John Wick (2014)

Sometimes when traveling, I choose movies I expect not to get too invested in, just in case I miss part of it due to technical difficulties, lack of time, or tiredness. I had already heard this movie summarized as one man killing many men to avenge his dog, which probably wouldn't resonate with me. Nevertheless, it's pretty popular and will soon have a third sequel, so I thought there might be more to it than the summary suggested.

Well, yes, to a point. First, the dog killers also beat John (Keanu Reeves) up at his home and steal his rare fancy car. Second, the dog was a posthumous gift from his late wife (Bridget Moynahan) and thus something of an extension of her. Third, little did they know that John was a legendary hitman, an underworld bogeyman à la Keyser Söze, having retired only for the sake of settling down with his wife. Fourth, lead thug Iosef (Alfie Allen) is the son of a Russian mafia leader, Viggo (Michael Nyqvist), who tries to kill John preemptively to protect Iosef. Once you know all this, it's little surprise that John is willing to kill anyone who stands between him and retaliation.

Encanto (2021)

I decided that my last feature of the year should be something that promised to be uplifting. And preferably short, since I got a late start. This one's 109 minutes, about 19 of which are end credits, with no mid- or post-credit sequence.

It's tricky to gauge the era -- we see donkeys and no cars -- but the place is a Colombian village. Thanks to what is attributed only to a miracle, the Madrigal family lives in a house with a life of its own, and not in a scary way. The Casita, as they affectionately call it, can also endow each Madrigal child with a different superpower in a sort of coming-of-age ceremony, but Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) was denied for some reason. Now 15, she tries to maintain a positive outlook despite her relatives tending to feel ashamed of her. Then the miracle shows more compelling signs of fading, between the Casita developing cracks and the family powers gradually becoming unreliable. Will Mirabel save the day, or is she, as her matriarchal grandmother (María Cecilia Botero/Olga Merediz) believes, the cause of the trouble?

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

I saw this screening at AFI almost on a whim -- and almost talked myself out of it, because I've been apprehensive about it since it was new. It remains rather popular, but some viewers make it sound too weird and/or depressing. I had walked in on a private viewing in college for half a minute and found it simultaneously funny and irritating, if only for the frantic camera shifts. But 16 years is plenty of time to get used to the trend, as with some films I mostly enjoy, so I bit the bullet.

The title refers to a Parisian cabaret led by a Mr. Zidler (Jim Broadbent), where, through a series of unlikely events I won't spoil, starving but aspiring writer Christian (Ewan McGregor) develops innocently loving feelings for showgirl/prostitute Satine (Nicole Kidman), who's expected to entertain a duke (Richard Roxburgh) instead. When the duke finds them in a somewhat compromising position, they and their associates quickly make a big lie about rehearsing a new musical for the duke to finance -- one with a plot awfully similar to the actual semi-menage a trois they're in, so it seems only a matter of time before the duke catches on. But he and the nature of Satine's profession may not be the biggest threats to Christian's romance, as Satine has developed symptoms of TB.

Carlito's Way (1993)

Ages ago, I made a curious discovery: I loved The Godfather but had trouble liking popular movies that resembled it -- even its Part II. When I read the summary of CW, I thought it sounded too close to Part III. Still, I'd had pretty good luck with Brian De Palma, so I gave it a try.

Those who have read the Edwin Torres book by the same title should note that this is actually based more on the literary sequel, After Hours. Here, in 1975, Carlito (Al Pacino) has just finished 5 years in prison but feels great, because he was set to serve another 25 until his friend and lawyer David (Sean Penn) showed that the prosecutor had used illegal evidence. He insists that his days as a Spanish Harlem drug lord are over; he aims to run a decent night club and earn enough money to move to the Caribbean, preferably with his on-and-off girlfriend Gail (Penelope Ann Miller). But while the scene has changed, it's never easy to stay out of trouble when nobody expects you to, and he doesn't feel ready to break away from some crooked friends....