‘BALLERINA’ Floats like a Butterfly, Stings like a Flamethrower

June 4, 2025 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Ana de Armas, Anjelica Huston, Ballerina, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves, Lance Reddick, Len Wiseman, Norman Reedus, Sharon Duncan-Brewster 1 Comment

Ana de Armas explodes into the JWEU (John Wick Expanded Universe) with the franchise-expanding spinoff Ballerina. Or, if we’re using the full, painfully cringe title, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina. (The first and last time that full phrase will be used, I promise.) And insofar as any John Wick movie is good, this one is right on par with what the franchise struggles with, what it does well, and what keeps people coming back for more. Armas stars as Eve, a would-be-assassin chica brought up in the same Ruska Roma assassin school as John Wick, bound by their rigid code of contract killer ethics, blood oaths, and golden tokens. It turns out that seeing her father brutally murdered in front of her as a child left a deep impression on her so Eve dedicates herself to this universe’s assassin’s creed of kill, kill, kill. That is until an assignment reveals the very cult responsible for tearing her family apart and setting her on her blood-lusty murder-for-hire path so many years ago. So begins a quest for vengeance that’s very on-brand for this particular revenge-fueled franchise. I am happy to report that no dogs were hurt in the making of this movie. Read More

’JOHN WICK 3 – PARABELLUM’ Is Like Dipping Your Eyes in Pop Rocks

May 15, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Asia Kate Dillon, Chris Collins, Derek Kolstad, Halle Berry, Ian McShane, John Wick, Keanu Reeves, Lance Reddick, Laurence Fishburne, Marc Abrams, Mark Dacascos, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Shay Hatten 1 Comment

When you buy your ticket for John Wick 3, prepare for war. The third (and evidently not final) installment in Keanu Reeves’ increasingly trendy no-fuss no-frills action franchise is an idyllic distillation of the draw of the series, amped up to the Nth degree, slurping down a snifter of brandy, armed with Schubert on vinyl, locked, stocked, loaded, ready to tango. There’s someone to kill around every corner, alongside a brain cell or two, if you fancy buying into all the bloody mayhem. The weapons are more plentiful, the armor is thicker, the violence is more violent. Hell, even the blood is bloodier. As the criminal underworld puts the titular invincible assassin squarely in its seemingly ubiquitous crosshairs, it’s John Wick versus the world. The odds are less than even. Read More

Well-Acted ‘LITTLE WOODS’ a Dour Scene of Poverty-Inflicted Desperation

April 12, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged James Badge Dale, Lance Reddick, Lily James, Little Woods, Luke Kirby, Nia DaCosta, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Tessa Thompson Leave a comment

Little Woods is the kind of movie that makes you wonder about the backstory of writer-director Nia DaCosta (who is signed on to direct the Jordan Peele produced Candyman remake), who enriches the film with down-home specificity that it feels like much more than just a facsimile of authenticity. Her’s is the kind of movie that feels written from personal experience, that pulls from the specifics of a life harshly lived, that doesn’t wallow in its poverty porn setting, and though dour and depressing, never compromises its optimistic, full-spirited edge and push towards the light. It’s a neo-western in construction – the story of a good person doing a bad thing for good reasons, and DaCosta teases out the drive for self-preservation by any means by focusing on character first and foremost. Read More