Nitpicking: The Economy of John Wick

Alright, I haven't been to the cinema all that recently and I don't have much to talk about. But a recent Twitter convo got me thinking: how exactly do those gold coins in John Wick work?
Warning: This article will contain spoilers about John Wick: Chapter 2. If you wish to avoid spoilers, READ NO FURTHER.

The Dog doesn't Die in This One

I'm currently experiencing a revelation of disappointment. You see, I had come to believe that nothing would top the pinnacle of modern cinema that is Captain America: The Winter Soldier; in terms of cinematography, story, and economy of storytelling I believed there was no much which stood up there with it in recent years. Sure, there was The Raid 2 which I consider practically perfect in terms of fight choreography and blocking, but that was perhaps the only contender.
Now, however, we welcome another challenger into the ring.

Rocketing Up to the Top with a Powerful Story of Space

So over the summer I picked up a book called Rise of the Rocket Girls and I feel like I really should've reviewed it, because it was a fantastic look at how NASA operated in its early stages, and the way it empowered women and gave them jobs because it simply did not have the time to train the men in their jobs as calculators. It delves deep into NASA's history and the history of these calculators, from the 1940s to the last few years.
What it doesn't mention is the further segregation of the calculators, into black women and white women, and the level of prejudice in the space agency which these women fought to overcome. Thankfully, for that story we have Hidden Figures.

A Mighty Magical Comeback for the Potterverse

So I've never been the biggest Harry potter fan. Sure, it's fun to imagine yourself in that world and to pick your houses and your pets and whatnot, but I found the world and story a little off for some reason. It never really helped that I couldn't get into the books...

But back in 2001, I was at the height of my Potter hype. So much so that I got a wonderful copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to find Them, complete with scribblings in the margin by one H. Potter (scribblings which I duly copied and then got in trouble for, for writing in a book with notes in the margin :P ). There was no story to Fantastic Beasts, it was more like an encyclopedia of all sorts of bizarre creatures of the wizarding world (which now I think about it, opens up a whole raft of questions about the nature of magic and the world itself); no matter, I loved it anyway. I liked reading about the strange and fascinating creatures inhabiting the magical world, wondering exactly what they looked like, and wondering how they all lived.

And now, we get to see them on the big screen.

Music and Dancing in LMM's Carnival-Hip-Hop Soap Opera

Alright, review time! But this one is a little unusual, because it's not a book review or a movie review. Let's start at the beginning.

You ever hear of Lin-Manuel Miranda? In musical theatre circles, he's kinda a big deal. He's the genius behind Hamilton, the presidential hip-hop musical about US founding father Alexander Hamilton that swept the Tonys (winning 11 of 16 awards, including "Best Musical") but before that, who had heard of him?

Who, save for the people who watched his amazing debut musical, In the Heights?

Beyond Ridiculous

First off, kudos to Star Trek Beyond for having the best subtitle of any movie. I was struggling with Beyond the Pale, To Infinity and Beyond, and The Great Beyond as a title before I hit on the obvious. And it says it all, really - you remember how I said John Wick was one of those movies you should watch on a bad movie night with friends? Yeah, this tries to be the same.

Mad Max? Try Sad Max...

Okay, I'm gonna come out and say it straight away: The Secret Life of Pets (TSLoP) was better than I expected. For those of you who rabidly hate minions, you'll probably not like this as it cashes in on the same cute-factor with characters it tries to make into crowd-pleasers with one-liners and chubby cheeks. What it gives in cuteness, it lacks in depth; the plot is paper-thin and predictable, the characters act to serve the story, regardless of any motivation for how they ought to act, and I left feeling like I'd been watching the wrong dog's story for most of it. So let me re-tell it as it should have been told. Spoilers below for TSLoP, if you're interested...