Keanu Reeves

Exposed

  • Title: Exposed
  • IMDb: link

A common reaction to watching 2016’s Exposed is “Um, what?” That’s also the correct reaction. Reuniting Knock Knock stars Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas in a film which only briefly has them both on camera together, Exposed is at least two (maybe three) separate convoluted tales smashed together in a confused and haphazard fashion by writer/director Gee Malik Linton.

While Linton, under the name Declan Dale, wanted a surreal tale involving themes of abuse and its effects on victims both immediate and over time, Lionsgate instead wanted a cop picture. What was delivered is a little bit of both, but not a good version of either. While the stories eventually connect at the end of the film, they don’t ever true fit together leaving audiences questioning what they did with the last 100 minutes of their lives. There are certainly better ways to spend your time.

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Knock Knock

  • Title: Knock Knock
  • IMDb: link

2015’s Knock Knock fits into the subgenre of male fantasy gone wrong having some similarities to 2006’s Hard Candy. The set-up, which could only occur on film, involves an architect (Keanu Reeves) being visited by two beautiful stranded bisexual nymphomaniacs (Ana de Armas and Lorenza Izzo) on the rainy night his wife (Ignacia Allamand) and children (Dan Baily and Megan Baily) have left for warmer climates. It’s not long before the the two young woman lose their clothing and begin making increasingly obvious advances to their host.

The first half-hour sets the scene with the pair working a little too hard to seduce the family man, while stealing glances letting us know more is a foot which becomes suddenly evident to Evan the morning after when the pair announce they have no plans on leaving and the mind games take darker and darker (and more ridiculous) turns.

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The Matrix (Zombie) Resurrections

  • Title: The Matrix Resurrections
  • IMDb: link

What a piece of shit. I’m pretty sure The Matrix Resurrections exists solely to shut-up people who thought it was impossible to make a Matrix film worse than The Matrix Revolutions. Well, there’s no argument now. Holy fuck, this movie is awful while constantly preening at the camera (often in bad makeup) smugly thinking it’s the shit by repackaging fan fiction takes on The Matrix as original content.

The reimagining/sequel brings back Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss, along with a few other familiar faces, while recasting other key roles, relying completely on nostalgia and emotion for the original film (often restaging or simply replaying  scenes), and blending that all together in a mishmash of half-baked ideas that ignores as much about the original films and characters as it uses when it suits the film’s purposes.

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Bill & Ted Face the Music

  • Title: Bill & Ted Face the Music
  • IMDb: link

Bill & Ted Face the Music movie review Nearly 30 years after the pair’s last appearance, Bill S. Preston, Esquire (Alex Winter) and Ted Theodore Logan (Keanu Reeves) are back. And the world could certainly use them. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey told the story of how two teenage misfits would create a song to unite the world and birth a future utopia based on their music (despite all evidence to the contrary that they are completely incapable of doing so).

There were no lingering questions or threads for the franchise to wrap up as the end of Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey offered an explanation of how the Bill and Ted could come up with the music that would change the world by making use of time travel as a life hack. Bill & Ted Face the Music offers a different answer, decades in the making. While Wyld Stallyns became famous based on their performance at the end of the second movie, that wasn’t the performance that changed the world. Instead, the performance is about to happen and, not surprisingly, the pair have no idea on how to make it happen. Their attempt to fall back on using time travel to cheat destiny turns out to only make things worse.

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Toy Story 4

  • Title: Toy Story 4
  • IMDb: link

Toy Story 4 movie reviewAt some point Disney and Pixar may go too far with the Toy Story franchise and jump the proverbial shark which always seems to be lurking just around the corner of the next sequel. Thankfully, that day is not today. Despite the fitting conclusion Toy Story 3 offered to the franchise in having the toys find new life with a new owner, Toy Story 4 comes up with a new story that (while not as emotional as either the second or third entries into the franchise) provides an abundance of quirky and zany humor reminiscent of the original Toy Story.

Without breaking too much with tradition, the set-up is simple as a toy is lost and other toys set out to bring it home. This time the toy in question is a makeshift toy Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw) creates on the first day of Kindergarten called Forky (Tony Hale) who, despite the child’s love, still yearns for the trashcan from whence the spork came from. Woody (Tom Hanks), who is struggling with his position of no longer being a favorite toy, claims responsibility for the spork. This means going after Forky who escapes on a road trip leading Woody to encounter new toys and one old friend.

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