Isaac's Film Reviews

“Yeah, I’m thinking I’m back.” Film review by Isaac Handelman Since the end of the Matrix trilogy, Keanu Reeves has been floundering amidst B-movie action outings, underwhelming dramatic roles, and The Day the Earth Stood Still . Now, more than a decade after The Matrix Revolutions , Keanu delivers a convincing argument that he’s ready to return to the realm of quality action cinema with the gloriously confident, over-the-top firecracker-of-a-movie that is John Wick .   When we meet the titular-anti hero, he’s seen five quiet years after wriggling his way out of a vaguely-defined role in a vaguely-defined criminal organization headed by Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist). Despondent after his wife’s death at the hands of an illness, Wick finds temporary solace in the adorable face of his wife’s final gift to him: a beagle puppy named Daisy. After a random robbery by a trio of Russian thugs, led by the son of Wick’s former boss (Alfie Allen), results in Daisy’s death, Wick is ...

Inglorious. Film review by Isaac Handelman Wardaddy, Brad Pitt’s character in Fury , is bound to draw comparisons to his memorable Inglourious Basterds persona, Lieutenant Aldo Rayne. The characters share a southern drawl (though Wardaddy’s is a tad inconsistent) and a penchant for, and enjoyment of, killing Nazis. In reality, they have very little in common, stemming mostly from the fact that Wardaddy is not a character in any conventional sense, even though Fury ’s screenwriters try their darndest to convince viewers that he is. Pitt dials in a predictably strong performance, but he’s incapable of elevating Wardaddy above the complete lack of personality that the script imbues him with. The same can be said for much of Fury , a film with much loftier ambitions than its two-dimensional screenplay allows for. Commendably, the film makes no effort to portray World War II on a grand scale, choosing instead to focus squarely on a single tank crew on a single mission over the...

Amazing Amy makes for fantastic Fincher. Film review by Isaac Handelman Gillian Flynn’s smash-hit literary blockbuster Gone Girl was initially oft-considered “unfilmmable.” David Fincher proves such assertions to be absurd with his brilliant adaptation of the mystery thriller. Unusually structured and, arguably, manipulative of the audience, Gone Girl is not an entirely cohesive film, but it slides comfortably in alongside Fincher’s previous successes. On the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) returns home to find his wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), gone without a trace. He soon becomes the prime suspect in the missing person investigation, and audience allegiances ricochet back and forth amidst suspicious behaviors and reveals of foggy pseudo-truths. Discussing the film’s narrative in much detail is difficult without spoiling things, but suffice to say all is not as it seems. Big name actors often have trouble breaking out of their established...