Noir – Matthew Liedke on Film

A title like “Nightmare Alley” may inspire thoughts that this film is about fantastical monsters.

But director Guillermo del Toro’s latest film is about how ordinary men can be just as monstrous as fabled beasts.

Bradley Cooper stars as Stanton in the film, a man who’s clearly on the run from his past at the start of the movie. As the film takes place during the later years of the depression and Stanton needing work, he ends up taking an offer to work at a carnival.

There, he meets a husband and wife duo who have an act where they perform as a pair of psychics, although, their mind games are actually just coded words to make it appear that they have powers. Still, Stanton sees an opportunity for himself and decides he would like to do such an act, but his efforts to do so leads to dangers and conundrums.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Take a stroll in ‘Nightmare Alley’ for quality noir”

Mr. Wick is back and as the Latin phrase in this movie’s title implies, he’s going to war.

“John Wick: Chapter 3” picks off right after the events of the second film, so seeing that one is probably a good idea before checking this out. Wick (Keanu Reeves) is a man now on the run. After breaking the rules of the criminal underworld in part two, every assassin in New York City, and basically the world, are after him for a multi-million dollar bounty.

As a result, Wick searches for a way to reverse his predicament and atone for his transgressions. His journey brings him to Sofia (Halle Barry), a person from his past who decides to help him find someway to make amends. The quest remains a difficult one, though, as the group running crime at a worldwide scale want Wick, and anyone who’s helped him, eliminated.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘John Wick 3’ thrills with top tier action”