What I've Been Watching: April 2023
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What I've Been Watching: April 2023
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Another month of what I’ve been watching. This has been a little delayed, but I wanted to make sure I got it out eventually.
In addition to some of the movies listed above, I’ve watched new releases like Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. One of those two movies is a great adaptation of a game, while the other one is bright lights and colors galore. What I’m saying is that D&D was a fun time at the movies, while I don’t think I ever need to see The Super Mario Bros. Movie again. All that being said, let’s get into a new mini-review.
Mini-Review - John Wick: Chapter 4
After the three previous movies, you might be asking yourself “How could Keanu Reeves possibly outdo himself this time!?” Well, I’m here to tell you that he has. John Wick: Chapter 4 picks up immediately after the events of Chapter 3, with Wick setting out on his ultimate goal — to end the high table once and for all.
Before I get to the new characters (and there are many great ones), there are plenty of familiar faces in this chapter as well. Laurence Fishburne and Ian McShane continue their great work as quasi-Wick allies. I emphasize the word quasi here because Ian McShane’s Winston did shoot Wick off a building at the end of the third chapter. The late Lance Reddick also returns as Charon, although his role in this entry is minor. It ends up being a shame because he was such an important character and great actor, we don’t get to spend too much time with him.
Joining the fray in this latest entry are a new group of assassins, chief among them being the legendary actor Donnie Yen. Yen, most famous in the West due to his role in the film series based on IP Man, plays an assassin who is tasked by the high table to take down Wick. This certainly isn’t a new development because, in each of these movies, there has been a new foe that is supposed to be Wick’s equal, but this time feels different. It might be to the way that Donnie Yen portrays his character Caine, who uses his blindness as an advantage over his enemies. Caine seems to be in the same mold as the legendary movie samurai Zotoichi, a blind swordsman that led the longest-running action series in Japanese history. It’s a terrific performance from Yen and should certainly be praised throughout the year. Other new characters include Tracker (Shamier Anderson), Hiroyuki Sanada (Shimazu), and Rina Sawayama (Akira). Sawayama notably has been mentioned as possibly leading a John Wick spinoff film.
Despite all these new characters and the ultimate goal of destroying the high table, John Wick remains an incredible action series. Early setpieces include action at an elaborate Japanese hotel and a nightclub sequence that rivals the ones seen in early movies. Nothing can prepare audiences for the last hour of John Wick: Chapter 4 though. As easily the longest entry in the franchise, the last hour is an endless barrage of stunts with Reeves and his enemies dodging cars, participating in close-quarters flamethrower combat, and then an epic climb before the promised final battle. You’ve never seen so many people fall downstairs. For some, the endless stream of violence will become tedious. While there’s always an effort to mix things up, it’s easy to become numb to it. I happen to believe that Reeves, the stunt team, and director Chad Stahelski did enough to make it interesting all the way up to those final moments. Whether or not Reeves and company come back for another entry remains to be seen, but if this is truly the end for the Baba Yaga, it’s a spectacular finish. [A]
Podcast
Since the last update there have been two new podcasts posted so I’ll share them below:
A conversation about Michelle Yeoh and her early film career with Mitchell Beaupre.
A conversation about director Alfonso Cuaron and his movies Children of Men, Roma, Gravity, and more.
Chat
Have you seen that Substack has enabled a new chat option? If you’d like to discuss anything about the newsletter or join in on our conversations you can quickly join in today.
Links
Isaac Feldberg interviewed How to Blow Up a Pipeline director Daniel Goldhaber for rogerebert.com
Chase Hutchinson reviewed the new Netflix show, Beef, starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong for theplaylist.com
is a collection of Rolling Stone critic Alan Sepinwall's writing which I've really been enjoying. I recommend you subscribe to his newsletter.Were you spoiled before you watched the latest episode of Succession? This article from Myles McNutt talks about spoilers in-depth.
