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BALLERINA MOVIE REVIEW
Who knew with the kick-ass but (compared to what was to come) low-key John Wick releasing in 2014 that 11 years later it would be a 4-movie, 1-spinoff, 1 tv series franchise with more obviously yet to come? The first spin-off is Ballerina, taking place between the films John Wick 3 and 4. Ana de Armas is Eve Macarro (originally played briefly by Unity Phelan in JW 3). After her father, an assassin himself, was murdered by a shadowy cult when she was a child, she was brought up as an assassin herself inside the Ruska Roma clan, led by The Director (Anjelica Huston). When she encounters some killers with X-marks on their hands, she is warned off from confronting them, even though they were the same clan who killed her father. But, of course, she isn’t going to listen, and with the help of some familiar faces from the Wick franchise, she goes rogue. Her quest for vengeance cuts a bloody swath across Europe and eventually to the home of the chaotic murder cult themselves, led by the creepy and decidedly bad parent The Chancellor, played by Gabriel Byrne as if Dean Keaton actually turned out to be Keyser Söze. Chris, Wright, Ben, and Drew strap on their dancing shoes and tap out the rhythm of Ballerina in their review.
DIRECTED BY: Len Wiseman
STARRING: Ana de Armas, Victoria Comte, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, Lance Reddick, Norman Reddick, Norman Reedus, Ian McShane, Keanu Reeves, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Choi Soo-young, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Jung Doo-hong, David Castañeda
YOUR REVIEWERS
Christopher Lawrence Cox (Founder, Da Boss, Digital Noise, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad, Deliberations of Doom)
Born in the wilds of northern Virginia, Chris managed to put all of his survival skills to use and barely escaped with his life to Austin Texas in 1992 where ever since he’s dabbled in everything from plumber’s assistant to sandwich maker, from band to bar and theater management. An opportunity to see theatrical release films for free by becoming a critic on a local public access show called “The Reel Deal” turned into a full-time job when Chris and his friends decided to take it to the internet. They built the site Spill.com, adding multiple podcasts and animated features, to no small amount of success. During this time, a fortuitous friendship sprung up between Chris and young Brian Salisbury, who was also a local film critic, and they merged their forces of will, and their laundry list of ideas for shows, to eventually build this community of critics. While Brian eventually followed his heart to a new family, Chris continues on with a cast of colorful folks from all over the country (and a few others).
Wright Sulek (The Other Boss, Trash in the Can, Digital Noise, Highly Suspect Reviews, Screener Squad)
Wright hails from the northern suburbs of Dallas, Texas. His passion for filmmaking brought him to Austin to study and make movies. Since then he’s had his hand in acting, writing, and directing his own short films with numerous like-minded film geeks he’s met along his journey. His newest interest has brought him into the podcasting world. He co-hosted a few different movie related podcasts such as ‘And Now This’ and ‘The Match Cut’. He currently co-hosts with longtime friend, Eric Samaniego, where they talk shop about the grimiest, trashiest, lost gems of movies on their show, ‘Trash in the Can’. Wright also guests and hosts reviews on Screener Squad and Highly Suspect Reviews as well as co-hosts Digital Noise with Chris Cox. As of 2024, Wright has now been inducted into the Austin Film Critics Association as well as co-owns the One of Us network with Chris Cox.
Ben Glasthal (Highly Suspect Review, Screener Squad, Breakfast Pub, Unstabletop Gamers, Video and Audio Editor)
Born in Boston, then ending up in Dallas, Texas in the early 2000s, Ben has always had a passion for film. He started in film school not long after where he launched MovieReelizations.com where he still writes reviews to this day. He’s since moved to Austin where he has been also hopping on podcasts and both editing and shooting videos for One of Us. A fan of films from almost all genres, and many that predate him more than makes sense, he is anything if not eclectic in what he’s watching at any point. For the rest of his free time, he can be found biking, drinking craft beer, being an amateur photographer, and playing video games by himself or on Twitch. He’s best found on Instagram or Twitter as @MovieReelBen.
Drew Tinnin (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews, Deliberations of Doom)
Drew Tinnin is a Rondo Award nominated interviewer and critic who has worked at SiriusXM’s Fangoria Radio and Fangoria magazine in NYC, as well as the London-based Dazed Digital. Currently a regular contributor to the Dread Central Network, he’s excited to join up with some old friends and other film fans on One of Us as a new contributor to Screener Squad.
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