Assassins

‘The Accountant 2’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess I do not have a vivid recollection of the 2016 film “The Accountant,” which starred Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick. I know I watched and reviewed the first film, but it didn’t leave a lasting impression on me in either a positive or negative way. Because of this, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from a sequel that was taking place nine years after the original.  I didn’t go back and watch the first film, but I was still able to follow along effortlessly with the sequel. The more I watched it, little bits and pieces from the first film started to come back to me. Plus, with an action/thriller, in most cases, you start to understand the gist of it: These guys are good, these guys are bad, and they are going to have a big shootout before it’s all said and done.

“The Accountant 2” opens up with a bang as Raymond King (J. K. Simmons) meets up with a quiet yet deadly assassin, Anaïs (Daniella Pineda). Raymond tells her he needs her help in tracking down a missing family. Before long, there is bedlam at their meetup location, which leaves Raymond, the former FinCEN director, dead. On his dead body, he wrote “Find the Accountant.” This message finds its way to his protégé and the current deputy director, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson). She gets in touch with The Accountant, Christian Wolff, played by Ben Affleck.

Christian is not only an accountant, he’s an autistic assassin. I don’t remember if it was clearly stated in the first film, but they hint around at it here, as I don’t think they wanted to hit the audience over the head with it. It would have felt like they were exploiting this if they reminded the audience of it time and time again. Instead, the film shows his difficulty expressing himself while also highlighting his strengths, such as when he goes line-dancing and is able to pick up the moves by watching other people and their rhythmic movements. With his help, Marybeth will be able to find out what happened to her mentor and also find out what got him killed.

“The Accountant 2” does not even mention the Anna Kendrick character, but it does bring back Christian’s brother, Braxton, played by Jon Bernthal. Affleck and Bernthal have terrific chemistry together on screen, as they have a real Oscar and Felix “Odd Couple” dynamic. Braxton is direct, in-your-face, and blunt. Christian is more subdued, thoughtful, and precise with his actions. Along with Marybeth, they are committed to finding answers when it comes to the death of Raymond King along with the missing family. The three of them all bring something unique and different to the table with their strengths and weaknesses.

This sequel is a tale of two movies. The first half is entertaining, funny at times, and fast-paced. It focuses on relationships, characters, and story. I was captivated and enjoyed the story and its various twists and turns along with the interactions between the characters. Bernthal, in particular, is a real standout amongst the cast. He’s funny but also has a softer side to his character. There is one scene in particular where he’s talking to his brother and he’s wondering why they aren’t closer. He wonders if it’s because of Christian’s challenges or if there is something more to it. Affleck also does a good job of not overplaying his character or turning it into an over-the-top and showy performance. He brings humanity and heart to the character.

Overall, “The Accountant 2” is way too long at 132 minutes, and after a while, there are one too many bad guys to be found here. Once it turned into a shoot-’em-up action flick, I was ready for the credits to start rolling. It turns into a live-action version of “Call of Duty.” I also feel as though films which use sex trafficking as a major storyline are becoming commonplace in Hollywood, and they are starting to feel like a copout when the screenwriter doesn’t know what else to do with the story. Overall, I enjoyed a lot more of this sequel than the parts I didn’t, and it’s a fun action flick until it loses itself in the final 40 minutes.

* * ½ out of * * * *

4K Info: “The Accountant 2” is released on a single-disc 4K from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. The film has a running time of 132 minutes and is rated R for strong violence and language throughout. The film comes with a crisp looking slipcover along with a digital copy that can be redeemed online.

4K Video Info: The Dolby Vision transfer is a thing of beauty. The colors are vivid and the film has a crisp and flawless look to it. Action films, in particular, are some of the best films to watch on 4K, and “The Accountant 2” is no exception.

4K Audio Info: The Dolby Atmos track is loud, in-your-face, and it really thumps in your living room. At times, I found the film to be a little too loud, but that might just be my personal preference. For others, they might find it to be perfect for enjoying this film to the fullest. Subtitles are included in English, Spanish, and French.

Special Features:

None

Should You Buy It?

I try to keep my finger on the pulse of physical media when it comes to collectors and their buying habits, and if there is one genre they are always looking for on 4K, it is action flicks. Because of this, if you are a physical media enthusiast, I’m going to recommend you purchase “The Accountant 2,” but I’d maybe wait for it to drop in price a little bit. I don’t think you need to rush out and buy it on release day. The film is an above average film, and I did enjoy it, but it did lose me near the end with its endless shootout scenes. The film is also about 30 minutes too long. For filmgoers who aren’t as into action flicks as others, it’s worth watching one time as it’s a fun flick with some interesting characters.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.

‘The Terminator’ Movie and 4K Review

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

The following review was written by Ultimate Rabbit correspondent, Tony Farinella.

“The Terminator,” directed by James Cameron, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Because of this, Warner Brothers released the film on 4K for the very first time.  This has been one of the most anticipated 4K releases in years.  James Cameron released a number of his movies this year on 4K, including “Aliens,” “True Lies” and “The Abyss.”  Many YouTubers and physical media collectors have expressed mixed opinions on the transfers of these releases, and it has caused a lot of debate in the physical media community. Cameron himself has come out and expressed his frustration with their criticism and even suggested they move out of their parent’s basements.

As far as the film itself, “The Terminator” opens up by introducing the audience to a cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who has been sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to eliminate Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). To the untrained eye, he looks like a regular human being with his flesh, his ability to talk, and his ability to enter a room without really drawing a lot of attention to himself. Standing in the Terminator’s way is a soldier by the name of Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn).  He’s also from the future, and he has one job and one job only, which is to protect Sarah.  The Terminator’s job is to stop at nothing to eliminate Sarah because her unborn son, John Connor, is going to be the one to attempt to stop the machines from taking over after a war in the future begins.

The battle between humans and machines is one we are still battling in today’s world, especially with the introduction of artificial intelligence.  Will machines become so powerful that humans will be rendered useless and unnecessary? Cameron was way ahead of himself with 1984’s “The Terminator.”  This is a movie with big ideas and big characters.  Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator is fantastic with his movements, his screen presence, and his aura.  Whenever he is on screen, you are completely captivated by him as an audience member to where you can’t keep your eyes off him.  Linda Hamilton is terrific at walking that tightrope to where she’s seen as tough but also a little vulnerable.  Michael Biehn also turns in a stellar performance as Kyle Reese.  It’s a hard role to pull off, as Kyle needs to talk about the future in a way that will not only convince Sarah he’s telling the truth but also win over the audience.

I might be in the minority on this one, but my one issue with “The Terminator” is the love story between Sarah and Kyle.  It is why I can’t give the film a perfect rating, even though I absolutely love it.  The love story feels unnecessary when all of this is going on in Sarah’s world.  In a film where I was able to suspend my disbelief for almost its entire running time, the romance came completely out of left field for me.  Besides that, there is a lot to like about this film.  It has a ton of great supporting work from actors such as Lance Henriksen, Paul Winfield, Dick Miller, and Earl Boen. Los Angeles is a character in this film, especially late at night. In many ways, “The Terminator” felt like Michael Mann directed a sci-fi thriller.  It’s a moody and dark film with an underbelly of seediness and gloom and doom.

I also felt as though “The Terminator” had a sense of humor about itself without being too jokey.  When the Terminator himself encounters some street punks while he’s naked, it allows Cameron to have a little fun with his premise.  He is wise to not make the film too silly or goofy, however, as then it would be a completely different film altogether.  The comedic moments come more from the way people react to the Terminator and how he reacts to them.  Because he is so laser focused on killing Sarah Connor, he doesn’t have time for pleasantries.  He is a man on a mission and will eliminate anyone and anything in his way.  This film is able to feel like a big budget Hollywood blockbuster and a gritty, down and dirty independent film at the same time.  It was made for $6.4 million, but it looks top-notch and has a sense of danger to it as well.  “The Terminator” is an almost perfect film.

* * * ½ out of * * * *

4K Info: “The Terminator” is released on a single-disc 4K from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment.  It comes with a digital copy of the film as well. The film has a running time of 107 minutes and is rated R for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence throughout, some sexuality/nudity, and strong language. You can get this film either with a 4K slipcover or a 4K steelbook.

4K Video Info:  Warner Brothers released this film on Dolby Vision HDR. It is a clean-looking transfer that doesn’t take any chances and doesn’t really need to when you consider its original source material. I thought the majority of the film looked impressive and it had a very cinematic feel to it. I don’t think there are too many things you can find wrong with this 4K video transfer.

4K Audio Info: The Dolby Atmos track is really good here.  This is a film filled with a lot of action, explosions and big moments.  Those scenes sound impressive and make for a good at-home theater experience. It wasn’t too loud or boisterous, but it made its presence known. Subtitles are included in English, Spanish and French.

Special Features:

Deleted Scenes with Optional James Cameron Commentary

Creating the Terminator: Visual Effects & Music

The Terminator: Closer to the Real Thing

Unstoppable Force: The Legacy of the Terminator

Should You Buy It?

This is one of the greatest sci-fi/action films of all time, despite my issues with the love story between Sarah and Kyle.  It comes with a stand-out 4K transfer which includes Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.  This is the best “The Terminator” has looked, and it looks much better than the failed “Terminator 2” 4K release from Lionsgate a few years back.  It seems like they have found a happy medium when it comes to James Cameron and his 4K transfers.  They know how to make the most out of the 4K format without changing it too much to where you don’t recognize the film you love. Much like the prior Blu-ray release, the special features are lacking, which is a disappointment. Overall, though, if you love movies, you have to have “The Terminator” on 4K in your collection.  It is a must-own, whether you get the 4K slipcover or the 4K steelbook.   It’s a revolutionary film that holds up incredibly well on repeat viewings.  This one comes highly recommended.

**Disclaimer** I received a copy of this film from Warner Brothers to review for free.  The opinions and statements in the review are mine and mine alone.

‘John Wick Chapter 4’ – Still Trying to Kill the Unkillable

Posted on by The Ultimate Rabbit

If there is to be a fifth “John Wick” film in our future, or perhaps this can be included in the upcoming spinoff entitled “Ballerina,” in which a father and son visit a memorial which stretches out for a couple of miles. Their dialogue would be comprised of the following:

“Daddy, what is the wall?”

“Well son, this is a memorial for all the people killed by John Wick, a professional hitman and assassin.”

“Wow, there are so many names up there!”

“I know son. Funny thing is, this memorial was opened up the public before those who constructed it realized they had another mile or two to add on. Just when everyone thought John could not kill another soul, he somehow found the strength to kill another human who was sent out to kill him.”

“Why did so many try to kill him dad?”

“Because there was a bounty on his head son, one to the tune of around $20 million dollars.”

“Daddy, are all these names up here to show they did not die in vain?”

“Actually son, it was quite the opposite. This memorial is proof of what happens when you put greed above everything else.”

Right from the start, the “John Wick” movies have shown how its title character is a human being somewhere in between the 1980’s action heroes portrayed by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, and John McClane from “Die Hard.” On one hand, John looks to be super-human as he dishes out punishment while taking quite a large number of brutal hits in return, but thanks to Keanu Reeves, who continues to do some of his best work in these films, this character remains fully human as he is not without a soul and is looking to find peace in a world which appears very much devoid of it, particularly for him.

“John Wick Chapter 4” starts not too long after the events of “John Wick Chapter 3: Parabellum” in which he found himself betrayed by the High Table. Since then, he has lived in an underground bunker with The Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) who has helped nurse him back to health. Suffice to say, John’s bloody knuckles are a sign that he is ready to fight yet another battle. Of course, what makes this even clearer is the following dialogue:

The Bowery King: “You ready, John?”

John Wick: “Yeah.”

But the fact that John Wick is still alive does not sit well with Marquis Vincent de Gramont (Bill Skarsgard, who always looks like he is about to start singing “I’m Sexy and I Know It”) who chastises Winston Scott (Ian McShane) and his friend Charon (the late Lance Reddick) for failing to kill this dog-loving assassin. To see that the job finally gets done, Marquis hires Caine (Donnie Yen), a blind assassin who also happens to be an old friend of John’s. Caine is not keen on taking the job, and he shudders once he realizes what name he is reading on a braille card to where he does not even need to spell it all out. As these two come to blows, it does not take much to see how they are both victims of circumstances beyond their control as they fight to protect what they love most.

Director Chad Stahelski knows what we want and expect from a “John Wick” film when we enter then theater, but he is smart to not start things off with too big a bang. During its 169-minutes, he takes his time to reintroduce us into the world John inhabits and of the people in his universe who either benefit or suffer from his deadly actions. And when those action scenes suddenly take flight, you can bet it will take not one or two, but close to a dozen bullets to take out a single bad guy. Watching this, it makes me wonder if John will suddenly run out of bullets at the worst possibly moment.

When it comes to Reeves, many love to joke about what a bad actor he is. As for myself, I feel the need to defend him from time to time even if his work in “Knock Knock” remains too painful to endure. The truth is, he is one of the main reasons the “John Wick” movies work as well as they do. In this latest installment, he receives the deepest of bruises, is almost hung from a noose, has a tattoo searingly burned into one of his arms and ends up falling down more flights of concrete stairs than Father Karass did in “The Exorcist,” and yet he still comes out of all of this standing tall. Even if you wonder if John ever gets any sleep, has any time to go to the bathroom or if one ice bath a day is enough for him, Reeves makes you believe he can endure the worst and yet still come out of it all with a pulse. Even when a supporting character utters to John why he doesn’t just die, he makes you realize he is not about to or, at least, not yet.

Other than that, “John Wick Chapter 4” contains a lot of great things such as Ian McShane’s performance as he plays Winston Scott in a far more gleeful than he did previously, Clancy Brown who proves to be a wonderful addition as a high-ranking High Table operative called the Harbinger, a thrillingly propulsive music score composed by Tyler Bates and Joel J. Richard, and striking cinematography from Dan Laustsen.

Still, I do need to single out another performance here, and it is the one from Donnie Yen, As Caine, he shows how the blind can see things better than those who still have their eyesight, so it should be no surprise when he easily takes out his devilish opponents with something like the sound of a doorbell. Like John, Caine is in a position not of his own making, and Yen does an excellent job of showing the painful conflicts this character is forced to deal with. As much as he does not want to be in this position, you know he is not about to go easy on his prey. But will he enjoy taking down his target? That remains to be seen.

While watching “John Wick Chapter Four,” I was reminded of what happened after Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” became such a worldwide phenomenon. Hollywood quickly greenlit a number of martial arts films heavy stunts, but none of them were anywhere as successful. Some studio executives proclaimed that these films had the best fight choreographers available, but they clearly missed the point. The best action films out there are not just about stunts, but also about characters with moral dilemmas they are constantly entangled in. Whether or not they win the day, they still wonder what will become of them once all the violence ends.

The ”John Wick” films are not just about stunts; they are about the characters which inhabit them. This is what makes all the amazing stunt work, and it is infinitely amazing here, so bloody effective. Whether or not you consider “John Wick Chapter Four” to be one of the best movies ever made, it is clearly one of the greatest action flicks to come out in recent years, and seeing it once is not enough. More importantly, you have got to check it out on the silver screen with the biggest audience in town.

By the way, there is a post credit scene I encourage you to stick around for. And yes, this film is dedicated to the memory of Lance Reddick, yet another actor who tragically left us far too soon. Rest in peace Lance…

* * * * out of * * * *