John Wick (7/10): Keanu Reeves is back doing what he knows best

“People keep asking if I'm back and I haven't really had an answer, but yeah, I'm thinking I'm back.”

John Wick is as predictable and formulaic as the other 99% of revenge action flicks out there, but what makes this stand out is how well the action scenes are choreographed and what a breath of fresh air it is to see the action take place without all the extreme close ups and fast edits which never allow you to enjoy them. John Wick was directed by two former stunt men, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, who seem to have a grip at what they’re doing because they don’t take any of the fun away from the action scenes. Derek Solstad’s screenplay is pretty straightforward. We are introduced to the main character, John, who is grieving over his recently dead wife. She leaves him a cute puppy which will help him during this grieving period, but a group of young Russian mobsters break into his home one night to steal his car and in the process they kill the dog. That brings John to his breaking point and we discover pretty soon that he is no common man. He was once a feared hitman who later retired after meeting his wife. Now he is set on getting his revenge and the action begins. John is the typical hero we can route for and identify with for his loss, while the villains are ruthless and deserve to be punished. We’ve seen all this in almost every other revenge film, but what makes this one stand out and feel fresh is that the action scenes are stylized and energetic. So despite having a predictable plot you are entertained with some of the coolest action scenes of the year. This is no Raid 2, but it does get the job done. There is one particular action scene that takes place in a nightclub that is fantastically choreographed. These are the strongest moments of the film, but if you are looking for an original plot look elsewhere because this is very predictable. There are some interesting elements that Solstad introduces in this world where the mobsters have a series of codes and rues that they follow giving it sort of a video game vibe to it at times.

In order for the action scenes to work for a film like this where they aren’t cutting the scenes every second you need to have an actor who can pull them off. They found the right one with Keanu Reeves who definitely knows his stuff. He delivers in every action scene with some fantastic choreographed moves. The mobsters build him up as someone they fear and respect, and once you see him in action you believe it. He also delivers during the quiet moments as well despite not having the best dialogue to work with. He was made for these roles and delivers. The supporting cast is excellent as well. Alfie Allen (from the Games of Thrones series) is getting typed cast as the hateful villain who behaves like a child at times. His father is played by the excellent Michael Nyqvist, who John Wick used to work for. He knows his kid made a mistake but tries to protect him nonetheless putting a generous reward on John’s head. Willem Dafoe, Lance Reddick, and Adrianne Palicki get some screen time as well and they were a lot of fun. The way everyone treated John when they realized he was back in business was also another nice touch that the directors made and help lighten the mood at times. This was an extremely entertaining film with some of the best action scenes of the year despite all of its predictability. Stahelski and Leitch succeeded in making this predictable story feel fresh and if you are a fan of Keanu Reeve’s work you will not want to miss this.

My Review: Europa Report (6/10)

"I can't believe I'm here. This is incredible."

I enjoyed this science fiction film directed by Ecuadorian filmmaker, Sebastian Cordero. This is his first international film, having directed his previous films all in Ecuador. El Pescador is in my opinion his best film, but in Europa Report he has a bigger budget to work with and some recognizable actors. Now don't get me wrong, this is still a small budget film, but compared to Cordero's previous budgets he gets to play with some bigger toys here. The film has sort of the feel of other small sci-fi films like Moon or Sunshine, but lacks some of the character development that those movies had. What it lacks in that department, it makes up for it in the scientific department creating a credible and suspenseful plot. The film builds tension thanks to its claustrophobic atmosphere and builds expectations for the discovery of the unknown. The film could have been much better if it had stronger characters and if it were edited differently. The film has a documentary style to it with closed and steady camera angle shots with a lot of static going on. The footage is also shown in non-linear fashion despite not having a major reason to do so. I had high expectation for Cordero's film, and despite having enjoyed it I still felt a little disappointed. I would have preferred it to focus more on the character development which would've allowed me to get emotionally involved with the film. Since I didn't care much for the characters, I felt a little detached to the science exploration.

As the title suggests, the film works as a report given by the crew of an exploration team sent to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons, where scientists believe that uni-cellular life organisms may exist. The international exploration team consists of the pilot, Rosa Dasque (Anamaria Marinca from 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days), the Chief Engineer Andrei Blok (Michael Nyqvist from the Millennium trilogy), Engineer James Corrigan (Sharlto Copley from District 9), Dr. Katya Petrovna (Karolina Wydra), Dr. Daniel Luxembourg (Christian Camargo), and William Xu (Daniel Wu). We follow their expedition through footage from the shuttle. It is done in documentary fashion like The Blair Witch Project which allows us to experience the claustrophobic atmosphere and tension, while at the same time marvel at the possible discoveries in deep space.

Cordero gets all the scientific elements right. The screenplay was written by Phillip Gelatt and it succeeds in creating an original and believable plot, but it fails at giving the characters any depth. The film is only about 95 minutes long and there is nothing we can say about the personalities of any of these characters except for the fact that they are willing to take risks in the name of science. They might as well have sent drones because none of these scientists seem to have personalities. It is a shame because the scientific elements work really well and Europa Report could've worked much better as a thriller if it took time to create more interesting characters.

My Review: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet`s Nest (8/10)

¨It reminds me of Hell in a Greek tragedy. Zalachenko trying to shoot his daughter while her brother helps. Then she returns from the dead to smash an axe into the head of her father.¨

The Millennium trilogy written by the late Stieg Larsson, finally comes to an end with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet`s Nest picking up right where the second one ended. This third installment lives up to expectations and is much better than the second part which served more as a bridge for this movie. I really enjoyed this suspenseful thriller and thought this third part was more up to par with the first one. I still enjoyed The Girl who Played with Fire, but I think that it is very difficult to judge that one on its own because it didn´t have an ending and only served to set up part of the plot for this final third film where we finally get all our questions answered about the secret group that Lisbeth`s father was involved with. The second movie left a lot of inconclusive things, but The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet`s Nest finally gives us all the answers in a little over 2 hours and 20 minutes. The same director (Daniel Alfredson) and screenplay writer (Jonas Frykberg) from the second part of the trilogy are back, but this time they included Ulf Ryberg to help out a little more with the screenplay, and I think that his addition contributed a lot more in order to make this movie flow better (which was one of the weaknesses I found from the previous film). I know that you cannot include everything from the book in a two hour movie, so many people may end up disappointed, but I think the film worked really well on its own. You have to pay close attention to the detailed plot or else you might lose yourself, but that is exactly what makes this such a good, engaging, and smart thriller. The title of this film in Sweden is Luftslottet som Sprängdes, and the exact translation is The Castle of Air that Exploded (just like in the first film the title has been changed in English).

The third part of this trilogy picks up right after the second one ended. Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace) is being taken to a hospital on a helicopter after the incident with her father. Mikael (Michael Nyqvist) arrived just in time to save Lisbeth and she begins to be treated in the hospital where they remove the bullets from her hip and brain. She is in a very critical condition, but is still accused for trying to murder her father and will have to face trial once she recovers. Her father, Zalachenko (Georgi Staykov) is alive in the same hospital also in a critical condition. Some members of the clandestine group inside the SAPO, the secret security police which have protected Zalachenko (a former Soviet spy), are worried that he will speak out and therefore try to silence him and Lisbeth. This group was mentioned during the second film, but we now get to know more about them and who they are. Mikael is continuing to gather evidence against this secret organization, which he now calls The Section, and is trying to find the people involved before the trial begins so he can publish it in the Millennium magazine and save Lisbeth from these men who are falsely accusing her. He gets some help from an investigative agency, and together they try to find the evidence they need to bring down the secret group. The Section doesn`t sit still and begin to put pressure on the trial to take place. They kill Zalachenko and get Dr. Peter Teleborian (Anders Ahlbom) to convince the jury that Lisbeth will need to be locked up in his psychiatric institution, St. Stephens, because of her mentally disturbed behavior. In the meantime, Mikael gets his sister Annika (Annika Hallin) to defend Lisbeth during the trial. During the investigation we discover some dark secrets from Lisbeth`s past and meet some dangerous and powerful people. The question is whether they can gather the evidence in time in order to save Lisbeth.

Stieg Larsson passed away before his Millennium trilogy was ever published so he never got to experience the success his novels have had throughout the world. He actually planned to write seven more stories involving Lisbeth and Mikael, but we will never get to read about them. At least we have the three rich books he left us with and that actually give some closure to the series. It would have been a tragedy if we were only left with the second part, but we have the third one and it does conclude everything regarding the existence of the secret group and their conspiracy. It also explains the reason why Lisbeth actually is so withdrawn from society as we discover new things about her past along the way. The third film works really well and Noomi Rapace is once again one of the reasons why this trilogy was so successful. She really played her character to perfection. I think The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is still the best film of the trilogy (a much darker one), but this film also worked really well. I actually enjoyed the parallel action scenes that took place during the trial which reminded me a lot of the famous Godfather baptism scene. I found the ending of the trilogy a very suitable one, and it truly was a remarkable experience to sit through these three movies. Millennium had some great characters, several solved mysteries, good performances, and a lot of thrills. I enjoyed the trilogy very much and recommend it.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

My Review: The Girl Who Played with Fire (7/10)

¨Now the girl with the dragon tattoo will play with fire.¨

The Girl Who Played with Fire is the second part of the Millennium trilogy from Stieg Larsson`s novel which was a huge success in Sweden. The original title of this second installment is Flickan Som Lekte Med Elden, which has the same meaning in English (the other two novels had the title changed in the translation, the first part The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo actually was titled The Men who Hate Women). The trilogy is being made into a movie in Hollywood now (directed by David Fincher), but I still recommend the original Swedish versions which are great films. This sequel isn`t nearly as good as the first movie, but it still is a smart thriller that works in most part thanks to the rich characters that Larsson has created. This film is missing some of the beautiful landscape that we got to see in the first movie, the mystery is not as intriguing either, and there aren`t any new interesting characters. I think that the direction and the screenplay has a lot do with why this film didn`t live up to the first one. This film was directed by Daniel Alfredson instead of Niels Arden Oplev, who had directed the first part, and the screenplay was also adapted by a different writer (Jonas Frykberg) so the dialogue doesn`t flow as well as the first movie did. I am glad they didn`t change the actors because that would have been a mess. Noomi Rapace has played one of the most interesting computer hackers I´ve seen on film. She had very difficult scenes, especially in the first one, but she still managed to give a great performance and in this movie we discover a lot more about her past. The success of the first movie keeps us interested in these characters and their story, so the movie still works although some of the original magic is missing.

The film picks up one year after the first one left us and Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is back working at Millennium with his crew: Erika Berger (Lena Endre) and Malin Erikson (Sofia Ledarp). A young journalist named Dag (Hans Christian Thulin) is applying for a position at the magazine and tells the crew he is investigating a sex-trafficking ring. Dag gets the position and they guarantee him they will publish his work, but they have to have strong evidence before doing so. In the meantime, Lisbeth (Noomi Rapace) is living a luxurious life, but is still haunted by several things from her past. She has been living abroad, but returns to Sweden in order to keep track on her court appointed guardian, Nils Bjurman (Peter Andersson), who has to continue giving positive reports about her or else she will release the tape she made in the first movie. She hasn`t been answering Blomqvist`s calls and it has been nearly a year since they last spoke. Some people aren`t very happy with the investigation of the sex-trafficking ring since it involves some high powers in government, so Dag is murdered along with his girlfriend. The prime suspect is Lisbeth since her fingerprints are on the murderous weapon that belonged to Bjurman who also is found murdered. Mikael knows Lisbeth is innocent and begins investigating some of the people involved in the ring, while she does some investigating of her own uncovering some dark secrets of her past while trying to stay hidden from the police.

It is hard to review this movie on its own, unlike the first one because that one had a decent ending in itself, but this second part serves more as a bridge to the third film then it does on its own. A lot of elements were left unconcluded and I am guessing they will address them in the third film. I really liked The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo much more than The Girl Who Played with Fire, but I can`t complain too much because I was still entertained by this decent thriller since I wanted to know more about these characters. Lisbeth and Mikael are probably one of the most unlikely duos on film, but they just work so well together and we can`t get enough of them. The villain in this film (played by Micke Spreitz) was kind of creepy and did a good job as well in his role. The producers wanted Dolph Lundgren to play this role, but Spreitz did a decent job. I guess I will have to wait and see how the third film turns out in order to better critique the trilogy, but for now I will just leave this to be continued. I want to see if they investigate more on the sex-trafficking ring because it was not touched very much in this second movie. I still recommend this movie, just don`t expect it to be as good as the first one, and know that this is only a bridge to the third film.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

My Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (9/10)

¨He was a man who hated women¨

Perhaps this quote is what better summarizes the movie which is based on Stieg Larsson`s best selling novel ¨Män som hatar kvinnor¨ which is the first book of the Millennium trilogy he wrote. The title has been translated in English as The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, a very attractive one, but not as strong as the literary Swedish translation which means The Men Who Hated Women. Larsson died in 2004, before these books were published and became worldwide sensations, but the trilogy was complete and once they were published his first book sold over 8 million copies. Now, his books have been turned into movies and these films have become a great success overseas. A Hollywood remake of these movies are sure to come our way soon, but it would be better to check out the swedish versions first which were all released last year. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was directed by danish filmmaker Niels Arden Oplev (who directed the danish award winning film We Shall Overcome) and the novel was adapted for the screenplay by Nikolaj Arcel and Rasmus Heisterberg. The film tried to stay faithful to the novel although there were some changes, but the dark mood and the violent scenes remain. Many people were turned down because of the strong violent and sexual scenes in the film which were very realistic and gruesome, but I think they really helped set the tone of the film and explain the characters motivations. The location of the film also contributed to the overall dark mood and helped build the suspense and tension. This was just one of the best suspense thrillers of the year and reminded me of Fincher`s masterpiece, Se7en.

Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) is a journalist who works for Millennium magazine in Sweden and has recently been sued by a business tycoon named Hans-Erik Wennerstrom (Stefan Sauk) for libel against him. The truth is that Blomkvist has been framed and the proof he had against Wennerstrom was false so he is sentenced to three months in prison. He has six months before beginning his sentence and he receives a job proposition from Henrik Vanger (Sven-Bertil Taube), a former CEO of the Vanger group, who lives in an isolated island along with the rest of the members of the rich family. Henrik has hired Mikael because he wants him to investigate what happenned to his disappeared niece, Harriet, who he believes has been murdered by someone in his family forty years ago, although police officers haven`t been able to find any clues over the years. The reason Henrik hasn`t given up looking for the killer is that every year on his birthday he receives a portrait with a flower as a gift from different parts of the world that he presumes is from the killer. He says that the killer has to be someone from the family because there was an accident on the bridge the day Harriet disappeared and no one could get in or out of the island on that day so it couldn`t be an outsider. Henrik loved Harriet very much and took good care of her because her mother was irresponsible and her father died an year before she vanished. Henrik`s brothers were all Nazi sympathizers during the War and he suspects one of them is the killer. Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) is a computer hacker who is pretty good at what she does, but is a very troublesome teenager who has very poor social skills. She was hired by a security agency to follow Mikael during the trial and became very interested in him even after her work was done. She hacks into his computer and begins helping him with the case. Together they decide to dig back in the past, but someone isn`t too happy about it.

The film works as a very dark and intelligent thriller. I think the film was adapted very well from the suspenseful novel and that the movie has a darker Agatha Christie feeling too it. There are a lot of mysteries to be solved and the lead characters are interesting. Noomi Rapace is the true star of the film and she carries this movie brilliantly as her character is probably the most mysterious of them all, but we begin to understand her motivations as the film progresses and we get glimpses of her past. She gave a terrific performance and her very flawed character still makes for a hero who we sympathize with because she is a victim. I really enjoyed how the movie unfolded and how the mystery was built and resolved. I was expecting for the movie to have an open ending because I knew it was a trilogy, but I was surprised to find out that it actually had a decent closed ending. I really enjoyed this movie and am looking forward to seeing the sequels.

http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/