Latest news with #JohnWick:Chapter3—Parabellum
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
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‘Ballerina' Review: Ana de Armas Kills Her Way Through a Solid Continuation of the John Wick Franchise
A serviceable addition to that most storied of sub-genres (action films about ballerina-assassins), Len Wiseman's 'Ballerina' is a movie that was ostensibly made to address a specific question that's been haunting the good people at Lionsgate since at least March of 2023: Can the 'John Wick' franchise survive without Keanu Reeves? In that light, perhaps the most encouraging thing I can say about the series' first proper spin-off is that it manages to answer that question — with an emphatic 'probably?' — despite searching for every excuse not to ask it in the first place. On the one hand, Keanu Reeves is very much in this movie, which is set in between the events of 'John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum' and 'John Wick: Chapter 4.' On the other hand, the actor's ornamental presence here emphasizes the extent to which his character had been subsumed into the ridiculously elaborate — and elaborately ridiculous — criminal underworld that he shot his way through; each of Wick's mass-murdering efforts to bring it down made it all the more obvious that the 'The High Table' is what ultimately keeps this franchise propped up. More from IndieWire 'Search Party' and 'Never Rarely Sometimes Always' Location Scout Makes Directorial Debut with Meta Indie 'The Scout' - Watch First Look Julianne Moore Talks About Being Drawn Into the 'Stakes' of 'Echo Valley' - and Expresses a Desire to Work with Wes Anderson With that in mind, perhaps the more pressing question that 'Ballerina' exists to put forward is this: Can the world of John Wick survive without series director Chad Stahelski? And… well, the movie doesn't really answer that either. In part, that's because Stahelski played a pivotal role in shaping the film's action sequences on set, even if rumors about the extent of his reshoots — and the deficiencies that supposedly demanded them — have been exaggerated. In the event those rumors have been exaggerated, then 'Ballerina' would prove that Stahelski's imprint on the franchise is strong enough that even a less skilled filmmaker like 'Live Free or Die Hard' director Wiseman is able to replicate it well enough to keep the franchise's spirit alive. And if nothing else, Wiseman certainly does that. 'Ballerina' might struggle to stay balanced on its toes as it strains to expand its pre-established universe at the same time as it introduces a new heroine to guide us through it, but all of the things that audiences have come to expect from the franchise are on full display in this spinoff. A million headshots at point-blank range? Check. Keanu Reeves putting both of his lungs into every one of his lines? Of course. Wacky subtitles that make the mere act of reading feel like it's freighted with cartoon violence? You know it. While there are several aspects of 'Ballerina' that feel a lot shakier than anything did in the series' previous films (most of them having to do with the introduction and motivation of Ana de Armas' en pointe assassin), 'Ballerina' stands tall where it counts. That's not only because Shay Hatten's Black List script has been successfully retrofitted to feel like it belongs to the world of John Wick, or because the watered down fight scenes of the movie's first half eventually give way to some of the franchise's most inspired carnage so far, but also because the best of that carnage — all of it rooted in 87 Eleven Entertainment's signature blend of close-up gun-fu — bends over backwards to accommodate a 5'6' actress who weighs less than Keanu Reeves' paycheck. The only survivor of a dull prologue that sees her adoptive father massacred by a shadowy figure named the Chancellor (an imperious Gabriel Byrne), young Eve Macarro is rescued from the ashes by New York hotelier Winston Scott (McShane), and delivered into the care of Anjelica Huston's cigar-chomping Director, who runs a ballet studio so hardcore that it makes 'Black Swan' look like 'Bunheads.' In addition to pliés and pirouettes, Eve is trained in the art of shooting people in the face, and by the time the action picks up 11 years into her studies, she's itching to graduate from the Ruska Roma conservatory and get out into the field. After all, she's never going to find the men who killed her dad if she just stays inside doing montages all day. What's interesting about Eve, at least in theory, is that she's determined to be accepted into the same criminal underworld that John Wick is hellbent to escape, and 'Ballerina' does its best to make the most of that friction in the rare instances when those two characters happen to cross paths. Alas, that only accounts for a few minutes of the movie's runtime, and de Armas — deprived the immediacy of the grief that fueled Reeves' performance in the franchise's humble first installment — isn't given a strong enough foundation to meaningfully support her need for revenge. She's anxious and unsure where John Wick is Zen-like and resigned, but her lines have no heft, her character has no humor, and her bloodlust has no believable emotionality behind it. That proves to be a problem for the worldbuilding around her; where John Wick's mission made him a natural tour guide through the underworld, Eve Maccaro can't help but feel like more of a tourist by comparison, and so we glimpse at the inner workings of the Rusko Roma without really getting a meaningful sense of place. The good news is that 'Ballerina' has another place it wants to show us, and that place turns out to be a wonderful addition to this franchise's ever-swelling cinematic universe. Informed that the Chancellor is somewhere near Prague, Eve goes rogue by violating the Ruska Roma's orders, flying across the Atlantic, and killing her way closer to her target. A brief encounter with a bedraggled Norman Reedus fails to register (the 'Death Stranding' actor shows up for just long enough to overcomplicate the plot), but things pick up in a hurry once Eve is pointed in the direction of an idyllic Austrian village called Hallstatt — a real place, beautifully wedged between a still lake and some glorious Alpine mountains — that 'Ballerina' John Wickifies into a cultish refuge for ex-assassins who want to create life instead of ending it. It's the perfect setup for this franchise to go full 'Hot Fuzz' when the shit hits the fan in the third act. And so 'Ballerina' halfheartedly pivots into a story that kinda sorta weighs family against fate, and — better yet — transitions into a movie where Ana De Armas smashes the same woman over the head with 20 different plates, invents a dozen new ways to absolutely obliterate people with grenades, and turns a pair of figure skates into a swinging pair of nunchakus that give new meaning to the double loop salchow. Eve's background as a dancer weirdly doesn't factor into the action in quite the same way (the ballerina of it all doesn't extend much beyond a few cues from 'Swan Lake,' or the same cue 10 different times), but that doesn't mean the movie treats her like a plug-and-play John Wick stand-in. On the contrary, its ultra-violence is reliably at its best whenever the blocking embraces de Armas' differences. 'Change the terms,' a Ruska Roma instructor tells Eve at the start of a film that's clearly hedging its bets. 'Lean into your strengths, not his.' She's talking about Eve's opponent, but the sentiment applies just as neatly to John Wick, whose stoicism turned every shootout into a war of wills. Eve doesn't have quite the same inner strength, and so she's forced to look for outside help. Read: She has to use her environment to fuck people up. And she does. She really does. The prop work never aspires to Jackie Chan levels of comic mayhem, but — with the help of stunt double and trainer Cara Marie Chooljian — de Armas uses every resource at her disposal to become a convincingly dangerous tornado of death. The third act finds Eve taking such eager advantage of the world around her that it feels like she's compensating for the first half of the movie's failure to do the same. Perhaps there will be time for that later. At its core, 'Ballerina' is a film about a bright-eyed newcomer asking a jaded legend for some career advice, only for John Wick to tell Eve to do something else with her life. But she obviously doesn't want to heed that warning, and by the time Eve kills her way to the end credits of this spinoff, I didn't want her to either. A bigger, more confident sequel might be just what this franchise needs to enjoy a peaceful transition of power — and to make good on the full potential of a Hollywood action movie that meaningfully tries to iterate on John Wick instead of just copying his moves. Lionsgate will release 'Ballerina' in theaters on Friday, June 6. Want to stay up to date on IndieWire's film and critical thoughts? to our newly launched newsletter, In Review by David Ehrlich, in which our Chief Film Critic and Head Reviews Editor rounds up the best new reviews and streaming picks along with some exclusive musings — all only available to subscribers. Best of IndieWire The 25 Best Alfred Hitchcock Movies, Ranked Every IndieWire TV Review from 2020, Ranked by Grade from Best to Worst
Hindustan Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Keanu Reeves has a hilarious reaction to Pedro Pascal casually strolling in for Ballerina premiere. Watch
Len Wiseman's Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas as the lead, had its London premiere on Thursday. The film is a spin-off of the John Wick series, led by Keanu Reeves. Pedro Pascal also attended the premiere, and Keanu had a hilarious reaction to him casually strolling in. (Also Read: Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas are all smiles at the London premiere of John Wick spin-off Ballerina) In a video posted by an Instagram page, Pedro can be seen casually strolling in for the premiere of Ballerina. Dressed in a casual T-shirt, jacket and jeans, the actor can be seen smiling as he walks by fans who started screaming once they recognised him. Pedro, for his part, waves and blows flying kisses to fans as he walks in. The camera then pans to Keanu, who's busy giving an interview on stage, pausing it to check who everyone is screaming so loudly for. He also says something intelligible once he realises they were cheering for Pedro. A post shared by The Movie Podcast (@themoviepodcast) After the video gained traction on Instagram, one fan commented, 'He's so cute…like, just passing through.' Another called the way Pedro strolled past 'unreal'. 'Two of the best. Pedro and Keanu,' commented one fan, while another wrote, 'Now they need to work together on a film.' One comment pointed out how loudly the girls in the crowd were screaming, writing, 'Girls screaming,' with laughter emojis. Some left heart emojis under the post. One even dramatically commented, 'y'all can't see my face right now, but i assure you, it'll full of tears over this appearance.' Ballerina is a spin-off between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum (2019) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023). Ana plays the titular ballerina and trained assassin Eve Macarro, while Keanu reprises his role as John Wick. Gabriel Byrne, Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Norman Reedus also star in it. The film will be released in India on 13 June.
See - Sada Elbalad
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
"John Wick" Spinoff "Ballerina" Final Trailer Released
Yara Sameh Ana de Armas' new John Wick spin-off is due in theaters in less than one month, and the spinoff just got its most thrilling new look yet. Lionsgate has released a new trailer for "Ballerina", which hits theaters on June 6 and stars Armas as Eve Macarro, a Russian ballerina-turned-assassin with an eye for vengeance against the men who killed her family. The film also returns franchise veteran Keanu Reeves to the role of John Wick, with other stars such as Ian McShane and the late Lance Reddick reprising their roles as Winston and Charon, respectively. Norman Reedus, best known for his role in The Walking Dead, will also star in Ballerina. The new footage features several new scenes and footage of both Armas' Eve and Reeves' John Wick, including one showing John eyeing Eve with a sniper. 'Ballerina' takes place between 'John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum' and 'John Wick: Chapter 4,' expanding the assassin role originally played by Unity Phelan with de Armas' take on the character. The film comes two years after audiences saw Reeves in the fourth entry, which became the highest-grossing installment in the series with a worldwide gross of over $440 million. Altogether, the first four 'John Wick' films grossed over $1 billion worldwide. This latest installment in the 'John Wick' universe marks another turn from de Armas as an action star following her roles in 'No Time to Die' with Daniel Craig and 'Ghosted' alongside Chris Evans. In 2023, de Armas received her first Oscar nomination for her turn as Marilyn Monroe in Andrew Dominik's 'Blonde.' This isn't the first time 'John Wick' has ventured into spinoffs: the prequel miniseries 'The Continental,' starring Mel Gibson, released on Peacock back in September 2023. 'Ballerina' is directed by Len Wiseman ('Underworld') and written by Shay Hatten ('Army of the Dead'). Kaley Smalley Romo executive produces alongside Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee and Chad Stahelski, who all produced the first four 'John Wick' films. 'Ballerina' releases in theaters June 6 from Lionsgate. Watch the new trailer below. read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News Egypt confirms denial of airspace access to US B-52 bombers Lifestyle Pistachio and Raspberry Cheesecake Domes Recipe News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Arts & Culture Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's $4.7M LA Home Burglarized Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War
Los Angeles Times
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Anjelica Huston reveals she is ‘in the clear' after private, years-long cancer battle
Oscar winner Anjelica Huston is singing her own praises, and rightfully so. The 'Addams Family' and 'Witches' acting veteran revealed this week she is a cancer survivor. 'I managed to survive it, and I'm proud of myself,' she told People in an interview published Wednesday. The 73-year-old 'Prizzi's Honor' star got candid about her private cancer journey, which she said began in 2019. Huston said she was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer after her film 'John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum' premiered in May 2019. 'That was a very serious moment for me,' she recalled to People. Huston said learning about her diagnosis shocked her and made her conscious about 'what I shouldn't do, of the places I shouldn't go.' Though she did not go into too much detail about her treatment, Huston said her cancer battle discouraged her from taking life too seriously and that she is now 'in the clear.' Huston also did not disclose much about the treatment she received, but said her condition encouraged her to 'try not to make a big deal out of things.' Six years since her diagnosis, Huston told People she has been cancer-free for years. 'I'm at the four-year mark, and that means so much to me,' she said. 'It's a fantastic thing. I'm very proud of myself, and I've been very lucky.' Huston, whose prolific film and TV career began in the late '60s, said she has recently enjoyed her time smelling the roses — literally. Upon learning she was cancer-free the 'Grifters' star said she enjoyed a stroll in her garden 'and smelled the roses and thought how clever I was.' Huston, whose father was the high-profile 'Maltese Falcon' and 'African Queen' director John Huston, said she gets regular scans and has had 'wonderful' doctors helping her out. Her father directed 'Prizzi's Honor,' the 1985 film that won her the supporting actor Oscar in 1986. He died a year later. 'My dad always used to say the important thing is interest,' Huston told The Times in May 2019. 'I have a number of interests and they're not all about acting.' It's unclear whether she had received her diagnosis by that time. The 'Addams Family' actor talked about her cancer journey and shrugged off talk of retirement while promoting the BBC miniseries 'Towards Zero,' the latest addition to her acting career. The three-part show is an adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1944 novel of the same name and features Huston as a bed-ridden widow. The 'Royal Tenenbaums' and 'Lonesome Dove' actor admitted that it can be challenging to speak about her cancer battle 'for the obvious reasons,' but ultimately 'there's a lot to be said for talking about it and getting it out there and celebrating the fact that one's come through.' 'Life is tenuous and wonderful. It also gives you the idea that the world is big and you can somehow match up to it,' she added. 'That you're ready for whatever happens.' Times staff writer Christie D'Zurilla contributed to this report.
