http://www.clickondetroit.com/entertainment/keanu-reeves-talks-action-cars-in-john-wick/29284268

http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/tgb-interview-actor-keanu-reeves-from-john-wick/

http://www.mtv.com/news/1972481/keanu-reeves-marvel-comics/

PODCAST: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75SpyCz_Nv8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://thedissolve.com/features/interview/796-you-owe-keanu-reeves-a-life/

http://decider.com/2014/10/22/who-is-john-wick/

Down to 92% on RT. Guess it had to happen eventually. Seeing some more of the usual "blank-slate" idiocy, but this, from Las Vegas Weekly, just made me mad:

"John Wick is delivered with style and energy, led by a surprisingly strong performance from Keanu Reeves as the title character. Reeves' limited range works well for a man who keeps his emotions bottled up, and he allows just enough rage and regret to rise to the surface for the audience to get a sense of John's inner turmoil..."

Talk about stuck on stupid. An actor clever and perceptive enough to strike the right balance of showing unspoken emotion while avoiding melodrama is a terrific actor. A performance like that requires talent, not "limited range."

It's not "limited range" DAMMIT - it's refinement, discretion, elegance, propriety in the best sense. It's ECONOMY and that's high art indeed.

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It's not "limited range" DAMMIT - it's refinement, discretion, elegance, propriety in the best sense. It's ECONOMY and that's high art indeed.

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My soul sister. If we ever meet in person, I will buy you a just for that sentence alone.

http://www.examiner.com/review/review-keanu-reeves-is-back-action-thrilling-john-wick

If any of you are going to catch it this weekend, would love to hear your thoughts! Tired of external sources. Need a bit more passion in the words :-)

The "blank slate" expression is way past its expiration date. Even if we were to forget his works in other genres, it takes facility, acuity, brilliance and mastery over the craft to find an equilibrium of sorts between action and emotion without choking the audience with overplay that we end up remembering the actor more than the character at the end of the journey.

http://thesource.com/2014/10/22/actor-alfie-allen-talks-latest-film-john-wick/

http://sagharboronline.com/sagharborexpress/danny-peary-on-film/keanu-reeves-talks-about-playing-john-wick-34118

http://www.tgdaily.com/happyplace/film/128961-keanu-reeves-has-a-winner-with-john-wick

http://www.theprovince.com/touch/story.html?id=10311270

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/10/21/keanu-reeves-john-wick/17640977/

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/movies/man-of-action-280151452.html

https://www.nerdist.com/pepisode/nerdist-podcast-keanu-reeves/

http://thefilmstage.com/features/john-wick-filmmakers-on-how-to-direct-action-dga-keanu-reeves-advice-and-more/

http://centraltrack.com/Film/6069/Whoa/Keanu-Reeves-Proves-Hes-Still-Got-It-With-His-Latest-John-Wick

And the whole thing of "Keanu is SO bummed at the lack of studio offers" is getting a little annoying. I'm sure he wants to work, I get that. He's also always said he doesn't want to be "a star" so I would think some of the distance from the studios is not that surprising. He's not going to do a sequel just because a studio wants it. He's not going to sell pictures of his friends and family to the Enquirer. He's not going to loudly promote charities in the interest of publicity. All of that is part of what studios and the associated industry wants. I think he said it initially and sincerely, and it has taken on a Dr.Strange-like life of its own.

Yeah, I know, I know, I sound like the paranoid android.
Which doesn't change the facts. :|



(oh, and when called on their bs, Deadline Hwood keeps my comment on 'awaiting moderation'. *snort*)

And yes, becauseIchooseto22, there ARE critics who are praising John Wick who have previously not been kind to Keanu. That's nice.

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Reeves convinces us that his losses are real, and his reaction to same acceptable. He also inhabits this part, playing both the sadness and the brutality with equal severity. Reeves is an undervalued actor, easily dismissed by a catchphrase ("Whoa!") that doesn't really define who he is. With John Wick, we get to see the real Keanu Reeves, driven and multi-dimensional, vulnerable when he can't control himself, vile when he can.

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