Kyle's movie reviews

  We start back in the Jordan desert, and right off the bat, you can’t help but wonder how John’s gun is holding up in all that sand without jamming instantly. But reality takes a backseat once the plot kicks in. Clancy Brown brings great weight as the Harbinger doing the High Table’s bidding, and Bill Skarsgård makes a fantastic, arrogant villain as the Marquis de Gramont. But how could they just kill off Charon—EVERYONE’S favorite character in the series? It’s a gut-punch that sets the stakes early, even if $18 million for a bounty isn't too bad at all considering the destruction John causes. I actually appreciated the slower start to the movie. With a runtime of two hours and 50 minutes, it has plenty of time to build up the tension. The attention to detail with the weaponry is fantastic—from the Osaka Continental staff using arrows that surprisingly seem way more effective against body armor than bullets, to Hiroyuki Sanada’s character refusing to hide in a safe room and instea...

  Parabellum opens seconds after Chapter 2 ends, with a $14 million bounty placed on John Wick's head. Someone really wants him dead, and John knows his odds are slim. Yet, before fighting for his life, his immediate priority is making sure his dog gets safely dropped off at the Continental. It makes you wonder if the hotel has explicit rules protecting animals even when their owners are excommunicado . Once the clock runs out, the movie plunges straight into non-stop action.   Ernest casually shushes John while trying to kill him. John could have made it look just a little harder to kill the guy who helped him, the doctor has seen more of that man than his wife, but he kills him like it's nothing, though we all know it was more merciful. From there, we move to the antique store—where every display case must apparently be smashed—featuring a brutal knife fight and a surprisingly satisfying axe throw. That said, not every stunt lands perfectly. In the scene right before we m...

  Two immediate thoughts jumping into the second installment: THAT POOR CAR , and oh hey, we’re picking up right where we left off. Watching the Mustang get completely pulverized gave me immediate flashbacks to Nicolas Cage destroying Eleanor in Gone in 60 Seconds (if you know, you know). John Leguizamo is back with a little more sass this time around—understandably so after seeing that car. As soon as John buries his past in concrete, an unexpected visitor shows up to drag him right back in. The Good News: THEY DIDN’T KILL THE DOG THIS TIME. “Rules. Without them, we live with the animals.” Chapter 2 really opens up the lore of the Continental and its strict underworld code. Claudia Gerini (as Gianna) gives off serious younger-Stockard-Channing vibes—remaining elegant even in death in the most unelegant ways. Though the mercy headshot felt a bit extreme, it sets off an obligatory, massive gunfight right when you think John might actually pull off an easy in-and-out job. By the h...

(Warning: Spoilers ahead! Writing this in real-time as the chaos unfolds.) As a creature of habit, I usually rewatch the same handful of comfort movies a thousand times. But today, I’m breaking the cycle. It might sound crazy, but I have never seen a single John Wick movie. Since everyone holds this franchise in such high regard, I’m tackling the whole series one by one. First off: Keanu Reeves is amazing in everything and an overall incredible human. Second, within the first 30 minutes, this movie makes three foundational truths crystal clear: Don't touch a man's dog. You never know what someone else is going through. You never know what someone else is capable of. Real-Time Observations & Cast Takeaways We get some fantastic, familiar faces in this line-up: Alfie Allen: Stuck playing a character who makes terrible decisions yet again (poor guy can't catch a break). Willem Dafoe: Setting up camp as the classic villain... or so I thought. John Leguizamo: Always a ...

Warning: Contains spoilers. To fully appreciate The Cure (1995), you have to keep in mind the era it was made in—the medical information presented here is now vastly outdated. Context aside, the core of this film is a deeply moving story about an unlikely childhood friendship. On one side is Erik, a neglected, isolated kid left largely to his own devices. On the other is Dexter, a boy living with AIDS, protected by a fiercely loving mother. When the two bond, they embark on a naive, desperate quest to find a cure. Their adventure inevitably hits heartbreaking roadblocks, landing them back home and Dexter in the hospital. What makes this movie a tearjerker isn't just Dexter’s death—it’s watching Erik forced to grow up in ways no ten-year-old ever should. He loses his best friend and carries the devastating weight of blaming himself for not being able to save him. For most of the runtime, you want to smack Erik upside the head for his recklessness, but the true villain of the story ...