Unbelievably Good Action Saves Unbelievably Inconsistent Third Wick "Chapter" By J.T. Kolness 2014's John Wick was one of the most gleefully good surprises of its year, offering us a shockingly emotional and terrifically badass action thriller and blessing us with a new iconic character for Keanu Reeves to play after the actor had been swinging and missing for years since his last big role in the sci-fi classic The Matrix . Director Chad Stahelski proved to be a brilliant stager of beautifully shot action scenes layered with a crisp sense of humor. Stahelksi upped his game with the uniquely different John Wick Chapter 2 , which switched things up and eyed its focus primarily on crafting some of the most jaw-droppingly choreographed sequenecs of action in modern cinema (rather than the more lowkey approach of the first) and while the film had less emotional resonance and staying power, it still managed to drop our jaws further and clench our fists tighter. John W
An Infectiously Entertaining Return to Bricksburg By J.T. Kolness There are few cinematic surprises as genuine as 2014's The Lego Movie . The fact that it was good was a miracle, the fact that it was one of the best films of its year was astounding, but now here we are, five years later, and that film is now considered the Toy Story of its generation. Shepherded by writer-directors Phil Lord & Christopher Miller (the kings of turning bad ideas into genuinely great films), The Lego Movie inspired filmgoers young and old to dream and build big and love bigger. Oozing with nonstop hilarity, eye-popping visuals, and a crisp and wild pace, the film was a sugar-coated candy shop of earnest positivity and that care and attention was carried over into The Lego Batman Movie (to mostly successful results) and The Lego Ninjago Movie (to less than successful results), both released three years later in 2017. Two years later, Lord & Miller return to write the sequel, directe