John Wick movies usually don’t make me think of the Three Stooges.
But the Wick spinoff “Ballerina” (R, 125 minutes, in theaters) has a scene right out of the Larry, Moe and Curly playbook.
And it’s hilarious.
Ballerina-turned-assassin Eve Macarro single handedly battles a village full of killers, and in the middle of a quaint pub she and a female opponent frantically bash dishes over each other’s heads. There are a lot of plates scattered on the floor, and Eve and her foe take turns grabbing one at a time and breaking it over the other’s noggin. Back and forth they go.
Ana De Armas plays Eve Macarro in “Ballerina.” (Lionsgate)
The violence in any Wick movie is absurdly excessive, but, as is the case in this scene, “Ballerina” director Len Wiseman (“Underworld”) wisely takes advantage of the comic possibilities without going too far overboard.
“Ballerina” – also known as “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina,” a title I absolutely hate – is the fifth movie in the Wick series, though it takes place between what occurs in the third and fourth movies. It’s also the first not to focus on legendary ex-hitman extraordinaire John Wick (Keanu Reeves), though the character plays a significant supporting role.
The new film centers on Eve, played as an adult by Ana De Armas, who seeks vengeance on the Chancellor (Gabriel Byrne) and his cultish crime syndicate, which killed her father when she was a young girl.
In providing the origin story for Eve, “Ballerina” opens with the killing, followed by orphaned Eve literally taken by hand by debonair Wick associate Winston Scott (series regular Ian McShane), who runs a special hotel that caters to a certain class of criminal. Winston introduces her to the Director (series regular Angelica Huston), who heads the Ruska Rome crime group, a rival to the one led by the Chancellor.
The Director teaches ballet, but her students also are trained as assassins, with only those with a killer instinct making the cut.
Eve has the killer instinct.
But she also has that bone to pick with the Chancellor, and it’s no surprise when she goes against the Director’s orders to seek her revenge.
This leads to the kind of mayhem one expects from a Wick film, though Eve is taught to “lean into” her strengths and “fight like a girl.”
The agility and physical grace required in ballet comes in handy, as she slaughters small armies of enemies in elaborately choreographed violence. She comes up with amusing ways to use hand grenades, for instance.
De Armas certainly makes a worthy new action hero, while Reeves and McShane are in particularly fine form as their familiar characters. (It’s bittersweet to see Lance Reddick, who died at 60 in 2023, in his final film appearance, as Charon, the dignified concierge at Winston’s hotel.)
Odds are there will be more “Ballerina” movies to come. Let’s hope so. ***½ (out of four)
Following the formula
It’s the big fight, and the opponent delivers a crushing blow that floors our hero.
The ref starts the count.
Our hero looks stone-cold unconscious.
The count continues.
Will our hero revive in time?
It doesn’t look good.
But, wait. … Is that a flicker in our hero’s eye?
If you don’t know what happens next, you’ve either spent your life in a cave without cable or streaming options or there’s some other reason you’ve missed one of the most overdone cliches in the history of film.
Here we go again.
And why not? After all, the cinematic comfort food known as “Karate Kid: Legends” (PG-13, 94 minutes, in theaters) is as predictable as Mom’s meatloaf. What do you expect from the sixth film in a franchise that also has spawned two TV shows (one animated and the other the live-action series “Cobra Kai”)?
Let’s see if any of this sounds slightly familiar:
A nice kid moves to a new place (in this case, from Beijing to New York).
From left, Jackie Chan, Ben Wang and Ralph Macchio appear in a scene from “Karate Kid: Legends.” (Sony Pictures)
He meets a nice girl (in this case, the daughter of an ex-boxer who runs a pizza joint).
He becomes the target of a bully (in this case, the ex-boyfriend of the girl).
He’s promised his mom he won’t turn to violence, but he needs to defend himself and others he cares about.
He trains with a wise master. (OK, in this story there are two).
There’s a big competition.
It comes down to him and the bully.
Things don’t look good.
Will he be counted out?
Usually, I’d abhor such an obvious connect-the-dots movie. But here’s the thing about “Karate Kid: Legends”: The characters are so likable that it’s hard not to be engaged. Ben Wang (as the kid), Sadie Stanley (as the girl), Joshua Jackson (as the girl’s dad), Jackie Chan and the ex-”Kid” himself, Ralph Macchio (as the kid’s mentors) all have an innocent charm that make this meatloaf more palatable than you might expect.
Chan, by the way, though top-billed, is definitely a supporting character who’s primarily used in the second half of the film. Macchio’s screen time is even more limited. But Wang, Stanley and Jackson carry the first half with ease – until an irritating, and unnecessary, plot contrivance gets tossed in the mix in which the kid lets down the girl. You know, so he can redeem himself.
Three guesses whether he does. **½
Sally gets creepy
Danny and Michael Philippou – aka RackaRacka – are at it again.
The twin Australian filmmakers have followed up their “Talk to Me,” one of the scariest movies in recent years, with another spine-tingler, “Bring Her Back” (R, 104 minutes, in theaters). And, this time, they’ve got the great Sally Hawkins as a deranged foster mom who provides many (but not all) of the film’s chills.
Troubled 17-year-old Andy (Billy Barratt) and his visually impaired younger stepsister, Piper (Sora Wong), are placed in the home of Hawkins’ Laura after their father dies in a bathroom accident.
Laura is, shall we say, a bit of an odd duck. Her mounted stuffed dog is an early indication that she might be a bit off (sorry, Roy Rogers), and then she pushes Andy to plant a kiss on his father’s lips at Dad’s open-casket funeral – and when he won’t, she does.
These are just hints of things to come. Laura’s own young daughter, also visually impaired, died in a pool accident, and Laura now has a mute young foster son, Oliver (Jonah Wren Phillips), whom she sometimes keeps locked in his room and has, um, issues.
Laura’s trouble letting go (again, the stuffed pup) plays a big part in why this situation takes an increasingly gruesome turn, and why she keeps watching grainy black-and-white videos of occult rituals for instruction and, perhaps, inspiration.
The videos … whew. They’re like the most disturbing outtakes you might find from “The Blair Witch Project” or “Paranormal Activity” (and that’s saying something). They conjure a sense of evil that’s overwhelming.
If that was the goal of the RackaRacka boys, mission accomplished. And the film has other virtues, including an imaginative plot, and excellent performances by Hawkins and her three young co-stars.
But, I must admit, this movie left me with mixed feelings.
Despite their dark material, the best horror movies – “The Exorcist,” “Psycho,” “Blair Witch,” “Paranormal Activity” – take you on a thrill ride that leaves you entertained. “Talk to Me,” while not in the same league, also provides scary fun.
“Bring Her Back” left me feeling depressed. That it involves different forms of child abuse no doubt has something to do with it, but it also just seems so relentless bleak. And to what end, when this is essentially a popcorn movie (albeit, a well-made one)?
So … **½
Cringe comedy
Cringe comedy can be funny. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “The Office” (British and American versions) on TV or “Superbad,” “Meet the Parents” and “Election” on the big screen are examples where awkward situations and bonehead decisions can deliver big laughs.
“Friendship” (R, 100 minutes, in theaters), the latest example of the genre, works for a while, but becomes tiresome.
The feature-film debut of writer-director Andrew DeYoung, it stars Tim Robinson as socially inept marketing executive Craig Waterman, who’s pretty much guaranteed to say or do the wrong thing in just about every situation.
Craig’s leading a boring suburban life, in which he’s emotionally detached from his wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and teenage son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Then he meets a neighbor, TV weatherman Austin Carmichael (Paul Rudd). The two connect and are soon close pals, with Austin, Craig’s idea of the coolest guy in the world (he plays in a punk band, for instance), opening an exciting new way of life for Craig.
Craig changes for the better. He even becomes more engaged at home with Tami and Steven. But social blunders at a party with Austin and his bros send Craig’s life into the toilet.
And it just gets worse … and worse … and worse.
Robinson, a former “Saturday Night Live” performer, and the star of “Detroiters” (he’s from the Motor City) and “I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson,” and Rudd make a solid comic team for a good chunk of the movie.
But watching Craig self-destruct as he desperately tries, and fails, to redeem himself stops being amusing after a while. The cringing continues, but the laughs stop. **½
** Click here for Tim Miller’s previous movie columns for Cape Cod Wave **
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Tim Miller, Movie Critic
Tim Miller is co-president of the Boston Society of Film Critics and a Tomatometer-approved critic. He teaches film and journalism at Cape Cod Community College in West Barnstable. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or follow him onTwitter @TimMillerCritic. Or you can ignore him completely.
