May 2026
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John Wick: The Red Shoes II ?

Keanu Reeves is John Wick.

John Wick, the action thriller starring Keanu Reeves is all about choreography.  And the choreography of the action scenes is so outstanding that John Wick could challenge Michael Powell and  Emeric Pressburger’s The Red Shoes as the finest film ever made about ballet.

The back-story, I would use plot-line – however that would be generous – is about an ex-hitman who loses everything he loves in retirement and has to exact revenge.  With John Wick the plot – good, bad, or non-existent – does not matter.  It is all about the action scenes that fill up almost all of the 101 minutes of the feature.

Noted Hollywood Stunt Guru’s David Leitch (Fight Club, 300, the Bourne movies) and Chad Stahelski ( Iron Man movies, Matrix movies) team up to direct John Wick and have gone Old School.  Old School in that the action sequences do not use today’s style of speed-up and inter-cutting to supposedly enhance the action.

What you are going to get with John Wick is the finest the American Ballet Company can offer while at the same time 1o Russian Thugs go down hard. My guess is that when ole’ Vlad Putin screens John Wick he will be worried about the sequel.

Nightcrawler – Creepiness in a Fascinating Way

Lou Bloom the principle character played with scary brilliance by Jake Gyllenhall in Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler is a fascinating blend of sociopath, amoralist, autistic and opportunistic entrepreneur.

Lou is a quick learn, a really quick learn.  Lou misses nothing that can be successfully employed to lead to his advancement and ignores everything (to the point of complete denial) that could be considered a negative consequence of his actions.

Quiet, gaunt and the possessor of soulless black eyes Lou appears to have no family, no friends or a readily employable skillset.  However, the current situation does not stop Lou from attempting to maneuver his way into a business proposition.

During our time with Lou, we will learn (as will he) that American society ravenously eats up and pays for being the first to learn about the misery and misfortune of others through local news coverage.

Lou has found his niche; T.V. Broadcasting. He will stop at nothing in his pursuit to be the very best. For example, why does Lou drag a dying victim of a car crash to a new spot at the scene? Because Lou has just read up on lighting’s importance as it relates to video quality. Lou will see many opportunities to improve his lot in life.  Hopefully neither you or I are one of them.

 

Around the Island on the Hana Highway

We ventured from our small cottage on the beach in Paia’ and circumnavigated Maui as a day trip.  We said goodbye to our resident family of Sea Turtles and returned just as the sun was setting in our front yard.