies mixed with supernatural stories before, Overlord and more recently The Lair come to mind, but this doesn’t get into the creature enough. I didn’t quite understand the ending as well especially with no real explanation of the creature, its powers and abilities. I actually would have preferred it to just be a sniper film with the pair stuck behind enemy lines trying to escape the Russians.
Sticking with creature features, next we have Fear the Invisible Man. Based on H.G. Wells’ classic story, the film is pretty watchable. It’s not going to wow the average movie goer, but as someone who watches a lot of lower budget/lower tier straight-to-video horror, it’s decent. The production design and costuming are good with a proper location. The special effects are suspect, but it’s a pretty timeless story about using science to become powerful. Wells’ concept of being invisible to be seen works here as the scientist wants to become famous, but gets into trouble. While hiding at the estate of widow friend, he helps her with stolen money, but the law and bad guys get involved. The film is a lot more H.G. Wells than Leigh Whannell’s more recent version. If you don’t mind straight-to-video/straight-to-streaming films, you might like this one.
Holding is a 4 episode series based on Graham Norton’s book. It involves an overweight cop in a small Irish town. When bones are uncovered during a dig, the town is a buzz with who it is. A man had disappeared 20 years prior and everyone assumes the remains are his. It has a mix of characters beyond the cop including the woman left at the alter when the man disappeared, her drunk/sick mother and husband, the woman he was also sleeping with, her two sisters, the boy she was sleeping with and more. I liked it overall, but I expected it to be funnier. I thought it would be more of a dark comedy like The Guard, but it’s more a drama with some comedic elements. The location works as does the ensemble cast. I’m not familiar with Norton’s book so I can’t compare the series to it, but if you like Irish shows, you’ll enjoy this.
Radiance is a Japanese film about a woman who does voiceover work so blind people can enjoy movies. She meets a man who was once a great photographer, but is losing his eye sight. He is bitter about life, but soon both fall for each other. The leads are very good in the film, both needing something new in life. At first he has partial sight, but soon loses everything and his ability to shoot photos. She’s not very good at her job at first, but takes the criticism well and wants to get better. She’s young and wants to know more about life. He’s cynical, but realizes he needs her. It’s well shot and well made and both leads hold your attention throughout. A nice, little simple film that checkmarks a lot of boxes for quality filmmaking.
I don’t know if I 100% understood Still The Water, but I liked the gist of it. It’s about young love when teenaged friends cross the line of friendship. Well at least the girl wants to. The boy is confused at life because his parents are separated and his mother takes on multiple lovers. One washes up dead after a typhoon and the boy is angry on many levels. The girl’s mother is sick and I didn’t quite understand the shaman angle of the film. But I thought the two young actors were good in their roles especially the young actress. The location is a small island in Japan which works well. I may not have quite got it, but what I understood I liked especially the acting.
Southern Gospel is a faith based film out this week from Mill Creek Entertainment. It’s based on a true story and it’s definitely a story we’ve seen told before. A man gets involved with the rock-n-roll lifestyle and finds himself in trouble. He gets involved with faith and changes his life where he meets the love of his life and helps his friend also dealing with personal demons. Of course his past also gets in the way and he must prove himself over and over again. It’s nothing overly original, but the music is decent and the performances are good enough. I’m not a faith based film person, but I can respect what they try to do in bringing some wholesomeness and responsibility to movies.
Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman’s classic Rain Man is out on 4K. It may be out already, but I’m not sure if I got the release date wrong. Anyways, it won multiple Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Hoffman) and is considered one of the best dramas from all aspects of filmmaking. Along with The Social Network, The Shawshank Redemption and LA Confidential, it’s one of those nearly flawless films to me. Cruise and Hoffman are perfect together along with a fantastic script and direction. It won multiple Academy Awards for a reason and was a cable TV mainstay for decades. I’m not sure if it could get made in today’s social climate, but Hoffman deserves his Oscar. It’s been around for 35 years and is still quoted and referenced. Cruise was a big name, but he really got to show his dramatic chops here and deserved award nominations, but didn’t get them. The score by Hans Zimmer is fantastic adding to its near perfect filmmaking. The movie has been restored and looks great on 4K and it’s jam packed with bonus features including multiple commentaries, featurettes and more. Add it to your 4K library now.
The Nerds Templar 