Ty Watches "John Wick: Chapter 4"

I have just returned home from seeing "John Wick Chapter 4". The movie was wonderful. I loved every single minute of it. I could have watched another three hours and been even more satisfied. I thought thKeis was a perfect way to wrap this up, if that is indeed the plan. I will go forth with no spoilers, or at least I will try.

I have now seen all four movies in the theaters within their opening week. Each movie has gotten bigger and better. They have leaned into what they are doing and they are having an absolute blast while doing it. At one point during the movie today my dad leaned over to me and said, "I have lost count of the bodies", I nodded in agreement. This movie is the biggest of them all. This movie has to have the highest body count by a wide margin. This movie has a clear cut villain. This movie has the easiest story to follow, not that the others were hard. And this movie introduces some dope new characters that I hope will make their path in this world they have created. Donnie Yen's character, Caine, was my absolute favorite. He is a total badass. He is an expert with a sword. He is as capable as John Wick himself. And he's blind. That is not a spoiler, it is shown as soon as he appears. Hiroyuki Sanada is the Japanese version of Ian Mcshane. He is the Manager of the Continental in Osaka. He takes care of things and people he cares about. His fight scenes are rad. He was an excellent addition. Aimee Kwan is excellent as Mia, Sanada's daughter. She has less screen time than other people, but she could definitely carry her own movie if they do that. And Shamier Anderson, as The Tracker, was excellent. He reminded me of John Wick in the first movie. He has a companion dog. He is ruthless. He helps those who help him. And he is only in this game for one reason.

Outside the new characters, the setting and the fight scenes are amazing. This movie has sets in Berlin, Paris and New York, among other spots. Some of the shots they got in Paris alone were amazing. It made me really want to visit someday. I was floored. The fight scenes, and I have said this before, are like a violent ballet. They are amazing to watch. There is a scene shot totally from the top of a building and it is masterful. The way the camera moved and swayed and showed everything going on in each room was so cool. I was in awe while I watched. They have a scene at the Arc of Triumph that is so chaotic and wild and has an extremely high body count, and I loved every second of that. The scene near the end at the 222 steps was so incredible. That is the way to film a fight scene. The first big battle takes place at The Continental in Osaka in a back room with a ton of artifacts. It was dope. The use of nunchucks was cool as hell. It was awesome to see Keanu Reeves do what he did with those nunchucks.

I was impressed. "John Wick Chapter 4" was worth the wait. I did not know how they could top themselves but they sure as hell did. I am very curious to see where the series goes from here. There are many options. But again, if this is the end of it all, what a way to go. Go see this movie. It is right up there with "Mad Max: Fury Road" for me. It is an action movie masterpiece. Check it out. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Why am I Still Playing "Cyberpunk 2077"?

I’m a big fan of the open world video game. I have written on this site about the early innovation of the genre with the original Legend of Zelda, the serene pleasure of Skyrim, and unlike Ty I think the latest Zelda game is the greatest video game ever made. Just the other day I finished Grand Theft Auto V for my third different console. Add in games like Minecraft and No Mans Sky and we are sitting in the golden age of open world games.  

In late 2020, after many delays, Cyberpunk 2077 was released into the world. The game had a lot of hype. It was supposed to be the evolution of games like GTA V. The game has Keanu freaking Reeves in it. Also as a teenager my friends and I played the Cyberpunk role playing game. This game seemed destined for my Xbox. I purchased it almost immediately after it was released.  

If you know about the early days of Cyberpunk 2077, you know the next part of the story. For those of you that don’t know what happened I can sum the saga of the game with one word, broken. Cyberpunk 2077 was broken when it came out. I am not saying it was less than the hype like No Man’s Sky when it was released. Cyberpunk 2077 did not work. Sure you could start the game, customize your character and start the story, but it would not be long before the game locked up. It happened to me when I first went to the ripper doc, and when I would try again it would lock up again. I did what the internet told me to to fix the game, but then I had a lame game that looked terrible. After a few months I gave up on Cyberpunk 2077 and went back to causing havoc in GTA V.  Recently I upgraded to an Xbox X and decided to give Cyberpunk 2077 another try. I heard that there was an update for the newer generation of consoles and that the game actually worked as it was supposed to. I downloaded the very large update and started the game once again.  

The good news is that I got past the ripper doc without the game locking up. Also, the game looks great and runs smoothly. Even the part when you get to play as Keanu’s character was pretty cool. The bad part, Cyberpunk 2077 is a boring game. I have put about ten hours in and I can count on one hand the number of fights I have been in. The story is pretty bland compared to other games in the genre. The gun fight mechanics are good once you know how to do them, but the learning curve is quite steep, and I have yet to figure out an easy way to know what weapons are better than others. The game is needlessly complicated.  It is quite frustrating.

Yet I am still playing Cyberpunk 2077. Part of it is that I want to believe the game is good. The potential is there. Another part of my compulsion to complete the game is because I want to experience the open world of Night City with the strongest character and the best weapons. I know it sounds stupid, but that’s what these games give us, a reason to be stupid.  

Would I recommend Cyberpunk 2077 to anyone. That’s hard to say, I have not finished the game. Maybe it gets way better the next ten hours. I have been with No Mans Sky since the beginning and that game is fulfilling its early promise these many years later on. Maybe Cyberpunk 2077 will develop the same way. I just hope this broken first fix later does not become the norm. If it does I will just go back to play good working games. Hyrule and Los Santos are always fine places to spend a few gaming hours.

RD

RD is the founder and Head Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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"The Replacements" is Not Worth a Revisit

Now that I have caught up on some newer movies I wanted to see, I have decided I am going to go back and watch some movies I used to adore when I was a kid. I am curious to see if they hold up, if I will still like them. I also want to show my son some older Adam Sandler movies since I am such a big fan of his older stuff.

With that, I started this yesterday and watched the movie "The Replacements". "The Replacements" came out in 2000, and when I was 17, this movie was the shit. I loved it. I would rent it constantly and watch it over and over again. I got a good group of my friends into the movie as well, and when we had free time, this movie would be a top pick of ours. We loved everything about it.

The movie is about a bunch of replacement players for the NFL when they go on a strike. The usual players want more money, they do not get it at first and the team that is the focus of the movie goes out and finds guys who used to play, or had promising careers cut short. There is obvious hijinks and tomfoolery that happens, as you would expect, and of course they win enough games to make the playoffs. Again, I adored this movie as a teenager. So I decided to revisit it.

Unfortunately, it does not hold up. Keanu Reeves is the main character, and he cannot carry this movie. I love Keanu Reeves. This resurgence he has made is incredible, and he is making some kick ass stuff and showing up in random movies and stealing the show, namely in "Always Be My Maybe". But back in 2000, Reeves was asked to do too much in movies. The reason why "John Wick" works so well is because Reeves doesn't have to talk very much. He just has to kick ass. In "The Replacements" he has to give motivational speeches and rally his team around him. For a wacky sports movie, it is too much. Gene Hackman is an all timer, and he is probably the only one who did a good job in this movie, but it seems below his level. He is too good to be in this movie. I mean, he followed this one up with "The Royal Tenenbaums", which is a masterpiece. He probably took this role to do something different, but he is far too accomplished to be slumming it in a movie like this. Another guy I like, Orlando Jones, is barely used in this movie, and when he is, he hardly gets to make any jokes. Jones is funny and charismatic, but he is just put upon as a fast receiver who cannot catch. It is a waste of his talent. Brook Langton has some pull in this movie, and she gets to be more than just the love interest, until the end. She is a badass throughout, but when Reeves comes back, she is putty in his arms, and that is a bummer. Jon Faverau is a caricature of a jock. He goes way, way too overboard. He chews way too much scenery. I kept watching it and marveling that he is the guy who essentially revived Marvel movies. It is an insane performance. Rhys Ifan is almost racist in his portrayal of a Welsh person. He drinks, smokes and doesn't pay off his gambling debts. It is an affront to the Welsh people I feel.

I don't know what it was when I was a teen, but this movie is downright dreadful. I just could not wrap my head around why I liked this movie so much. There were some scenes where the players on strike kept showing up at the field and pushing Reeve's car over. And I kept saying to no one out loud, "shouldn't they be at a meeting trying to get more money and better benefits?". That was where my mind was going yesterday. There are a lot of people I like and respect in this movie, and I love football. But "The Replacements" is not a good movie. It is, in fact, a very, very bad movie. I do not recommend watching it, unless you want ti kill a few hours. But it would be a wasted few hours. You can believe that.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum"

I was going to do a thing on “Game of Thrones” today, but I need to save that for Monday. I need to save it because I went to see “John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum” with my dad this morning, and I need to talk about it.

I have been a big time fan from the start of this franchise. I’m so much more in on “John Wick” than I am on other series of movies. I’ll take “John Wick” over any “Fast and Furious” movie, I’ll watch it over “Star Wars”, I’d spend my time with it over “Jurassic Park”, I’ll even take it over the “Raid” movies. This is my new favorite franchise in movies. It is so perfect. “John Wick” knows what it is, and they absolutely go for it all the time. “Parabellum” was no different.

This movie picks up exactly where the second movie ended. Wick is on the run in downtown NYC. He has pretty much every assassin in the city after him. He has a multi million dollar bounty for his head. He is no longer safe. And from there on out, for the next 130 minutes, it’s pretty much all action. The fight scenes in this movie are astonishing. I read someone earlier this week call it a “gory ballet”, and they were 100 percent correct. I was taken aback at how well done and brilliant these scenes were. The movie was also filled with them. Sure, there’s a story attached, and they spend a little time telling it. But, for every minute or 2 of dialogue, there’s a 4 or 5 minute action scene that follows. It was exquisite. I have loved how the writers and directors have upped the ante with each movie. They have the budget now to go absolutely wild. It’s awesome.

As far as the acting, it’s perfect for this style movie. Keanu Reeves is Wick, and he barely has to say anything, which is perfect for him. He says a few things here and there, but he’s mostly there to whoop bad guys. Angelica Houston was chewing so much scenery in the best possible way in this movie. She was excellent. Laurence Fishburne knows what kind of movie this is, and he does his role magnificently. Ian McShane and Lance Reddick are dapper and badass. Halle Berry tried a little too hard, taking it a bit too seriously, but her action scenes, and dogs, ruled. Asia Kate Dillon was a menacing villain. I knew she was crushing it when I hoped she would be taken down by Wick at some point in the movie. Mark Dacascos, you may know him as the chairmen from “Iron Chef America”, was a great bad guy, and he was pretty funny. Jason Mantzoukas had one or 2 lines, but they were memorable, and his expressions were wonderful. Even actors in very small roles, be it Jerome Flynn or Said Taghmaoui, did a really campy, really good job.

“Parabellum” is the third of a very, very solid action franchise. I love that these movies come out every other summer because I get so hyped to see them on opening day in late May. This movie rules, and I hope they will continue to keep making them as long as they keep having fun. Go see this movie, it will most likely be the best action movie you will see all summer long. What a great movie. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Much like the character of John Wick, Ty’s true passion is restoring old books.

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"John Wick: Chapter 2" is Way Better than Expected

I believe a pencil makes an appearance in the film

Holy shit was "John Wick: Chapter 2" incredible! I'm not going to spoil anything during this review, but man oh man was this movie absolutely awesome.

I was very late, admittedly, to "John Wick", but when I saw it, I loved it. I thought it was the perfect role and movie for an actor like Keanu Reeves. He doesn't have to say much at all and he gets to kick a ton of ass. He also gets to work on his martial arts stuff, which he is very much involved with. When I finally saw "John Wick", I could not sing its praises enough. I told anyone and everyone I knew who hadn't seen it to watch it immediately, and most of the return I got from them was positive.

When I heard they were making a sequel, I was pumped. When pictures started to float around the internet, I searched them out. When people were mentioned in roles for the movie, I pictured how I thought they'd do. I was very immersed in anything "John Wick: Chapter 2". I did not know if I was going to be able to see it in the theaters, but I was fortunate enough to have some free time this past Sunday, called my dad up, and we picked a time to go see it on the big screen. This is the best way to see a movie like this, I love my action and violence on the big screen. 

"John Wick: Chapter 2" this movie delivers in droves. There is barely any time to catch your breath from one action scene to the next. Even before the opening credits, there is a heart pulsing, fast paced action scene. It was incredible. I was in from second one of this movie. It was everything I loved about the first movie, but it was like they made the second one on steroids. A movie like "John Wick: Chapter 2" is so much more action packed and fun than any of the "Fast and Furious" garbage that has been pumped out the past couple of years. "John Wick: Chapter 2" is far and away the best action movie that is out in the theaters, and I see nothing changing my mind about that for the rest of 2017.

My only gripe, and it is not even a real gripe, is the few set up scenes to the action and violence. There was a few scenes, totaling maybe 15 minutes of film time, that the director and writers put in the movie to set up the reason why John Wick is doing what he does in this movie. It reminded me a lot of what the people behind "The Raid 2" did, but I do not need any of that stuff. I watch the "John Wick" and "Raid" movies for the action. It is such a throw away gripe, but if I had to say one bad thing about either, it was the pointless dialogue scenes. At least it wasn't on the level of a movie like "300".

But, other than that, this movie was perfect. It was exactly what I wanted from a "John Wick" sequel. The body count is enormous. The way some of the bad guys meet their demise is brutal and made me say things out loud in a theater. I haven't done that since I saw the Ryan Gosling movie The "Drive". The fight scenes were incredibly choreographed and a total blast to watch. The supporting actors in the movie were awesome. Common was incredible. The new bad guy was slimy and creepy and a punk. He was great. Ruby Rose was awesome as the main bad guy's number one bodyguard. Her performance is really good. She is going to be a big, big star, if she isn't already. Laurence Fishburne was chewing the scenery like only he could, and I could not take my eyes off of him when he was on screen. He was so god damn good in this movie. I loved the reunion of him and Keanu. They clearly have tremendous chemistry. Ian McShane was suave and cool as hell. He is such a great actor, and his role in this movie wasn't needed, but the addition was great. I grew to love his character. Everyone else that I did not name, they were all great. All the henchmen and assassins and the random people with one or two lines, it was all simply perfect. "John Wick; Chapter 2" is the perfect sequel. They knew what they had going into this movie, and they barely changed a thing. It was just as brutal and violent, if not more so, than the first one, and I thought that was the exact correct choice. The actors do what they do best in a movie like this.

Everything about this movie worked. I'm so glad I was able to see it in the theaters, and I highly recommend everyone go check this movie out. It rules.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. Although he is a pacifist, Ty does like his stylized hyper violence. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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