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‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ Rips and Tears to New Action Heights

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Wick

Some people want enormous showdowns featuring their favorite Marvel characters, I on the other hand wait with anticipation to see someone give John Wick a gun. And boy does he get a gun or two in the runtime of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum.

The story takes off like a bullet from where John Wick 2 left off. Wick is running through the streets of NY making strategic moves to assist in his upcoming excommunicado sentence, during which he will receive no assistance from anyone under The High Table. As Wick fans recall, Wick broke some very important rules on Continental grounds that lead to an impending contract on his life.

The film takes no time getting into the nitty-gritty world of headshots and and constantly cool choreographed violence. This time however, Wick is up against the clock and in constant survival mode as opposed to his usual just and vengeful self. The Baba Yaga’s biggest enemy this time around is time itself.

Director, Chad Stahelski brings that trademark flare back to the Wick series once again. Combining the genius and timing of Buster Keaton with masterful martial arts and gun-fu of East meets West. This time around, Stahelski steers heavily into inspiration from High Noon, complete with homages to clocks ticking down to inevitable final moments and subsequent consequential action. Stahelski elevates his already deep understanding of the language of cinema and generously gives us the action we have come to expect from the series and then raises the bar he set.

Wick’s nemesis this time around lies in the deadly hands of Mark Dacascos, who brings a very interesting take on his approach to lethal assassin, Zero. Dacascos is the real deal in the world of martial arts and that lends to his character here with his precise approach to action. The interesting thing that Dacascos does here is to turn his character into a genuine John Wick fanboy. Sure, he needs to kill Wick, but that doesn’t stop his childlike wonder while attempting it. The third act moments between Zero and Wick are well-done outright hilarious.

Wick

Through a series of events, I will avoid spoiling, Wick ends up partnered with Sofia (Halle Berry) in a some sequences that viciously doubles the action of what we have seen in previous John Wick films. What you have to remember, especially during these scenes, is that they are doing all this shit for real. Reeves and Berry unleash a slew of bullets paired with an intense duo of dogs who in turn unleash their own hell onto the baddies. The result is bloody and magical. The stunt work that went into this stuff is fuckin’ legendary and I’m still in complete awe.

Reeves is Wick. Wick is Reeves. The dude pours himself into the role once again and has a profound understanding of exactly what to bring to Stahelski’s table of action. Well-versed in gun fu and kung fu and everything in between, Reeves is a craftsman whose blood, sweat and tears lies in each frame of the film to mesmerizing results.

One of the best things about this series outside of the outstanding action has always been the world that John Wick created from the get go. Secret code, double speak, gold coins, keys and an underground that we hadn’t seen previous to these films is absolutely rich. Chapter 3 takes us further down that alluring rabbit hole. New locations, characters and big and game changing reveals are made throughout, never taking away from action set pieces.

While a lot of action films are just that. The rich world of John Wick is busting at the seams with symbolism. The historical, philosophical and even religious undertones are everywhere and throughout. This time around that substance is capitalized on with bits of those symbols bleeding into the narrative to satisfying and well earned results.

For me it is hard to rate any of the Wick films. They are all equally fantastic and I’ve loved every single badass second with them. From start to finish this series has been a masterpiece and we are lucky enough to have witnessed it. Wick maintains the lightning in the bottle sensation that It has always been and still promises more of this vicious ballet, and I for one am entirely here for that.

‘John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum’ is out now in theaters.

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Brad Dourif Says He’s Retiring Except For One Important Role

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Brad Dourif has been doing movies for nearly 50 years. Now it seems he is walking away from the industry at 74 to enjoy his golden years. Except, there is a caveat.

Recently, digital entertainment publication JoBlo’s Tyler Nichols talked to some of the Chucky television series cast members. During the interview, Dourif made an announcement.

“Dourif said that he’s retired from acting,” says Nichols. “The only reason he came back for the show was because of his daughter Fiona and he considers Chucky creator Don Mancini to be family. But for non-Chucky stuff, he considers himself retired.”

Dourif has voiced the possessed doll since 1988 (minus the 2019 reboot). The original movie “Child’s Play” has become such a cult classic it’s at the top of some people’s best chillers of all time. Chucky himself is ingrained in pop culture history much like Frankenstein or Jason Voorhees.

While Dourif may be known for his famous voiceover, he is also an Oscar-nominated actor for his part in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Another famous horror role is The Gemini Killer in William Peter Blatty’s Exorcist III. And who can forget Betazoid Lon Suder in Star Trek: Voyager?

The good news is that Don Mancini is already pitching a concept for season four of Chucky which might also include a feature-length movie with a series tie-in. So, Although Dourif says he is retiring from the industry, ironically he is Chucky’s friend till the end.

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Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

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The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
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Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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