John Wick 2 2017 9+ out of 10

John Wick 2  2017 9+ out of 10

John Wick thought he was out of the killing game --but after the events of the first movie he has been pulled back in again.  The second movie picks up where the first movie left off.   John Wick goes after the guys that have his car.   The film starts out with an action packed sequence where Keanu Reeves tries to get his car back.  After this he is forced to return to the underworld to repay a marker that let him out in the first place.  He executes the mission in dramatic fashion at an outdoor concert amongst ruins of an ancient city only to have the gangster that gave him the job then turn on him and try to have him taken out.

The movie was visually stunning.  Whoever does location scouting and set design for these movies is on top of their game.  The locations that the action takes place are like a work of art.  It creates a stylish ambiance that draws you into the world of John Wick

The story is action packed and the pacing is as near to perfect as a film can achieve.  The violence in the action sequences can feels like a super cool video game.  The story in the John Wick films is simplistic --but the film doesn't need a complex plot as the action and the style of the films carries the movies.

I love the world that they have created in John Wick and I'm excited to see more of this world. The John Wick series is my favorite Keanu Reeves franchise.  This sequel added to the cool factor of the original film which was a wonderful surprise to me.  The world building they have done with this series through two films is already more interesting to me than The Matrix which after the first film went downhill.  

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John Wick 2014 10 out of 10

John Wick 2014 10 out of 10

I'm not the biggest Keanu Reeves fan.  He has to be cast in the right role and the right movie (See Point Break and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure as examples of the right roles) . When cast in the wrong film like Dracula or Chain Reaction where he is supposed to be a nuclear scientist things don't work.   Well this was the right movie for Keanu and I would have to say it is now definitely my favorite Keanu film.

When the trailer for John Wick 2 came out it looked interesting and I'd heard good things about the original which I hadn't seen.   I decided to check out John Wick on Netflix with no expectations or really any knowledge about the character or the movie. 

Keanu plays John Wick an apparently legendary  retired hit man. His wife has just died and his character is literally the Sad Keanu meme from the Internet that we once made fun of on a Podcast discusssing Point Break before it became the Super Fantastic Terrific Podcast.

Then he receives a package....something his wife wanted him to have before he died.   A Puppy....the cutest little puppy ever.  The film suddenly takes a turn after a trip to the gas station and an encounter with Theon Greyjoy from Game of Thrones.    This unlucky dude decides he wants Keanu's ride and with a gang of thugs breaks into his house and beats him up, steals his car and kills his puppy.

Rule number 1.    Don't kill John Wick's Puppy.....Well that is basically the only rule.   John Wick spends the rest of the film getting revenge and putting his retired hit man skills to great use.

The character of John Wick is amazing.  He is described by the Russian gangster as the guy you send to kill the Boogyman.   The main bad guy is upset that the owner of the chop shop slapped his son---until he finds out why, his  stupid son stole John Wick's car.  I love that the villains fear him.

This movie is stylish.  It has the look of Black Rain meets Blade. The sets are amazing from the Continental Hotel an apparent safe zone for Hit men run by Ian Mcshane of Deadwood fame.   To the Russian club the Red Circle.  The music of the film fits it perfectly as well and Keanu Reeves absolutely kicks ass.   It is like a bloody video game as he makes his way through every killer that stand between him and the guy that killed his dog.   I can't wait to see John Wick 2 now.

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A Scanner Darkly 2006 5 out of 10

Some great Science Fiction movies have come out or been inspired by the books of Phillip K Dick.

Blade Runner, Total Recall, The Minority Report and more recently The Adjustment Bureau.  All of his works have a sense of paranoia or mistaken identity and delve into cool issues in a sci-fi setting.  A Scanner Darkly just didn't excite me as much as the other films based on his work.  I've seen a lot of praise for this not so widely seen film and figured I had to check it out after seeing a recent Science channel show called Prophets of Science Fiction which had an episode about Phillip K Dick.  I've read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and several of the books with some of his short stories which I loved.   This drug and paranoia movie although weird and considered one of the most faithful adaptations of his work didn't thrill me.   The main reason is the Rotoscope animation used to present the film.   I found it distracting and unnecessary.  Why animate over actors like Robert Downey Jr and Keanu  Reeves when the animation looks just like them.  This style of animation is generally hated and I felt served no purpose in the film.  Keanu is a bad actor whether you Rotoscope him or not and I don't feel it added to the film.  Instead I believe my hatred of this style of animation took away from the movie and the performances of the actors.   I would suggest all of the other films based on the works of Phillip K Dick before this one.   If you want the non-Hollywood Phillip K Dick in pure form check out his books instead of this Rotoscoped version of it.   The story itself is good, I just didn't like the method it was delivered in.