Review – Knock Knock

Genre: Horror
Certificate: 18
UK Release Date: 26th June 2015
Runtime: 99 minutes
Director: Eli Roth
Writer: Eli Roth, Guillermo Amoedo, Nicolás López
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Lorenza Izzo, Ana de Armas, Ignacia Allamand, Aaron Burns
Synopsis: A family man, left alone in his home over a weekend, is seduced and subsequently tortured by two young women on a moral crusade.

 

 

A bona fide member of the “Splat Pack”, Eli Roth is one of the most divisive figures in modern horror. Whilst his cannibal movie The Green Inferno has struggled to get a release, he has pushed ahead with intriguing home invasion movie Knock Knock, starring Keanu Reeves, rejuvenated after the box office success of Hong Kong-inspired actioner John Wick.

Review – John Wick

Genre: Action
Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: 10th April 2015
Runtime: 101 minutes
Director: Chad Stahelski, David Leitch
Writer: Derek Kolstad
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Willem Dafoe, Adrianne Palicki, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo 
Synopsis: When a group of thugs steal his car and murder his dog, an assassin comes out of retirement to wreak his brutal, murderous revenge.

 

 

The career of Keanu Reeves is an odd one. He is a performer who has experienced remarkable success despite regularly attracting poor reviews, such as for his recent samurai snoozefest 47 Ronin. However, in the shape of the eponymous retired assassin in punchy action movie John Wick, Reeves finally seems to have recaptured his Matrix mojo.

Review – 47 Ronin

Genre: Fantasy
Certificate: 12
UK Release Date: 26th December 2013
Runtime: 119 minutes
Director: Carl Rinsch
Writer: Chris Morgan, Hossein Amini
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kô Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano, Rinko Kikuchi 
Synopsis: After the death of their master, a group of disgraced samurai seek the help of a half-breed to restore the honour of their people.

 

 

Hollywood loves to steal other people’s stories. This overlong and often crushingly dull adaptation of a well-wornJapanese samurai tale is a prime example of how cultural shifts do not help to illuminate a story for a new audience. In fact, as in the awful, depressing case of 47 Ronin, they tend to Americanise at all costs.