Somehow, some way, Reeves endures
(Posted Tuesday) One of the mysteries of Hollywood is … how has Keanu Reeves managed to have a career? Yeah, he was decent in “Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure” and “The Matrix” trilogy. Overall, though, not a thespian. Yet he endures.
Which you will see on Friday when Reeves’ latest movie, “John Wick,” opens. The weekend’s mainstream movie offerings, as of Tuesday afternoon at least, are as follows:
“John Wick”: Reeves plays a former hit man gradually pulled out of retirement. Does he down the blue or the red pill?
“Ouija”: Some teens play the creepy board game and get threatened by an evil force. I wonder: Does it want them to do their homework?
“St. Vincent”: Bill Murray stars as what IMDB describes as a “misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic war veteran who lives next door” to a young boy whose parents have recently divorced. Can you say role model?
And at the Magic Lantern (besides picking up “My Old Lady” second run):
“Listen Up Philip”: A self-absorbed writer awaits publication of his novel. Jason Schwartzman, typecast again.
“The Return to Homs”: A documentary about young men living in the embattled Syrian city of Homs. Forget the jokes; nothing about the Syrian situation is funny.
Dan Webster
Weekend openings, part deux
(Posted Wednesday) After asking for, and receiving, a late email from AMC River Park Square, I’ve decided to add a whole new post about Friday’s movie openings. As you can see in the post above, I reported that the two mainstream openings in area theaters are “John Wick” and “Ouija.” I updated that post to include “St. Vincent.”
Now for three more:
“Addicted”: A gallery owner’s sexual obsession threatens her career. Her emotions are 50 shades of something.
“16 Stones”: Description courtesy of IMDB: “A modern day adventure about the search for special stones touched by the hand of the Lord and brought to the Americas.” Question: Did someone trade a cow for those stones?
“23 Blast”: A sudden blindness forces a high school football player to question whether he can continue playing the sport he loves. What, he can’t turn to officiating?
Dan Webster