Ballerina (2025)

The John Wick franchise has proven lucrative enough to spawn a franchise in its own right, and following John Wick: Chapter 4 (Chapter 4), now includes spin-off films. The first of these, Ballerina (full title From the World of John Wick: Ballerina), was released earlier this year and seeing a trailer for it was what got me started on going through the John Wick franchise in the first place. Now that I’ve circled back to it, I found it somewhat decent, but the timeline as presented in the movie makes its placement within its parent series confusing.

John Wick: Chapter 4

Note: This review contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 3.

Before John Wick: Chapter 3 (Chapter 3) had even released, development went underway for two sequels, Chapter 4 and 5, with the original intent to film both back-to-back. As production went on, however, notably without the involvement of series creator Derek Kolstad, the hypothetical fifth film was dropped in favor of just Chapter 4. Although it would miss its original 2021 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would see the light of day in 2023 to critical acclaim and the highest box office for the series at $447.3 million (against a budget of $100 million). As this film would conclude John Wick’s story, at least at the time, it’s good to know that it ended with a bang. However, Chapter 4’s sheer length, clocking in at about 169 minutes (almost 3 hours), only highlights the issues I had with Chapter 3 even more.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum

Note: This review contains spoilers for John Wick and John Wick: Chapter 2.

When a popular film like John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chapter 2) ends on a cliffhanger, a sequel will surely follow. Audiences would wait two years for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (Chapter 3), which started production even before Chapter 2 had released and came with high critical praise. At the time, it had also become the highest-grossing film in the franchise, making $327.7 million against a budget of $75 million, in only 10 days. Of course, it’s difficult to maintain a high level of quality throughout a trilogy and while Chapter 3 does do that where it counts, it unfortunately feels lacking in story.

John Wick: Chapter 2

Note: This review contains spoilers for John Wick: Chapter 2.

While the original John Wick film (Chapter 1) was a box office success in 2014, enough to warrant ancillary media, it wouldn’t be until 2017 that there would be a formal theatrical sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2 (Chapter 2), with the same writer and director returning. After finally seeing Chapter 1, I was interested enough in its setting and characters to watch Chapter 2 soon after. Although many sequels tend to have a decline in quality after the first installment, Chapter 2 manages to raise the stakes without going overboard, all while maintaining the same level of quality, even with some nitpicks.

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

For the longest time, I had never read any literature aimed at girls, as I had grown up towards the end of an era where boys rigidly consumed media aimed at their demographic, at least out in the open (before the “Brony” phenomenon challenged this idea in the 2010s). As an adult, I would finally do so as part of an exploration of middle grade material, which would include Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret., Judy Blume’s 1970 novel famous for its frank discussion of female puberty and religious topics, after learning of its 2023 film adaptation of the same name. Despite reading it as a grown man, I found the novel engaging and understood its cultural significance, which made me more curious about the film, although I sadly didn’t get the opportunity to see it during its original theatrical run. Nevertheless, I did finally get the chance near the end of the year and found that on top of its high quality, it did the source material proper justice and it’s a shame that not enough people saw it.

Wonder (2017)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Wonder (2012).

As part of an effort to read more books, I read the 2012 middle grade novel Wonder by R. J. Palacio and, while not perfect, I found myself hooked. Soon after I finished the book, I felt like watching the 2017 film adaptation from Lionsgate and found a free on-demand listing. As expected, the film takes liberties with the source material to help suit the new medium. However, I still found the adaptation well-crafted and just as worthwhile as the book.

My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)

During our effort to (re-)review the Equestria Girls tetralogy, we decided to round out our My Little Pony experience with My Little Pony: The Movie, released theatrically in late 2017. Due to our feelings on the franchise at the time, we didn’t see it during its original run. However, we were surprised to find that we could stream it for free through Amazon Prime and jumped on the opportunity. I’m actually glad at this point that I didn’t spend any money at the theater, since the incredible traditional animation does nothing to make up for the painfully average story.

The Expendables 2 - A Nonstop Badass Testosterone Fueled Thrill Action Joyride

2010 saw the release of The Expendables, a movie that set out to use and exploit every possible action movie trope in existence and pair it with an all star cast. Needless to say, it succeeded and a sequel was released on August 17 of this year. I apologize if this delay seems a little late, but school has just crawled back into my life, which means I won't be able to spend as much time as I would like playing the games, watching the movies and reading the comics that make this blog work. What's important however is that I have seen it now and think it's one of my new favorite action movies.

The plot is this: After a sequence in Nepal, Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) has a new job for Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) and his mercenary group The Expendables to retrieve an important item from a downed plane. To aid in this operation, he sends Maggie Chan (Yu Nan) with them to the site. However, they are ambushed during the job by Jean Vilain (Jean-Claude Van Damme), an arms dealer who wants to use the item to locate a large stockpile of Plutonium to make lots and lots of money. After an event within this first encounter, Ross leads his group on a quest to stop Vilain from accomplishing his goals and finally be even with Mr. Church.

This time around, I felt that the plot was actually more coherent and believable for an action movie. All of the actors do their part to help, with Van Damme doing a surprisingly good job as a villain (yes, the villain's name is Vilain), a cold and ruthless one at that. There's also some new blood in the form of Liam Hemsworth, who some may recognize as Gale Hawthorne from The Hunger Games, as a new recruit named Billy the Kid, who does well for his role and I think a couple more roles in movies like this one could lead to a good film career. While some characters are shoved aside, such as Yin Yang (Jet Li) leaving early on and Toll Road (Randy Couture) barely speaking at all, this is understandable due to the expanded roles of Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger as well as a brand new character played by none other than Chuck Norris. I liked Willis and Schwarzenegger playing off each other in their scenes, the latter even manages to steal the show from time to time, but Norris' acting admittedly felt a bit wooden compared with the rest of the cast (though he is better than Keanu Reeves). Then again, he likely wasn't hired to act well.

That is where the meat of this movie kicks in: action that contains so much testosterone in a single frame that it puts other action flicks to shame. This movie has it all. We're talking fist fights, gun fights, explosions, chains as a weapon, missiles, explosions, knife fights, tanks and explosions. I can't really say too much about the action sequences so that I don't take too much away from them, but believe me when I say that they are all incredibly awesome and will make you say phrases akin to "Whoa!" and "Holy [expletive]!" Sometimes, I couldn't help myself from laughing with joy and merriment.

Speaking of laughter, this movie, like its predecessor, was laugh out loud funny at the right times. A lot of the humor came from quips regarding each actor's careers, as well as an inevitable Chuck Norris joke adapted to suit his character Booker. While cute, some of these feel a little cheesy later and a little out of place. On the other hand, they do help to ease the tension while watching the movie.

A minor complaint that I have though is that sometimes, when looking at a given scene, you can sort of tell what's going to come next. While I'm not going to give examples, though I will mention that one involves Billy the Kid, I will admit that these and minor plot holes do not detract from the sheer awesome onscreen.

It's very clear that The Expendables 2 doesn't take itself seriously, a fact established in the first ten minutes where you realize that everyone is just there to be totally badass, nor does it try to. You can tell that everyone involved had a lot of fun working on the movie, with the end result being a product that is well worth the money and simply does not fail to entertain. Fans of action movies and the first Expendables will definitely enjoy this one, though I encourage older viewers to give it a shot as well. It delivers on all levels and for that I am deeply satisfied.

The Expendables - This Movie Isn't

When I had first heard of The Expendables in 2010, I couldn't help but be a little curious when I saw the sheer number of action stars involved in the project. With a cast ranging from Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis to Jet Li and Mickey Rourke, how could you not be? However, it would be a couple of years before I finally saw this picture after purchasing the DVD. Thus far, I do not regret doing so.

The gist of the plot is as follows: A group of mercenaries known as the Expendables are hired by the CIA to eliminate a dictator on a small Caribbean island. Besides a couple of subplots, one of which has bearing on the events of the movie, this is basically all that happens. For the most part the smaller plot points of the movie are difficult to follow, not helped by the fact that a few of the actors, such as the aforementioned Stallone and Rourke, mumble a great amount of their dialogue.

On the other hand, the action scenes are simply amazing to watch. There are explosions abound, usually after some spectacular feat on the part of the mercenaries. I especially praise one scene with an Albatross vehicle, which provides a feast for the eyes as a cloud is spectacularly ignited by a single bullet to annihilate a group of mooks over a long pier. Equally praiseworthy are the scenes involving either guns, such as one where Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) blasts through grunts like a knife through butter thanks to some special bullets, or combat involving martial arts, including a scene where Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) knocks out a group of people on a Basketball court for personal reasons, ending with a knife through the ball as a warning. Segments such as this display the amazing fight choreography, as also shown when Yin Yang (Jet Li) displays his fighting prowess about halfway through the movie against Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren).

As I watched the film, I noticed a surprising amount of humor thrown in, which helped make some of the scenes less serious and offer some balance. These instances are well-timed, but the cameo from Arnold Schwarzenegger becomes even funnier thanks to some real world context in the jokes. On the other side of the scale, the action can get very bloody since those on the receiving end of bullets tend to pop like meat balloons or otherwise have their insides splatter all over the place.

To sum up the experience of this movie would be very simple: The Expendables is a true action movie through and through. While the story does seem to be pushed off to the side, it allows the action elements, the meat of the movie, time to shine. With an all-star cast and music that helps drive them along, it creates an experience worthy of at least one viewing. If you're a fan of 80's action flicks or have a familiarity with at least one of the actors attached, you surely won't be disappointed.

Hulk Vs - Twice The Carnage, But Not Twice The Fun

Before I start, I should mention that I'm not very well versed in the Marvel universe, but I've always been very curious about it. Thanks to some crossover events, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and word of mouth however, I have been able to learn about it to the point where I can at least understand what happened in the character's early years and part of what's going on with them now. Because of this, I became curious about Hulk Vs and decided to watch it. Released in 2009 by Lionsgate around the time Marvel Animation began making animated series, Hulk Vs turned out to be an entertaining duo of shorts revolving around the Hulk battling Wolverine and Thor. While they do manage to show how much the creators knew about the respective universes, there are some major differences between the two that cause them to stand out with mixed results.

To begin, Hulk Vs Wolverine shows the two of them first meeting, with Wolverine tasked to stop the Hulk's rampage through Canada. Logan tracks him down by using his toxic scent, having a run-in with Banner that causes their fight to begin. This part provides some great thrills and displays just how competent both are in a  fight, as well as a realistic underwater brawl. With the inclusion of a Weapon X plot, there still isn't any shortage of action as the two of them take on Sabretooth, Omega Red, Deathstrike, and Deadpool (who I must say is absolutely hilarious).

The carnage throughout the short, though bloody, is made interesting by using an art style inspired by anime and a suitably dark color palette. It's also notably fast paced, which helped to keep me invested until even after the credits. The flashback to Wolverine's backstory proved interesting and helped to establish what Weapon X is, but felt slightly out of place in the grand scheme of things. In the end, it was a lot of fun to watch and made me want to watch more of it.

However, the same cannot be said of its cousin, Hulk Vs Thor. Here, the Norse God Loki has managed to abduct Bruce Banner. With the aid of the Enchantress, Amora, he is able to separate Bruce Banner from the Hulk so that he may use its raw power to take over Asgard during the Odinsleep. At first he succeeds, but the arrival of Thor serves to throw a wrench in his plans as he tries to stop the Hulk from destroying the land of the gods. Unfortunately, the ensuing struggle quickly becomes boring due to the one-sided nature of the fight. The Hulk is able to dispatch of everything, god or otherwise, in its way with incredible ease, taking away a lot of the tension that made Vs Wolverine fun to watch. This isn't helped by the fact that the plot is more focused on Banner than the title characters.

While I do like the look of the noticeably cleaner style and brighter color palette, it doesn't take away from the fact that the story would only make sense to those who know about every character in the Thor universe. The ones that do show up are hardly explained save for name and relation, and the deeper character relationships present are more confusing than anything. Even though some of the scenes are impressive to watch, the slow pacing makes the short less enjoyable and gave me less of an incentive to re-watch it.

At this point, I'd like to point out that both parts of the DVD have some great qualities shared between them. The voice acting is top notch, especially Steve Blum as Wolverine and Nolan North as Deadpool. In addition, the music manages to fit the tone of each story perfectly and the distinctive styles at least offer more of a variety for the senses.

In the end, Hulk Vs proves itself to be a good offering, even if it feels like a mixed bag. While I did enjoy the Wolverine short a bit more, I'm sure there are people who would enjoy the Thor half as well. This is a DVD that I would recommend any Marvel fan to own, even those who want it only for a single character appearance.