John Wick

John Wick is a lot of fun. The soundtrack adds just the right energy, the composition is interesting both in terms of lighting and blocking, there's some cool stuff going on with the action, and Keanu doesn't have too many opportunities to ruin scenes with his signature brain-dead delivery. 

John Wick looked like a cool movie from the trailer; there were some standout action sequences that made it seem like it would be unique, and I was hoping Keanu Reeves' acting wouldn't ruin this movie like it did Johnny Mnemonic. His delivery in the trailer was pretty terrible. One of his first scenes in the movie is with Willem Dafoe, and the contrast between their levels of acting is crazy. It's like Keanu is reading off of cue cards and Willem is just an actual person saying something.

Luckily Keanu doesn't have a lot of dialogue. He's primarily just doing stunts, most of which he apparently performed himself, so that's cool. I always get a little lost with close combat. It's tough to tell what's going on, and these fight scenes were no exception. I wish I could've seen it in the theater; a bigger screen might have helped, but it didn't come to the cheap theater. It seems like they only get kids' movies anymore.

The soundtrack was great. It sounded good, it fit what was going on, and it added just the right kind of energy. The composition was great, too, both in terms of lighting/colors and blocking/framing. The sets were gorgeous, and the neon overhead shots of New York were cool. John's house was actually designed to be an art gallery, so it had lots of windows and light, and it looked perfect. The art director said he wanted something everyone would want to live in, and he really hit the mark.

Everything was super sleek and opulent for the whole movie. John's suit looked great. The wacky subtitles were a misfire. I don't know if they were going for a comic-book feel or just trying to do something different, but it was just annoyingly distracting. The different sizes and placements just weren't necessary. There's nothing wrong with regular subtitles.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Secret Service looks good, aside from the weird jumpy camera style they went with for a few of the fight scenes. There are some interesting ideas, but Eggsy's protégé character is totally one-note, and I would've liked it better if it had less immature violence and more parkour. 

I don't have many thoughts on Kingsman: The Secret Service that don't involve spoilers. It had just the right amount of "gadgets" to keep things interesting without being gimmicky. I was disappointed the parkour scene wasn't longer; they should've done more of that. And I hated the weird jumpy camera style of the fight scenes.

Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For

Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For has a striking visual style, an engaging plot, and fun characters and cameos. 

I liked the first Sin City, although I haven't read any of the comics. I didn't remember much about it, so I read the Wikipedia article on it before watching this one. I didn't think it really helped; it was just a jumble of names - X did this, then Y did that, and I couldn't even keep the names straight while I was reading it. I think it actually was useful, though.

I love the visual style of the sequel. I wanted to see it at the theater, but it looks like it's not coming to the cheap one. It's amazing how much it looks like you're watching a live comic, and all the highlights and color pops were great. I liked the noir-style narration.

To Be Takei

To Be Takei is an interesting look into George's life, but it's more like an E! Special than a movie. 

I wasn't planning to see To Be Takei, but Roeper gave it a favorable review, and I decided it might be interesting just to watch in place of a TV show throughout the day. It actually took less sittings than I expected. Before and during watching it, I was most interested in the scenes of George's home life with his husband, but there weren't many of those. The internment camp stuff was interesting, though. I guess George really doesn't like William Shatner. I wonder why Shatner even agreed to do an interview for the movie.

I don't know how George can stand his husband being so critical all the time. I guess George is just a super easygoing, positive kind of guy. He seems nice. I like that he has a sense of humor about things. I kind of felt bad for his husband, since he wanted to retire, but instead they're constantly running around doing appearances.

There's really nothing more to it than advertised; it's just a little look into George Takei's life. I didn't feel like I wasted my time because of the way I watched it, but in terms of just sitting down and plunking two hours into it, I found myself wondering at the end why anyone would want to do that. It certainly didn't seem like the kind of thing that would be worth watching that way.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince moves along at a decent pace, without too many unnecessary distractions. There's not really anything "magical" about it, but it advances the plot, and it's better than the previous two Harry Potter movies.

I accidentally watched Harry Potter #7 before #6, but now that I've seen this one, I realize I really didn't miss much, even though it felt like I did when I watched #7. I probably should read a synopsis of "the story so far" before I watch the last one, though. I don't remember any of the Tom Riddle business, and apparently I should. I also don't remember what happened with Draco's father, but I guess something did.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

How to Train Your Dragon 2 was a lot more engaging than I was expecting; I couldn't turn away for most of the movie. The story is simple, but it's told well; the characters are interesting; and the graphics may not be flawless, but they are impressive.

I should've gone to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 in theaters. I'm pretty sure that I was planning to after seeing the trailer, but then when it came to the discount theater I decided I didn't really need to pay to see it on the big screen. Once I actually started watching the movie, I immediately regretted *that* decision. I think it is actually still playing at the theater, but I wasn't about to watch it later just to see it at the theater. I think the colors and the vastness of things would've played better, though.

I pretty much forgot everything that happened in the first movie, but I think they reminded us well enough. Jay Baruchel's voice was a little distracting, but luckily Hiccup didn't hog all the screen time, so there were other characters to be interested in. I found Cate Blanchett's transformation into an animated character to be a little creepy as well, though. Having the kids grow up a little was a good idea. They were supposed to be about 20, but they didn't seem quite that old to me. The title seems pretty unoriginal, but I guess they can get the most marketability out of the old one if they basically keep the title the same.

A Coffee in Berlin

Niko's interactions with the people he meets in A Coffee in Berlin are interesting, but the unsatisfying ending left me feeling like there wasn't any point in watching it.
The trailer for A Coffee in Berlin looked interesting, and it has a 7.5 on IMDb, which is pretty good. I couldn't remember what it was about anymore by the time I saw it. I like it better that way, though. The trailers always give too much away. I was immediately put off by the "upbeat jazz" soundtrack. It's the kind of music that causes me to completely write off any movie that uses it in the trailer. It makes me feel like the movie isn't going to have any substance. In this case, it took any depth and sincerity out of the movie, and made it feel like I didn't really have to experience what was happening.