Review: John Wick: Chapter 2

*John Wick* was a low-budget passion project that was fuelled by Keanu Reeves’ singular focus, reinvigorating his career in the process. So what happens when you take its unique style and add sequel money? Exactly what you’d think. *John Wick: Chapter 2* takes what came before and expands in almost every direction, and creates some spectacular moments in the process. The problem, though, is that *John Wick* now wants to be a *franchise*, and its increased focus on worldbuilding isn’t entirely successful.

Continue reading “Review: John Wick: Chapter 2”

Matt’s 2014: The Best Dozen

Best of 2014

Best of lists are hard. Choosing the films I liked best isn’t hard, but keeping it to a reasonable number and ranking them is. One thing that’s not so much hard as it is annoying: coming up with something to say other than "I loved this and you should watch it".

I saw a lot of films this year but there are plenty I missed. I didn’t see Birdman, Whiplash, or Mommy, all of which are on many other best-of lists for the year (and in the case of Whiplash I can guess it would have made mine) but I also did see Boyhood, Gone Girl, 22 Jump Street, and a host of others that didn’t make my list.

All in all, I saw over 75 movies released in 2014. Not a huge percentage when you think about it but certainly more than the average person.

So with all that in mind here are my favourite dozen movies from 2014.

Continue reading “Matt’s 2014: The Best Dozen”