• Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Lists
    • Yearly Top Tens
    • Trailers
    • Contact
    • Hire Me
    • About
Menu

World of Reel

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Home
IMG_5517.jpg
Joachim Trier’s ‘Sentimental Value’ Earns RAVES [Cannes]
‘Madden’ Actor Exits Set After David O. Russell Uses N-Word
‘Madden’ Actor Exits Set After David O. Russell Uses N-Word
IMG_5516.jpg
‘Splitsville’ Review: A Hilarious, Beautifully Shot Tale of Modern Love [Cannes]
IMG_5512.jpg
Dwayne Johnson to Star in A24’s Psychological Thriller ‘Breakthrough’
IMG_5511.jpg
‘The History of Sound’ Is Beautiful, But Barely Audible — ‘Brokeback’ Lite [Cannes]
Featured
Capture.PNG
Aug 19, 2019
3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC
Aug 19, 2019

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

Aug 19, 2019

World of Reel

  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Lists
  • More
    • Yearly Top Tens
    • Trailers
  • About
    • Contact
    • Hire Me
    • About

‘Silent Night’ is John Woo’s Best Film in 25 Years

November 27, 2023 Jordan Ruimy

No, the headline is not hyperbole. John Woo is back. With a vengeance. The review embargo for Woo’s “Silent Night” has lifted and I can now tell you that it’s his most entertaining film since 1997’s “Face Off.”

First off, let’s just tackle the reviews that have dropped. So far, 14 have been counted and it has an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes.

I’ll fully review “Silent Night” on Thursday. It’s set to be released on December 1st. What I will say is that Woo’s film tries to take a different approach to the action genre. This is a film with no dialogue. Rather, its story is told visually with just music accompanying the drama. Marco Beltrami composed the score, and it almost plays like an action musical.

The film stars Joel Kinnaman as a father on a mission to avenge his young son who was tragically caught in the crossfire of gang violence on Christmas Eve. Shot and nearly killed while in pursuit of the murderers, he vows to avenge his son by any means necessary.

The images tell the story here. The good news is that it doesn’t at all play like a gimmick. Yes, the plot is rather silly, and we’ve seen countless “street avenger” movies over the years, but this is a deliciously absorbing blood-soaked Christmas tale. I kind of love how it plays like a holiday movie.

The way Woo stages the action is also wonderful — he’s always had a real knack for framing and his wonderful, ballet-like sense of movement pays off here. Again, I’ll go a little more in depth with this one later in the week.

Woo’s last American film was 2003’s terrible Ben Affleck action flick “Paycheck.” He swore off Hollywood after that one. Woo was one of the best and most successful action directors out there, he made a name for himself with such Hong Kong classics as “The Killer,” “Hard Boiled” and “A Better Tomorrow.”

Then Hollywood came calling in the early ‘90s and the results were very mixed, his best one was 1997’s “Face/Off,” but he’s also had plenty of duds including “Mission: Impossible II,” “Hard Target,” “Windtalkers,” and “Paycheck.”

← Michael Waldron (‘Loki’) to Script ‘Avengers: Kang Dynasty’Rob Reiner’s ‘This is Spinal Tap’ Sequel to Start Production in February →

FOLLOW US!


Trending

Featured
IMG_5403.jpg
Ari Aster’s ‘Eddington’ POLARIZES; Starts as Satire, Ends in Horror — Not Everyone’s Buying It [Cannes]
IMG_5383.jpg
‘Sirat’ Screens — Surreal, Chaotic and Unsettling [Cannes]
IMG_5352.jpg
‘Mission: Impossible 8’ Review Embargo Breaks — It’s A Mess [Cannes]
IMG_5328.jpg
‘Sound of Falling’ Gets Bogged Down by Heavy Symbolism [Cannes]
IMG_4571.jpg
David Fincher & Brad Pitt Reunite for ‘The Continuing Adventures of Cliff Booth' + Plot Details

Critics Polls

Featured
Capture.PNG
Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants
B16BAC21-5652-44F6-9E83-A1A5C5DF61D7.jpeg
Critics Poll: Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ Tops Our 1960s Critics Poll
Capture.PNG
Critics Poll: ‘The Godfather’ Named Best Movie of the 1970s
public.jpeg
Critics Poll: ‘Do the Right Thing' Named Best Movie of the 1980s
Critics Poll: ‘Mulholland Drive' Named Best Film of the 2000s
g4.jpg
Critics' Poll: ‘Goodfellas' Named Best Movie of the 1990s
Critics Poll: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road' Named Best Movie of the 2010s
World of Reel tagline.PNG
 

Content

Contribute

Hire me

 

Support

Advertise

Donate

 

About

Team

Contact

Privacy Policy

Site designed by Jordan Ruimy © 2023