chief film critic for IndieWire.
hi.
“Silent Night” marks John Woo’s first American action film since 2003’s all-too-fittingly titled “Paycheck,” and the legendary Hong Kong auteur seems eager to make up for lost time. There are at least two decades’ worth of John Woo-ness crammed into the opening minutes of this hyper-florid yuletide “Taken” riff, which starts with Joel Kinnaman — dressed in a Rudolph sweater, complete with a poofy 3D nose — sprinting after some Mexican gang members in slow-motion while a computer-generated red balloon…
this incredible movie almost completely redeems the look of shame and confusion my dad had on his face when I made him get me a Technodrome for my birthday one year and it was like 2 feet tall and had a giant eyeball on the top and his face was saying "i literally remember World War II." and now i have a young son of my own and i'm supposed to look back and appreciate how dumb i must have…
Barbara Minerva: I used to be a nerd who nobody liked but now I am hot and bulletproof and can pull off Robert Smith-levels of eyeliner.
Maxwell Lord: but don’t you want *more*?
Barbara Minerva: i want… to be cat.