keanu reeves – Spinning Platters

Film Review: “Good Fortune”

Reeves, Rogen, and Ansari quest for wealth in this Capraesque comedy

Arj (Aziz Ansari) and Gabriel (Keanu Reeves) consult outside a Denny’s in ‘Good Fortune.’

Once again this year, audiences are invited to see a new comedy in theaters! Good Fortune is high-concept, taking the sentimentality of ‘30s and ‘40s era Frank Capra films (It Happened One Night; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; It’s a Wonderful Life) and injecting a comical “what if” scenario and a modern-day setting. The film is also writer, actor, and comedian Aziz Ansari’s feature-length directorial debut. Using Good Fortune’s twist on fate and wealth, Ansari primarily explores the demoralizing nature of gig work and how it perpetuates economic inequality. Good Fortune doesn’t shed new light on existing problems, nor does it offer a realistic solution, but the film’s blunt jokiness and the unexpectedly winning trio at the film’s center give it wings. Continue reading “Film Review: “Good Fortune””

Film Review: “Ballerina”

Ballerina effortlessly (and violently) pirouettes into the John Wick universe

Gun fu is back! After 2023’s spectacular finale (for now), John Wick: Chapter 4, and a disappointing television series, The Continental, the John Wick universe is once again aiming to expand with Ballerina, marketed as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, in case you didn’t know. If you also weren’t aware, Keanu Reeves reprises his role in Ballerina, a seemingly desperate inclusion by the producers to feed the fan base and add extra gravitas. Reeves is slightly overused in Ballerina. His initial cameo adds emotional weight to the titular ballerina’s plight, but the film could’ve stood solidly on its own without his reappearance in the third act, which isn’t much of a spoiler if you’ve seen any of the trailers. Ballerina is the first promising piece of John Wick universe expansion, and though the film contains plenty of flaws in its narrative logic, Ballerina is still a slick, exhilarating actioner with a bright future of potential sequel chapters. Continue reading “Film Review: “Ballerina””

Film Review: John Wick: Chapter Two

John Wick proves once again that style can be substantive

In 2014, John Wick combined a Taken-esque simplistic revenge tale with the unrelenting action of Korean and Indonesian action films like The Raid and doused it in stylized modernity. Directed by first-timer Chad Stahelski, who was the stunt coordinator and choreographer for dozens of action titles including multiple Keanu Reeves films like The Matrix trilogy, the film was highly regarded for its action sequences and instantly iconic central protagonist — a solemn hitman with an uncanny ability to kill. John Wick: Chapter Two continues mere hours after the first story left off, if not a day, and it maintains the same action sensibilities of the first film, including the knack for avoiding action cliches like checking bullet proof vests in the middle of gun fights and disregarding armed baddies after “offing” them with a single punch or non-fatal shot. The sequel also expands upon the original’s soft intro to an alternate world in which a secret society of assassins exists, with assassin currency and assassin leadership. This element may be exciting to some and a bit boring to others who prefer the franchise’s most prominent strength—lavishly choreographed action sequences. And still, John Wick: Chapter Two is a stellar sequel that packs a slick punch, in which carefully staged gun fights transcend violent skirmishes to become blood-splattered works of escapist art scored by cool electronic thumps.

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Film Review: Neon Demon

What an amazing movie. Parts of it may repulse you. Go see it anyway.

Elle Fanning in Nicolas Winding Refn's Neon Demon

Nicolas Winding Refn doesn’t care what you think about his movies. He makes films without traditional plots, and with a fair measure of gruesome violence. He believes himself so important that he uses a little NRW monogram under the title card of his features. He doesn’t feel the need to explain anything to the audience; instead, he deals with metaphor and buried meaning. Regardless of whether or not his movies fall under any old fashioned idea of what’s “good,” he’s awesome at making them.

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The Matrix, Live with The San Francisco Symphony

On Saturday night, The Matrix, a 1999 sci-fi cult film absorbed by the generations raised on computers, was screened at Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in downtown San Francisco. The man responsible for the movie’s original score, Don Davis, conducted The San Francisco Symphony in a riveting two-hour-long performance that brilliantly complemented the pivotal moments of the movie displayed directly above their station.

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