John Wick: Chapter 2

The character John Wick (Keanu Reeves) does not have an easy life.  All he wants to do is retire and mourn his dead wife (Bridget Moynahan), but folks like Camorra kingpin Santino D’Antonio (Riccardo Scamarcio) just won’t leave him alone.

These circumstances allow Writer Derek Kolstad and Director Chad Stahelski to take us on a heart-pulsing ride from New York to Rome and back again in John Wick: Chapter 2.

 

I’m willing to bet that, even if you had a clicker, you couldn’t keep up with Wick’s body count. But, the action is so slick and well-staged that you will be awed instead of repulsed.

Ruby Rose as a mute killer and Common as Wick’s nemesis create superb opposition to our Bogeyman hero.

Cinematographer Dan Laustsen’s images and Editor Evan Schiff’s pacing help Stahelski create one of the best thrillers in quite a while.

I give John Wick: Chapter 2 a 4.1 out of 5 and hope there can, somehow, be a Chapter 3.

Fifty Shades Darker

The extent to which Director James Foley’s Fifty Shades Darker works is specifically attributable to Dakota Johnson. 

 

Beyond her attractive physical appearance, she proves herself a fine actress with subtle facial expressions that elevate Writer Niall Leonard’s dialogue.  Without her, the film would be no more than an HBO/Showtime soap opera. 

 

That doesn’t mean the film is bad.  It is well-produced and, though not as captivating as Fifty Shades of Grey, it should appeal to fans of E.L. James’ books, as well as, set up their appetites for the next installment.

I give Fifty Shades Darker a 3.5 out of 5.

I Am Not Your Negro

Director Raoul Peck’s documentary I Am Not Your Negro is must-see viewing for anyone, who wants to understand the dynamics of the racial issues that have dominated American history over the last 60 years.

 

Based on Writer James Baldwin’s unfinished novel Remember This House, the film covers Baldwin’s personal experience, as well as his relationships with Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Medgar Evers, all of whom were assassinated in the cause of Civil Rights.

Editor Alexandra Strauss has done a masterful job in stringing together footage from a variety of sources, both then and now, to create an understanding to White Americans of our Country from the point of view of, arguably, the most articulate Black American of the past century. 

Having had the honor of spending one-on-one time with both Baldwin and Malcolm X, the film allowed me to piece together thoughts and develop a greater understanding of them, as well as the plight of all Americans, who suffered for their rights then and are doing so, now.

I give I Am Not Your Negro a 4.6 out of 5.