Leonard Wechsler

2 weeks ago | gotowncrier.com | Leonard Wechsler

‘I’ ON CULTUREWhen a series as successful as John Wick hits a roadblock, like the death of its lead character, it has to find ways to spin off. Thus we have Ballerina, in which a young girl is recruited into the Ruska Roma, the criminal organization he had joined, so we can have an equal opportunity to watch a woman knock off dozens of crazed killers. Hail equal rights! But does it work? Eve Macarro (Ana de Armas) is the daughter of two assassins, but only her father is alive.

1 month ago | gotowncrier.com | Leonard Wechsler

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, although finally creating a winner, has confused things by changing the name of Thunderbolts* to *The New Avengers. However, just the name changed. After many films that seemed to go nowhere, Director Jake Shreier created a winner that deals with the “losers” of the MCU. What haunts them, why are they broken, what makes them lost, lonely souls searching for a reason to go on? There is a major problem, however.

1 month ago | gotowncrier.com | Leonard Wechsler

‘I’ On CultureI was shocked when I learned that The Accountant 2 would be made. The first movie, following the violent actions of an autistic money laundering money man, was at best so-so. Since a key element in any good film is character development, that first film, despite good action scenes, fell flat. The sequel is more fun through its dealings with family tensions that even bring a bit of humor to the whole thing. As a result, it’s a pretty decent movie, albeit one with more than a few flaws.

2 months ago | gotowncrier.com | Leonard Wechsler

‘I’ On CultureRami Malek’s new film The Amateur is not really that new. It is a remake of a 1981 film, and things have changed a lot since then. The movie is competent, very well done with good action scenes, but also brings in a new sense of ambivalence to the genre. Ironically, the lead bad guy seems more sympathetic than some of the hero’s supposed allies. As such, this is a thinking person’s revenge action flick.

2 months ago | gotowncrier.com | Leonard Wechsler

‘I’ On CultureThe new Jason Statham film, A Working Man, is perhaps not surprisingly similar to his very popular The Beekeeper, made last year. That movie did very well at the box office, which led to this one, not a sequel, but one that also focuses on the old-fashioned notion that justice should win out and strong men can take care of finding that justice in a corrupt system. Levon Cade (Statham) is a former heroic Royal Marines commando who now works as leader of a construction team in the US.