Wick's Law

Humans have fascination with  revenge, whether it is because we like imagine ourselves getting revenge on those we despise, or because it is so foreign to us it's interesting, the truth that remains is revenge movies always sell. Some of the most famous revenge movies such as Kill Bill and Mad Max were huge box office success, Mad Max actually held the record for the most profitable movie for 20 years. So what I'd like to do is shed some light on lesser known revenge flicks, in hopes they might gain a little more recognition.

A year ago John Wick released in theaters and boasted an unexpected profit. Considered a main stream comeback for Keanu Reeve's, this film followed John Wick, a former hitman who changed his ways after marrying his wife. Some time she passes away to an illness, arranging for John to receive a puppy posthumously. After bonding with the pupper John house is broken into and he is assaulted, his car is stolen, and most damaging to him, his dog is killed. Losing his last connection to his wife John returns to his former ways and begins to hunt down the assailant, who happens to be his former boss's son. John's carries out his revenge in adrenaline fueled one night rampage, pulverizing anybody that gets in his way.

Five years earlier Law Abiding Citizen premiered. This film follows a similar trail as John Wick in which our protagonist is bent on revenge after his home is broken into and his wife and daughter a murdered. However after the arrests of these men the legal system fails to convict one, pushing our protagonist, Clyde, over the edge. This is when the two films differ, Clyde lacks the skill set John did. Being an engineer, Clyde opts to silently plan for his revenge, waiting ten years until one of the assaulters is to be lethally injection and switches it out the chemicals that cause him immense pain. Clyde also kidnaps the unconvicted killer and tortures him on video. Finding evidence that links him to the murders, the same attorney that worked for Clyde is now trying to convict him. However Clyde holds the upper hand in studying law for ten years, he knows they will need a confession from him to convict him. He uses this a bargaining tool and continuisly ups the anti. Taking out everyone that failed to do him justice, including innocents.

We see these two films take a very different route. One has a man going on an all out assault in one  night to get back at those who wronged him, but never anyone else if he has to. Compare that to Clyde, who sits and wait and plans for ten years, to methodically pick off every single person who was involved with the legal preceding. Clyde's wait makes him grow insane, he is not afraid to pick off bystanders to make a point, he has become no better than the men he is fighting against.
  

Ring of Stars

When you discuss film franchises many can come into play. However the discussion would be pointless if you do not talk about the two possibly largest franchises to ever grace the screen, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.  These two films do not only share reverence but also share the the iconic Hero's Journey despite a drastically different setting.

Let's begin with the protagonist's beginning. Luke and Frodo share a very quaint and simple beginning, a farm boy and and a resident of the shire respectively. They are launched into their journey by the acquaintance of old wiseman, Obi-Wan and Gandalf. They are as well accompanied by misfits. All these things are shared parts of the Hero's Journey. But what makes these too films unique? In Star Wars Luke has to come to terms with primarily external forces, connecting with the force, his father, being placed in the role of a leader, etc. Not to disregarding his internal struggles such as coming to terms with his own much like his father. Contradicting that in Lord of the Rings is Frodo's internal struggle. His dilemma battling his own constant temptation of the ring and longing for home. Again even those these struggles are prominent, we should not forgot his external ones as well, like a crossing a continent full of Orcs.

I know this post was a bit shorter and a lot more out format than the others. But going over certain literary trends in one of my classes had me thinking about this a lot and I really wanted to do a piece on these two series before the semester was over. 

Fighting the Momentum

The idea of the twist ending has been around a very for a very long time in literature, some even claiming it goes as far back as Arabian Nights. Many directors use twist ending cheaply and are only in the film to make it's otherwise stale premise acceptable. But a few films perfect the shock ending almost as if it is an art.

One of the most foremost directors that heavily deal in twist endings is David Fincher. With his 1995 breakout film Se7en, Fincher launched himself onto the scene with an ending the punched audiences in the stomach. His next film, Fight Club, heralded one of the most famous endings of all time. We start by seeing into the life an unnamed corporate employee who suffers from chronic insomnia. Our protagonist begins to find solace in a man he befriended on a business trip, Tyler Durdan. The two begin to have routine scuffles outside of bars that attract attention from working class men. The group decide to begin a club for these men to meet together. However over time the club begin to evolve and go out of the protagonists control and directly into Durdan's hands. I can only minorly touch on the ending of this film without giving it away, but what makes it so great is simplicity and how well it makes sense. It is a seamless reveal that enriches the film as a whole

Christopher Nolan is a director that received massive praise for his recent films such The Dark Knight, Incepetion, and Interstellar. However one if his first films, Momento, is in my opinion his greatest, and certainly most under appreciated. Momento follows, and I use that term loosely, Leonard Shulty, a man who's wife was killed during a home invasion by two men, one whom escaped. Leonard suffered a head injury during the attack and is unable to retain short term memory. As he conducts his own investigation to find the second murderer he must himself notes and clues to remind himself of what's going on. What makes this movie unique it is told in reverse chronological order, meaning we see the last 5 minutes, then the 5 minutes before that, etc, etc. It is so different but at the same time so well done that, it almost makes each scene a new twist, yet still remaining fresh. The twist actually appears at the beginning of the chronological order, as opposed to fight club. Both films however are brought together by their endings, making it whole.