Bosch

Clocking in at a bladder-busting three hours, this fourth Johnny Wick movie from Lionsgate stubbornly sticks to the franchise's formula. The vague plot sees John Wick still on the run from the High Table, who have not only raised his bounty to $20 million, but also deconsecrates and destroys any Continental Hotel linked to John's movements. Cue a number of repetative action setpieces (all happening at night) that are separated by static dialogue scenes in which characters spout non-stop aphorisms, the first one being no less than Ned Kelly's "Such is life."

Delayed two years by the novel coronavirus pandemic, JOHN WICK 4 has Hong Kong martial arts cinema legend Donnie Yen co-starring as Zatoichi-style blind swordsman Caine, an old friend of Wick's. The supporting cast is filled out by Bill Skarsgård, Ian McShane, Clancy Brown, Laurence Fishburne, and Shamier Anderson among others. Major disappointments are Keanu Reeve's worst ever line readings, and the wimpy melee fight scenes: punch, kick, chop, stab, pointblank CGI headshot, repeat. But such fare saw JOHN WICK 3 earn $328 million from a budget of $75 million, so loyal fans should enjoy it. I reckon it's good for one viewing because of the ending. There's also a scene in the credits. 6/10 Weet-Bix.

After INCEPTION and the awful THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, my expectations for Christopher Nolan's new science fantasy film were low. And at 169 minutes, INTERSTELLAR is a bloated mess, with a few breathtaking visuals and ambitious concepts thrown into the mix.

Nolan has become one of those A-list directors who thinks that every idea he has while cutting his toe nails somehow reveals a Deep Insight About The Human Condition that must be expanded into a movie. Merged from two screenplays, the story is full of plot holes and characters who do stupid things. Some key elements are not explained at all.

To his credit, Nolan hired astrophysicist Kip Thorne to advise him about wormholes and black holes. It's the futuristic space elements that kept me awake between stretches of tedious melodrama delivered by various "name" actors. I actually liked the quirky robots more than the people in this movie. By design or accident, INTERSTELLAR has a strong 1970s sensibility. Think SILENT RUNNING, PHASE IV, SOLARIS, SOYLENT GREEN, and BLAKE'S 7. There's just too much of Disney's THE BLACK HOLE and not enough of what Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke did so well in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.

Ultimately, the cringe-worthy ending shows that Nolan was just making it up as he went along. Let me say that if you liked PRO-MEH-THEUS and INCEPTION, you should enjoy INTERSTELLAR. Otherwise, proceed with caution.