kellym40 film review

Don’t answer the door in ‘Knock Knock’

Rating 1/5

This goes for the audience. This is one of those movies where if you like that sort of thing, it will be the sort of thing you like. When I see movies, I usually watch them because they may sound or look interesting, regardless of who is starring in the film. This sounded kind of interesting so I viewed it. There’s about 100 minutes I’ll never get back. It doesn’t seem often that I give a one star rating, but here it is. This film had nothing that made me really care about the characters. I mean I did find myself cheering on the hero Keanu Reeves but it was just to get to the end to stop the agonizing torture I was feeling watching the movie.

Eli Roth directed Knock Knock, which was billed as an erotic thriller. However, it never seemed to be scary, erotic, or have the necessary suspense to carry the film. Knock Knock is apparently a loose remake of 1977’s Death Game where a story is told of Evan, an architect and happily married father of two, who finds himself alone after his wife (Ignacia Allamand) and kids (Dan and Megan Bailey) are off on a weekend trip while he stays behind to get some work done. Things unravel when he answers a knock on the door and invites two young women (Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas) from the rain who are apparently lost.

It appears that the two girls have developed a “game” for unsuspecting married men. We learn a little more about these two young women as the film goes on but it is unclear if they are always telling the truth or if it is more a part of their game. I was still trying to figure that out by the end of the film. I am not sure. I might have even missed something while viewing it because of the dulling pain I was enduring for the length of the film.

The performances were nothing great here, except for Reeves. He has come a little ways since his Bill and Ted days. For a period, though, he seemed to have this monotone voice in his performances, which made him sound like he was playing the same type of character over and over. Reeves played Evan with conviction and at the same time it was a quiet performance, which did fall flat at times but it was still better than anything else in the film. It had heart and it was believable on the simplest of levels.

Evan’s wife and kids aren’t in the film too much so for most of the film it was just Evan and the two girls who show up on his doorstep. Izzo and Armas play weak, stereotypical girls with not much depth or feeling. As I mentioned, there was nothing erotic (although there is some nudity and sexual situations, but they just seemed dull or forced) about the film and the same goes for these two characters. It became more annoying than anything else, which I think added to the mind-numbing pain I felt watching the film. So again, by the third act I was just cheering for Evan to either kill or kick those little girls’ asses. That might sound a little violent, but that’s what I was feeling because I believe that’s what Evan was thinking about doing. But he is not a violent man. I was waiting for something like that to happen in order to end my torment (as well as Evan’s) because I really began despising those two annoying female characters.

The story might be plausible. The characters might be engaging. And maybe in another type of film with another type of director, this combination might have actually worked. But as it is (and as I’ve said), it doesn’t quite work well here for me. The characters needed more. The story needed more. The scenes needed more. More what you might ask? Well….just more. More of anything that would lead me to be intrigued by the story and characters. More of that something to be captured by the unfolding action of the plot and situations. Just more.

In the special features there is an alternate ending. The ending shown there (while still unsatisfactory) would have still been more satisfying than the ending they cut for the release of the film. I don’t know what it was about the film that turned me away from it. It wasn’t really the content or the themes, which really seemed to point at the plausibility of men’s infidelity and the reversal of how women can be as dominating as men. I believe it was just the way the two young female characters were portrayed and the overall acting in the film. Again, it became more annoying than anything else, and the film never left me with enough to fully care about the characters.

kellym40 film review

Revenge and action ensue in ‘John Wick’

Rating 4/5

 There are things that can be said about action films – or really with any film for that matter – When they are executed well, it can make for an entertaining film. Director Chad Stahelski has created a surprisingly engaging film. Derek Kolstad’s script blends story and action seamlessly so the viewer is drawn into the immersive world that is created for these characters to exist. And that world is the world of hit men. I suppose this would be similar to the world in which the mafia existed in the early part of the twentieth century.

The story follows a former hit man, John Wick, played by Keanu Reeves, who attempts to recover from the loss of his wife. After a brief encounter with some bad men, they return to his home, steal his car and kill his dog (a final gift from his deceased wife). Unbeknown to the attackers, they are dealing with a highly trained, determined individual (because as one character puts it, “He is the man you send to kill the boogieman”). Wick then goes on a manhunt to track them down and kill them because the dog represented the last bit of humanity and healing John had from his late wife. It was a symbol that he could move on, and when they killed the dog, they stole that from him.

The film also stars Michael Nyqvist and Alfie Allen as the antagonists who give John impossible opposition, Willem Dafoe, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Adrianne Palicki, and Bridget Moynahan. Every performance captures the individuality of each character and adds so much to the dark world the story is set. And before going further, I feel Reeves’ performance as John Wick is one of his best. It seemed like he had a string of films where he appeared to play the same character, as he did not vary his physicality or have much change in his vocal inflection. He carried that some through this performance, but it fit this role well.

I liked the setting and tone of the film and the fight scenes, both gun and the hand-to-hand fighting, were very well choreographed and executed. The well-placed action scenes with some humor thrown in made for an enjoyable film. It was one of Reeves’ best and very commendable for first time director Stahelski. It flowed along at a decent pace and at 101 minutes was just enough for the story to develop without being slowed down or seem rushed. I can’t imagine a longer run time for the fear that it would begin to be convoluted with unnecessary sequences and any shorter, the story would not have developed as smoothly as it did. Something I enjoy in film is the use of time. Here, the film begins towards the end and then goes back a little and traces the events in which led up to that moment, then the action of the story moves forward.

Overall I really enjoyed the film and was thoroughly entertained the whole way through. Reeves has done very well with his performance in this film as the title character. The action scenes are excellent; and the sound editing and mixing are great and fit like a glove with the tone of the film.

kellym40 film review/artilce

The Replacements: A Retrospective Look at a Piece of NFL History

A story of second chances, redemption, and a humorous look at the business of football. There were some mixed reviews about the film, but overall, it seems that it was received well. The film grossed nearly forty-five million dollars in the United States. There are still some that may have not liked this film. Some people may have loved it. And it may have not been an Oscar winning, stellar film but it had a story, some good characters and amusing moments.

Reliving NFL history

 So, was the film a true depiction of the 1987 football strike? Probably not, but it made for some good entertainment. The great, or not so great, football strike in 1987, where free agency seemed to be the spark that raged the fire, was the basis for the film. In the article, “The 1987 Football Strike” by Glen Levy, it states that the players called a strike after the second game of that season. Instead of resolving the issue, however, NFL owners cancelled the games in the third week of the season and began putting together replacement teams. For three weeks, spectators saw the likes of the Los Angeles Shams, Chicago Spare Bears, Seattle Sea Scabs, and others take the field of play.  Rick Reilly wrote in Sports Illustrated that in the first week of these replacement games, it drew “more viewers than the last game of the Detroit-Toronto series for the American League East title.” Very interesting.

It’s interesting to note that there was another strike that preceded this one in 1987 and it lasted nearly two months. The strike occurred in 1982 and after the second game of the season, the strike was called. When it ended, there were some issues still unresolved which lead to the 1987 strike. It’s also interesting to note that these two football strikes, 1987 and 1982, were numbers four and seven, respectively, on a list of the top ten strikes in sports, according to Time magazine. So, football is not the only sport that has had strikes or lockouts, but apparently football is the only sport that has had a film based on a strike or lockout, in recent years anyway.

The film did show a good contrast between the replacement players and the real players. And it showed how the real players and community reacted to the replacement players. After they began winning, the replacements were fully supported by the community.

Entertaining Characters

The characters were interesting and varied. There is a speedy wide receiver, Clifford Franklin (played by Orlando Jones), who can’t catch the ball; a troubled, chain-smoking soccer player, Nigel Gruff (played Rhys Ifans); a former S.W.A.T. team member, Daniel Bateman (played by Jon Favreau); a deaf tight end, Brian Murphy (played by David Denman); and Shane Falco (played by Keanu Reeves), a college quarterback who gave up football after a loss in a big game in the Sugar Bowl. There were other characters that rounded out the ensemble to make for an entertaining film.

Shane Falco showed a dramatic contrast within himself. He does not yet realize his full potential and has been given a second chance to prove to himself what he can be. Personally, I can’t say that I’m a big fan of Keanu Reeves. He’s not a bad actor and his performance was adequate for the film. But there’s something about his vocal characterizations that leave something to be desired. However, that’s another story for another time.

Coach McGinty (played by Gene Hackman) tells Shane early in the film, “I look at you and I see two men. The man you are and the man you ought to be, some day those two will meet. Should make for a hell of a football player.” Through the continued mentoring from Coach McGinty, Falco becomes the man he ought to be. I view this relationship as a father-son relationship where an element of humanism is shown.

I liked Danny Bateman, played wonderfully by Favreau. It appeared that he had an almost warrior-like quality, be also a softer, more congenial, quality as well. The aggressiveness he shows on the field is contrasted by the other side of his personality and make for an interesting and entertaining character.

Legendary sports broadcasters Pat Summerall and John Madden, playing themselves, calling the game action sequences, were a nice addition to the film. It added a bit of realism to the film.

Grid Iron Humor

 This was not a dramatic retelling of that 1987 strike. It was written as a comedy. Vince McKewin wrote the film and blended great football sequences with comedy and a little romance. Some of the scenes appeared as realistic, and then there seems there were unrealistic scenes and bits, like the how quickly a character gets from one place to another, how quickly a play was called and started between dialogue, or how there were replacement cheerleaders too. Why would there be a need to replace a few cheerleaders towards the end of the season? That just seems kind of odd to me. But then, the cheerleaders wouldn’t be replaced by strippers and exotic dancers, which added to the humor. All in all, the film had a story and good characters.

One humorous bit in the film was when Falco met Annabelle Farrell (played by Brook Langton), the head cheerleader and becomes Falco’s love interest, after the first day of practice. She gave him a ride home and was speeding through the streets of Washington D.C. and weaving in and out of traffic. The game sequences provided much of the humor with players throwing up on the field during a game, the replacement cheerleaders supplying some erotic dances for the fans and disrupting an opposing teams’ offense, Bateman’s antics on the field, a humorous bar fight between the replacement players and the picketing players, and Falco and company get put in jail and dance to Gloria Gaynor’s hit “I Will Survive,” among others.

The Story Theme

In the final game sequence of the film, Falco tells his guys in the huddle “pain heals, chicks dig scars. Glory – lasts forever.” This energized the players and finally gave the replacement players the drive to win the game. They won three out of four remaining games and put the team into the playoffs. They all got a chance to be part of something great. For a moment, they had their shot to shine.

At the end of the film Coach McGinty says, “Every athlete dreams of a second chance. These men lived it.” That seemed to be what I took the overall theme to be. Most of these characters had played some football somewhere, and for some of these characters playing football is like getting a second chance in life.

Resources

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1066627/index.htm. Accessed 11/17/11.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2057092_2057090_2057174,00.html. Accessed 11/16/11

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2057092_2057090_2057206,00.html. 11/16/11

Deutch, Howard. The Replacements. Produced by Dylan Sellers and directed by Howard Deutch. 135 minutes. Warner Brothers, 2000. DVD