THE OSCAR PROJECT - Sean

John Wick: Chapter 4 (Stahelski) 2023

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 14:09:08 GMT

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After four years since John Wick Chapter 3 — Parabellum, the Boogeyman is back. The fourth installment of the John Wick franchise, directed by Chad Stahlenski, follows Wick (Keanu Reeves) on his journey to defeat the High Table once and for all. He travels across the globe to face off against new enemies, make new alliances, and confront old foes all in hopes to finally defeat the sadistic Marquis, played by Bill Skarsgard.

Though the film’s runtime is a daunting three hours, not once did it seem slow or boring. Stahlenski fabricated it with a perfect action to drama ratio, leaving the audience's jaw dropped by the end of the first act. Very rarely can action movies pull off what John Wick has done, releasing four movies with each getting better and better. Chapter 4 is one of the best movies of the action/drama genre, if not the best.

The action sequences are never bloated and seamlessly fit into the story without feeling forced or boring. The action is far from meaningless, with many vital plot points written directly into the action scenes. Even though you know Wick won’t die just yet, you’re still on the edge of your seat anticipating how he gets himself out of a six on one gun fight.

It wasn’t only the action, but the combination of cinematography, camera work, and location based shooting that elevates the film to new heights. One highlight is a scene filmed in front of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Many other scenes were filmed in similarly iconic places including the National Art Center in Tokyo, but it is the cinematography that remains the most crucial aspect of these sequences. Seeing Wick kick ass under dim lights doesn’t beat him kicking ass under neon lights. From New York City to Tokyo, the high level of cinematography remains ever present throughout.

Reeves also deserves tremendous credit for his performance in the film. Despite being nearly 60 years old, he seems barely 30 in the film. What’s more surprising is the fact that he did most of his own stunts after three months of training prior to shooting. I would challenge Chris Pratt to months of filming that involves getting hit by cars and jumping off buildings. All jokes aside, Reeves is a badass for taking on the role of John Wick and playing him so effortlessly. Even though he only has five pages of dialogue, there wasn’t a single one liner that didn’t follow with some sort of chuckle or laughter.

John Wick: Chapter 4 was amazing. It is the pinnacle of modern action cinema and will remain atop the genre for years to come. It officially marks the return of action in the movie theaters, which will hopefully continue with the Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 this summer. Check out John Wick: Chapter 4 today for three hours of action, drama, and most importantly, Wick himself.

10 out of 10

Inside (Katsoupis) 2023

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 14:05:25 GMT

Inside follows the story of Nemo (William Dafoe) as he is trapped inside a million dollar apartment when an art heist awry. Nemo is left to fend for himself and try to engineer his escape. Directed by Vasilis Katsoupis, Inside is an eager and clearly passionate attempt at creating a deep and meaningful film, yet falls short. The narrative was crafted to be parabolic but by the end, the main theme was muddled with a blend of histrionic art, incoherent minor themes, and inchoate elements.

The strongest component of Inside was by far Dafoe himself. Without him the film would not have been anywhere near as interesting or entertaining. Dafoe is such a versatile actor, able to shift from being a Marvel villain in one film to another where he’s a demented sailor. (He does much better acting insane than sane) He carried the movie on his back, no other actor could have done this film justice. At the outset Dafoe’s Nemo seemed normal, but take normal with a grain of salt as the opening lines of the movie are “Cats die. Music fades. But art is for keeps.” Dafoe perfectly illustrates a descent into madness which in a way resembled what we all felt during the 2020 quarantine and the pandemic: trapped in our homes and apartments, constrained by the confines of the world.

Dafoe's Nemo falls deeper and deeper into madness.

The film itself fantastically builds upon this premise of isolation turning it into one big art inspired narrative. However, by the third act, the main theme was blended and mixed in with other smaller themes making it into one big blob. It became confusing, especially as Nemo spiraled more and more into insanity. By the time credits rolled the audience in the theater was more confused than anything. It was by no means disappointing, as the movie lived up to expectations, however the ending did leave many open questions, whether intentional or not.

Inside is very well written and edited aside from a few minuscule inconsistencies. Dafoe didn’t disappoint and indeed exceeded all expectations, but when doesn’t he? His performance combined with amazing cinematography and editing, not to mention an incredible premise, all lead to a very solid film. It will not necessarily appeal to everyone, but it is a definite watch if playing near you.

9 out of 10

Author

Sean has been writing reviews for The Oscar Project since 2023. Check out all his reviews on his main review page. Follow him on Letterboxd (@Twiggz04).

Shazam! Fury of the Gods (Sandberg) 2023

Sun, 19 Mar 2023 04:03:37 GMT

Shazam! Fury of the Gods, directed by David F. Sandberg, released this weekend in a long anticipated sequel the Shazam! The sequel follows Billy Batson (Asher Angel), otherwise known as Shazam (Zachary Levi), as he fights against the daughters of Atlas, Hespera (Helen Mirren), Kalypso (Lucy Liu) and Anthea (Rachel Zegler).

Though Shazam! was a fun and engaging film, Fury of the Gods fails at capturing what its predecessor had. Levi failed to successfully pull off the childish persona he put on for the first film, turning it into a cringe worthy performance, using words like “trippin” and putting on a hip urban accent. Paired with Angel, the duo simply falls out as Angel’s teen version of the character becomes an even more grounded and anxious typical teenager, not to mention that Angel only appears about five times throughout the film. It’s like pairing water with cookies, it simply doesn’t work. Sandberg attempted too hard to push the kiddish narrative we loved the first time around, but rather than invoking laughter he invoked a sense of awkwardness and cringe worthy moments.

Despite the stacked cast with greats like Liu, famous for her role as O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill, Zegler (Maria in West Side Story), and Academy Award winner Mirren, they didn’t seem like they wanted to be there. The poorly written plot didn’t help their case and while the daughters of Atlas and the main villains of the film, the trio was shallow and lacked a proper story, unlike other DCEU villains such as Black Adam or Lex Luther. The writers wedged them into the mix and pulled them out just as fast without a memorable story or even one memorable line. Moreover, Batson’s orphan family, consisting of actors such as Jack Dylan Grazer and Grace Caroline Currey were fill-ins to merely move the plot along, proving no real substance aside from Grazer who stole this film right from the star studded Levi.

Grazer, as Freddy Freeman, is the star of the film with great acting and no loss of his previous superhero nerd status. He was the only character that felt like he belonged and didn’t somehow become a whole new person. His eagerness to spurt out random superhero facts to the continued bullying at school for being ‘that superhero kid’ didn’t vanish between the two installments. He’s still the good old nerd we all love yet hate. Ironically, Grazer somehow gets more scenes than Angel himself.

In short, Shazam! still reigns supreme as one of the best creations out of the dreadful DCEU. Shazam! Fury of Gods, despite its flaws, is still somehow more entertaining than Justice League.

5 out of 10

Author

Sean has been writing reviews for The Oscar Project since 2023. Check out all his reviews on his main review page. Follow him on Letterboxd (@Twiggz04).

Navalny (Roher) 2022

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 12:02:37 GMT

Navalny is an emotional roller coaster detailing one man’s fight against an authoritarian regime. The film follows Alexei Navalny (one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s biggest opponents) through some of his most crucial moments in his battle against Putin's dictatorship.

Director Daniel Roher brings a clearly ambitious vision to the film, piecing together just a few months of Navalny's life into an anxiety-inducing thriller exposing the depths of Putin's corruption and his desire to stop freedom from sufficing in Russia. The release of this documentary is perfect, coinciding with the beginning of the Ukraine War, and this film goes above and beyond to show how unjustified the war is and the dangers of dictatorship.

It is the editing that tops the cake with a great mix to strike anxiety throughout the whole film., The audience is left wondering if Navalny will survive his assassination attempt and whether he’ll once again get imprisoned simply for returning to Russia.

While Navalny himself is a character, perfectly fitting the narrative Roher set out to create, it is his wife Yulia who rises as the driving force behind him through the whole movie. This mix of Roher, Alexei, Yulia, and the investigative journalists who put this together did an amazing job and they deserve the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature they received last weekend at the 95th Academy Awards. It’s unfortunate that Navalny himself remains imprisoned in Russia and couldn’t attend the Oscars and see his own movie win this amazing award. Hopefully the documentary brings awareness to his struggle (and those of the Russian people) and frees him from the grips of Putin's grasp.

8 out of 10

Author

Sean has been writing reviews for The Oscar Project since 2023. Check out all his reviews on his main review page. Follow him on Letterboxd (@Twiggz04).