Her Name Was Daisy
Review: John Wick
Grieving is a process. And
if you're familiar with my work, you know I've quoted Travis
Touchdown on this numerous times so I'll spare you.
For everyone else: please
note that the process is unique to each individual, and that it is
not the best idea to interrupt that process. Certainly not if the
bereaved happens to be a legendary hitman-for-hire whose emotional
stability is at most a suggestion. But so the story goes as we find
the titular character in mourning of his recently departed wife who
fell to an illness of unknown origin. As a parting gift to her
husband, she sent to his doorstep a dog – a Beagle named Daisy.
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| Who totally called shotgun. |
A pet for him to look after
and care for in her absence. Things are good until his home is
invaded by Russian thugs looking to lift his prized '69 Mustang. Add
the death of his dog – the last piece of his wife he had left –
and the pot has been successfully stirred and your piping hot Revenge
Stew is ready to serve.
But John Wick is much more
than just a revenge story. Much in part of the efforts of Keanu
Reeves who for the longest had shied away from from these
action-centric roles so he could spend more time in the art house.
Whether to polish himself up or air himself out I couldn't say, but
he is indeed in rare form. The jumps he takes from cool and
calculated hitman to fast-paced man of action are what keeps this
from being yet another mindless shoot 'em up. And shoot 'em ups have
their place (Clive Owen's Shoot 'Em Up for example) but when a
movie looks like this, there needs to be another layer.
This is why you should
never overlook the importance of the character actor. You know the
ones. Those actors you see in every other movie; many of this week's
TV shows. People who never got their chance to carry the ball but
still have the chops to keep things grounded. Willem Dafoe was
excellent in the minimal screen time he was given and I was
pleasantly surprised to see John Leguizamo who I hadn't seen since he
got wrecked in Kick-Ass 2. Also, let's talk about this guy
here.
This guy is Michael Nyqvist
and he plays the father of the man who attacked John in the first
act. He's also responsible for a hefty bounty put on John's head.
Now, I'm not outright saying or even suggesting we should get this
guy in Star Wars: Episode VIII but, c'mon JJ, look at this
guy. Even when he's smiling, there's an air of menace around him.
This guy would make Dooku think twice.
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| Corporal Punishment |
After I see a movie, I
usually don't start writing about it until after I've slept on it. It
especially helps when I'm on the fence about something but in this
case the time simply increased my favor. The film isn't without it's
faults, however. As good as some of the characters are, there are
others that simply revert to type. The third act in some ways feels
like a bit of a deflation but at just over 90 minutes it never lets
you think about it for too long. Also, this movie simply just looks
cool.
At the end, your enjoyment
will depend mostly on just how much you are behind the main character
and his mission. Do you buy his reasoning for waging war on a crime
boss and family that he once had close ties with? As several
characters say, “It's just a fuckin' dog!” While that's true, I
like to get myself into the head of characters such as these. One
look at this man and you understand. It's not just the fact that they
killed an innocent dog. The man's name is John Wick. As in the wick
of a fuse; he's literally a time bomb. These poor bastards just
happened to be the match that lit the fuse. Sometimes you can't win
for losing.
3.5 Stars out of 5
Other times, though, you find a way to win just enough.
If It Bleeds, It Leads (Brah)
Review: Nightcrawler
So it's no secret where the
state of the media is. The last legitimate newsmen where Walter
Cronkite and Robert Frost. That was decades ago. So framing a
film arond freelance news in post-Recession LA is hardly, well, news
but where Nightcrawler succeeds is where its main character succeeds.
The key word is ambition.
Jake Gyllenhaal takes the
lead in a very innovative role as Louis Bloom. He is an unemployed
man with an unknown history, questionable morals and unmistakable
motives. He describes himself as persistent and man, from a guy who
knows how to get what he wants he really undersells himself here.
As the movie opens, we see
he is scraping by on a meager living provided by stolen scrap iron.
It's not desirable and it's not sustainable and Lou knows it. Which
is why he's always looking to get his foot in the door - any door,
really. So when he comes across a crew filming what's left of a fiery
accident on a night lit freeway, his eyes glimmer with opportunity.
For the first time he has hope. It just so happens that his hope lies
in the hopelessness of others.
Nightcrawlers - or
stringers as they're called – are camera jockeys for hire who
primarily sell their footage to local news stations as part of their
top-of-the-hour crime report. Controversy creates cash and fear is
the greatest motivator; stringers in this film are hired to remind
you how safe you aren't. They have a police scanner to locate, a GPS
system to navigate and a camera to document. As Lou notes, if you see
one of them, you probably aren't having a great day. This theme
becomes very important as we sink deeper into the seedier side of
broadcast journalism.
Again, none of this is
exactly groundbreaking. Every other think piece on countless other
blogs you've read about that had anything to do with the pitfalls of
media at large or “by any means” capitalism has already said what
this movies aims to say. But none of those pieces had a voice like
Lou Bloom to propel it. Jake Gyllenhaal said in an interview that he
memorized every line of this script and it shows in a good way. Every
word spoken by Lou is done so in a trance-like robotic wonder. Never
quite monotone, but still outside of being human. One must think that
the same sensation a person might get from a basket of newborn
puppies is the same he gets from a 3-car pileup.
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| Double homicide! All across the 109! |
Even better are the almost
Shakespearean soliloquies that he goes into. There are only about 2
or 3 in the whole movie but for the handful of minutes that they last
you have no choice but to be sucked into a world that in no way could
exist in your own. Lou knows this, too. That his greatest strength is
his intelligence and quick wit. As long as he has just one chip to
bargain with, he still has a chance. It plays with ones emotions
well. You want to see this kid succeed where many others haven't, but
the whole time you're thinking, “Not like this.”
Nightcrawler is a
thriller at the end of the day and it succeeds in being that.
However, there are certain other elements that stood out to me even
before I saw the movie in full. Specifically in the vein of black
comedy. I had my first thoughts as I watched the redband trailer and
saw clips of squad cars getting smashed up to the righteous tunes of
Kendrick Lamar. These suspicions were confirmed as the movie
progressed. At times the score would appropriately be dark and
sinister. Other times, when Lou happened upon a crime scene or even
beat the police to a crime scene it would becoming sweeping and
orchestral despite the fact that we were looking at possibly multiple
fatalities. With the slick little one-liners and the classic Los
Angeles greeting [Who the fuck are you?] there are many moments of
laughter: unintentional or otherwise depends on how you view it.
In some ways, your
enjoyment of Nightcrawler may depend on your opinion of Lou
and the means to his end. Are you looking for any comeuppance or do
you appreciate a mixed bag? I lean towards the latter in this
instance. I don't know if Mr. Gyllenhaal will be nominated for this
performance. I don't know if this is his best work. Whatever the case
I wish more leading actors had the guts to take a role like this. He
more or less transformed entirely to get into this role.
It's not nearly as drastic
as others have been, but it fits the character and that's the goal
here. Will Smith had his chance to be the loveable anti-hero in
Hancock and threw it away after the first act. Now the hero is
on a shortlist of franchises no one wants to see continued. Louis
Bloom is frankly a bit of a sleaze.
There's not much redeeming
about him other than his enthusiasm but that's what gives you the
rush when you find yourself rooting for and against him in the space
of one scene. Too many leading men are afraid to be unliked and I believe we should
celebrate the ones who aren't. Say what you want about Lou. You don't
have to like him. Just remember:
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| "I'm just doin' my job!" |
