Doc centered around the John Wick franchise... specifically the directors, producers and Keanu Reeves. Although it was very good, that's generally all it is making it a somewhat conceited view of the franchise with little else. Other actors in the series appeared only as cameos, if they were brought up at all, and usually only in regards to how tough it was to make these films. As a result, we become intimately familiar with the trials and tribulations of making the films but actually very little about the films themselves. Excellent but quite self centered ..for 2+ hrs.
The Wrath of Becky [2023]
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Becky's on a mission of revenge against some domestic terrorists. The difference in writing and direction from
the first film
is quite stark with some really bad decisions. Why would you go on a covert mission in a bright red jumpsuit instead of camouflage? Exceedingly long scenes of dialog that were neither interesting nor important, some of the gags and kills were over-the-top to the point of camp, fantasy scenes that never quite landed. I love the characters and it is fun but not much beyond what you'd expect from an average B movie. Final scene is killer.
Wingwomen [2023]
aka Voleuses
Thieves for hire are coerced into doing one last job before retiring. Although it does have some action and capers, it's not even close to how it's advertised. It's far more a buddy film between 3 girls, but that's ok... the girls are extremely likable, funny, cute and a joy to watch with a good deal of banter and a large dose of trust and love between them. Plus, they can certainly be bad-asses when necessary. I think the climax was overly dramatic and unnecessary considering the overall tone of the film but all in all, my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Good entertainment!
Wish Upon [2017]
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Girl receives box that grants 7 wishes ...but with a price. I get excited about 'wish' movies as they're ripe for an explosion of imagination, which this film is completely devoid of. The 1st wish is understandably a throwaway but once our protagonist realizes it works, rather than giving further wishes some thought, she's constrained by the writers to be stupid, vain and naive and wish for trivial, silly things as a way to drive the story. Half way through, they tell you how it ends. The series of events is marginally entertaining but there's so much wasted potential here.
A Wounded Fawn [2022]
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A macabre look into the fractured psyche of a serial killer when he encounters problems on his date and must contend with his ghosts of murders past. Extremely imaginative and quite a visual treat. The acting all around is outstanding creating fully believable characters making it very easy to share in their psychotic travails ...especially when our killer is trying to convince us that it's not his fault he kills women. My biggest complaint was that everything is dragged out. It didn't harm my interest in the story any but it could have used some tightening up.
Wrong Turn [2021]
A group goes hiking on the Appalachian Trail and they run into the local natives which have a notably odd lifestyle. Time is wasted for the film to firmly establish the racial and homosexual bigotry of the area, even though it plays no part in the story. Then we have the hunt. That was the good part with people behaving in an appropriately panicked situation. Once that was over, the film got ridiculous and the longer it went, the sillier it became as it wallowed in it's own stew of stupid decisions and goofy scenarios. Not even the shock ending gag could save it.
Wonder Woman [2017]
Details the origins of Wonder Woman and how she puts an end to the Great War (WWI). Fun, exciting, with lots of spec fx and overall great entertainment. But it's lacking something. Gal Gadot is perfect for our titular character ...in fact, it's one of the few casting choices that DC has made that works quite well. But everyone else is just bland. There isn't a lot of humor or good lines or personalities that stand out. Overall, it's not bad but if they want to compete with the MCU, they have to make those non-action moments as much fun as the rest of it.
Wonder Woman 1984 [2020]
It's 1984 and Wonder Woman's dealing with a man who wants ultimate power and a relic that grants wishes. Overall, it was certainly entertaining but really out-of-balance in some places; the opening action sequence, although quite fun, was unnecessary to the story except as a call back, the characters were blatant stereotypical caricatures at times, one action sequence had a slapstick vibe to it that didn't work well and several climatic scenes were dragged out too long losing their impact. The ending was WAY too peachy considering. Not bad, but flawed.
Wrong Turn [2003]
A group of young people take the wrong turn in the hills of West Virginia and experience life with the locals. Similar to
The Hills Have Eyes,
this is simply another inbred mutant slasher movie. However, it's done very well ...as noted by several sequels. It gets started in a hurry and the victims are normal (including the one prone to hysteria). Their actions are logical and smart making for some very exciting scenarios where they're actually trying to save themselves. How refreshing! The mutants were entertaining, as well. Nicely done!
Wrong Turn 2: Dead End [2007]
A production company is developing a survival reality show in the same patch of woods occupied by our inbred, cannibalistic freaks ...and the contestants are quickly becoming fast food! I was really beginning to hate the characters, who were obnoxious and thoroughly unlikable, and almost turned it off. When things got serious, it began to improve but only slightly. It was extremely messy and gory and some of the gags worked pretty well but the ending was ho hum and sort of dragged out. Nothing really new or special here. Marginally entertaining,
Winchester [2018]
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Story based on the premise that Sarah Winchester continued to build her home because she was haunted by the spirits of those killed by Winchesters. The story was OK - a mass shooting and the 1906 earthquake was thrown into the mix for good measure - but it came off rather flat. It seemed to rely too much on jump scares as I don't think the filmmakers really knew how to create the necessary atmosphere a movie like this needs. As a result, it's just a ghost story ...and not a very scary one. The trailer's more terrifying.
Wolf Creek [2005]
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Three friends travel into the outback of Australia to visit the Wolf Creek meteor crater. What they find is their worst nightmare in the form of Mick Taylor. It takes about an hour for something remarkable to happen but traveling with these likable kids is enjoyable making what follows even more brutal. And when it does start happening, few screen psychos can match Mick's heartless cruelty or that mad cackle of his. Making the victims smarter would have jumped it from "Most Excellent" to "Super Awesome" but it's still pretty strong stuff.
A Wrinkle in Time [2018]
A girl, her little brother and a friend travel through the universe searching for her dad. First, let me say, this is NOT as bad as the ratings. There are plenty of better films with similar themes, especially from Disney, but this one was light-hearted, uplifting and quite visual. I think its main problem was the presentation seemed bland, unfinished, and sort of lifeless. Bad editing maybe? In fact, there's some great scenes in the trailer that aren't in the movie. The friend served absolutely no purpose beyond being along for the ride.
Wolf Creek 2 [2013]
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Not as psychologically savage as
Wolf Creek
but still quite brutal with far more action, a lot more gore and a much higher body count. Jarratt's performance as, Mick Taylor, one of the most savage, cold-blooded, psychopaths to ever grace the screen, just makes your skin crawl. Rule No.1: Never stop for anyone in the outback. In fact, never stop at all.
Wildling [2018]
A girl, who's been locked in an attic from a baby to a mid-teen, has to adjust to the new world. But, perhaps, she has a few tricks up her sleeve. Liv Tyler and Brad Dourif do an excellent job and everyone, in fact, is pretty darn genuine. However, I don't think they managed to elicit the amount of empathy that they were shooting for. As a result, the film is rather dull, lifeless and boring. Don't expect a lot of action, suspense or tension as there really isn't any ...just a story about a girl who's different and those that want to cause her harm. That's it.
The Witch [2015]
aka The VVitch (A New-England Folktale)
A random pick turned out to be quite a surprise. In 1630's New England, a family has been exiled from a town due to religious differences. They try to make it in the wild next to a forest wherein lives a witch. The photography, settings, acting, dialogue, are all utterly authentic. The story, which may be slow for some, clearly depicts how a family is just as vulnerable to destruction by their own superstitions and religious beliefs as well as by a real witch. Superbly haunting!
The Wolverine [2013]
The story is really simple and not particularly interesting ...Logan is losing his powers to heal and must get them back. It deals far too much with Wolverine's personal issues and the action sequences - of which there were fewer in this one - although entertaining, felt as if they were being forced on you. It's good ...just not my favorite X-Men movie.
Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings [2011]
The origin of the inbred, cannibalistic freaks in the series, takes place in a sanatorium that they've apparently taken over without anyone noticing. Enter some really, really stupid young people who are forced into the building due to a storm they knew was coming but decided to get lost in it anyway. The acting was so bad, they couldn't even effectively portray the morons that the mega-amateur, immature writing forced upon them. This movie was just awful. I don't consider myself a writer but I know I could have written this one far better ...hell, anyone could've.
The Wind [2018]
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Well photographed, visually authentic, psychological character study of loneliness and isolation. A couple, who lives in the middle of nowhere, gains a couple as neighbors who are completely out of their depth when it comes to farming and living off the country. This triggers a series of catastrophic events, told in story pieces through various flashbacks. Very slow burn requiring patience but the characters and story are compelling. Plus, it keeps you guessing ...is she under siege by demons? ...or is she just going mad? Well presented and not bad!
Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines [2012]
Our cannibal mutants, now staying with an equally insane relative, all decide to have some fun during a hillbilly festival. Although not nearly as ridiculous as
WT4,
this one isn't a whole lot better. I admired the
first one
for having genuine, intelligent victims. Unfortunately, they decided to make nearly every victim in this one die from their own stupidity. Some of the kills were creative but they quite often ruined it by taking the gore level way over-the-top just for gore's sake. Basically just cookie cutter characters in one contrived scene after another. Disappointing.
Wraith [2017]
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An absurd haunted house story involving a friendly ghost, an evil spirit and a whole lot of thinly veiled anti-abortion propaganda. Absolutely nothing original here. The writing was pathetic and they have a girl who is clearly about 18 playing the part of an 8th grader. The most horrific thing about this movie is her acting trying to pull that off. What a waste of time.
Wind River [2017]
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A professional tracker and an FBI agent (who is sorely out of her depth) investigate the rape and murder of a girl in winter on an Indian reservation in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming. More a character study than a crime drama, the story is a deeply personal and emotional look at the people, the culture, and one's own personal demons. Personally, I would have liked a bit more emphasis on the hunt but that's a personal preference, me thinks. There's an awesome shootout well worth watching. Overall, very well made film.
Wind Walkers [2015]
Something about somebody bringing something back from Iraq that's killing these guys in the Florida Keys. That's about the best I can do as far as a mini-synopsis because nothing about this movie made any sense. There were some insidious moments that made it somewhat worthwhile but I didn't understand anyone's behavior or motivation and I could not discern any plot or even identify the danger. Even the score was nothing more than rock tunes which were totally inappropriate. What were they trying to do here?
The Witching [2016]
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A bunch of friends podcast from a place in the woods where a witch was executed 67 years ago and they tell ghost stories making this an anthology movie. The first couple stories were quite lame being no more than a vehicle for a few jump scares and they didn't end so much as just stop. The other stories were ok ...especially the one where God calls a talk show and another about an hour glass. There's nothing special here but when you consider that this is obviously an amateur effort for everyone involved, it's not that bad.
The Windmill [2016]
aka The Windmill Massacre Watch for FREE right now!
A bus breaks down during a tour of Holland and the passengers begin experiencing hallucinations and amputations. This is a pretty typical slasher movie that has a somewhat original premise. Beside the entertaining kills being gory and a little over-the-top, there's really nothing new here. The ending was a bit silly. Entertaining but I'm glad a didn't spend extra money on it.
Wrath of Man [2021]
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A guy seeks revenge for the death of his son in a botched armored car robbery. Good solid story and an outstanding siege to top things off but this film had a lot of problems for me. The unnecessarily vulgar, macho, he-man banter that went on-and-on for the first 30 mins got old real fast, as much as I enjoy watching Jason Statham, his performance in this can best be described as robotic without any personality, and I don't feel the constant jumping around in the time line suited this film at all. It just never felt authentic or balanced. Still a good film but flawed.
The Witch in the Window [2018]
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The film involves a house that has a ghost / witch / whatever you want to call it but the story is not a jump scare / terrorfest. It's really about a guy who's rebuilding the house in an attempt to rebuild his estranged family. As such, the film is honest, personal and heartfelt. The characters are likable, their actions, logical, and the story gets you hooked-in despite the slow pace. In fact, with a bit of adjustment, the story would work well without a supernatural element. But having it brings about a resolution that works far better than it should. Nice job!
The Wicked Within [2015]
Demon possesses a woman and destroys her family. Three tips for movie makers - 1) In order to develop some sense of tension, peril, empathetic danger, you need to make sure the viewer cares about the characters of which, I couldn't care less about these. 2) Include something original. We've already seen this film hundreds of times ...and better. 3) If you're going to have a twist ending, you should make it far less ridiculous and conceal it better ...I saw it coming long before we got there. A grossly amateur effort bringing nothing new to the table and insulting the table.
Willow Creek [2013]
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A found footage film chronicling a couple heading into the Trinity National Forest to find Bigfoot. I'm shocked to discover that this was written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. Timing is everything for a master stand up comic, so it's perplexing why his pacing is this film is so abysmally horrendous. 1st 40 minutes watching uninteresting people talk to other uninteresting people followed by a 17 min sequence of the couple terrified in their tent by scary sounds. Wrap it up with a completely unoriginal climax and there you have it. Never saw Bigfoot.
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