John Wick: Chapter 2

John Wick 2 doesn’t hold a candle to the original. The action is boring, the plot doesn’t make sense, and it’s all just a setup for the next one.

I didn’t see John Wick in the theater, and when I watched it, I wished I had. So I was determined to see John Wick 2 in the theater (and I did). There were only two other people there, so that was nice. The opening scene was great. I loved the view of New York, even though I had no idea that’s what city it was. And the opening car chase was cool, too. But it was all downhill from there.

Kiki’s Delivery Service

There’s nothing really spectacular about Kiki’s Delivery Service, but it holds up well for something that’s 27 years old, and it’s interesting seeing how everything plays out.

Kiki’s Delivery Service holds up pretty well for a movie that’s old as hell. I didn’t have any idea it was so old when I watched it. It’s weird that they translated the term to “witch.” I guess it makes sense with the broom and the familiar and the black and everything. But it sounded like they were saying something more like “mage.” I feel like there’s probably a more positive term they could have used/could have been using other than “witch.” I’m sure the dialogue as a whole was better in Japanese. It’s always a bit weird in the subtitles.

Sully

Sully is kind of a disaster. It manages to have a few engaging moments, but there’s not much point in watching it.

I knew before I watched it that I wasn’t interested in seeing Sully. There wasn’t any point. Tom Hanks looked really weird with that mustache, and so did Aaron Eckhart.

I guess I kind of liked the drama of “is Sully really mentally sound or not.” It did make you question if he really needed to land the plane like that or if he could’ve gotten back to an airport. I felt bad about the whole situation between him and his wife. I wonder how that turned out. Although they showed the real Sully at the end and he seemed like kind of a jerk. I think Tom Hanks’ version was a lot nicer than the real guy.

Strange Days

This was either my third or fourth time watching Strange Days. It might just be because I first saw it when I was young and unjaded, or because I love William Gibson’s stuff and it’s cool seeing it come to life, but it’s still one of my favorite movies. The dystopian cyberpunk atmosphere is great; there’s romance and action; all of the characters are compelling; and Ralph Fiennes’ performance totally steals the show.

This was either my third or fourth time seeing Strange Days, and I still love it, even if it does look dated as hell these days. I wonder if someone who hadn’t read William Gibson’s stuff would have the same affinity for it, though. There’s just something cool about seeing something you read about being brought to life. The whole cyberpunk dystopian atmosphere is great.