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John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
2019 | Action, Crime, Thriller
A sequel on par with the first two, making for a fine trilogy
The original John Wick was a bit of a sleeper hit. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and grabbed people's attention immediately with it's revenge story, brutal action scenes, and undercuts of humour.
John Wick Chapter 2 was more of the same, and certainly in a good way.
John Wick Chapter 3, you guessed it, is more of the same, and the thing is, it's still not remotely boring.

The films opening action sequences hit you in the face from the get go (it opens immediately after the events of Chapter 2) and it's pretty relentless from there.
The action scenes themselves are frantic, but the lack of constant quick cuts means you can see what is happening. They are suitably violent, and keeps the John Wick tradition of ammo counting, which sets it apart from most gun orientated action films.
The martial arts stunt work is solid and slick and just all round thrilling to watch.

Keanu Reeves, as before, is great as the mostly-silent protagonist, and Ian McShane, Laurence Fishburne, Lance Reddick, and Halle Berry, all compliment the story pretty well.

The only problem I had with the cast was the completely over the top Adjudicator character. The constant crazy eyes were just a little too comical for me.

John Wick Chapter 3 is a great addition to this trilogy and thankfully leaves it open for another story down the line. I'm certainly ready to see what happens next.
  
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Nick Kroll recommended Her (2013) in Movies (curated)

 
Her (2013)
Her (2013)
2013 | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
7.8 (20 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I’ve really genuinely loved every one of Spike [Jonze’s] movies from [Being John] Malkovich to Adaptation to Where the Wild Things Are, also. But I thought Her still had, like, the fun humorous stuff but was, for me, such a great movie to encapsulate what it’s like to have the hangover of a breakup that just won’t go away. And also I think it’s probably the most realistic version of where we’re heading with technology and our relationship with technology, as we delve further into ourselves and out of public interaction. How we still need and want human interaction. And I just think he handles both of them so beautifully. And I love the way he shoots his movies, I love the colors he uses. I just love Joaquin Phoenix’s shirt in that movie. I was less concerned with the pants."

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Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
1991 | Action, Sci-Fi
"Ah'll be back ..." (to rewatch this)
For may people the best film in The Terminator series, with big Arnie again reprising his most iconic role and with Linda Hamilton returning to her role as Sarah Connor, the mother of the future leader of the Resistance against Skynet, John Connor.

For reason that are never fully explained, after the failure of the first Terminator to kill Sarah Connor in the 1980s, a second Terminator is sent back in time, this time to the early 1990s, in an effort to track down and kill John Connor (played, here, by a then unknown Edward Furlong).

As before, the Resistance are able to send back a lone protector through time ...

And, I have to say, now nearly 30 years after they were first seen, the 'liquid metal' T-1000 effects still hold up pretty well!
  
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Pitch Perfect 3 (2017) in Movies

Aug 31, 2018 (Updated Aug 31, 2018)  
Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)
Pitch Perfect 3 (2017)
2017 | Comedy
An unnecessary and shoddy sequel
The first Pitch Perfect was great, funny and a breath of fresh air. Whilst the second one wasn't as good, it was still vaguely enjoyable. Unfortunately the third one goes on a steep downward spiral and isn't even slightly entertaining.

The antics of the Bellas are getting a little old now. All of the films follow the same basic plot: Bellas enter a competition, come up against some clearly superior teams but then against all odds they still come out on top. This is getting boring. And clearly the makers of this film realised that as that's why they've thrown in some completely nonsense subplot to try and mix it up a bit. Sadly it doesn't work.

There's also the issue with the soundtrack. In the previous films the soundtracks were almost the best part, but in this third instalment there's nothing at all that stands out. No memorable songs whatsoever. Then there's the cast and the acting - everything just seems a bit cringey and almost verging on bad acting. Fat Amy has finally outstayed her welcome and become beyond irritating, and there's a notably wide gaping hole that was the treblemakers. Even John Lithgow puts in a poor performance. The only saving grace to this film are Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins. They are fortunately still very funny, it's just a shame they've been sidelined to even smaller roles than the previous films.

I love musicals, but I really don't think I d ever care to see this again.
  
John Wick. Chapter 4 (2023)
John Wick. Chapter 4 (2023)
2023 | Action, Crime, Thriller
6
7.8 (13 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The longest John Wick movie to date, clocking in at just under 3 hours, with Keanu Reeves once again the focal point for some inventive action scenes.

Even if, by this point, all the assassins are operating at a level just below that of superheroes: bouncing off cars, falling out upper storey windows (and then getting up and dusting themselves off), shrugging off wounds that would incapacitate you or me ...

I also have to say, just where is the police when all this is going on?!

Anyway, that's all by the by: here, John is still out for revenge on the High Table that branded him 'excommunicado', with the bounty on his head growing ever and ever larger all the time. This film also moves that action - largely - away from New York, instead relocating to Japan (Osako) and France (Paris), with the last hour or so pretty much an extended action scene as John (fist)fights, shoots, brawls, stabs and crawls his way to a dawn appointment for a duel like something out of the 18th century that he hopes will finally close his ledger.
  
The Accountant (2016)
The Accountant (2016)
2016 | Drama
6
7.5 (36 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Average
The best I can say about this film is that it was alright. The premise was good, although i don't think it was very well executed.

Jon Bernthal was great, probably the best actor in this. John Lithgow and JK Simmons were sadly underused, and I really didn't rate Ben Affleck. Anna Kendrick too seems to play the same character in pretty much every film she's in.


Still I liked some of the action and the comedy, although by the end I couldn't quite figure out what the point was in the investigation into the accountant?
  
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Sawyer (231 KP) Dec 17, 2017

I quite enjoy this movie I do think that the reveal at the end concerning Jon bernthall just felt a little too forced and unrealistic

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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) created a post

Dec 31, 2019 (Updated Dec 31, 2019)  
My top 10 films of the year...

1. Joker
2. Midsommar
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
4. Doctor Sleep
5. Avengers: Endgame
6. Marriage Story
7. Toy story 4
8. Us
9. John Wick 3: Parabellum
10. Spider-Man: Far From Home

I still haven't got round to watching The Irishman, Parasite, El Camino, or Dragged Across Concrete yet so I'm sure this will probably change!

Also, Frozen II just missed out, but it's legit great 🤞

My pick for most disappointing film of the year goes to The Lion King without a doubt.👎
     
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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) Dec 31, 2019


Being John Malkovich (1999)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
1999 | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi

"Charlie Kaufman wrote it. All of his movies I Love. I have not seen a Charlie Kaufman film I didn’t love. And in the hands of the right director, you know – Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry — when you let them [work on] a Charlie Kaufman script, it’s cinematic magic. Being John Malkovich was at a certain point in time in my life and it stood out against all the other noise that was happening in my life. It left an indelible impression on me and I still can revisit that movie anytime and watch it and enjoy it."

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Ed O'Brien recommended In a Silent Way by Miles Davis in Music (curated)

 
In a Silent Way by Miles Davis
In a Silent Way by Miles Davis
1969 | Jazz
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This reminds me of the time I went through a big Miles Davis phase. Talk about going into different worlds with an artist – he did that every time, from Kind Of Blue and Porgy and Bess onwards, anyway. This album's still the one I return to, from 1969, and the band is phenomenal. You've got Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea on electric piano, Wayne Shorter on soprano saxophone, John McLaughlin on guitar. This is truly cosmic music for me, or even music that feels like it's emerging from the cosmos. As it plays, you feel like you're coming up with the sunshine."

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"Well, I grew up in the sixties. In 1962, I bought the first Rolling Stones single, and I still have it. I still have every single they released, in order, right up until Brian Jones was murdered. I saw Pink Floyd god knows how many times, and even did a couple of light shows for them... We started listening to pirate radio and John Peel’s Perfumed Garden, and had a friend at school called Spidey who was very good at spotting interesting new music. John Peel was the first person to play The Velvet Underground, and Spidey said, “Listen to this, you’re gonna love this!”. That’s when we got the first violin. We used to go to Birmingham, to this tiny little record shop that had nothing of interest except some Albert Ayler and free jazz. There was a record in there, and we recognised the artwork from Oz magazine so we knew it was by Hapshash and The Coloured Coat, because they used to do psychedelic posters and Oz. So we bought it just because of that. It was on Magnet Records. When we pulled out [the disc], we were shocked to see that it was on red vinyl, which we’d never seen before. We later discovered that all these people on the scene in London wanted to raise money for the legals fees of John “Hoppy” Hopkins, the first person who’d been busted for drugs and who co-founded the International Times. He was a real mover and shaker of the times. It’s like twenty to a hundred people high on acid jamming! We fell in love with it and still listen to it all the time. When we DJ, people come up to us and ask, “What was that with that great riff?” Guess what one of them ended up doing? Writing “We Are The Wombles”! That really got me in the head, that was worse than a bad acid trip!"

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